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The LAC M5 is a Belgian CS gas hand grenade. The LAC M5 is fitted with a three second delay fuse and emits CS gas for 30 seconds after detonation.
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The LAC M6 is a Belgian CS gas hand grenade. The LAC M6 is designed to be hand thrown or propelled by a grenade launcher and is fitted with a three second delay fuse and emits CS gas for 30 seconds after detonation.
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The LAC M7 is a Belgian CS gas hand grenade. The LAC M7 is fitted with a three second delay fuse and breaks into two upon detonation, each half emitting a stream of CS gas for 30 seconds.
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A lambrequin is a strip of leather or metal suspended from the waist as flexible armour for the thighs. A skirt of lambrequins was a popular part of the Roman soldier's armour.
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In knives, a lambsfoot blade (called in America a sheepsfoot blade) is a knife blade with a flat cutting edge, and a back that curves to the point, thus resembling the shape of a lamb's hoof. The traditional British army issue pocket knife of the 1940's and 1950's had a lambsfoot blade.
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A lance was a long, spear-like weapon with a pointed head used by cavalry soldiers to unhorse or injure their opponents.
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Lance-corporal is not actually an Army rank, but rather an appointment of a private or equivalent acting as corporal. A lance-corporal wears one stripe on his sleeve.
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A lancer was a cavalry soldier armed with a lance.
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In firearms, the lands are the portions of the bore of a barrel lying between the grooves. Calibre is measured across the lands, rather than the grooves.
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During the Great War, Landsturm were German third-line reserve troops composed of men who had completed their conscript or regular service, reserve service, and Landwehr service. They were then transferred to the
Landsturm, in which they remained until the age of 45. Normally the
Landsturm was only used for local defence and similar duties, but the shortage of troops in the latter part of the war led to their use in all military capacities.
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During the Great War, Landwehr were German second-line reserve troops. All German conscripts, on completion of their mandatory service, were transferred to the 'first ban' of the Landwehr for five years, during which time they attended regular training camps. At the end of this period they passed into the 'second ban' until they were 39, when they moved into the Landsturm. In time of war the troops of the first ban were used as reserves for fighting formations and those of the second ban for line of communication duties, but due to the shortages of troops 1917 and 1918 this distinction was lost. In the Austrian army the Landwehr was a standing reserve pool into which regular troops and recruits were drafted when there was no immediate need for them at the front.
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A lathi is an Indian weapon consisting of a heavy stick, usually bamboo, bound with iron.
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Le Regiment d'Hebron was Sir John Hepburn's regiment raised in 1633 and evolved into the Royal Scots.
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The Lefaucheux pin-fire cartridge was the first integrated, self-obturating and self primed cartridge to be produced commercially. It was invented in Paris in the 1830s and consisted of a paper cartridge with a brass base from which a short metal rod with the cap set at its base protruded to be struck by the falling hammer of the firearm. Later the cartridge was made in all metal to obturate the escaping gas.
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The Leigh Light was an airborne searchlight used by the RAF in the Second World War. They were carried in Wellington bombers and, guided by radar, were used to illuminate submarines prior to attacking them.
Leigh lights were first used in 1942, and by the end of the war 27 U-boats had been sunk and 31 severely damaged in attacks using.
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The Leinster Regiment was a British infantry regiment formed of the merger of the 100th Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot
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The Levene projector was a British mortar used during the Great War for firing phosgene gas cylinders at the enemy. The Levene projector was a short, stout tube sealed at one end and sited in the ground, at an angle of 45 degrees and fired remotely by command wire, sending its projectile up to one mile distant.
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Lever-action is a gun mechanism activated by manual operation of a lever.
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Lewisite is a blister gas used in chemical warfare. It is a dark oily liquid smelling of geraniums. It attacks the victim immediately, causing blisters and acting as a systematic poison causing pulmonary oedema, diarrhoea, low blood pressure and subnormal temperature.
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The Life Guards, the senior Regiment in the British Army, were formed as the 'Horse Guards' at the Restoration in 1660 from a group of 80 Royalists who had gone into exile with King Charles II after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1652. They first saw action at the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion and subsequently in both the Jacobite wars and during the War of Austrian Succession. They were re-designated the 1st and 2nd Life Guards in 1788, a period from which the majority of today's state dress originates. They formed the front charging line of the Household Cavalry Brigade at the Battle of Waterloo, staging the famous charge against the French Cuirassiers that saved the British centre from being overrun. During the 19th century, the
Life Guards served in Egypt, as part of the Household Cavalry Regiment, taking part in the moonlight charge at Kassassin, and also in the Sudan and South Africa. During the Great War, the Regiment saw action at Mons, Le Cateau, Ypres, Loos, and most notably at Zandvoorde where two complete squadrons were lost. During the Second World War, the Life Guards contributed men to both Household Cavalry Regiments, the second of which was described by General Sir Brian Horrocks as the 'finest armoured car regiment he had ever seen'. They landed at Normandy in July 1944 and spearheaded the Guards Armoured Brigade advance through France to liberate Brussels and became the only forces to make contact with the Polish Free Forces during the advance to the bridge at Arnhem.
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The Light Infantry is a British infantry regiment formed as a large regiment in 1968 from a merger of: The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, The King' s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry and The Durham Light Infantry. Although there had been 'light troops' in the British Army in the 1740s, such as the Highlanders at Fontenoy (1745), it was the colonial war between France and England in North America which established the concept of 'Light Infantry' in the British Army. In the North American Wars of the 1750s, the heavy equipment, conspicuous red and white uniforms and close formation fighting of the British Army proved to be wholly unsuitable when operating in close country against Indians and French colonists, who had highly developed field craft and marksmanship skills. Prompted by these experiences, General James Wolfe and Lord Amherst realised there was a need for a new approach in the Infantry.
A small corps of 'Light' troops, recruited from the settlers, was formed in 1755. It consisted of specially trained men, carefully selected for their toughness and intelligence, able to scout and skirmish, concentrating and dispersing with great stealth and speed. Their dress, equipment and tactics were adjusted to meet this new role. So effective were these ' Light' troops that steps were taken to increase the number available. Regiments formed 'Light Companies' of soldiers specially selected for their toughness, intelligence, military skills and ability to act on their own initiative, within the framework of a broad tactical plan. The bugle horn, which subsequently became the emblem of light troops, replaced the drum as the means of communication for the often widely dispersed Light Companies. By the end of the 18th century it was not unusual for commanders to group the various Light Companies together for specific tasks. The invasion of Spain by Napoleon in 1802 was to cause a further, rapid evolution of the Light Infantry concept under the leadership and training of the brilliant young general, Sir John Moore.
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Lily was the KGB codename for a sabotage operation.
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A linstock was a gunner's forked staff used to hold a match of lint dipped in saltpetre.
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Liszt was a later codename of the Scottish KGB agent John Cairncross.
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Little flower was the KGB codename for a detonator.
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A lochaber axe was the battle-axe of the Highlanders of Scotland. Similar axes were carried for a while by the Edinburgh City Guard.
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The locher was a Scottish weapon similar to the bardiche. The head was of an arched shape, almost crescent in outline, with its lower side fixed to a pole, and with a curved hook coming out from the top of the handle.
Lochers were used in Scotland from the Middle Ages to the 17th century.
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The London Regiment was a Territorial army corps created from the merger of all the London battalions in 1909.
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A long roll is a prolonged roll of the drums, as the signal of an attack by the enemy, and for the troops to arrange themselves in line.
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The Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (known to soldiers as the 'Undetected Crime Medal') is a British army award given in recognition of long service with irreproachable character and conduct. The Long Service & Good Conduct Medal is silver and circular in shape with a fixed suspender bearing the words 'Regular Army'. The obverse of the medal shows the crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse bears the words 'For Long service and Good Conduct'. The medal is suspended from a ribbon, maroon in colour, flanked at the edges by narrow stripes of white. The medal is awarded to soldiers who completes 15 years reckonable service from date of attestation or age 171/2, whichever is later, and who have never been guilty of an offence or misconduct. As the Long Service & Good Conduct Medal requires the recommendation of the individuals' commanding officer, it can only be awarded to serving personnel.
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The Long Service Medal was a British military decoration awarded to non- commissioned officers and privates in the regular army who had served for eighteen years with an unblemished character.
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The long-bow was the national weapon of the English from the time of Edward II until the introduction of firearms. It was used with great effect at Crecy in 1346. The English long-bow was made to the height of an archer of yew or ash.
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The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment was a British infantry regiment formed of the 47th Regiment of Foot and the 81st Regiment of Foot - from whom they inherited the title 'Loyal').
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The LPO-50 is a Soviet portable infantry flamethrower. The LPO-50 comprises three vertical tanks carried upon the back connected via a one-way valve to a three nozzle hose. The LPO-50 has a range of 20 metres using liquid fuel and 70 metres using thickened fuel, and sufficient fule for a three second burst.
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The Lansky LS-17 is an American all-plastic (ABS) construction knife favoured as a clandestine weapon. It has a 3.5 inch spear point blade, double-edge bevel-ground with a serrated section on one edge. Being all-plastic it is invisible to metal detectors and X-ray equipment, making it easy to conceal and smuggle.
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The Lubyanka was the Moscow headquarters of the KGB.
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The LULA is firearm loader and unloader for the M16 automatic rifle, manufactured in Israel and used by the Israeli police and military. With LULA a thirty round magazine can be loaded in 35 seconds, and unloaded in five seconds.
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Lyddite was a British explosive used for filling artillery shells during the South African War and the Great War. It was actually molten and cast picric acid, the name being adopted in order to conceal the nature of the substance and was taken from the initial trials which were conducted at Lydd, in southern England.
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Abbreviations
Warfare
