If a group of people are used as a ~ in a battle or war, they are put in a particular place so that the enemy will be unwilling to attack that place and harm them.
N-SING
If a group of people are used as a ~ in a battle or war, they are put in a particular place so that the enemy will be unwilling to attack that place and harm them.
N-SING
Collins COBUILD. Толковый словарь английского языка для изучающих язык Коллинз COBUILD (международная база данных языков Бирмингемского университета) . 2012