Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Wondrous Words: The Guns of August: War Words

 



I've never experienced war.

I know almost nothing about battles. 

And I'm not sure I could figure out how to fire a gun.

Since April, I've been reading Barbara Tuchman's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Guns of August.


The Guns of August tells the story of the outbreak of World War I. It's absolutely mesmerizing to read, seeing the lies told by the Germans to justify their invasion of their fellow Europeans, the brutality of the Germans as they occupy and take over other countries, as well as the missteps of the unprepared Belgians and French and British and Russians.

It's also been a vocabulary-enriching experience to read this book. I've learned lots of war words. Some of these I've heard and I had a vague idea of what was meant, but none were clear to me before I read this book.

corps. a main subdivision of an armed force in the field, consisting of two or more divisions.

regiment. a permanent unit of an army typically commanded by a colonel and divided into several companies, squadrons, or batteries and often into two battalions.

platoon. a subdivision of a company of soldiers, usually forming a tactical unit that is commanded by a lieutenant and divided into several sections.

division. a group of army brigades or regiments.

flank. the right or left side of a body of people such as an army, a naval force, or a soccer team.

pennon. a long triangular or swallow-tailed flag, especially one of a kind formerly attached to a lance or helmet; a pennant.

front. the foremost line or part of an armed force; the furthest position that an army has reached and where the enemy is or may be engaged.

shrapnel. fragments of a bomb, shell, or other object thrown out by an explosion.

bayonet. a blade that may be fixed to the muzzle of a rifle and used to stab an opponent in hand-to-hand fighting.

artillery. large-caliber guns used in warfare on land.

billet. lodge (soldiers) in a particular place, especially a civilian's house or other nonmilitary facility.

infantry. soldiers marching or fighting on foot; foot soldiers collectively.

Even if you are like me and you know little to nothing about war, reading The Guns of August put me right there with the generals making the decisions, with the soldiers in the trenches. I marveled at the ability of author Barbara Tuchman to tell this powerful story.


Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.




23 comments:

  1. I remember the first time I read that the term "sharp shooter" was because many marksmen were using Berdan Sharps rifle during the Civil War. And I recently learned the origin of the term shrapnel (Lt. Henry Shrapnel invented the fragmented artillery shell in 1803) while reading a Charles Finch mystery.

    Adding new words and learning the origin of words and terms is one of the best parts of reading. Thanks for including the specifics behind words we've heard, but not really understood.

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    1. Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for sharing these stories.

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  2. Lived through a civil war of thirty three years but the battle field was remote though this is a small small island. The repercussions were fierce though.

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  3. As you know, I really enjoy war time novels. I'm not as familiar with WWI but I believe the saying "all is fair in love and war". Especially if you can justify yourself.

    This post and your glossary is so interesting! I recognise most of your words and realised that I actually don't know exactly how to define them.

    Thanks for the English and History lesson! And for taking part in WWW.

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    1. I have seen them and heard them used, but I realized I wasn't always sure exactly what they meant.

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  4. Every time I visit a churchyard or cemetery I'm reminded of war in the churches the roll's of honour make sad reading with the lists of names. The words you have I know the meanings of from books I have read though precious few on WWI, maybe I should read one

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  5. I read Tuchman's book long ago. It does bring that historical period to life. Of course, she was quite deservedly famous for being able to do that with her books.

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  6. Sounds like a fascinating book. I remember one of my sons became fascinated with all the different titles of military personnel. He did a lot of research and made a chart listing them all. I loved seeing the meanings of all the war related words you included.

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    1. I really had no idea there were so many words for groups of soldiers in a war.

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  7. Thanks for letting us know about this one.

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  8. I read the Tuchman book at some point. I just checked and it was published in 1962: I had no idea it was that long ago, and obviously it's a true classic.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Tuchman must have spent an incredible amount of time researching the war, and all of that was done in a time when researching was a complex process.

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  9. Sounds like a good read. I'm currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

    My latest post:
    https://craniumbolts.blogspot.com/2021/08/yet-another-birding-trip-to-saul-kere.html

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  10. I have not read Guns of August. Perhaps I'll add it to my Classic Club jar of selections.

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    1. The Guns of August made the war feel almost inevitable. The Germans were eager to go to war; they had been preparing for years. But it was not just the Germans, as other groups wanted to fight, too.

      It's a very good book.

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  11. I know so little about World War I. Both my grandfathers and their brothers served in World War II and one grandfather was involved in the occupation of Japan (he loved Japan and made lifelong friends with a number of Japanese businessmen) so my knowledge of World War II was fairly robust but I'm always discovering new things about World War I. At a cemetery stroll several years ago they had one actor spotlighting a local man who had enlisted in the Rainbow Brigade and fought in France well before the US got involved and it was fascinating. I'm adding this to my TBR!

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  12. Over 20 years ago when I was homeschooling, and reading about the Great War in high school textbooks, I could not make sense of the sketchy description of how it began. It takes a real historian, not a committee, and many more words than could be spared in a textbook, to reveal the complex mix of history, culture, and personalities that sparked that event. Light shined on the subject through Guns of August. She is a joy to read.

    Every time I learn something else about the 20th century, I think of rereading Tuchman. That book and others of hers are on my shelf just waiting for a revisit! Thank you for the reminder.

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  13. It is an amazing book! And I'm impressed you made it thru it. I have read the first chapter which is so good. But I have yet to read on. It gets a bit more deep after that and I need to find some time & space for it. Congrats on finishing!

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  14. WWI fascinates me. I think I MUST add this to my list!

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