In current
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
use, combined operations are operations conducted by forces of two or more allied nations acting together for the accomplishment of a common strategy, a
strategic
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
and
operational and sometimes
tactical cooperation. Interaction between units and formations of the land, naval and air forces, or the cooperation between military and civilian authorities in
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United ...
or
disaster relief operations is known as joint operations or interoperability capability.
Conceptual development
Pre-modern history
The concept of combined operations evolved largely as a result of
expeditionary warfare
Expeditionary warfare is a military invasion of a foreign territory, especially away from established bases. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of rapid deployment forces. Traditionally, expeditionary forces w ...
that can be traced to the
Sea Peoples. In its basic form it involved
raiding coastal regions by land forces arriving from the
naval vessels. The raiding tactics were expanded into more complex operations by
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
who used naval vessels for both troop transporting and logistics in his
campaigns. The next exponents of combined operations in the ancient world of the
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
were the
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
who introduced two entirely new dimensions to the use of naval forces by staging not only operations that combined
naval and
land troops, but also eventuated in combining
strategic
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
multi-national forces during the land phase of the operation when
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 Pu ...
in his most famous achievement at the outbreak of the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
marched an army that included
war elephants, from
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...
over the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
and the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
into northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Following the example of Carthage, the
Romans used combined operations extensively to expand their Empire and influence in the Mediterranean and beyond, including the
Roman conquest of Britain, which was not only a temporary expeditionary operation but included long term
occupation and Roman settlement of the territories. Following the peace agreement between
Kush
Kush or Cush may refer to:
Bible
* Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible
Places
* Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan
* Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire
* Hindu Kush, a ...
and Rome in 21 BC, the Kushites and Romans performed joint military operations against several adversaries.
The next development of combined operations came from
environmental pressures in the Scandinavian region during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, and the emergence of the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
migrations that combined raiding, longer term inland operations, occupation and settlement. These operations were conducted as
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
,
coastal and
riverine operations, and sometimes were strategic in nature, reaching as far as
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
.
In South East Asia, the development of combined operations proceeded along the same developmental path as in Europe with the raids by the
Wokou, or so called
Japanese pirates. Because the
Wokou were weakly resisted by the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, the raiding eventually developed into fully fledged expeditionary warfare with the
Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598).
The development in combined operations reached a new level during the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
, when the element of
political alliance
A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies.
International terms
Equivalent terms are used differ ...
was introduced as an influence on the military strategy, for example in the
Sixth Crusade (1228 CE).
Although all combined operations until the invention of the combustion engine were largely dependent on the
sailing vessels, it was with the creation of sophisticated
rigging
Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they ar ...
systems of the European
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
that the
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of nava ...
allowed a significant expansion in the scale of combined operations, notably by the European
colonial empires. Some have argued that this was the first
revolution in military affairs that changed
national strategies,
operational methods and
tactics both at sea and on the land. One notable example of this evolution was the
French Invasion of Egypt (1798)
The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman territories of Ottoman Egypt, Egypt and Ottoman Syria, Syria, proclaimed to defend French First Republic, French tr ...
.
Modern history
Though a significantly expanded combined operation, the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
was the first example of a planned
combined operations campaign that was directed as part of a
multinational coalition strategy. Aside from being the first modern expeditionary operation that used
steam powered
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
warships and
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
communications—which made it the departing point for the rest of the 19th and 20th century developments—it was also the first used as a
military theatre instrument to force decision in the conflict.
The next development in the evolution of combined operations was made during the expansion of the
European Empires and the era of
colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...
that also led to the inclusion of the combined operations methods into the direct expression of national strategies to avoid full-scale conflicts in the shape of the
gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, the term gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to ...
approach. It was at this time that
naval troops previously used almost exclusively for defence of vessels or minor
beach operations were expanded to enable extended
littoral operations. The colonial experience, though largely confined to the period before the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, persisted well into the
20th century
The 20th (twentieth) century began on
January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...
.
The period of the First World War that prolonged well past its completion into the 1920s saw combined operations established as a systematic and planned operations with larger scope then simple
transportations of troops, and the beginnings of development in true combined operations at strategic, operational and tactical levels with the unsuccessful
amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
landing at
Gallipoli. Not only did this operation combine the elements of overall war planning context, multinational deployment of forces as part of the same operation, and use of troops prepared for the landings (as opposed to
disembarkation
Disembarkation or debarcation is the process of leaving a ship or aircraft, or removing goods from a ship or aircraft. ( ''debark'': from the French ''des'' meaning "from", and, ''barque'', meaning "small ship").
Civilian
The loading and unload ...
), as well as
naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by ...
that was only limited during the era of sailing ships, but also included extensive use of
combat engineering in support of the
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
.
One of the most extensive and complex of combined operations that followed the war was the
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War that saw forces deployed in the
Baltic region
The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. ...
, the
Arctic region, along the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
coast and in the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...
, which for the first time saw the use of
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...
used in cooperation with the naval and land components of the deployed forces.
The phrase "combined operations" was first introduced by the British War Office in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to denote multi-service activities, those that involved air, land or naval forces acting together, and coordinated by the
Combined Operations Headquarters.
Given U.S. usage of the word 'joint' meaning such activities, the British usage faded relatively quickly. After World War II, the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
began using the term to denote multi-national operations, which might mean land forces of several countries, for example
Combined Forces Land Component Command, or 'Combined Joint,' multi-national, multi-service activities and operations.
The term ''Combined Joint Task Force'' then took on an extra meaning, beyond that of a multi-national, multi-service grouping, when it came to refer to a particular type of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
deployment planning, outside the NATO Treaty area, in the late 1990s.
Since the early 1980s the concept of combined operations had been referred to by
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
and in particular by the United States Department of Defence as joint operations. Regardless of the use of combined, joined or interoperability terms the concept is used to ensure that different military organisations maintain the ability to conduct combat and non-combat
military operations regardless of the national and service (ground, naval and air forces) differences.
The ability to conduct combined operations allows national forces, their subordinated formations, units or systems to perform tasks and complete missions and operations together. The overriding requirement is that they share common
doctrine and procedures, utilise each other's infrastructure and
bases, and to be able to
communicate
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqu ...
with each other. These abilities reduce duplication of effort and increase
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
in a
strategic alliance of its members, allow pooling of resources, and produces synergies among its commands.
In the NATO concept, interoperability does not necessarily require common military equipment. What is important is that this equipment can share common facilities and is able to communicate with other equipment. NATO militaries claim to have achieved interoperability because of decades of
joint planning, training and exercises during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
.
[p.6, Williams]
See also
*
Joint warfare
References
Sources
* ''Combined Operations Command'' dedication site http://www.combinedops.com/index.htm
* Williams, Darryl A. Maj., ''Facilitating Joint Operations: The Evolving Battlefield Coordination Element''., School of Advanced Military Studies Monographs, Command and General Staff College (CGSC), Fort Leavenworth, KS : US Army Command and General Staff College, 1996
Further reading
* Symonds, Craig L., ed. ''Union Combined Operations in the Civil War'' (Fordham University Press, 2010) 240 pages. Scholarly studies of the thrusts up the York and James rivers during the Peninsular campaign.
External sources
* Joint Operations (RN, Army, RAF, NATO
* NATO Joint Warfare Centre, Stavanger, Norwa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Combined Operations
Military doctrines