conflict key vocab

Republic

A form of government in which power is held by the people or their elected representatives, rather than by a monarch.

Internationalism

The idea or belief that countries should work together and cooperate on a global scale to solve common problems and promote peace, rather than focusing solely on their own interests.

Free trade

A policy of allowing goods and services to be traded without government interference, such as tariffs (taxes) or quotas (limits on how much can be imported or exported).

League of Nations

An intergovernmental organisation founded to promote international cooperation and prevent future conflicts through collective security and disarmament.

Collective security

A system in which a group of nations agrees to act together to defend one another against aggression, with the idea that an attack on one member is an attack on all members.

Rome Accord

An agreement signed between Italy and France in 1935 to strengthen their relationship and support each other against any future German aggression.

Stresa Front

A agreement made in 1935 between France, Britain and Italy aimed at protecting Austria from German expansionism.

Arbitration

The settlement of a dispute by a neutral third party.

Sanctions

Measures taken by one or more countries against another country, typically to restrict trade or other economic activity, as a means of pressuring that country to change its policies or behavior.

Republicans (Spain)

The supporters of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.

Nationalists (Spain)

The supporters of General Francisco Franco's military rebellion against the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.

Militia

A military force composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers.

Appeasement

A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid conflict.

Treaty of Locarno

A series of agreements signed in 1925 between Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, and the United Kingdom that reasserted the borders established in the Treaty of Versailles

Rhineland

A region in western Germany that was demilitarised under the Treaty of Versailles, but was remilitarised by Hitler in 1936

Anschluss

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938 to create a unified state

Sudetenland

A region in Czechoslovakia lived in by ethnic Germans, which was taken over by Germany in 1938

Munich Agreement

An agreement in 1938 that allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for promises of peace, which were later broken

Rearmament

The process of rebuilding and strengthening a country's military force

Fascism

A political ideology characterised by a dictatorship, extreme nationalism, elimination of opposition, and controls society and the economy

German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact

A pact signed in 1934 between Germany and Poland, aimed at ensuring peace between the two countries for a period of ten years

Polish Corridor

A strip of land granted to Poland after World War I, giving the country access to the Baltic Sea but separating Germany from East Prussia

Luftwaffe

The German air force during World War II

Maginot Line

A line of fortifications built by France along its eastern border in the 1930s to defend against a potential German invasion

Wehrmacht

The unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945, consisting of the army (Heer), air force (Luftwaffe), and navy (Kriegsmarine)

Heer

The German army during World War I

Kriegsmarine

The German navy during World War II

Hossbach Memorandum

A record of a meeting in 1937 where Adolf Hitler discussed his plans for war and expanding Germany's territory

Nuremberg Trials

A series of trials held after World War II to punish Nazi leaders and others responsible for war crimes and atrocities

Militarism

The belief and practice of emphasising the importance of a strong military, often as a means to achieve political goals

Pan-Germanism

The belief that all German-speaking people and territories should come together as one nation

Lebensraum

'Living space' - The belief that Germany needed more land and resources to support its growing population and ensure its prosperity

Blitzkrieg

A military strategy characterised by swift and powerful attacks using combined air and ground forces to quickly overwhelm the enemy.

General Government

A Nazi-administered territory in Poland during World War II that was not directly incorporated into Germany but was subjected to brutal occupation.

Phoney War

A period at the beginning of World War II characterised by little military action and limited hostilities between Germany and the Allied powers.

Armaments

Weapons, military equipment, and supplies used for warfare.

Low Countries

A term referring to the countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Dyle Line

A defensive line established by the Allies in Belgium during World War II to prevent the German advance.

Fall Gelb (Case Yellow)

The German military plan for the invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940.

Paratroopers

Specially trained soldiers who are deployed by parachuting from aircraft to carry out military operations.

Rotterdam Blitz

The intense aerial bombardment of the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands by the Germans during World War II.

Sickle cut

A military maneuver involving an encirclement of enemy forces in the shape of a sickle or crescent to surround and cut them off.

Armistice

An agreement between warring parties to temporarily stop fighting, often leading to an end to hostilities.

Free Zone

A region in France that remained unoccupied by German forces during World War II, governed by the French Vichy regime.

Vichy regime

The collaborationist government established in Vichy France, during World War II, which cooperated with Nazi Germany and served as a puppet regime.

Directive 21

The order given by Hitler to invade the Soviet Union.

Red Army

The armed forces of the Soviet Union during World War II.

Generalplan Ost

A Nazi Germany's plan for the colonisation and exploitation of Eastern Europe.

Oldenburg

The codename for a German plan to capture millions of tonnes of raw materials, oil and food to be sent back to Germany.

Hunger Plan

A strategy developed by the Nazi regime to deliberately starve and deprive certain populations, particularly in the Soviet Union, for the benefit of the German war effort.

Operation Barbarossa

The codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

German Army Group North

A major formation of the German army assigned to the northern sector of the Eastern Front during World War II.

German Army Group Centre

A major formation of the German army assigned to the central sector of the Eastern Front during World War II.

German Army Group South

A major formation of the German army assigned to the southern sector of the Eastern Front during World War II.

Stavka

The high command of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II, responsible for strategic planning and operational decision-making.

Operation Typhoon

A German military offensive launched in 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa, aimed at capturing Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union.

Order 270

A directive issued by the Soviet Union that imposed strict penalties for surrender or capture, emphasising the need to fighting to the death.

German Army High Command (OKH)

The supreme command of the German army during World War II, responsible for planning and directing military operations.

War of attrition

A prolonged military strategy aimed at wearing down the enemy's strength and resources through continuous engagements and heavy casualties.

Case Blue

A German military campaign during World War II that aimed to capture the oil fields of the Caucasus region.

Stalingrad Pocket

An encirclement of the German 6th Army and its allies by the Soviet Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad, resulting in a significant German defeat.

Operation Winterstorm

A German counteroffensive launched in 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad, aimed at relieving the besieged German forces in the city.

Afrika Korps

This was the name given to the German forces in North Africa during World War II.

Infantry

This term refers to soldiers who fight on foot, often equipped with small arms.

Axis

The alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan. The term is often expanded to include other nations that were allies of these powers, such as Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Battle of El Alamein

This refers to two separate battles in Egypt in 1942. The first battle (July 1942) halted the advance of the Axis forces into Egypt. The second battle (October to November 1942) was a turning point in the North Africa Campaign, leading to a retreat and defeat of the Axis forces.

Operation Torch

This was an Allied invasion of French North Africa that took place in November 1942, involving British and American forces.

Rationing

The setting of limits on high-demand items.

Air Raid Precautions (ARP)

Measures taken in the UK during the war to protect civilians from the threat of air raids. They included blackout practices, the use of public air raid shelters, and the training of wardens to respond to bomb incidents.

Air Raid Wardens' Service

A group of civilian volunteers in the UK trained to ensure that ARP measures were carried out in their local communities.

Shrapnel

This refers to fragments of a bomb, shell, or other object thrown out by an explosion.

Blackouts

Measures to prevent enemy aircraft from easily identifying targets that involved the covering of all windows and doors with heavy material to prevent light from escaping, and the turning off of all outdoor lighting.

Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939

This UK legislation gave the government the authority to control resources and manpower, censor the press, and other powers necessary for the effective prosecution of the war.

Victory gardens

Fruit and vegetable gardens planted at private residences and public parks during World War II to reduce pressure on the public food supply.

British Restaurants

Communal feeding centres to help people who had been bombed out of their homes, couldn't cook food due to gas or electricity shortages, or were unable to afford food due to rising prices.

National Service (Armed Forces) Act

A law enacted by the British Parliament in 1939 which instituted peacetime conscription for the first time.

Enemy aliens

This term refers to citizens of countries at war with the host country who are residing within the host country's borders.

Munitionettes

A nickname given to women who worked in munitions factories during WWI and WWII in the UK.

Women's Land Army (WLA)

A British civilian organization created to work in agriculture, replacing men who had gone to fight in the war.

Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS)

Known as the "Wrens", this was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.

Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)

This was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during WWII, its members were known as WAAFs.

Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS)

This was the women's branch of the British Army during WWII.

Reich Air Protection League (RLB)

A German organisation that provided civil defense training and air raid precautions to the German people.

Military Service Law

A German law that brought in conscription.

Kinderlandverschickung (KLV)

A program organised by the German government during WWII to evacuate children from cities at risk of bombing to safer rural areas or other countries occupied by Germany.

Volga Germans

The ethnic German communities that had settled in the Volga River region of Russia and were subject to mass deportations to Siberia by Stalin.

• Siege of Leningrad

The encirclement of Leningrad by German forces that lasted 900 days.

• 'Road of Life'

This was the ice road transport route across Lake Ladoga, which provided the only access to the besieged city of Leningrad during the winter months when the lake was frozen.

Ghetto

Sections of a city where all Jews from the surrounding areas were forced to reside.

Judenrat

A Jewish council set up by the Nazis in many ghettos to enforce Nazi policy.

Final Solution

This was the code name for the Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe.

Concentration camp

These were camps where Jews, political dissidents, and other groups deemed undesirable by the Nazis were imprisoned under harsh conditions. Inmates were often used as forced labor and subjected to brutal treatment.

Extermination camps

These were Nazi camps designed with the primary purpose of carrying out the mass murder of Jews and other victims of the Holocaust.

Wannsee Conference

This was a meeting of senior Nazi officials in January 1942, where the 'Final Solution' to the Jewish question was formally adopted. This meeting led to the systematic genocide of Jews throughout Europe, known as the Holocaust.

D-Day/Operation Overlord

The codename for the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, during WWII.

Atlantic Wall

This was an extensive system of coastal defenses and fortifications built by Nazi Germany along the western coast of Europe (from southern France to northern Norway) as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion.

French Forces of the Interior (FFI)

This was a French resistance organisation formed in 1944.

Battle of the Hedgerows

After the successful landing in Normandy, Allied forces faced a new obstacle in the form of the thick hedgerows or "bocage" of the Norman countryside. These natural obstacles, used by German forces for defense, slowed the Allied advance and led to difficult and bloody fighting.

Liberated

Refers to the freeing of a territory or a group of people from enemy occupation or control.

Falaise Pocket

Towards the end of the Battle of Normandy, retreating German forces were encircled by the Allies around the town of Falaise. The resulting battle led to a decisive victory for the Allies, with much of the remaining German forces in Normandy being destroyed.