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Land warfare orground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating incombat that takes place predominantly on thebattlespace land surface of theplanet.[1]
Land warfare is categorized 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 diverseterrains andweather environments. Land warfare, by virtue of being conducted indefence of urban and rural population areas, dominates the study ofwar, and is a focus for mostnational defence policy planning and financial considerations.
Land warfare in history has undergone several distinct transitions in conduct from a large concentration of largely untrained and irregularly armed populace used infrontal assaults to current employment ofcombined arms 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 land combat in the past was conducted by thecombat arms of thearmed forces, sinceWorld War II it has largely involved three distinct types of combat units:infantry,armour, andartillery. These arms, since theAge of Sail, have usedamphibious warfare concepts and methods to project power from theseas andoceans, and since the wide introduction ofmilitary transport aircraft andhelicopters have usedairborne forces andvertical envelopment to the variety ofdoctrines used to prosecute warfare on land.
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Land forces includepersonnel,weapons platforms,vehicles, and support elements operating on land to accomplish assigned missions and tasks.[2]
Infantry aresoldiers who fight primarily on foot withsmall arms in organizedmilitary units. However, they may be transported to the battlefield byships,automobiles,skis, cargo planes, or other means.
Combat vehicles provide the means to mobilize heavy firepower to engage opposing forces including other combat vehicles. Combat vehicles are usually equipped to drive in ruggedterrain. They are usually protected against other common threats witharmor and othercountermeasures.
Examples of combat vehicles includemain battle tanks,infantry fighting vehicles, andself-propelled artillery.
Historically, artillery (from French artillerie) refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during the war. The term also describes ground-based troops, who primarily manned such weapons. 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 is an approach towarfare which seeks to integrate different arms of amilitary to achieve mutually complementary effects, such as,self-propelled artillery,mechanized infantry,aircraft and so forth.
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