Fighting

Military combat

A military situation may be known as a duel, action, affair, skirmish, engagement, combat,battle, campaign, or war, depending on the size of the fighting and the geographical areas in which it occurs. A combat between two armies that decides the fate of a war or a separate theater- or campaign-sized operation is a pitched battle. An encounter battle does not affect the outcome that can be caused by the previous case. A combat between two armies that had less definite results than a pitched battle, but led to a more or less significant change in the situation in the theater, is simply called a battle. Clash of independent parts of two armies, namely corps or divisions, is called a combat or engagement. Clashes of even smaller formations are called an affair, action, skirmish, or also engagement. However, all of these terms may be used in different ways depending on the context. In naval warfare there is also a term fleet action.