Encyclopedia - Hun
'Hun' was a derogatory nickname used primarily by the
British and Americans - officers rather than men - during the First World
War to describe the German Army, e.g. "the Huns attacked at dawn".
The origin of the term dated back to the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1900); in despatching his troops to China Kaiser Wilhelm II instructed them in a speech to behave like the Huns of old and to wreak vengeance ("let the Germans strike fear into the hearts, so he'll be feared like the Hun").
The term was widely used by Allied propaganda to suggest the worst kind of conduct from the German 'Huns', crushing neutral nations and imposing brutal rule upon conquered peoples.
A 'Woolly Bear' comprised a German shrapnel shell, which burst with a cloud-like explosion.
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