This is a sort of glossary with terms and phrases readers may be unfamiliar with, often because I kind of made them up.

BAR:

Browning Automatic Rifle. American light machine gun, I think. The folks at C&Rsenal know for sure, so watch this, and the rest of their fine content. It focuses on the weapon’s development and use during World War I, but can’t we World War enthusiasts get along?

Big Speech, The:

A rousing speech that spurs soldiers, or anyone really, to action. The most significant example is Col. George Taylor’s speech on Omaha Beach on D-Day: “There are two kinds of men on this beach: the dead, and those about to die. So let’s get the hell out of here!” The exact wording varies among movies and sources.  Robert Mitchum, playing Brigadier General Norman Cota, gives a version of it in The Longest Day.

This particular speech is delivered so poorly in The Big Red One that it has become the new inside joke in our family—”There are two kinds of tomatoes in this refrigerator: those that are rotten and those that are gonna be rotten, so let’s eat those tomatoes!”

Bulletproof Characters:

Characters so intrinsic to the plot that they cannot die, except for in the final scenes. They can be wounded, so “bulletproof” may not be the best possible term. Some Internet influencers use “plot armor” instead. One characteristic of war movies is the increased likelihood of a Bulletproof Character’s death towards the end of a movie. Famously, the HBO series Game of Thrones initially appeared to have no Bulletproof Characters, killing its lead actor in the middle of the first season. Having no bulletproof characters can significantly increase suspense. One criticism of the flawed final season of Game of Thrones is that many characters were at that point clearly bulletproof. See also Red Shirts.

Endless Clip, An:

A source of ammo in a movie that never runs out; a weapon that never is seen, or appear to need, to be reloaded. Initially called an infinite clip, the name was changed because one can, according to some sources, find free pornography by Googling “infinite clips.” An endless clip can run out if there’s a plot point that requires a weapon to run out of ammo.

This example from Inglorious Bastards shows all combatants having endless clips—in fact, our heroes don’t even bother to carry any ammo with them during the film. Note that at one point a character does run out of ammo because it might look cool if he hit a German with his unloaded machine gun. Many like to cite Where Eagles Dare; however, in that film, people carry extra clips and are sometimes pictured reloading.

See also: Von Ryan’s Express.

Green Lieutenant:

A commissioned officer fresh out of Office Candidate School with limited or no combat experience. Sure, he has plenty of book learning, but he is hopeless without his sergeant. He may overcome this to become a true leader (see Breakthrough) or he may not (see Fury). See also Useless Lieutenant.

Gruff Sergeant:

A non-commissioned officer who appears cold and cruel, or is cold and cruel, to the men under him. Generally speaking, he’s doing it for their own good because he understands the nature of combat. (see Breakthrough, The Way Ahead; see Fury or Sands of Iwo Jima for particularly cruel versions)

M3 Sighting:

When an American M3 half-track is used in a movie by Axis forces because axis vehicles, like the Hanomag, were not available during filming. Of course, Germans often used captured vehicles, but there’s an example in The Battle of Britain where the German troops are using them in 1940, a year before they were put into service.

YouTube influencer Lindybeige has a video that touches on this subject, though it is primarily about the German half-track.

Red Shirt or Expendable Crewman:

Taken from a common practice in the original Star Trek television series, an expendable crewman is a character whose function is to die or be wounded to establish that our heroes are in danger while not being anyone we actually care about. In Star Trek these characters would generally be wearing red shirts and would be the only characters we didn’t know appearing in the scene. This video is  flawed–one shot is of Mr. Scott being wounded and the music is less than ideal. See also: Bulletproof Characters.

Useless Lieutenant:

A bad or absentee commissioned officer, not necessarily a lieutenant, who probably does have too much book learning, but may just be in combat for political reasons. (See Kelly’s Heroes and Cross of Iron)

Swoon Death:

When a character dies in an unrealistic way, perhaps grabbing his chest and slowly falling, with or without exclaiming “Alas! I am slain!” Maybe the character has time to deliver a line. This clip, from The Longest Day, is not as bad as many. (See Dunkirk 1958)

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