An advantage of terrain occurs when military personnel gain an advantage over an enemy by using or simply in spite of, the terrain around them. The term does not exclusively apply to battles and can be used more generally regarding entire

campaigns Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bl ...

theaters of war ''Theaters of War'' is a 2022 American documentary film that examines the influence of the Pentagon and CIA in shaping Hollywood and television scripts, making use of the Freedom of Information Act to acquire internal state files. The film also ...

. Mountains, for example, can block off certain areas and make it unnecessary to station troops within the inaccessible area. That deployment strategy can be applied with other formidable environmental features as well, such as forests and mountains. In the former instance, dense vegetation can provide concealment for tactical movements such as setting up an ambush. In the latter, the elevation can provide an advantage to soldiers using projectile weapons, such as

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s or artillery pieces. Elevation itself is perhaps the most well-known example of terrain advantage, with gravity working to the advantage of the more elevated party. Securing a terrain advantage is an important consideration for modern commanders, particularly those engaged in unconventional tactics such as

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

, but it was likely of even greater concern for pre-industrial forces since the lack of mobility during first-generation warfare left soldiers very vulnerable to its effects. The ancient military strategist

Sun-Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of ''The ...

, for example, dedicated an entire chapter in his treatise '' The Art of War'' to terrain and situational positioning.

Examples

* The

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

had nearby trees create a choke point at which the French were hit by English long bowmen. The main environmental factor in English victory was the extremely muddy area. The field had recently been plowed, and it had been raining recently. * The Alps have long been used to protect northern Italy. Few people have tried crossing the Alps in a military invasion, with some notable exceptions (

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

and

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

). * The Battles of Morgarten (Swiss Confederation, 1315),

Lake Trasimene Lake Trasimeno ( , also ; it, Lago Trasimeno ; la, Trasumennus; ett, Tarśmina), also referred to as Trasimene ( ) or Thrasimene in English, is a lake in the province of Perugia, in the Umbria region of Italy on the border with Tuscany. Th ...

(Roman Empire, 217 BC) and Teutoburg Forest (Roman Empire, 7 AD) forced the attacker to fight at a narrow place between a lake (or a swamp) and hills. * During the American Revolutionary War, Peninsular War, Vietnam War, etc., militants relied on the terrain to combat forces that were superior in numbers or quality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Advantage Of Terrain Military tactics

Examples

See also

References