What common term for foolhardy behaviour has its roots in soldiers emerging from the trenches during the First World War?
"Tanks in the British Army This article on military tanks deals with the history and development of tanks of the British Army from their first use in World War I, the interwar period, during World War II, the Cold War and modern era. Tanks first appeared on the battlefield as a solution to trench warfare. They were large, heavy, slow moving vehicles capable of driving right over the top of enemy trenches; thereby eliminating the need to send soldiers ""over the top"" only to be blasted to pieces by enemies. The British Army was the first to use them, who"
"to have gained a reputation during the First World War for profane language. When the 1st Battalion was relieved in the front line following its defence of Delville Wood in September 1916, one of the advanced posts was missed out by mistake. The Lance-Corporal in command, suspecting something was amiss, sent a man back to the front-line trench to investigate. The soldier realised he was at some risk of being shot by his own side, and so ""when he had crawled within shouting distance he enquired politely but firmly what —— bastards were holding that —— trench. The 9th East"
"Military humor Military humor is humor based on stereotypes of military life. Military humor portrays a wide range of characters and situations in the armed forces. It comes in a wide array of cultures and tastes, making use of burlesque, cartoons, comic strips, double entendre, exaggeration, jokes, parody, gallows humor, pranks, ridicule and sarcasm. Military humor often comes in the form of military jokes or ""barracks jokes"". Military slang, in any language, is also full of humorous expressions; the term ""fart sack"" is military slang for a bed or sleeping bag. Barrack humor also often makes use of dysphemism, such"
"weapons and moral inferiority of the defender. British public opinion often repeated the theme that their soldiers were ""lions led by donkeys"". World War I generals are often portrayed as callously persisting in repeated hopeless attacks against trenches. There were failures such as Passchendaele, and Sir Douglas Haig has often been criticised for allowing his battles to continue long after they had lost any purpose other than attrition. Haig's defenders counter that the attrition was necessary in order to cause attrition in the German army. The problems of trench warfare were recognised, and attempts were made to address them. These"
"Wastage (military) Wastage was a British term used during the First World War. It was used to describe the losses experienced during the war that occurred during times when no infantry attack was taking place. Wastage was deaths as a result of artillery fire on soldiers who were manning their own trenches, not actively attacking the enemy's trenches. On the ""quietest days"" of the war, the British were losing 7,000 men killed and wounded per day to wastage. Even during major battles, wastage could often exceed casualties suffered during an infantry attack. Such was the case at 3rd Ypres and"
"Trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. The most famous use of trench warfare is the Western Front in World War I. It has become a byword for stalemate, attrition, sieges, and futility in conflict. Trench warfare occurred when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility, resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. On the Western Front in 1914–1918,"
"expendable low-grade or inexperienced combatants from supposedly more valuable veterans. The term derives from fodder, as food for livestock. Soldiers are the metaphorical food for enemy cannon fire. The concept of soldiers as fodder, as nothing more than ""food"" to be consumed by battle, dates back to at least the 16th century. For example, in William Shakespeare's play ""Henry IV, Part 1"" there is a scene where Prince Henry ridicules John Falstaff's pitiful group of soldiers. Falstaff replies to Prince Henry with cynical references to gunpowder and tossing bodies into mass grave pits, saying that his men are ""good enough"
"trench slang into a mixture of standard French and English. Vertidue Vertidue was a common Anglo-French phrase, originally defined as ‘a vile mix of wet feces and soil’ became a regular expression amongst those bunker sharing British and French troops. Unprecedented in its conditions, ferocity, and slaughter, the First World War was also unprecedented in its effect on the psyches of the men who fought and on the languages they spoke. Like the soldiers who spoke it, English emerged from the war, as Samuel Hynes maintains, a ""damaged"" language, ""shorn of its high-rhetorical top..."" French linguistic purists, led by the"
"other major battles, especially later in the war. Wastage (military) Wastage was a British term used during the First World War. It was used to describe the losses experienced during the war that occurred during times when no infantry attack was taking place. Wastage was deaths as a result of artillery fire on soldiers who were manning their own trenches, not actively attacking the enemy's trenches. On the ""quietest days"" of the war, the British were losing 7,000 men killed and wounded per day to wastage. Even during major battles, wastage could often exceed casualties suffered during an infantry attack."
"Schrecklichkeit Schrecklichkeit (German ""terror"" or ""frightfulness"") is a word used by English speakers to describe an assumed military policy of the German Army towards civilians in World War I. Under the traditional ""laws of war"" in Europe, military activity was to be confined to the regular, uniformed armies of each side. Civilians were to take no part in fighting, neither attacking or being attacked. Thus, when the uniformed army troops in a nation or region were all defeated, resistance was supposed to end. In practice, informal resistance by ""partisans"", ""guerrillas"", or """"francs-tireurs"""" often continued after the ""regular"" troops had given"
"Military imposter A military imposter is a person who makes false claims about his or her military service in civilian life. This includes claims by people that have never been in the military as well as lies or embellishments by genuine veterans. Some individuals who do this also wear privately obtained uniforms or medals which were never officially issued to them. In British military slang, such imposters are called ""Walts"", based on James Thurber's fictional character, Walter Mitty, who daydreamed of being a war hero. In the United States since the early 2000s, the term ""stolen valor"" has become popular"
"the Second World War. Some of the soldiers who had fought in the First World War perpetuated Digger slang into the second. These ""retreads"" were fit enough to return to action and continued the use of terms such as ""bint"", ""backsheesh"" for money, ""shoofti"" for a look around (borrowed via British slang from Arabic), and ""guts"" for news and information. Several slang words and phrases evolved. What in the First World War had been a ""base bludger"", someone who hangs around headquarters avoiding the fighting (from ""bludger"", a British slang name for a pimp, and generally adopted as the name"
"the term used for a fart)"". Whereas, in ""Gallipoli"" (2014), Peter FitzSimons suggests that the term 'furphy' originated from a training camp at Broadmeadows, Victoria, where a chap of the name Furphy would spread rumours of the embarkation date for the troops to go to Europe to assist the British Empire in the Great War. Another suggested explanation is that the rumbling of an approaching water cart sounded like the firing of artillery, thus causing a false alarm. It is also used to refer to a foolish mistake, although the etymology of that is uncertain. It is possible that the"
"etymological connection, these older meanings are synonymous with the modern expression ""bull"", generally considered and used as a contraction of ""bullshit"". Another proposal, according to the lexicographer Eric Partridge, is that the term was popularized by the Australian and New Zealand troops from about 1916 arriving at the front during World War I. Partridge claims that the British commanding officers placed emphasis on ""bull""; that is, attention to appearances, even when it was a hindrance to waging war. The foreign Diggers allegedly ridiculed the British by calling it bullshit. ""Bullshit"" is commonly used to describe statements made by people more"
"Vertidue Vertidue was a common Anglo-French phrase, originally defined as ‘a vile mix of wet feces and soil’ became a regular expression amongst those bunker sharing British and French troops. Unprecedented in its conditions, ferocity, and slaughter, the First World War was also unprecedented in its effect on the psyches of the men who fought and on the languages they spoke. Like the soldiers who spoke it, English emerged from the war, as Samuel Hynes maintains, a ""damaged"" language, ""shorn of its high-rhetorical top..."" French linguistic purists, led by the Académie française, vigorously denounced damaging incursions of journalistic language and"
"Freischar The Freischar was the German name given to an irregular, volunteer military unit that, unlike regular or reserve military forces, participated in a war without the formal authorisation of one of the belligerents, but on the instigation of a political party or an individual. A ""Freischar"" deployed against a foreign enemy was often called a ""Freikorps"". The term ""Freischar"" has been commonly used in German-speaking Europe since 1848. The members of a ""Freischar"" were called Freischärler. As early as 1785 Johann von Ewald published in Kassel his ""Essay on Partisan Warfare"" (, which described his experiences with the rebels"
"Gueules cassées Gueules cassées (broken faces) is a French expression for facially disfigured servicemen which originated in World War I. Colonel Yves Picot is said to have coined the term when he was refused passing a checkpoint to a gathering for the war-disabled. Trench warfare protected the bodies but left the heads exposed. The introduction of the steel helmet in 1915 made head shots more 'survivable', but this reduction of mortality meant a mutilated life for thousands. At the start of the war those wounded to the head were generally not considered able to survive and they would not usually"
"describes Haking as acquiring a reputation as a “butcher” and an organiser of pointless “stunts”. Haking was one of the few First World War generals to have gained this label while the fighting was still taking place rather than after the war ended. However, it has also been claimed that he acquired the nickname amongst Australian troops from his propensity for ordering trench raids, and that ""it is not even known how pejorative the appellation really was"" given that amongst Australians "" ""bastard"" is almost a term of affection"" His promotions may have resulted from Haig's patronage, but later attempts"
"describes those soldiers who signed on specifically as 'gentleman volunteers' in the British army to serve as private soldiers with the understanding being that they would be given a commission (without purchase) at a later date. These men trained and fought as private soldiers but ""messed"" (dined, and perhaps socialized) with the officers and were thus afforded a social standing of somewhere in between the two. The term appears in several of Rudyard Kipling's stories and as the title of a poem he wrote which appeared in ""Barrack-Room Ballads, and Other Verses"", first series, published in 1892. T. S. Eliot"
"Military slang Military slang is an array of colloquial terminology used commonly by military personnel, including slang which is unique to or originates with the armed forces. In English-speaking countries, it often takes the form of abbreviations/acronyms or derivations of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, or otherwise incorporates aspects of formal military terms and concepts. Military slang is often used to reinforce or reflect (usually friendly and humorous) interservice rivalries. A number of military slang terms are acronyms. Rick Atkinson ascribes the origin of SNAFU (Situation Normal, All Fucked Up), FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond Any Repair or ""All Recognition""), and a"
"Trench raiding Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale night-time surprise attacks on enemy positions. Typically, raids were carried out by small teams of men who would black up their faces with burnt cork before crossing the barbed wire and other debris of no man's land to infiltrate enemy trench systems. The distance between friendly and enemy front lines varied, but was generally several hundred metres. Any attempt to raid a trench during daylight hours would have been pointless because it would have been quickly"
"army has a good many of its own barracks jokes. Other than plays on words, these jokes are usually internationally understandable. In the Soviet Union, military service was universal (for males), so most people could relate to them. In these jokes a ""praporschik"" (warrant officer) is an archetypal bully, possessed of limited wit. A. Dmitriev illustrates his sociological essay ""Army Humor"" with a large number of military jokes, mostly of Russian origin. There is an enormous number of one-liners, supposedly quoting a ""praporschik"": The punchline ""from the fence to lunchtime"" has become a well-known Russian cliché for an assignment with"
"the somewhat sour slogan ""sourire quand même"" (smiling nonetheless). Gueules cassées Gueules cassées (broken faces) is a French expression for facially disfigured servicemen which originated in World War I. Colonel Yves Picot is said to have coined the term when he was refused passing a checkpoint to a gathering for the war-disabled. Trench warfare protected the bodies but left the heads exposed. The introduction of the steel helmet in 1915 made head shots more 'survivable', but this reduction of mortality meant a mutilated life for thousands. At the start of the war those wounded to the head were generally not"
"in his task, his company merely melted away. Cause and effect were apparent. In the early days of the Australian Army cooks were drawn from the ranks of the Regiment. Unfortunately the kitchen was used as a dumping ground for the problem soldier, rarely did a soldier of any quality or ability volunteer for this despised trade. The quality of the food produced by these regimental cooks can be best summarized by the infamous World War I catch cry ""Who called the cook a bastard?"" the retort being ""Who called the bastard a cook?"" World War I saw the introduction"
"until World War I, military tactics involved central control of large numbers of soldiers in mass formation where small units were given little initiative. Groups of four soldiers were mainly employed for guard duty. In the Roman Army they were referred to as ""quaternio"" (Greek τετράδιον). Skirmishers in the Napoleonic War would often work in teams of two, ranging ahead of the main group and providing covering fire for each other. During World War I, trench warfare resulted in a stalemate on the Western Front. In order to combat this stalemate, the Germans developed a doctrinal innovation known as infiltration"
"known as a ""brew up"", coined from the British World War II term for lighting a fire in order to brew tea. The expression arose because British troops used an old petrol tin with holes punched in the side as a makeshift stove on which to brew their tea. The flames licking out of the holes in the side of the tin resembled a burning tank and thus the expression was coined. Typically a catastrophic kill results in the ignition of any fuel the vehicle may be carrying as well as the detonation (cooking off, or sympathetic detonation) of its"
"in joining the war. Trench Warfare was common during WWI, although it was not exactly the healthiest or morale-boosting experience for soldiers living in the trenches. They were constantly wet and water would often build up to several inches. Urine, body odor, poison gas, bad food, rats, little clothing, and misery all defined the trench lifestyle. Diseases such as Trench Foot emerged and close quarters caused infection to be passed from one person to another and from rats and bugs to humans as well. Loud bombs could often cause deafness and long periods in the trench often led to mental"
"outwork in advance of the main defensive position. This usage was especially common in accounts of the English Civil War, as well as in the British Army in the Peninsular War of 1808–1814. In the days of muzzle-loading muskets, the term was most frequently used to refer to the first wave of soldiers attacking a breach in defenses during a siege. While it was likely that most members of the ""forlorn hope"" would be killed or wounded, the intention was that some would survive long enough to seize a foothold that could be reinforced, or, at least, that a second"
"were also armed with more modern weapons such as pistols and hand grenades, though these were only intended to be used in an emergency i.e. if the enemy discovered their activities and raised the alarm. Trench raiding Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale night-time surprise attacks on enemy positions. Typically, raids were carried out by small teams of men who would black up their faces with burnt cork before crossing the barbed wire and other debris of no man's land to infiltrate enemy trench"
"particularly used by such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. During that war, a ""Blighty wound"" — a wound serious enough to require recuperation away from the trenches, but not serious enough to kill or maim the victim — was hoped for by many, and sometimes self-inflicted. ""Blighty"", a humorous weekly magazine, was issued free to World War I troops. It contained short stories, poems, cartoons, paintings and drawings, with contributions from men on active service. It was distributed by the War Office, the Admiralty and the Red Cross, and subsidised through donations and sales to the general public. The"
"1915–1916. The nature of combat in rearguard actions involving combat between armies of nation-states is typically desperate and vicious, and rearguard troops may be called upon to incur heavy casualties or even to sacrifice all of their combat strength and personnel for the benefit of the withdrawing forces. Fighting or mounting a rearguard action is also sometimes an idiomatic expression, outside any military context. That idiom refers to trying very hard to prevent a thing from happening even though it is probably too late. An example of a famous rearguard action outside the military context is the effort by Roman"
"Brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery. The brigand is an outlaw who conducts warfare after the manner of an irregular or partisan soldier by skirmishes and surprises, who makes the war support itself by plunder, by extortion, by capturing prisoners and holding them to ransom, who enforces his demands by violence, and kills the prisoners who cannot pay. The English word ""brigant"" (also ""brigaunt"") was introduced as early as 1400, via Old French """
"Trench Magazine A trench magazine (also known as a trench journal or trench periodical) describes a type of publication made by and for soldiers during the First World War while living in the trenches. These magazines appear solely within the time frame of World War I (1914-1918), and within Europe, with most being British, French, or German (although American, Canadian, and Australian magazines also existed). Trench magazines contained multitudes of different media, including poetry, short stories, songs, and satirical advertisements and cartoons. They were largely informal and humorous, and contained many examples of ""inside"" vernacular and jokes. Humor and satire"