An advantage of terrain occurs when military personnel gain an advantage over an enemy by using or simply in spite of, the

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...

around them. The term does not exclusively apply to

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

s and can be used more generally regarding entire campaigns or theaters of war. 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 An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

. In the latter, the elevation can provide an advantage to soldiers using

projectile weapons A ranged weapon is any weapon that can engage targets beyond hand-to-hand distance, i.e. at distances greater than the physical reach of the user holding the weapon itself. The act of using such a weapon is also known as shooting. It is someti ...

, such as arrows or

artillery pieces Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. 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, but it was likely of even greater concern for

pre-industrial Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forums of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850. ''Pre-industrial'' refers to a time before ...

forces since the lack of mobility during first-generation warfare left soldiers very vulnerable to its effects. The ancient military strategist Sun-Tzu, for example, dedicated an entire chapter in his treatise ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'' to terrain and situational positioning.

Examples

* The Battle of Agincourt had nearby trees create a

choke point In military strategy, a choke point (or chokepoint) is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile or bridge, or maritime passage through a critical waterway such as a strait, which an armed force is forced to pass through in order ...

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 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, Swi ...

have long been used to protect northern Italy. Few people have tried crossing the Alps in a military invasion, with some notable exceptions ( Hannibal 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 wh ...

). * The Battles of Morgarten (Swiss Confederation, 1315), Lake Trasimene (Roman Empire, 217 BC) and

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

(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 The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, 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