military machine

military machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"

pullback - (military) the act of pulling back (especially an orderly withdrawal of troops); "the pullback is expected to be over 25,000 troops"

retreat - (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat; "the disorderly retreat of French troops"

standdown, stand-down - (military) a temporary stop of offensive military action

amphibious landing - a military action of coordinated land, sea, and air forces organized for an invasion; "MacArthur staged a massive amphibious landing behind enemy lines"

gun - the discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies; "two runners started before the gun"; "a twenty gun salute"

countermarch - (military) a march in the reverse direction or back along the same route

fly-by, flypast, flyover - a flight at a low altitude (usually of military aircraft) over spectators on the ground

sortie - (military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation)

troop movement - movement of military units to a new location

war game - a simulation of a military operation intended to train military commanders or to demonstrate a situation or to test a proposed strategy

militainment - entertainment with military themes in which the Department of Defense is celebrated

demonstration - a show of military force or preparedness; "he confused the enemy with feints and demonstrations"

national service - compulsory service in the military during peacetime

fatigue duty, fatigue - labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on); "the soldiers were put on fatigue to teach them a lesson"; "they were assigned to kitchen fatigues"

air cover - the use of military aircraft to provide protection against attack by enemy aircraft during ground or naval operations

military censorship - all types of censorship conducted by personnel of the armed forces

umbrella - a formation of military planes maintained over ground operations or targets; "an air umbrella over England"

logistic assessment - a judgment of the logistic support required for some particular military operation

drill - (military) the training of soldiers to march (as in ceremonial parades) or to perform the manual of arms

basic training - the initial period of training for new military personnel; involves intense physical activity and behavioral discipline

military drill - training in marching and the use of weapons

close-order drill - (military) military drill of troops in standard marching (shoulder-to-shoulder)

battle, engagement, fight, conflict - a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement"

blockade, encirclement - a war measure that isolates some area of importance to the enemy

defense, defensive measure, defence - (military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program"

electronic warfare, EW - military action involving the use of electromagnetic energy to determine or exploit or reduce or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum

military operation, operation - activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign); "it was a joint operation of the navy and air force"

combined operation - a military operation carried out cooperatively by two or more allied nations or a military operation carried out by coordination of sea, land, and air forces

police action - a local military action without declaration of war; against violators of international peace and order

resistance - the military action of resisting the enemy's advance; "the enemy offered little resistance"

military campaign, campaign - several related operations aimed at achieving a particular goal (usually within geographical and temporal constraints)