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Land warfare



 
 
Land warfare, sometimes also called ground combat, is the term used to describe military operations eventuating in combat
Combat

Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violence conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.The term "combat" typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to any violent conflict....
 that take place predominantly on the land surface of the planet
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
. Land warfare is categorised by the use of large numbers of combat personnel employing a diverse set of combat skills, methods and a wide variety of weapon systems and equipment, conducted in diverse terrain
Terrain

Terrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used....
s and weather
Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
 environments.






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Land warfare, sometimes also called ground combat, is the term used to describe military operations eventuating in combat
Combat

Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violence conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.The term "combat" typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to any violent conflict....
 that take place predominantly on the land surface of the planet
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
. Land warfare is categorised by the use of large numbers of combat personnel employing a diverse set of combat skills, methods and a wide variety of weapon systems and equipment, conducted in diverse terrain
Terrain

Terrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used....
s and weather
Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
 environments. Land warfare, by the virtue of being conducted in defence
Defense (military)

Defence has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defence implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armour, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy approaching them to initiate close combat....
 of urban and rural population areas, dominates the study of war
Military history

Military history is a humanities List of academic disciplines within the scope of History recording of War in the Human history, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing Politics and international relationships....
, and is a focus for most national defence policy
National defence policy

A national defence policy is a deliberate and obligatory plan of action to guide government decisions and achieve Strategic goal on when and how to commit national armed forces....
 planning and financial considerations. Land warfare in history
Military history

Military history is a humanities List of academic disciplines within the scope of History recording of War in the Human history, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing Politics and international relationships....
 has undergone several distinct transitions in conduct from large concentration of largely untrained and irregularly armed populace used in frontal assault
Frontal assault

The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces toward the front of an enemy force . By targeting the enemy's front, the attackers are subjecting themselves to the maximum defensive power of the enemy....
s to current employment of combined arms
Combined arms

Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects.Though the lower-echelon units of a combined arms team may be of homogeneous types, a balanced mixture of such units are combined into an effective higher-echelon unit, whether formally in a table of organi...
 concepts with highly trained regular troops using a wide variety of organisational, weapon and information systems, and employing a variety of strategic, operational and tactical doctrines. Although the land combat in the past was conducted by the Combat Arms
Combat Arms

Combat Arms is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter developed by the South Korea based developer, Doobic Studios, and published by Nexon Corporation....
 of the armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
, since the Second World War it has largely involved three distinct types of combat units: Infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
, Armour and Artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
. These arms, since the Age of Sail
Age of Sail

The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century....
, have used amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the utilization of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain....
 concepts and methods to project power from the sea
SEA

See also: Sea and seasThe three-letter acronym SEA may refer to:People/organizations/businesses*Scientists and Engineers for America, a pro-science political advocacy group....
s and ocean
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
s, and since the wide introduction of military transport aircraft
Military transport aircraft

File:C-130 Hercules over Santa Cruz Island.jpgMilitary transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in unc...
 and helicopter
Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
s have used airborne forces
Airborne forces

Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning....
 and vertical envelopment
Air assault

Air Assault is the movement of military forces, most commonly infantry, by aircraft or helicopter to engage and destroy enemy forces or to seize and hold key terrain....
 to the variety of doctrines
Military doctrine

Military doctrine is the concise expression of how military forces contribute to Military campaigns, major Military_operation#Military_operations_2s, battles, and Engagement s....
 used to prosecute warfare on land.

Land forces

Land forces include personnel, weapons platform
Weapons platform

A weapons platform is generally any structure or system on which a weapon can be mounted. For example, a fighter jet is a weapons platform for missiles or bombs....
s, vehicles, and support elements operating on land to accomplish assigned missions and tasks.

Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms
Small arms

Small arms is a general term used by the armed forces to refer to infantry weapons, such as the firearms that an individual soldier can carry....
 in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horse
Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s, ship
Ship

A ship is a large watercraft that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the ferry or cargo ships, fishing, cruise ship, Coast guard, and warship....
s, automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
s, ski
Ski

A ski is a long, flat device worn on the feet designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now primarily used for recreational and sporting purposes....
s, or other means.

Armour

Armoured fighting vehicle
Armoured fighting vehicle

An armoured fighting vehicle is a military vehicle, protected by vehicle armour and armed with weapons. Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged terrain....
 (AFV) is a military vehicle
Vehicle

Vehicles, derived from the Latin word, vehiculum, are non-living means of transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks....
, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapon
Weapon

A weapon is a tool used to apply or threaten to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack or defense in combat, subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures....
s. Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged terrain].

Examples of armoured vehicles (a common type of AFV) include: Tanks and Armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier

Armoured personnel carriers are armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport infantry on the battlefield. They usually have only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortar ....
s (APC's).

Artillery

Historically, artillery (from French artillerie) refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. The term also describes ground-based troops with the primary function of manning such weapons. Sometimes known as "The King of Battle" or "the GOD of war" as called by Stalin. The word is derived from the Old French verb attilier, meaning "to equip". This term includes coastal artillery which traditionally defended coastal areas against seaborne attack and controlled the passage of ships using their ability to deny access through the threat of coastal fire. It also includes land-based field artillery. With the advent of powered flight at the start of the 20th Century, artillery also included ground-based anti-aircraft batteries.

Combined arms

Combined arms
Combined arms

Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects.Though the lower-echelon units of a combined arms team may be of homogeneous types, a balanced mixture of such units are combined into an effective higher-echelon unit, whether formally in a table of organi...
 is an approach to war
War

...
fare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 to achieve mutually complementary effects, such as, self-propelled artillery
Self-propelled artillery

File:M109A6 Paladin UTARNG 2004 firing.jpgFile:PzH2000 houwitser.pngFile:2s19 armyrecognition russia 012.jpgSelf-propelled artillery vehicles are a way of giving mobility to artillery....
, mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry

Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat .Mechanized infantry are distinguished from motorized infantry, who are transported to battle by trucks or motor vehicles, in that their vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, as opposed...
 and so forth.

See also

  • Jungle warfare
    Jungle warfare

    Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle . It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for both sides in many conflicts, including World War II and the Vietnam War....
  • Desert warfare
    Desert warfare

    Desert warfare is combat in deserts. In desert warfare the elements can sometimes be more dangerous than the actual enemy. The desert terrain is the second most inhospitable to troops following a cold environment....
  • Arctic warfare
    Arctic warfare

    Arctic warfare or winter warfare is a term used to describe armed conflict that takes place in an exceptionally cold weather, usually in snowy and icy terrain, sometimes on ice-covered bodies of water....