prisoners of war | a person who is held captive by a belligerent power, such as their enemy, during or after an armed conflict |
promontory | a cliff or high point of land that points out into the sea |
Protection Acts | state-based laws of the 1800s and 1900s that forced Indigenous Australians to live under the control of a legal protector who managed many aspects of their lives, such as employment and marriage |
Protestant | a Christian who belongs to the branch of the Christian church that separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th century |
protocol | a system of rules about the correct way to act in formal situations |
quarantine |
rating | a junior enlisted member of a navy who is not a warrant officer or commissioned officer |
reconnaissance | an activity to obtain military information about a place by sending soldiers or planes there or by using satellite data |
referendum | a national vote for people to decide whether or not they agree with a policy |
reinforcements | extra people in a military force who are sent to help or to replace those who have been killed or wounded |
reparation | a sum of money paid after a war by the defeated country for the damage and injuries it caused in other countries |
reparations | a sum of money paid after a war by the defeated country for the damage and injuries it caused in other countries |
repatriation | returning a veteran home after they have been injured, become sick or been killed in another country; also refers to returning a military force when conflict has ceased |
sabotage | to deliberately damage or destroy an object during a war |
salvage | to save useful or valuable items from a damaged ship or building |
salvo | the firing of several guns or missiles at the same time in a battle |
sapper | a soldier whose job is to do building, digging and similar construction work |
scapegoat | a person who is publicly blamed for something bad that has happened, even though it was not their fault |
screening | a military tactic that uses either a body of cavalry to screen the advance of an attacking infantry force or a naval force to protect the main body of ships |
scuttle | to sink a ship deliberately |
serge | a strong woollen cloth used to make clothes, such as nurses' uniform dresses |
shell | a metal container full of an explosive substance and fired from a large gun; (verb) to fire shells at something from a large gun - shelled, shelling, shellfire |
shell shock | a confused or nervous mental condition of people who have been under fire in a war |
shrapnel | consists of small pieces of metal that are scattered from exploding bombs or shells |
siege | a military tactic where soldiers surround a place in an attempt to force its people to come out or give up control of the place |
skirmish | a small short-lived military battle |
smoke shell | a shell filled with white phosphorus fired by artillery to screen advancing troops |
sniper | a person who shoots at people from a hidden position |
Somme | a river in northern France where battles took place during World War I |
squalor | very dirty, unpleasant conditions |
stalemate | a military situation where two opposing forces find that further action is either impossible or pointless |
stall | a compartment in a stable or shed for confining or feeding an animal |
Stolen Generations | describes the children of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were forcibly removed from their families between 1871 and 1970 under various federal and state laws |
strafe | to attack a place from an aircraft by flying low and firing a lot of bullets - also 'ground strafing' |
stretcher case | someone who has to be taken away on a stretcher because they are too injured or sick to walk |
strong-point | a crucial point in a defensive position, usually strongly fortified and heavily armed, and protected by other positions nearby |
surrender | to give up to an enemy or to relinquish control or power over something |
theatre | a large area or region where a war is being fought - can be on land, on the sea or in the sky |
theatre of war | xxx |
torpedo | a bomb that is shaped like a tube and travels under water |
tourniquet | a strip of cloth tied tightly around an injured arm or leg to stop bleeding |
tow | a towboat or tug used for pushing a barge or group of barges |
transport | a military vehicle, especially a ship or plane, that's used to carry soldiers or equipment |
traverse | a protective bank or other barrier across a trench |
treaty | a written agreement between countries to show they agree a particular action or to help each other |
triage | the practice of sorting battle casualties (sick and wounded people) into categories of priority for treatment |
troopship | a ship that carries a large number of soldiers from one place to another |
Turk | a person from the principal ethnic group of Turkey or, formerly, the Ottoman Empire; a Turkic-speaking person |
Turkey | the centre of the Ottoman Empire; became a republic in 1923 |
U-boat | a German submarine |