Glossary of terms
| ballast | a substance used in ships and submarines to make them heavier and more stable, such as water, sand or iron |
| barracks | a building or group of buildings used to accommodate military personnel |
| barrage | continuous firing on an area with large guns, tanks or naval guns |
| battalion | about 550 to 1000 infantry troops usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel |
| battery | a set of artillery pieces, guns or mortars kept together in one place |
| battery ranging | an artillery method that attempts to identify the distance and range of enemy artillery from own artillery |
| bayonet | a long sharp blade attached to the end of a rifle, intended as a weapon but used for other tasks, such as opening cans of rations |
| beachhead | an area of land next to the sea or a waterway gained by an attacking force and from where it can try to advance inland |
| belligerent | the countries or groups that are fighting each other in a war |
| billet | a private house, barn or other accommodation that provides temporary lodging to soldiers during a war |
| bite and hold | seize a small piece of territory within artillery range and hold it before trying to seize another small piece of territory |
| bivouac | a temporary camp made by soldiers or mountain climbers |
| black market | a system in which goods are sold and bought illegally, often due to a controlled or rationed market for such goods |
| blockade | an action to block or cut off a nation's sea lines of communications, especially of an individual port by the use of sea power |
| bombardment | attacking a place or target with continuous heavy gunfire or bombs |
| bonzer | an old-fashioned Australian and New Zealand slang term for 'excellent' |
| breach | to break through a heavily defended section of an enemy's defences |
| breastwork | a temporary defensive work, such as a breast-high wall or mound of sandbags, also known as the 'rampart'; the 'parapet' is the top part of the breastwork |
| British | describes an object or a subject (person, colony, dominion) belonging to either Great Britain, the United Kingdom or the British Empire |
| British Empire | the United Kingdom and the former territories under its control, which reached its greatest extent at the end of World War I |
| bully beef | tinned corned beef |
| bunker | a place built with strong walls to protect it against heavy gunfire and bombing, usually underground |