battery an emplacement for heavy guns, or a fortification equipped with such guns.
Signor Tenente (Italian) Mr. Lieutenant.
on permission on leave.
gasoline park a station for refueling motor vehicles.
infantry that branch of an army consisting of soldiers equipped and trained to fight chiefly on foot.
Hugo's English grammar an English-language textbook.
Grappa an Italian brandy distilled from the lees left after pressing grapes to make wine.
the Somme a river in north France, site of brutal fighting between Allied and German forces during World War I.
sabre a heavy cavalry sword with a slightly curved blade. Swords were rendered largely ineffectual by the development of firearms, thus Catherine's reference is ironic.
abbastanza bene (Italian) rather well.
pas encore (French) not really.
