Glossary of the First World War - B

Blank Cheque: A summary of the reply Germany gave to Austria Hungary on July 5 1914 in response to their request for assistance in tackling Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Blockade: The use of naval power to restrict – and ideally halt – imports into a nation, begun by the British in 1914 against the Central Powers. Germany was forced to introduce rationing after just a few weeks.
Bloody April: The period in 1917 when RFC pilots on heavy army assistance duties fought against superior German planes, took heavy casualties and only succeeded due to weight of numbers. The lifespan of a RFC pilot during Bloody April was 23 days.
Bleriot XI: French single-seat reconnaissance monoplane used at the war’s start but withdrawn by 1915 due to lack of armament and combat worthiness.
Bleu Horizon: Official colour of the French army uniforms; it was adopted in 1915.
Blighty: Slang for Britain.
Blighty One: A light wound of enough seriousness to have the soldier sent home.
Blimp: Small airship or balloon; slang for anyone regarded as a 'wind bag'.
Blind pig: Canadian slang for a 9.45 inch mortar bomb.
Blue Caps: The Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Blues: British hospital dress.
Boche: Nickname for Germans.
Bogohl: Derivative of Bombengeschwader, a German bomber squadron.
Book: British slang for many/plenty/a good quantity, derived from the French beaucoup.
Bolo: An individual who refused to leave their desk/base duties.
Bolt Hole: A hole in the wall of a trench big enough for a soldier to shelter.
Bomb: Hand grenade.
Bombardier: A corporal in the Royal Artillery.
Bomber: A soldier armed with hand grenades, usually the main grenade thrower in an assault party.
Bomb-proof: Splinter proof.
Bomb-stop: Either a barricade or a traverse in a trench to stop both the effects of explosions and the progress of attackers.
Bonhomes: 'Good fellows', French slang for themselves.
Bonk: Artillery shelling.
Bonnet Rouge, Le: French pacifist journal with links to German espionage.
Bonzer: Anzac slang for good.
Box barrage: Artillery shelling of a small area.
Boyau / boyoh: French communication trench.
Bracket: The act of firing test shots to either side of a target in order to hone in on the correct co-ordinates.
Brand-munition : 'Fire ammunition', German tracer bullets.
Brandenburg Aircraft: Shortened name for Hansa- Brandenburg aircraft.
Brass: British slang for high ranking officers.
Brassard: An arm band.
Breakthrough Tactics: The plans and methods devised for getting troops through enemy lines and opening up a hole which could be exploited. They ranged from mass assault to very narrow concentrations of force and differed from flanking tactics, which were rendered unviable by after the Race to the Sea.
Breastwork: when ground was too wet or marshy to dig a trench they were built above ground out of earth, sandbags, rubble and anything else available. That fortification was a Breastwork.
Breguet Bombers: French two-seater 'Pusher' bomber used by the British and French after mid 1916.
Bremen : German class of light cruiser.
Bretagne : A class of French battleship.
Brigade: The smallest tactical formation above battalion, usually three to four battalions plus support.
Bristol F-2 Fighter: Series of British two-seater fighter-reconnaisance planes used after 1917.
Bristol M-1: Series of British single seater fighter craft used mainly for training.
Bristol Scout: British single-seat bi-plane used in most theatres during the war.
British Warm: British knee-length heavy greatcoat.
Brock’s benefit: A mass of flares or rockets; Brock was a firework manufacturer.
Brotfrieden: Literally 'bread peace', a treaty signed by the Ukrainian Republic and the Central Powers in which the former the province of Cholm (also claimed by Poland) in return for food supplies, of which the latter were desperately short.
Browning guns: Either the Browning 0.30inch Machine Gun used by the US army after 1917, the 0.30 inch Browning Rifle used from September 1918 by the AEF or the rare Colt-Browning 0.30 inch machine gun.
B-Stoff: German term for the gas xylyl bromide lachrymatory.
Buckshee: Free/surplus.
Bull ring: Behind the lines training ground.
Bullocky: Anzac slang for bad language.
Bully: Canned corned beef.
Bundesrat : The unelected Upper House of the German Empire, created by the 1871 Constitution to represent the Empire's 25 states.
Bundook: British nickname for rifle.
Bung: Cheese.
Bürgfrieden : The agreement of all Germany's political parties to support the war because they believed the cause was just.
Burgoo/Burgew: British army porridge.
Button-Stick: An aid to cleaning buttons on uniform.
Buzzer: Portable telephone able to perform telegraphy.
BWI: British West Indies regiment.