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Allies :
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Countries that fought against, especially, Germany, Japan and Italy during the Second World War. In the Normandy campaign, the Allied forces consisted mainly of Canadian, American, British, Polish and French troops. |
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| bomb
up : |
A popular expression, meaning to load ammunition on board a tank. |
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| breech : |
The rear part of the gun that opens to allow rounds to be loaded and empty shell casings to be ejected. |
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brewed
up : |
A popular expression, meaning to be destroyed; refers to the fire and smoke inside a tank resulting from the tank being penetrated by a shell. |
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bunker : |
A fortified strongpoint often built of concrete or sandbags and provided with openings from which its occupants might fire at passing targets. |
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Chattanooga Choo Choo :
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Big Band tune written by Glenn Miller in 1941 and performed by his orchestra. |
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| cupola : |
The small, round structure atop a tank's turret that provides the commander with a protected view of the surrounding area. |
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| depress : |
To lower the gun; as opposed to elevate. |
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| Dieppe : |
A French port on the Channel coast raided by 5000 Canadians on 19 August, 1942. The attack on the town's German defenses ended in failure. To many Canadians, the name of the battle is synonymous with any type of military disaster. |
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| echelon : |
A formation in which the tanks travel behind, and somewhat to the left or to the right, of each other. |
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88 :
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A versatile, high velocity, quick firing German anti-tank gun that was responsible for the loss of a high proportion of Allied tanks. The number refers to the width of the gun's bore, which was 88mm across. |
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| Falaise
Gap : |
A large area in north-central France, between Falaise and Argentan, where Allied troops surrounded over 100,000 German troops, tanks and guns. The Gap refers to the weakest point of the Allied encirclement where the Germans desperately attempted to break through between 17-21 August 1944. |
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| General
Simonds : |
Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds (1903-1974) was the Canadian officer in command of the 2nd Canadian Corps in Normandy. An imaginative and driven leader, he pioneered new armoured assault tactics during the Normandy campaign. |
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| glacis : |
The front part of the tank that is sloped to help deflect incoming shells. |
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| Glenn
Miller : |
Famous American bandleader (1904-1944) whose orchestra epitomized the sound of the «swing» years. |
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HQ :
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Abbreviation for «headquarters». |
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| Half-track : |
A military vehicle fitted with tracks where the rear wheels should be located; mainly used to carry infantry over terrain too rough for regular trucks. |
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| In the
Mood : |
Big Band tune written by Glenn Miller and performed by his orchestra; arguably the most popular song of the «swing era». |
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| Iron
Cross : |
A German decoration for
bravery. |
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| k.o. : |
Abbreviation for «knock out». |
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Little Brown Jug :
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Big Band tune written by Glenn Miller in 1940 and performed by his orchestra. |
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| The Lincoln and Welland
Regiment : |
A Canadian infantry unit raised in the Niagara peninsula in southern Ontario. |
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| machine-gun
nests : |
A defensive position, often reinforced with concrete or sandbags, from which a machine-gun could be set up to fire. |
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| muzzle : |
The end of a weapon where the projectile is
discharged. |
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| Nazis : |
Members of the National Socialist German Workers Party founded by Adolf Hitler; during the war, the Allies frequently applied this term generally to describe their German enemy. |
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Normandy :
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A large area of nothern France and the scene of bitter fighting between Allied and German troops from the landings on the Normandy coast (6 June) to the closing of the Falaise Gap (21 August). |
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| Panther : |
A type of German tank that best combined the elements of speed, firepower and mobility; arguably the best all-purpose tank of the Second World War. |
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| Panzer : |
German word for armour. |
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range :
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The distance between a gun and its target or, alternatively, the maximum effective distance at which a weapon can fire at targets. |
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| recovery
vehicle : |
Any tracked and/or wheeled vehicle used to recover other vehicles or disabled tanks in view of having them repaired. |
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| Le Régiment de la
Chaudière : |
A Canadian infantry regiment from the south shore of the St. Lawrence east of Quebec City. |
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| rifle : |
A small calibre precision shoulder weapon. |
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| round : |
A single unit of ammunition, whether a rifle bullet or a heavy artillery shell. |
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| squadron : |
A military unit consisting of 4 troops and a command element, or approximately 19 tanks, and normally commanded by a major. |
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SS Panzer Corps :
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An elite German armoured formation made up of personnel not administered by the regular German Army and having sworn a personal oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler. |
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| Siegfried
Line : |
The German defensive line comprised of tank ditches, obstacles, bunkers and barbed wire, that runs from the Belgian border to the Swiss Alps. |
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| sniper : |
A military marksman, armed with a rifle and usually well hidden, who shoots at selected targets of opportunity. |
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| swastika : |
The symbol used by the Nazi party. |
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| Tiger : |
A make of heavy German tank that combined superior firepower and armour. Although slow and prone to frequent breakdowns, the Tiger tended to dominate Allied tanks wherever it appeared. |
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| the
horn : |
Slang for «radio». |
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traverse :
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The act of rotating a tank's turret to the right or left. |
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| troop : |
A unit of 4 tanks, normally commanded by a lieutenant. |
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| turret : |
The upper structure of a tank that can be rotated to aim the gun located within it. |
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| Victoria
Cross : |
The Commonwealth's highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy. |
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| Wehrmacht : |
The regular German army, as opposed to military units belonging to the SS. |
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| Yank : |
A popular expression to designate Americans |
