We'll continue with a second weekly theme of words of war and battle.

banzai attack; banzai charge – an all-out usually desperate attack
[after such attacks by WWII Japanese troops]

Here are examples both literal and figurative.

we turned back a banzai attack … they came out of their holes with their swords drawn, high-hollering 'Banzai!' The Japanese cut the guy ropes and they were running them through the canvas with their swords. When they came through our area, we were still sleeping in the dirt. We cut them down.
– The Guardian, Oct. 21, 2006

… the man who fishes for black marlin probably wears a size 44 coat and a size 4 hat. … it takes brawn to catch one—and a kind of lunacy to try. … As a last resort, if the marlin is angry enough, he will even launch a banzai attack; virtually every boat in the Club de Pesca's fleet carries chunks of marlin bill embedded in its hull.
– Time Magazine, July 10, 1964

An influential Republican congressman California wants to add a wall at the U.S.-Mexican border … build twin metal fences along the entire 2,000-mile border to stop the flow of illegal immigration. Cost estimates start at $4 billion. The wall would stop the "banzai attack," Hunter said …, when large numbers of people cross at the same time.
– East Valley (Arizona) Tribune, Nov. 4, 2005

brevet – a temporary promotion without pay increase

The dictionaries define this as such a military promotion, but the term is much more interesting in its occasional non-military uses. For example:

In his own absence from Washington, [Lyndon] Johnson has increasingly relied on the Defense Secretary to act as unofficial brevet deputy President.
– Time Magazine, Nov. 19, 1965

A season that began with considerable promise is rapidly spiraling down the drain at Arizona. … Tight ends assistant Dana Dimel, once the head coach at Wyoming and Houston, has been made a brevet co-offensive coordinator in an attempt to rev things up. At this point that might be akin to putting lipstick on a pig, however.
– Corvallis (Oregon) Gazette-Times, Oct. 10, 2006

quote:

brevet co-offensive coordinator

Surely that should be "brevet offensive co-coordinator?

Dear arnie,

pooh!

WC

Maginot line – a expensive defense that seems impregnable, creates a false sense of security, but proves utterly ineffective (typically becauses it is static and thus cannot respond to other means of attack)

[Wordcrafter's definition. From a line of pre-WWII French fortifications named for minister André Maginot (1877-1932). The line was strong – but the Germans simply went around it.]

The European trade commissioner … mounted a withering attack on protectionist forces inside the EU yesterday saying a "Maginot line" mentality should not be allowed to distract the union from the reforms needed to compete with the rising powers of China and India.
– The Guardian, Sept. 7, 2005

If a terrorist tried to sneak a "dirty" bomb into the United States, … [r]adiation detectors rushed into service since 9/11 might sound the alarm. … Some critics, though, say … all the sensors in the world might not be enough. … This could become a Maginot line for us, creating a false sense of security," says Randall Larsen … . "Anyone smart enough to get this stuff could sneak it past detectors."
– Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 9, 2005

Two war-words from German today.

Kulturkampf – conflict between cultures, or between secular and religious authorities

the kulturkampf between Islam and the rest of the modern world.
– The Guardian, Sept. 20, 2001

… the Kulturkampf, or cultural struggle, between Iran and Turkey for the allegiance of the Muslim-dominated former Soviet republics.
– International Herald Tribune, Jan. 29, 1992

Kriegspiel – 'war game', played by moving on a board pieces, flags, etc., representing armed forces

Indeed, had [the siege of] Dien Bien Phu been played as a Kriegspiel on a set of computers, no doubt the computers would have confirmed … that the loss of the garrison … was strategically acceptable.
– Bernard B. Fall, Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wordcrafter,

cantonment – temporary living quarters specially built for soldiers
[Most press usages are from the press of India and nearby areas.]

… terrorist leaders were expected to gather at a camp near Khowst, Afghanistan, to plan future attacks. … The CIA described the area as effectively a military cantonment, away from civilian population centers and overwhelmingly populated by jihadists.
– The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

saber rattling – a show or threat of military power, esp. as used by a nation to impose its policies on other countries
[often used with the implication that the threat is mere bluff and bluster]

The Soviets exploded the biggest nuclear weapon ever tested, a 50 megaton hydrogen bomb, over an Arctic peninsula in 1961. Most historians’ view is that the impractically large “Tsar Bomba” was pure Cold War saber-rattling, never intended for use in warfare
- Forbes, Oct. 27, 2006