Dreadful / extreme / grisly / great / gruesome / horrible / horrid / monstrous / revolting / vile atrocity / brutality / cruelty

act of atrocity / brutality / cruelty жестокий / зверский поступок: These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity. | The killings were an act of mindless brutality.

the brutalities / cruelties of war: He was unable to escape the cruelties of war.

atrocities against sb: But the victories were tainted by accusations of atrocities against civilians.

brutality / cruelty to / towards sb: Seeing so much brutality towards prisoners had not hardened them to it.

to commit / perpetrate / carry out an atrocity / brutality / cruelty (against sb) совершить зверский поступок / злодеяние: The interest is simply focused on the few individuals who commit several serious atrocities. | Federal soldiers have been accused of perpetrating atrocities against innocent people. | Likewise Bosnia has arrested three senior officers accused of carrying out atrocities in 1993.

to demonstrate / display / exhibit brutality / cruelty проявлять жестокость

atrocities / brutalities / cruelties occur зверства совершаются: Horrifying cruelties occur in wartime.

18. to displace [transitive] to force someone to leave heir own country and live somewhere else вынуждать людей покидать свое место жительства, делать людей беженцами, превращать людей в беженцев; перемещать: In Europe alone thirty million people were displaced. | Many of its own people have been displaced by civil war or uprooted by drought or flood. | Fifty thousand people have been displaced by the fighting. | At least 50 million of them are refugees, displaced from their homes by warfare. | Aid agencies say that about 110,000 people in the peninsula are displaced because of the war.

19. displacement [uncountable] (formal) a situation in which a person is forced to leave their own country and go somewhere else to live вытеснение; перемещение: the gradual displacement of the American Indians | The recent famine in these parts has caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people.

20. refuge | sanctuary (1) [uncountable] shelter or protection from someone or something убежище; прибежище; приют

to seek refuge / sanctuary (in sth // from sth / sb) искать убежище: Thousands of families came here seeking refuge from the civil war. | These people are seeking refuge from persecution. | But word also had it that he was seeking sanctuary from the government at a church.

to take / find refuge / sanctuary (in sth // from sth / sb) находить убежище / приют; прятаться: They took refuge in a bomb shelter. | During the frequent air-raids people take refuge in their cellars. | These people are taking refuge from persecution. | Refugees fleeing from the advancing army found sanctuary in Geneva.

to give / provide / offer refuge / sanctuary давать / предоставлять убежище / приют

(2) [countable] place of refuge a place that provides shelter or protection from danger убежище; прибежище; приют: a refuge for earthquake victims | His home became a place of refuge for the believers.

to give / provide / offer a (place of) refuge / sanctuary (from sth) давать / предоставлять убежище / приют: The Allies are being asked to provide more refuges for those fleeing the fighting. | The basement provided us with a refuge from the fighting. | They often offer a place of refuge.

21. displaced person | displaced persons [countable] (technical) someone who has been forced to leave their own country and live somewhere else because of war, cruel treatment, or a natural disaster перемещенное лицо: the task of resettling refugees and displaced persons | By now she had the look of a refugee, a displaced person. | The elation of witnessing birth may be followed by a sense of disorientation at being a displaced person.

22. refugee [countable] someone who has been forced to leave their country, especially during a war, or for political or religious reasons беженец: Thousands of refugees fled across the border. | Refugees were streaming across the border. | We hope to help refugees from any war, any country. | Most of the refugees from the former war zone have now been sent back. | Meanwhile the fate of the refugees continues to hang in the balance. | Britain has traditionally been a safe haven for political refugees.

23. refugee camp [countable] a place where people who have been forced to leave their country, especially during a war, can live, usually in bad conditions and only expecting to stay for a limited time лагерь беженцев: He returned to the refugee camp where his family has lived since 1948. | Many are still facing the uncertainty of life in refugee camps a year after leaving their homes. | Hundreds of thousands of people living in refugee camps and towns near the fighting were scattered and set adrift.

24. rogue / outlaw state / regime | outlaw nation [countable] a country that does not behave in the usual or accepted way and often causes trouble страна-изгой, режим-изгой: Some are rogue states with which we may some day clash. | For one thing, intelligence does have some impact on foreign policy, for example, towards rogue states. | He would scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and permit defensive systems to guard against accidental firings or small-scale attacks by outlaw nations.

Destruction

1. to destroy [transitive] to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired разрушать, рушить; сносить: It is they who carry out the traditional infantry role of closing with and destroying the enemy. | His conclusion also was that our next operation must be an all-out effort to destroy the enemy carriers. | Another project that the ministry has suddenly accelerated after two years of inaction is a new missile designed to destroy enemy radars.

2. to devastate [transitive] to seriously damage or completely destroy something уничтожать; опустошать, разорять: Bombing raids devastated the city of Dresden. | Years of war have devastated this island nation. | The bomb devastated the city centre. | For comparison, the atomic bomb explosions that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki were about 20 kilotons each.

3. to obliterate | to wipe out [transitive] (1) to destroy something completely so that nothing remains уничтожать, истреблять; ликвидировать: to obliterate sth completely / entirely / totally / utterly | The bombing raid has obliterated whole villages. | Their warheads are enough to obliterate the world several times over. | Hiroshima was nearly obliterated by the atomic bomb. | The missile strike was devastating – the target was totally obliterated. | The arms factory has been wiped out by our bombs.

(2) to blot out to remove a thought, feeling, or memory from someone's mind вычеркивать, стирать (из памяти): Nothing could obliterate the memory of those tragic events. | He tried to obliterate all thoughts of those tragic events from his mind. | There was time enough to obliterate memories of how things once were for him. | Nothing could wipe out his bitter memories of the past. | She tried hard to blot out the bitter memories of the war.

4. to annihilate [transitive] to destroy something or someone completely уничтожать, истреблять: Stockpiles of weapons could annihilate mankind. | Just one of these bombs could annihilate a city the size of New York. | The naval force was annihilated during the attack. | After a long and bloody battle the army succeeded in annihilating their forces.

5. to raze | to level | to flatten [transitive] to completely destroy a town or building разрушить до основания, сравнять с землей, стереть с лица земли; сносить

to raze sth (to the ground): The troops attacked his village and razed it to the ground. | All these houses were razed to the ground in the war. | In 1162 Milan was razed to the ground by imperial troops.

to level sth (to / with the ground): The bombing raid levelled a large part of the town. | Bombs levelled a large part of the town. | They levelled the building to / with the ground.

to flatten sth: The city has been flattened by heavy artillery bombardments. | Some analysts contradict its claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb powerful enough to flatten Chinese cities.

6. to ravage [transitive; usually passive] to damage something very badly разрушать, уничтожать: For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention. | Cambodia has been ravaged by war for the past 20 years.

7. to neutralize [transitive] to destroy somebody or something that is dangerous to you during a war, such as enemy troops, a military target, or bomb разрушать, уничтожать; подавлять огнем; обезвреживать: Government forces neutralized the rebels. | The aerial bombardments have neutralized the threat of artillery attacks on allied ground forces. | After some time the job is completed and the two mortar bombs have been neutralized.

8. to take out [transitive] (informal) to kill someone or destroy something разрушать, уничтожать: The building was taken out by a bomb.

9. destructive | ruinous (adjective) causing a lot of damage or problems разрушительный; разорительный; гибельный, губительный: a ruinous civil war | ten ruinous years of terrorism | The border war has been wasteful and destructive. | If multiple warheads are deployed, the different blast waves reinforce each other, increasing their destructive power. | But, given the destructive power of modern weapons, they did not believe that civilization could be protected by war.

10. destruction [uncountable] the act or process of destroying something or of being destroyed разрушение; уничтожение: The death and destruction had torn apart families whose political loyalties had also been divided in what was essentially a civil war. | What came instead were world wars, a Great Depression, a Holocaust, and threats of nuclear destruction. | These are the colour changes in Tamburlaine's army on the three days before the destruction of Damascus.

11. devastation | obliteration [uncountable] severe and widespread damage or destruction affecting a large area уничтожение; опустошение, разорение; истребление

12. destruction | devastation COLLOCATIONS

widespread / wholesale destruction / devastation большие разрушения: The war caused widespread death and destruction. | Single-handed he did his best to prevent the wholesale destruction of the big houses in Spital Square.

complete / total / utter destruction / devastation полное уничтожение / разрушение: It's a scene of complete devastation.

wanton destruction / devastation бессмысленное уничтожение / разрушение

sb carries out destruction / devastation: The soldiers carried out the total destruction of the village.

sth causes / brings destruction / devastation (to sth): This reaction was based on the understanding that atomic bombs cause widespread death and destruction and extreme human suffering. | A huge bomb blast brought chaos and devastation to the centre of Belfast yesterday.

13. annihilation [uncountable] severe and widespread damage or destruction affecting a large area or a lot of people (полное) уничтожение, истребление: During the Cold War the threat of nuclear annihilation was always on people's minds. | Muslim political leaders fear the annihilation of their people.

14. ruin [countable – often plural] the parts of a building that remain after it has been severely damaged развалины; руины: People built shelters among the ruins of the city. | One dead child was found in the ruins almost two hours after the explosion. | The countryside here is dotted with the ruins of churches the government has torn down or blown up in recent weeks.

a heap / pile of ruins груда развалин / руин

smoking / charred ruins дымящиеся / обуглившиеся руины

to reduce / blast sth to a ruin / ruins / rubble / ashes to destroy something, especially a building, completely превращать / обращать в груду развалин / руин: The attack reduced the town to a smoking ruin. | The bomb reduced the house to rubble. | Then cities can be blasted to rubble.

15. to be / lie in ruins (1) (of a building or city) to be extremely badly damaged so that most of it has fallen down лежать в руинах: Whole blocks of the city were in ruins after the war. | The town lay in ruins after years of bombing. | Large rural areas lay in ruins.

(2) to be in an extremely bad state лежать в руинах: After the war the Japanese economy lay in ruins. | The economy was in ruins after the war.

16. the ravages of sth the damage or destruction caused by something such as war, time, disease, or weather опустошение, уничтожение: The ravages of the Napoleonic Wars hit the merchant guilds particularly hard. | Bureaucracy was also a necessary evil to cope with the ravages of war. | They repaired the ravages wrought by war.

Fighting

General concepts

1. battle [countable; uncountable] a fight between opposing armies, groups of ships, groups of people etc, especially one that is part of a larger war бой, битва, сражение: the Battle of Trafalgar | A career soldier, he had died leading his men into battle at Spion Kop during the Boer War. | The fierce battle for Travnik was now over, the sources said.

to join battle (with sb) | to plunge into battle вступить / ввязаться в бой: Get a good night's rest, men; we join battle with the enemy at first light. | He went to join the battle and, all unskilled in warfare, he was killed at once. | We do not readily plunge into battle with such powerful forces.

to fight / wage a battle вести бой: We invaded Ireland and fought our own battles there. | We are determined and able to fight battles. | He denied yesterday it was waging a battle on two fronts.

to win a battle выиграть сражение: They won the battle by sheer weight of numbers.

to lose a battle проиграть сражение: The French lost the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. | It may be, in the long run, more productive to lose the battle but win the war.

bloody battle кровавое сражение: one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War

fierce / pitched / raging battle ожесточенный бой; жестокая схватка, яростная битва; решительное сражение: There sieges were less frequent and pitched battles more important. | He describes how he killed two young workers taken prisoner in a pitched battle inside a factory workshop.

at the battle of… в битве при…: Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. | He is finally met and defeated at the Battle of Osterwald.

2. combat [uncountable; countable] organized fighting, especially during a war бой, битва, сражение: These troops have very little experience of active / armed combat. | It is no coincidence that combat soldiers, particularly paratroops, wear camouflage uniforms that somewhat resemble a leopard's spotted coat. | There was fierce combat between the two sides.

close combat ближний бой: This will get your cavalry into close combat and hopefully out of the hail of missiles fairly quickly.

combat mission боевое задание: We flew over 200 combat missions. | In all, there are 15 combat missions involving both subs and surface vessels.

combat unit боевое подразделение: The women were excluded from the combat units. | Friedman was a member of a logistics team rather than a combat unit. | The battle casualties of the combat units were nearly as bad as those on World War II battlefields.

combat zone поле боя: She was actually in the combat zone now and she noted uneasily that once again she was placed firmly beside the count.

3. fighting [uncountable] a situation in which people fight, especially in a war бой, битва, сражение: The UN failed to stop the fighting in Rwanda. | The fighting is threatening to turn into full-scale war. | There was fighting on the streets of Paris yesterday when police and demonstrators clashed.

fighting breaks out / erupts / starts: Fighting broke out between army units. | The ceasefire appeared to be in tatters on Monday after heavy fighting erupted in Tetovo. | And it was on this day that heavy fighting started at Thermopylai.

to end fighting: On February 19, Aoun and Geaga agreed a six-point pact to end the fighting.

house-to-house fighting уличный бой

heavy / fierce / bitter fighting жестокое сражение: Meanwhile, heavy fighting was going on in and around Tan Son Nhut. | Tass still reported heavy fighting around Bagram on March 8. | Fierce fighting has continued all day on the outskirts of the town. | There was fierce combat between the two sides.

4. battle | combat | fighting COLLOCATIONS

to send sb into battle / combat: Troops were sent into battle. | Lyndon Johnson first sent U.S. combat troops into battle in March 1965.

to get into / go into / enter into battle / combat вступить в бой: Goblins are primarily support troops – their role is to ensure that your core troops get into combat against their chosen target. | We know we're going into combat. | Neither side was particularly willing to enter into serious combat.

to engage in battle / combat | to be engaged in battle / combat участвовать в бою: Earlier in the day, warriors will engage in mock battle. | At least 200 rebels were engaged in battle. | The soldiers were engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

to be killed / die in battle / combat: Her only brother was killed in battle. | King Olaf died in battle, in 1030. | Corporal Gierson was killed in combat (with the enemy forces). | Over 16 million men were killed in combat. | No one knew how many troops had died in combat.

to be locked in battle / combat to be involved in a long, serious fight with someone: Since then, the rebels and the armed forces of Sierra Leone have been locked in combat.

hand-to-hand combat / fighting рукопашный бой: Infantry deliberately placed themselves in positions where they would be engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

a battle / fighting rages (on) if something such as a battle or war rages, it continues with great violence or strong emotions: The battle raged all day. | The battle raged on. | Except for a Christmas truce, the battle of Hanoi raged through December. | Fierce fighting raged for several days.

5. action [uncountable] fighting during a war бой; боевые действия: When the action ended there were terrible losses on both sides. | There have been reports of widespread enemy action in the area. | The United States threatened military action against Iraq. | The government warned about the possibility of future military action.

to go into action вступить в бой

to send sb into action направлять в бой: The navy was sent into action. | The men were sent into action with little or no training.

to be in action воевать, вести бой: The army has been in action for the past three months.

to step up action (against sb) усиливать / интенсифицировать боевые действия: And it left open the fourth option, to step up military action against Hanoi and otherwise escalate the war.

to break off action прекратить бой

to see action to take part in military fighting: He saw action in Korea. | He saw action in the trenches.

to be // be listed as / be reported killed in action погибнуть / пасть в бою; числиться погибшим в бою: His father was killed in action in Vietnam. | He was never listed as killed in action. | Their son was reported killed in action.

to be // be listed as / be reported wounded in action быть раненым в бою; числиться раненым в бою: 9 soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in action. | Their son was reported wounded in action.

to be // be listed as / be reported missing in action пропасть без вести; числиться пропавшим без вести: Approximately 58,000 soldiers were dead or missing in action. | Kip was never listed as missing in action. | Their son was reported missing in action.

6. fight [countable] a battle between two armies, especially the fighting that happens at one particular place and time бой, битва, сражение: the fight for Bunker Hill

bloody / messy / scrappy / violent fight: The town was recaptured after a bloody fight.

to put up a (brave / fair) fight (against sb): They put up a brave fight against the attackers.

7. deployment [uncountable; countable] the organization or movement of soldiers, military equipment etc so that they are in the right place and ready to be used развертывание; расположение, размещение; дислоцирование; базирование: the deployment of American forces in the region | the deployment of troops into townships | The General's visit to Sarajevo is part of preparations for the deployment of extra troops. | The Chief of Police ordered the deployment of 2,000 troops to try to stop the rioting. | Missile deployment did much to further polarize opinion in Britain. | The perpetuation of nuclear deployments is morally unacceptable.

8. to deploy [transitive; intransitive] to organize or move soldiers, military equipment etc so that they are in the right place and ready to be used развертывать(ся); размещать, дислоцировать; перебрасывать (на позицию)

to deploy sb (in a particular place / against sb): They decided it was time to deploy more troops. | Moreover, they were forced to deploy an army for both attack and defence. | Troops have been deployed in the area to counter a possible attack. | The army was deployed against demonstrators calling for an end to one-party rule and the release of detainees.

to deploy sth (in a particular place): NATO decided to deploy cruise missiles. | Either side could then deploy defences against missiles. | The US-made Patriot anti-missile system was deployed in the Gulf war. | This included the number of warheads to be deployed on submarines and other missiles.

to deploy sb / sth to a particular place: Evelyn Y. Gregory, when word came that she was being deployed to Bosnia.

to deploy to a particular place: Senior Marine Corps officers were preparing to deploy to the Gulf.

9. to fight [intransitive; transitive] to take part in a war or battle сражаться, воевать: The soldiers fought from house to house. | The troops were fighting at close quarters.

to fight against / with sb | to fight sb воевать против кого-л. / с кем-л.: In World War II, Britain fought with Germany. | He fought against the Nazis during World War II. | Vietnam fought France and the US over 30 years. | These men fought the Japanese in the Second World War.

to fight with sb воевать на чьей-л. стороне: In World War II, the Americans fought with the British and French against the Germans. | They fought with the North against the South.

to fight (a war) over / for / about sth воевать за что-л.: The two countries started fighting over control of the northern plains. | The United States fought a war with Mexico over their common border. | Britain and Argentina fought for control of the islands. | We believed we were fighting for freedom and democracy.

to fight in a war: My grandfather fought in the last war. | His grandfather fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War.

to fight a war / battle / campaign вести войну / бой: Neither country is capable of fighting a long war. | The terrorists claim that they are fighting a just war. | We must fight this battle through to victory. | They fight guerrilla campaigns, as befits their savagery, which are extremely difficult to subdue.

to fight on two / several fronts: The war for independence was fought on several fronts.

to fight to do sth: Allied troops fought to liberate the city.

to fight bravely / heroically / valiantly смело сражаться: The young soldiers fought valiantly but were soon defeated.

to fight hard / stubbornly упорно сражаться

to fight to the end / finish to fight until one side is completely defeated сражаться до конца: The two opposing armies fought through to the end. | This battle is our last chance; we must fight to the finish.

10. to battle [intransitive] to fight against an enemy сражаться

to battle: The opposing armies battled on until night. | For years the two nations battled over territory.

to battle against / with sb: The soldiers battled against the opposing army all day. | Tomorrow we shall battle with old enemies and defeat them.

11. martial law [uncountable] a situation in which the army controls an area instead of the police, especially because of fighting against the government; direct military government, by which ordinary law is suspended, for example during a rebellion военное положение

12. curfew [uncountable; countable] a law that does not allow people to go outside between a particular time in the evening and a particular time in the morning, especially during a war or a period of political trouble, or the period of time during which people must not go outside according to a curfew law комендантский час: Anyone found in the streets after curfew was shot. | The curfew will end next March, when his debt to society will officially have been paid. | You'll be in trouble if you get home after curfew. | Thousands of people have taken to the streets in defiance of the curfew. | A twelve hour night time curfew is in force.

to break / defy a curfew нарушать / не соблюдать комендантский час: He was shot for breaking the curfew. | In Lucknow crowds of people defied the curfew to celebrate on the streets.

13. state of emergency [countable] a temporary system of rules to deal with an extremely dangerous or difficult situation, especially when this involves limiting people's freedom чрезвычайное положение

14. martial law | curfew | state of emergency COLLOCATIONS

to be under martial law / curfew (в стране) действует военное положение / комендантский час: According to press reports, the country is now under martial law. | The town was under curfew, and access to journalists remained restricted for several day.

to declare / impose martial law / a state of emergency ввести / объявить военное положение / чрезвычайное положение: To restore order, the government declared martial law. | The government may declare martial law in response to the latest violence in the region. | Unlike past military rulers, General Musharraf has neither imposed martial law nor suppressed fundamental rights. | The government responded to the outbreak of violence by declaring a state of emergency in Bangkok and four surrounding provinces. | As rebel forces loyal to Nabiyev approached the capital, a state of emergency was imposed on October 22.

to place sth under martial law / curfew ввести / объявить военное положение / чрезвычайное положение: The whole town was placed under curfew. | The whole area was immediately placed under curfew and restrictions were not relaxed until December.

to impose a curfew (on / in / throughout sth) ввести / объявить комендантский час: On May 18 the state authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn / all-night curfew. | The military regime decided to impose a curfew on the town. | On September 9 it imposed a night curfew in large parts of the republic. | The government imposed a night-time curfew throughout the country.

to lift martial law / a curfew / a state of emergency отменить военное положение / комендантский час / чрезвычайное положение: The military leadership have lifted martial law in several more towns. | Certain constitutional restrictions remained in force until March 22, but the curfew had been lifted as of March 6.

the imposition / declaration of martial law / a state of emergency: Fighting in the capital led to the imposition of martial law. | Concerning Pakistan, all the candidates deplore General Pervez Musharraf's declaration of martial law.

The imposition of a curfew

the lifting of martial law / a curfew / a state of emergency: Many foreign commentators described the lifting of martial law as a cosmetic exercise. | There has been a call for the lifting of the state of emergency.

15. combatant [countable] someone who fights in a war воин, боец

16. non-combatant [countable] (1) someone who is in the army, navy etc during a war but who does not actually fight, for example an army doctor нестроевой солдат / сержант / офицер

(2) civilian someone who is not in the army, navy etc during a war гражданское лицо: Many innocent civilians were killed during the war.

17. rebel [countable] someone who tries to remove a government or leader by force мятежник, участник мятежа; повстанец, участник восстания; боевик: Anti-government rebels have seized the radio station. | The rebels took over the capital and set up a new government. | The town fell into rebel hands.

rebel forces / troops / army: A problem deserving consideration is how strong the rebel forces actually were. | Fighting between the rebels and government troops continues in the north. | Two neighbouring countries and three rebel armies have been fighting since 1998 to depose him.

rebel soldier / leader / general: Three of the rebel soldiers and one government soldier were killed. | This led rebel leaders to agree to combine their forces in one division under a unified command structure.

rebel group / movement: The interim government was not recognized by the major rebel movements.

rebel attack: The government said that a rebel attack on the town of Tchoukou-Hadje had left several dead.

18. militant [countable] someone who uses militant methods to achieve something боевик; активист, борец: According to the authorities, the militants were planning a series of terrorist acts. | The militants see no contradiction in using violence to bring about a religious state. | He ruled out any exchange of prisoners with the militants. | A crowd of militants took to the streets to protest the government's policies.

19. insurgent [countable – usually plural] (formal) someone who belongs to a group of people fighting to take control of their country by force повстанец; бунтовщик, мятежник: All approaches to the capital are now under the control of the insurgents. | By early yesterday, the insurgents had taken control of the country's main military air base.

20. guerrilla (fighter) [countable] a member of an unofficial military group that is trying to change the government by making sudden, unexpected attacks on the official armed forces партизан: The guerrillas began their assault on March 8th. | The guerrillas would fight to the bitter end in order to achieve their main goal. | The guerrillas threatened to kill their hostages. | Most of the people living there sympathized with the guerrillas. | Guerrillas avoid fighting set-piece battles. | At midday six guerrilla fighters arrive to help them from a military base near to their village. | Television stations would be expected to broadcast photographs of guerrilla leaders with offers of rewards for information.

armed guerrilla: Four Western tourists held by armed guerrillas in Kashmir began their seventh month in captivity today.

guerrilla group / band / unit отряд партизан: Guerrilla groups are active in the province. | A small band of guerrillas has blown up a train in the mountains. | Elite Republican Guard troops deployed tanks and heavy artillery against lightly armed guerrilla units.

guerrilla force(s) партизанские войска: The rest of the family decided to join the guerrilla forces. | Delegates also discussed transforming them from a guerrilla force into a regular army.

guerrilla movement партизанское движение: The democratic approach inherent in the guerrilla movement would triumph ultimately. | He was later released through Romero's efforts, at which point he joined a guerrilla movement and was killed in combat.

guerrilla warfare / war / tactics партизанская война / тактика: The enemy cunningly avoided direct confrontation and concentrated on guerrilla warfare. | American troops found themselves fighting a guerrilla war. | In early 1990 the guerrilla war intensified, with rising casualties among both the local population and the security forces. | The terrorists continue to express confidence that their guerrilla tactics can defeat a conventional force.

guerrilla activity / activities / action / operations партизанские действия: Over 100 of those killed were paramilitary gendarmes who were stationed in the area to counter Kurdish guerrilla activity. | In real life the distinction between sheer brigandage and patriotic guerrilla activities was often blurred. | In reality guerrilla action was largely indiscriminate with sporadic attacks on the occasional landlord, local official, or police post.

guerrilla attack: He said that guerrilla attacks would henceforth be directed at military targets, state companies and economic installations among others. | The rebels appear to be making hit-and-run guerrilla style attacks on military targets. | It could be a prime target for guerrilla attack.

guerrilla raid / foray / infiltration партизанский рейд, партизанская вылазка: Cumings concludes that Kim was probably based at Kharborovsk from 1941 to 1945 and conducted his guerrilla forays from there. | These base camps were used by the PKK guerrillas to make forays into Turkey. | The security zone was set up to prevent guerrilla infiltrations.

21. freedom fighter [countable] someone who fights in a war against an unfair or dishonest government, army etc (used to show approval) борец за свободу: This would give great encouragement to the freedom fighters. | Young enthusiasts drove across the border to join the freedom fighters who had appealed to the world for help. | It's often said that one person's freedom fighter is another person's terrorist.

Fighting a battle

1. to clash [intransitive] if two armies, groups etc clash, they start fighting (used in news reports) столкнуться, схватиться; вступать в (вооруженное) столкновение

sb / sth clashes: Troops clashed near / on the border.

sb / sth clashes with / against sb / sth: US planes clashed with enemy fighter aircraft again today. | Greek forces clashed against Turks in the hills. | Police have clashed with demonstrators again today.

sb / sth clashes with sb / sth over sth: France and Britain are likely to clash over the proposed space programme.

2. to spot | to locate | to pinpoint [transitive] to find or discover the exact position of something определять местонахождение (противника); засекать (цель): Luckily, the enemy planes were spotted early. | Police are still trying to locate the suspect. | The enemy was trying to pinpoint our position. | The team went behind enemy lines to pinpoint the exact locations of missile launchers. | Our planes pinpointed the target. | Satellite pictures helped to pinpoint the locations of 13,000 troops. | Computers pinpointed where the shells were coming from.

3. to fire [intransitive; transitive] to cause a weapon to shoot bullets or missiles стрелять; вести огонь

to fire: He regained his balance, took aim, and fired. | As soldiers jumped out of the lorries, firing all around, helicopter gunships appeared overhead. | The gunmen fired, and police fired back.

to fire at / on / into sb / sth: As soon as we crossed the border, enemy troops started firing at us. | Seventeen people were killed when security forces fired on demonstrators. | Soldiers fired on / into the crowd. | Then the anti-aircraft guns opened up, firing into the air against an imagined air raid.

to fire a gun / weapon / rifle / pistol (at sb / sth): Joyce fired his pistol and the battle had begun. | Suddenly the car stopped, and the passenger got out and fired a Kalashnikov rifle at the police car. | It was reported that several missiles were fired at the army base. | The rebels had held Makati since Saturday, firing mortars and machine guns at government troops ringing the district. | The rebels fired their machine guns into the air. | The pistol / gun / rifle / weapon has obviously been fired recently.

to fire bullets / rounds / shells / missiles / rockets (at sb / sth): There exist rifles which fire bullets faster than the speed of sound. | Just prior to our assault, they had fired 6, 000 rounds of artillery and bombed it all morning. | The F-16 fighter plane fired two missiles at the enemy aircraft. | The ambassador denied that any missiles had been fired across the border. | By one analysis, Saddam's forces have fired more missiles in the last year than in the previous nine. | Guerrillas fired five rockets at the capital yesterday, killing 23 people. | The guerrillas still fire rockets from well inside the security perimeter.

to fire point-blank (at sb) стрелять в упор

4. to shoot (1) [transitive] to deliberately kill or injure someone using a gun застрелить; расстрелять

to shoot sb (dead): The police had orders to shoot anyone who attacked them. | A policeman was shot dead in the city centre last night.

to shoot someone in the head / leg / stomach etc: He was shot in the head / back / leg while trying to escape. | She was shot three times in the head.

to shoot someone at close / short / point-blank range / close quarters | to shoot sb point-blank to be very close to them when you shoot застрелить в упор: The victim was shot at close range. | Both men were shot at point-blank range. | The victim was shot point-blank in the chest.

to shoot (sb) on sight to shoot someone as soon as you see them: Armed officers had instructions to shoot the kidnapper on sight.

(2) [intransitive; transitive] to cause a weapon to shoot bullets or arrows стрелять

to shoot: Troops began shooting in all directions. | Make sure you hold the gun steady and shoot straight.

to shoot a gun / weapon / rifle / pistol etc: I learned to shoot a gun / rifle / revolver when I was a child. | Tod's grandfather taught him to shoot a rifle. | He let her shoot his gun from the hip.

to shoot bullets / arrows: It's only a toy – it doesn’t shoot real bullets. | Then it just shot bullets at a tin can. | They shot arrows from behind the thick bushes.

to shoot at sb / sth // into sth: Two guys walked in and started shooting at people. | We used to shoot at empty bottles for practice. | The villagers then shoot guns into the branches to ward off evil spirits.

to shoot to kill to intend to kill someone when you shoot at them стрелять на поражение: The troops were told to shoot to kill. | The Defence Minister ordered troops to shoot to kill if attacked.

5. to shoot down / up [transitive] to kill or seriously injure someone by shooting them, especially someone who cannot defend themselves застрелить; расстрелять: The army were accused of shooting down unarmed demonstrators. | Then two men came in and shot up the entire lobby.

6. to shoot down | to down [transitive] to make an enemy plane crash to the ground, by firing weapons at it сбить (огнем) самолет: The guerrillas shot down one aeroplane and captured the pilot. | Tanimizu is said to have shot down 32 enemy aircraft. | The plane was shot down in error by a NATO missile. | He was shot down over Denmark and spent three years in a prison camp. | His plane was shot down over France in 1944. | We downed three enemy planes with our missiles. | A couple of jet fighters were downed during the five-week rebellion. | The jet was downed by a surface-to-air missile.

7. to launch [transitive] to send a missile or spacecraft into the air or into space запускать / выпускать (военную ракету, реактивный снаряд); запускать (космическую ракету, спутник)

to launch a missile / rocket: On the first day of the war over 400 missiles were launched. | The missiles were launched against enemy targets. | They could launch their rockets before you could get to your office.

to launch a (space) rocket / satellite / shuttle: A test satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral. | China is planning to launch a space rocket later this month. | NASA will try to launch the space shuttle again on Sunday. | The first artificial earth satellite was launched from a site in the U.S.S.R. on October 4, 1957.

8. to bomb [transitive] to attack a place by dropping bombs on it from a plane бомбить, сбрасывать бомбы: NATO aircraft bombed the town again last night. | Government aircraft have been bombing civilian areas. | They bombed the target in perfect weather and unopposed, and returned to Jersey.

to be heavily / badly bombed: This whole area was heavily bombed during the conflict. | The town was heavily bombed in World War II.

9. to be bombed out to be forced to leave a place because of being attacked by bombs разбомбить; оставить без жилья, разбомбив его

sb is bombed out (of sth): My aunt was bombed out during the war, and had to live with my mother. | Half the town was bombed out of their homes in the raid.

sth is bombed out: London was bombed out. | He started the new school after his former school was bombed out.

10. to bombard [transitive] to attack a place by firing guns at it for a long time or dropping a lot of bombs on it подвергать артиллерийскому / минометному обстрелу, бомбардировать, подвергать бомбардировке

to bombard sth (with sth): The allied forces bombarded the enemy trenches for weeks. | Rockets bombarded residential areas of the Afghan capital Friday. | The town has been heavily bombarded by the army backed by the air force. | For a whole week, the little town was bombarded with enemy shells until the citizens were forced to yield. | When the police tried to advance they were bombarded with petrol bombs.

11. to shell [transitive] to fire shells at something, especially from large guns обстреливать из артиллерийских орудий, вести артиллерийский огонь, бомбардировать: The army has been shelling the town since yesterday. | The rebels shelled the densely-populated suburbs near the port. | Border towns have been shelled by enemy aircraft for the past two months.

12. to target [transitive] (1) to aim to aim something, such as a missile, bomb, or weapon, at a target нацеливать

to target sth on / at sb / sth: Nuclear missiles will no longer be targeted on these cities. | The missiles were targeted on the enemy capital. | The missiles are targeted at several key military sites.

to aim sth at sb / sth: The rocket-launchers are aimed at Washington. | There are hundreds of nuclear missiles aimed at the main cities.

(2) to intend or try to attack someone or something выбирать в качестве цели: The army headquarters were targeted and badly damaged. | In 23 attacks, the terrorists targeted military bases. | It is hoped that civilians will not be targeted during the war.

13. clash [countable] a short fight between two armies or groups (used in news reports) (вооруженное) столкновение, стычка, конфликт: Ten soldiers were wounded in a clash with the rebels. | In the last two months, there have been numerous border clashes. | Four people were reportedly killed during violent clashes with the Army in the capital. | According to an April 22 official report, 15 rebels and seven others were killed in clashes between rebels and security forces.

14. fire [uncountable] shots fired from a gun, especially many guns at the same time огонь, стрельба: You will soon be facing enemy fire. | There was a sudden burst of machine gun fire. | We noticed that the enemy fire was now being directed at our part of the field. | His car was raked with fire from automatic weapons. | I gave no thought to this until heavy mortar fire began to hit extremely close.

to open fire (on sb / sth) открывать огонь: | The colonel gave the order for the soldiers to open fire. | Troops opened fire on the rebels. | Troops opened fire on a group of unarmed demonstrators in the city centre.

to hit sb / sth with / by fire: Around dawn they were hit with mortar fire. | The ship was hit by fire from a German plane. | It was destroyed in a forced-landing having been hit by anti-aircraft fire.

to be / come under fire подвергаться обстрелу: Our platoon was under fire from a machine gun position. | The planes came under anti-aircraft fire. | Peacekeeping forces came under fire in isolated incidents. | The city came under fire from anti-government forces last night.

to cease fire | to hold one's fire прекращать огонь: The command was given to cease fire. | The rebels agreed to hold their fire.

to return fire отвечать на огонь: The troops returned fire and then retreated. | Our tanks and tracks kept going a little bit and stopped to return fire immediately.

to be in the line of fire / firing line to be where you may be hit if someone shoots находиться на линии огня: The reporters happen to be sitting there in the line of fire with nothing better to do. | A couple of civilians were caught in the firing line.

to exchange fire (with sb) перестреливаться, обмениваться огнем

exchange of fire перестрелка: Armed police arrived on the scene, and there was an exchange of fire. | The two were reportedly killed in an exchange of fire during a police raid.

15. shot [countable] (1) the action of firing a gun or another weapon выстрел: The policeman was killed by a single shot. | He murdered Perceval at point blank range with a single shot.

to fire / take a shot at sb / sth выстрелить: He pulled out his rifle and fired three shots. | The gunmen fired shots or threw grenades. | The police fired two shots at the suspects before they surrendered. | Police fired shots into the air and used water cannon to disperse the crowd. | A crazy man took a shot at her from a rooftop.

to miss a shot промахнуться

a shot hits // misses sb / sth: The third shot hit the officer in the chest. | The first shot missed my head by just a few inches.

(2) the sound of a gun being fired выстрел, звук выстрела: From the hut behind them they heard a single shot. | The neighbours say they heard four shots.

a shot rings out звучит / раздается выстрел: A shot rang out and then there was silence. | Two shots rang out, and security guards rushed over, guns drawn.

16. burst [countable] a short sudden and usually loud sound автоматная / пулеметная очередь: We heard a sudden loud burst of machine gun fire. | Hours later, three short bursts of automatic gunfire sent police scurrying for cover. | He sprayed two bursts of gunfire into a crowd outside the defence ministry and injured 10 people before he was fatally wounded.

to fire a burst | to fire in bursts: At that moment, he fired a burst and killed the enemy. | He fired an experimental burst into the air, and waved his armoured troops forwards. | The men waded fast through the water after him, crouching, firing short bursts towards the trees. | I ran to join them and raised my rifle to fire a burst for cover as they ran past me. | They fired in long bursts, which depleted their ammunition.

17. bombing [uncountable; countable] the use of bombs to attack a place бомбометание; бомбежка: The bombing lasted for two nights. | Heavy bombing has gutted the city. | Aerial bombing of rebel positions is continuing.

around-the-clock bombing круглосуточная бомбежка

area / carpet / saturation / indiscriminate / random bombing бомбометание со сплошным поражением, ковровое бомбометание, беспорядочная бомбежка

pinpoint / precision bombing прицельное бомбометание

bombing campaign / raid: The south-west of the country suffered an intensive bombing campaign. | Nixon meanwhile began the Christmas bombing campaign against Hanoi. | Targets for R.A.F. bombing raids were pinpointed. | Thousands had died on the battlefields, in rearguard bombing raids and in repressive purges.

18. bombardment [uncountable; countable] a continuous attack on a place by big guns and bombs артиллерийский / минометный обстрел, бомбардировка: The bombardment continued for a terrible nine hours. | These factors made the camps prime targets for enemy attack and bombardment. | There was much anger over the bombardment of the capital city.

heavy / intensive / sustained bombardment: Despite a heavy bombardment of the Occra Hills the abuses resumed almost immediately. | The city has been flattened by heavy artillery bombardments.

preliminary bombardment артиллерийская подготовка: The preliminary bombardment was the heaviest so far mounted: over two weeks 3,100 guns fired some 471 million shells.

aerial / air / artillery / naval bombardment an attack from the air, land, or sea: In 1932 Stanley Baldwin had revealed that, in the opinion of the experts, there was no defence against aerial bombardment. | The use of modern weapons has made it more difficult to protect civilians from aerial bombardment. | Air bombardment raised criticism on the humanitarian grounds that innocent civilians might suffer. | The devastating air bombardment of the last four weeks is only the latest of a series of assaults by foreign armies. | The effects of the artillery bombardment were devastating. | Their presence frequently meant indiscriminate artillery bombardments against innocent villages suspected of harbouring the Vietcong.

to begin / mount / conduct a bombardment: The Germans began their bombardment of Paris in early 1870. | The preliminary bombardment was the heaviest so far mounted: over two weeks 3,100 guns fired some 471 million shells.

(to be / come) under (a) bombardment | to suffer (a) bombardment: The capital is still under constant bombardment by the rebel forces. | Sarajevo is coming under heavy bombardment from Serb forces. | Rebel fighters are still holding out under a relentless artillery bombardment. | Scarborough even suffered a naval bombardment.

19. shelling [uncountable] the firing of shells, especially from large guns артиллерийский обстрел / огонь: Out on the streets, the shelling continued. | It was almost dark now and everyone had settled into their dugouts, prepared for another night of shelling and mortaring. | They appeared completely unconcerned about the shelling going on around them.

light // heavy / intensive shelling: Soon after dawn there was another round of heavy shelling in the eastern part of the city.