Land war
A land war encompasses all operational and tactical acts of war by a military or military-like organization that are suitable for the offensive or defensive control of a land mass. Because of the biological characteristics of humans, ground warfare is of vital political importance versus warfare in other geographic settings . Typical actors in a ground war are armies . The ongoing development of combined arms combat makes it difficult to clearly assign military measures to land, sea and air warfare .
Geostrategic features
The land war differs from other geostrategic environments in four essential characteristics, which consist in its political importance, its diversity, its friction and the opacity of the land mass.
The political significance of the land war results from the exclusive permanent survivability of humans on land. The conquest of foreign political territory , for a short-term occupation as well as for a permanent annexation , is therefore necessary for the success of military action.
The topographical diversity of the land mass determines the diversity of the land war. Compared to sea warfare and air warfare , ground warfare is exposed to different topographical environments such as flat land , desert , jungle or mountains . Furthermore, it is not platform-oriented and therefore not necessarily dependent on military equipment. In addition, humans can bring their natural adaptability to bear in ground warfare.
Although friction plays a role in many military and other social contexts, it is of crucial importance in ground warfare. For example, the ease of movement and logistics of a military on land represent a physical challenge that is further exacerbated in combat .
The opacity of the land mass and the resulting obstruction of view on land, caused by the topography as well as the curvature of the earth, creates both opportunities and challenges of land war. The military behavior of camouflage and equipment such as camouflage clothing aim to use this fact to gain advantage. On the other hand, the land mass makes it difficult to coordinate individual units and exposes them to the risk of isolation.
literature
- Christopher Tuck: Land warfare . In: David Jordan ea (ed.): Understanding Modern Warfare . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2008, pp. 64-128, ISBN 0-5217-0038-8 .
- Christopher Tuck: Understanding Land Warfare . Routledge, London / New York 2014.
Supporting documents and comments
- ↑ Christopher Tuck: Land warfare . In: David Jordan et al .: Understanding Modern Warfare , p. 67.
- ↑ a b Christopher Tuck: Land warfare . In: David Jordan et al .: Understanding Modern Warfare , p. 68.
- ↑ Christopher Tuck: Land warfare . In: David Jordan et al .: Understanding Modern Warfare , pp. 68–69.
