"It is well that war is so terrible — lest we should grow too fond of it."
This index lists tropes which revolve around warfare, military personnel, or even the civilians who get caught up in it.
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General tropes
Media indexes:
Trope indexes:
- Airstrike Impossible
- Armchair Military
- Armed Farces
- Arms Fair
- Artistic License – Military
- Assassination Attempt
- Authority Equals Asskicking
- Awesome Personnel Carrier
- Battle Epic
- Battle Trophy
- Blinded by the Light
- Boarding Pod
- Body-Count Competition
- 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 Five
- Defensive Feint Trap
- Delaying Action
- Do a Barrel Roll
- Doomsday Device
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience
- Drop Pod
- Epic Ship-on-Ship Action
- Epic Tank-on-Tank Action
- External Combustion
- False Flag Operation
- Fantastic Ship Prefix
- Fast-Roping
- Feed the Mole
- Field Promotion
- Fighting for a Homeland
- 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
- Highly Conspicuous Uniform
- Hollywood Tactics
- Horny Sailors
- Hot Sub-on-Sub Action
- How to Survive a War Movie
- Hyperspace Arsenal
- I Am Not a Gun
- Improbable Cover
- Inappropriately Close Comrades
- In Its Hour of Need
- Insert Grenade Here
- Interservice Rivalry
- Irrevocable Order
- I Surrender, Suckers
- It's Raining Men
- "Join the Army," They Said
- Keeping the Enemy Close
- Kill Sat
- Kill the Lights
- Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better
- Last Stand
- Last Villain Stand
- Leave No Survivors
- Macross Missile Massacre
- Medals for Everyone
- Mildly Military
- Militaries Are Useless
- Military Academy
- Military Mashup Machine
- Military School
- Misfit Mobilization Moment
- Misguided Missile
- More Dakka
- Mounted Combat
- The Mutiny
- Nicknaming the Enemy
- No Blood for Phlebotinum
- Nom de Guerre
- Non-Lethal Warfare
- Non-Promotion
- Nose Art
- A Nuclear Error
- Obligatory War Crime Scene
- One Riot, One Ranger
- Onrushing Army
- Opposing Combat Philosophies
- Orchestral Bombing
- Peeling Potatoes
- Pendulum War
- Permission to Speak Freely
- Pin-Pulling Teeth
- Pinned Down
- Piggybacking on Hitler
- Plunder
- Prisoner Exchange
- Punishment Detail
- Rank Up
- Reassigned to Antarctica
- Recruiters Always Lie
- Red Alert
- Remilitarized Zone
- Repeat to Confirm
- Secret War
- Sensor Suspense
- The Siege
- Sitting Duck
- Sniper Duel
- Squad Nickname
- 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
- Tanks, but No Tanks
- Tank Goodness
- 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
- Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway
- Unfriendly Fire
- Unusual Weapon Mounting
- Uriah Gambit
- Walkie-Talkie Static
- Walking Armory
- War Arc
- War Elephants
- War Hero
- War Is Glorious
- War Is Hell
- War Memorial
- The War Room
- Warfare Regression
- Wartime Cartoon
- Wartime Wedding
- Weapon Tombstone
- Weapons Understudies
- We Have Reserves
- Where's the Kaboom?
- With Due Respect
- The Workhorse
- Won the War, Lost the Peace
- Vehicular Turnabout
- 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
- 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 v. Armageddon
- Corporate Warfare
- Decisive Battle
- Desert Warfare
- Divine Conflict
- Draft Dodging
- During the War
- Eager Rookie
- Earth Is a Battlefield
- Fantasy Conflict Counterpart
- Forever War
- Friendly War
- Great Offscreen War
- Guilt-Free Extermination 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
- Kill on Sight
- Kill Tally
- Little Hero, Big War
- Lowered Recruiting Standards
- Military Coup
- Mission Creep
- 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!
- 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
- Washington D.C. Invasion
- We Have Become Complacent
- Weird Historical War
- Winter Warfare
- Wooden Ships and Iron Men
Individual characters
Real-life info
Sub-categories
- Bushido Index (samurai)
- Hired Guns (mercenaries)
- Ninja Tropes
- Sir Index of Tropes (knights)
- Sniper Index
- Abandoned War Child
- Ace Pilot
- Ambiguously Trained
- Arms Dealer
- Badges and Dog Tags
- Black Knight
- Blood Knight
- The Brigadier
- Camp Follower
- The Captain
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough
- Cavalry Officer
- Child Soldier
- Church Militant
- Cold Sniper
- Colonel Badass
- Colonel Kilgore
- Colonel Kurtz Copy
- Commanding Coolness
- Communications Officer
- 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
- Drill Sergeant Nasty
- 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 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
- Keep the Home Fires Burning
- Knight Errant
- Knight in Shining Armor
- Majorly Awesome
- Mary Tzu
- The Medic
- Miles Gloriosus
- Military Brat
- Military Mage
- Military Maverick
- Military Moonshiner
- Military Superhero
- Modern Major General
- Magic Knight
- Monster Knight
- The Musketeer
- The Neidermeyer
- New Meat
- Ninja
- Noble Confederate Soldier
- Officer and a Gentleman
- Old Soldier
- One-Man Army
- Oppressed Minority Veteran
- Overranked Soldier
- Outranking Your Job
- The Paladin
- Phony Veteran
- Plucky Middie
- The Political Officer
- Pre-War Civilian Career
- Privateer
- Professional Killer
- Rebel Leader
- Rebellious Rebel
- Returning War Vet
- Robot Soldier
- Samurai
- The Scrounger
- Sergeant Rock
- Shell-Shocked Veteran
- Sociopathic Soldier
- Southern-Fried Private
- Straw Civilian
- The Squadette
- The Squire
- The Strategist
- Super Soldier
- Sweet Polly Oliver
- Target Spotter
- Universal Chaplain
- Up Through the Ranks
- Veteran Instructor
- The Vietnam Vet
- Voice of the Resistance
- War God
- War Hawk
- War Refugees
- Warring Natures
- Warrior Prince
- Wingman
Military groups and units
- African Terrorists
- 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
- British Royal Guards
- Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards
- Call That a Formation?
- Cannon Fodder
- Cavalry of the Dead
- 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
- Instant Militia
- Invading Refugees
- The Legions of Hell
- Legion of Lost Souls
- Lost Roman Legion
- Men of Sherwood
- Middle Eastern Terrorists
- Million Mook March
- Planet Looters
- Praetorian Guard
- Private Military Contractors
- Proud Warrior Race
- Redshirt Army
- The Remnant
- La Résistance
- Semper Fi
- South Asian Terrorists
- Space Marines
- Standard Sci-Fi Army
- Standard Sci-Fi Fleet
- State Sec
- Suspiciously Small Army
- Terrorists Without a Cause
- Those Wacky Nazis
- 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
- Classified Information
- Command Roster
- Custom Uniform
- Drums of War
- Earned Stripes
- Fantastic Rank System
- Fictional Geneva Conventions
- Insignia Rip-Off Ritual
- The Men First
- Military Alphabet
- Military Salute
- Non-Uniform Uniform
- No One Gets Left Behind
- Putting on the Reich
- Radio Silence
- Rage Helm
- Reporting Names
- Sealed Orders
- Sound Off
- The Spartan Way
- Staff of Authority
- Strange Salute
- Taps
- This Is Not a Drill
- Would Not Shoot a Civilian
Miscellaneous topics
