Cyclopaedia Bellum Gothicus

The Cyclopaedia Bellum Gothicus is a popular encyclopedia published in Austrasia by the Soldiers Union of the Austrasian Reichswehr since 1949. Though a private publication, the Cyclopaedia attracts considerable interest from academics, serving soldiers and civilian experts. It is commonly considered the authoritative open-source reference work on the contemporary Austrasian military. Owing to its longevity, comprehensiveness and easy availability the Cyclopaedia is a popular didactic tool in the Austrasian Reichswehr, particularly for officer cadets and aspiring non-commissioned officers.

Eighty-Eight
88 commonly refers to the popular name of the ubiquitous 8.8 cm Kanonenhaubitze L/39, a popular lightweight artillery piece which first entered service with the Reichswehr in the 1950s and remains a common sight on artillery training ranges.

Minenwerfer
Minenwerfer though commonly rendered as Mortar refers to a family of rifle-mortars which have, in Austrasian usage, largely displaced the more common smoothbore types used abroad. Employed in calibers ranging from 7.62 cm to 24 cm, the best-known are the 10.5 cm minenwerfers which are the standard battalion level fire support weapons.

Offensive Manoeuvre
The Austrasian Reichswehr recognizes five basic forms of offensive manoeuvre: Assault, Envelopment, Holding, Reduction and Infiltration. The assault, a simple attack across a narrow front aimed at opening a gap in the enemies battle line. A holding manoeuvre is an attack that strikes across a broad front with the aim of fixing the opponents forces in place. An envelopment, which may be partial or complete, is an attack on a narrow front with an objective deep in the enemies rear aimed at positioning forces on two or more sides of the defenders position; doctrine holds that a complete envelopment - with Austrasian forces either completely surrounding the defender or completely pinning them against a natural obstacle such as a river - is the ideal outcome of an offensive operation. The reduction is the culmination of a successful envelopment manoeuvre, a concerted attack from multiple sides aimed at the destruction or displacement (in the case of a partial envelopment) of the enveloped defenders. Experience and military history teach that the combat value of enveloped forces is reduced to a fraction of their theoretical potential and so by successive envelopment and reduction opposing forces of arbitrary size can be dismembered and defeated in detail. An infiltration manoeuvre is a special class of offensive movement typically undertaken Jaeger troops which requires a force to pass through the enemies battle lines undetected and seize key objectives or assume an advantageous position in the rear area to support an envelopment.

Panzer
Panzer in the context of the Austrasian military has three main usages: Firstly as a synonym of "tank", secondly according to its native meaning "armoured" and thirdly in the context of the Panzer Troops; one of the major components of the Austrasian Reichswehr.

Panzer Troops
The Panzer Troops (Panzertruppen) of the Reichswehr refer to the army's armoured combined arms units which characteristically employ balanced formations of heavily armed and armoured tanks and IFVs. They are the main striking force of the Reichswehr.