"It is well that war is so terrible — lest we should grow too fond of it."
This index lists tropes that revolve around warfare, military personnel, or even the civilians who get caught up in it. Contrast with Peace Tropes.
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General tropes
Media indexes:
Trope indexes:
- Agent Provocateur
- Airstrike Impossible
- Anti-Mutiny
- Armchair Military
- Armed Farces
- Armored Collar of Durability
- Arms Fair: A market of military items.
- Artistic License – Military: A work of fiction depicts the military in a manner that isn't true to how the military operates or functions in real life.
- Assassination Attempt
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership
- Awesome Personnel Carrier
- Battering Ram
- Battle Epic
- Battlefield Flagbearer
- The Battlestar
- Battle Trophy
- Blinded by the Light
- Boarding Pod
- Body-Count Competition
- Bomb Disposal
- Booby Trap
- "Bringer of War" Music
- Burning the Ships
- Chest of Medals
- Citadel City
- Civilians Are Irrelevant
- Collateral Damage
- Coming in Hot
- Corporal Punishment
- Conscription
- Court-Martialed
- Curb-Stomp Battle
- Dawn Attack
- "Dear John" Letter
- Death from Above
- Death March
- Death Notification
- Defcon 5
- Defensive Feint Trap
- Delaying Action
- Disobeyed Orders, Not Punished
- Diversionary Foreign Policy
- Do a Barrel Roll
- Doomsday Device
- Draft Dodging
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience
- Drop Pod
- El Cid Ploy: The army's leader is dead, but their enemies don't know that and the army takes advantage of it.
- Epic Ship-on-Ship Action
- Epic Tank-on-Tank Action
- External Combustion
- False Flag Operation: Attacking another nation and making it look like someone else did it.
- Fantastic Ship Prefix
- Fast-Roping
- Feed the Mole: An undercover operative trying to infiltrate the organization is deceived by giving them false information.
- Field Promotion
- Fighting for a Homeland
- Flesh and Bombs
- Friend or Foe?
- Gender Is No Object
- Geo Effects
- Going Down with the Ship
- Got Volunteered
- Government in Exile
- Grand Theft Prototype
- The Great Wall
- Greater Need Than Mine
- Gunboat Diplomacy
- Hello, Sailor!
- Helmet-Mounted Sight: A helmet with a Heads-Up Display for aiming.
- Highly Conspicuous Uniform
- Hold the Line
- Hollywood Tactics
- Horny Sailors
- Hot Sub-on-Sub Action
- How to Survive a War Movie
- Hyperspace Arsenal
- I Am Not a Gun
- Impressed by the Civilian
- Improbable Cover
- Inappropriately Close Comrades
- In Its Hour of Need
- Insert Grenade Here
- Inter-Service Rivalry
- Irrevocable Order
- I Surrender, Suckers!
- It's Raining Men
- Keeping the Enemy Close
- Kill Sat
- Kill the Lights
- Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better
- Last-Second Term of Respect
- Last Stand
- Last Villain Stand
- Leave No Survivors
- Macross Missile Massacre
- Medals for Everyone
- Mildly Military
- Militaries Are Useless: The military is no match against threats that require super-powered beings to defeat.
- Military Academy
- Military Mashup Machine
- Military Rank Names
- Military School
- Misfit Mobilization Moment
- Misguided Missile
- Missing Man Formation
- More Dakka
- Mounted Combat
- The Mutiny
- Nicknaming the Enemy
- No Blood for Phlebotinum
- Nom de Guerre
- Non-Lethal Warfare: A war where no one really gets killed.
- Non-Promotion
- Nose Art
- A Nuclear Error
- Nuclear False Alarm
- One Riot, One Ranger
- Onrushing Army
- Open Air Driver
- Opposing Combat Philosophies
- Orchestral Bombing
- Peeling Potatoes: The commanding officer makes subordinates peel potatoes when they get out of line.
- Pendulum War
- Permission to Speak Freely
- Pin-Pulling Teeth
- Pinned Down
- Piggybacking on Hitler
- Plunder
- Poppies for the War Dead
- P.O.W. Abuse
- Prisoner Exchange
- Punishment Detail
- Radar Is Useless
- Rank Scales with Asskicking
- Rank Up
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn
- Reassigned to Antarctica
- Recruiters Always Lie
- Red Alert
- Remilitarized Zone
- Repeat to Confirm
- Rogue Soldier
- Salt the Earth
- Secret War
- Sensor Suspense
- The Siege
- Siege Engines
- Sink the Lifeboats
- Sitting Duck
- Sniper Duel
- Squad Nickname
- 'Stache of Duty: Mustaches represent authority, military service, and professionalism.
- Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure
- Stand Your Ground
- Still Wearing the Old Colors
- Storming the Castle
- Suicide Attack
- Suicide Mission
- Superweapon Suspense Subversion
- Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder
- Tactical Withdrawal
- Tank Goodness
- Tanks, but No Tanks
- Tanks for Nothing
- Technically a Transport
- That's an Order!
- Things Get Real
- Three-Volley Flinch
- Time to Step Up, Commander
- Tokyo Rose
- Toothbrush Floor Scrubbing
- Training the Peaceful Villagers
- Trapped Behind Enemy Lines
- 21-Gun Salute
- Two-Keyed Lock
- Unexploded Military Ordnance
- Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway
- Unfriendly Fire
- Unusual Weapon Mounting
- Uriah Gambit
- Vehicular Turnabout
- Walkie-Talkie Static
- Walking Armory
- War Arc
- War Comes Home
- War Crime Subverts Heroism
- War Elephants
- Warfare Regression
- War Hero
- War Is Glorious
- War Is Hell: The work depicts war in a negative light, such as emphasizing that people get killed in wars and demonstrating the trauma suffered by those forced to endure the bloodshed.
- War Memorial
- The War Room
- Wartime Cartoon
- Wartime Wedding
- Weapon Tombstone
- Weapons Understudies
- We Have Reserves: This particular military doesn't consider it a big deal to have soldiers die so long as replacements are easy to obtain.
- Where's the Kaboom?
- Wizards' War
- With Due Respect
- Won the War, Lost the Peace
- The Workhorse
- You Are in Command Now
- You Shall Not Pass!
- Zerg Rush
Generic settings
Real-life info
- Alien Invasion
- Always on Duty
- Ant War
- Apocalypse Wow
- Archaeological Arms Race
- Area 51
- Avoiding the Great War
- Back in the Saddle
- Big Badass Battle Sequence
- Bombers on the Screen
- Bomb Whistle
- Boot Camp Episode
- Breaching the Wall
- Bug War
- Buzzing the Deck
- Capital Offensive
- Chevalier vs. Rogue
- Civil War
- Civil War vs. Armageddon
- Color-Coded Armies
- Corporate Warfare
- Cross-Dimensional Conflict
- Decisive Battle
- Desert Warfare
- Divine Conflict
- During the War
- Eager Rookie
- Earth Is a Battlefield
- Easily Thwarted Alien Invasion
- Fantasy Conflict Counterpart
- Forever War
- Friendly War
- Great Offscreen War
- Guilt-Free Extermination War
- Hell Is War
- Hidden Army Reveal
- Home by Christmas
- Home Field Advantage
- Hopeless War
- Hostile Terraforming
- Human Weapon
- Invaded States of America
- I Will Fight Some More Forever
- Jungle Warfare
- Keystone Army
- Kids Versus Adults when on a larger scale than a Dysfunctional Family or school setting.
- Kill on Sight
- Kill Tally
- Last Bastion
- Little Hero, Big War
- Lowered Recruiting Standards
- Military Coup
- Mission Creep
- Mountain Warfare
- Naval Blockade
- Neutrality Backlash
- No Place for a Warrior
- Orbital Bombardment
- Overnight Conquest
- Possible War
- P.O.W. Camp
- Press-Ganged
- Pretext for War
- Prevent the War
- Proxy War
- Punished for Sympathy
- Quarantine with Extreme Prejudice
- Reveille
- Robot War
- Running the Blockade
- Scientist vs. Soldier
- Screw the War, We're Partying
- Second American Civil War
- Shocking Defeat Legacy
- The Short War
- Silly Reason for War
- Soldiers at the Rear
- Soldier vs. Warrior
- Space Cold War
- Spreading Disaster Map Graphic
- Storming the Beaches
- Straight for the Commander
- Strategy Versus Tactics
- Surrender Backfire
- This Means War!
- To Win Without Fighting
- Trading Bars for Stripes
- Urban Warfare
- War Fic
- War for Fun and Profit
- War from Another World
- The War Just Before
- The War of Earthly Aggression
- The War to End All Wars
- War Was Beginning
- We Have Become Complacent
- Weird Historical War
- Well-Trained, but Inexperienced
- Winter Warfare
- Wooden Ships and Iron Men
- World War III
- World War Whatever
Individual characters
Real-life info
Sub-categories
- Bushido Index (samurai)
- Hired Guns (mercenaries)
- Ninja Tropes (ninjas)
- Sir Index of Tropes (knights)
- Sniper Index (snipers)
- Abandoned War Child
- Ace Pilot
- Ambiguously Trained
- Arms Dealer: A person who makes a living by selling weapons.
- Badges and Dog Tags
- Black Knight
- Blood Knight: A combatant who really enjoys getting to fight and kill other people.
- The Brigadier
- Camp Follower
- The Captain
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough
- Cavalry Officer
- Child Soldiers
- Church Militant
- Cold Sniper
- Colonel Badass
- Colonel Kilgore
- Colonel Kurtz Copy
- Combat Medic
- Commanding Coolness
- Communications Officer
- The Conqueror
- Consummate Professional
- Cultured Warrior
- Cunning Linguist
- Dad's Off Fighting in the War
- Dad the Veteran
- Dangerous Deserter
- Danger Deadpan
- Demolitions Expert
- Desk Jockey
- Do-Anything Soldier
- Doctor von Turncoat
- A Doormat to His Men
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: A military commander who is very demanding and belligerent towards their subordinates.
- Emergency Trainee Battle Deployment
- The Engineer
- Ensign Newbie
- Exalted Torturer
- Father Neptune
- A Father to His Men
- Four-Star Badass
- Friendly Sniper
- From Camouflage to Criminal
- Frontline General
- General Failure
- General Ripper
- The Generalissimo
- The General's Daughter
- Gentlemen Rankers
- Glamorous Wartime Singer
- Glory Hound
- Glory Seeker
- Good-Looking Privates
- Gung Holier Than Thou
- Guy in Back
- Inexperienced Killer
- The Inquisitor General
- Insane Admiral
- Irish Explosives Expert
- Keep the Home Fires Burning
- Knight Errant
- Knight in Shining Armor
- Magic Knight
- Majorly Awesome
- Major Coward
- Mary Tzu
- The Medic
- Miles Gloriosus
- Militaristic Myopia
- Military Brat
- Military Mage
- Military Maverick
- Military Moonshiner
- Military Superhero
- Modern Major General
- Monster Knight
- The Musketeer
- The Neidermeyer
- New Meat
- Ninja
- Noble Confederate Soldier: A Confederate soldier depicted as being an honest person, frequently appearing in works that downplay the unpleasant and immoral aspects of the Civil War.
- Officer and a Gentleman
- Old Soldier
- One-Man Army
- Oppressed Minority Veteran
- Overranked Soldier
- Outranking Your Job
- The Paladin
- Perilous Old Fool
- Phony Veteran: A person who lies about or exaggerates their experience in the military to look good.
- Plucky Middie
- The Political Officer
- Pre-War Civilian Career
- Privateer
- Professional Killer
- Rebel Leader
- Rebellious Rebel
- Red-plica Baron
- Returning War Vet
- Robot Soldier
- Rōnin
- Samurai
- Samurai Shinobi
- The Scrounger
- Sergeant Rock
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: A soldier who is traumatized by the bloodshed of the war they fought in.
- Sociopathic Soldier
- The Soft-Hearted Warrior
- Southern-Fried Private
- Straw Civilian
- The Squadette
- The Squire
- The Strategist
- Super-Soldier: A soldier who has incredible powers via experimental augmentation.
- Sweet Polly Oliver
- Target Spotter
- Undying Warrior
- Universal Chaplain
- Up Through the Ranks
- Valkyries
- Veteran Instructor
- The Vietnam Vet
- Voice of the Resistance
- War God
- War Hawk
- The Warlord
- War Refugees
- Warring Natures
- Warrior Monk
- Warrior Prince
- Warrior Undead
- Wingman
- World's Best Warrior
- Young Conqueror
Military groups and units
- African Terrorists
- Airborne Artillery
- Amazon Brigade
- Anti-Air
- Anti-Armor
- Anti-Cavalry
- Anti-Infantry
- Anti-Structure
- Anti-Vehicle
- Armies Are Evil
- The Armies of Heaven
- Army of The Ages
- Army of Thieves and Whores
- Attack Drone
- Badass Army
- Balkan Bastard
- Battle Thralls
- British Royal Guards
- Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards
- Call That a Formation?
- Cannon Fodder
- City Guards
- Clone Army
- A Commander Is You
- Creature-Hunter Organization
- Dirty Communists
- Doom Troops
- Eagle Squadron
- Elite Army
- Elites Are More Glamorous
- Far East Asian Terrorists
- Fantastic Terrorists
- Flaunting Your Fleets
- Former Regime Personnel
- Ghost Invasion
- Home Guard
- Humans Are Warriors
- Instant Militia
- Invading Refugees
- The Legions of Hell
- Legion of Lost Souls
- Lost Roman Legion
- Men of Sherwood
- Mercenary Units
- Middle Eastern Terrorists
- Military Moe
- Million Mook March
- Planet Looters
- Plunderers of Knowledge
- Praetorian Guard
- Private Military Contractors
- Projectile Punisher
- Proud Warrior Race
- Redshirt Army
- The Remnant
- La Résistance
- Semper Fi
- South Asian Terrorists
- Space Marine
- Standard Sci-Fi Army
- Standard Sci-Fi Fleet
- State Sec
- Stranded Invader
- Surveillance Drone
- Suspiciously Small Army
- Tactical Superweapon Unit
- Terrorists Without a Cause
- A Thicket of Spears
- Those Wacky Nazis
- War Reenactors
- Western Terrorists
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters
Military structure and practices
Real-life info:
- Aggressive Negotiations
- Allowed Internal War
- Attack Pattern Alpha
- Bling of War
- The Chain of Command
- Classified Information
- Command Roster
- Custom Uniform
- Deathbed Promotion
- Drums of War
- Earned Stripes
- En Route Sum-Up: Sensitive orders are relayed during mobilization.
- Fantastic Rank System
- Fictional Geneva Conventions
- Genghis Gambit
- Gideon Ploy
- Hollywood Military Uniform
- Impromptu Fortress: It wasn't a defensive position once, but it certainly is one now.
- Insignia Rip-Off Ritual
- The Men First
- Military Alphabet
- Military Salute
- Never Give the Captain a Straight Answer: Asking your superior to come see the problem instead of just reporting it the normal way.
- Non-Uniform Uniform
- No One Gets Left Behind
- Putting on the Reich
- Radio Silence
- Rage Helm
- Reporting Names
- Sealed Orders: Sensitive orders aren't relayed until the last moment to prevent intel leaks.
- Sound Off
- The Spartan Way
- Staff of Authority
- Strange Salute
- Taps
- This Is Not a Drill
- Truce Trickery
- Whip of Dominance
- Would Not Shoot a Civilian
Miscellaneous topics
