War, Geography of

Analytical Framework

Its publications, theory, and practice of war suggest that, at its core, military geography examines the characteristics of the environment within which military operations take place and that operations are influenced by the uniqueness of the natural and human landscape within diverse regions. The sum total of the geographic characteristics of a place is called a military operating environment. This is important because the development of a military strategy involves the selection of objectives, the deployment of forces, a method and sequence of employment, and the movement of military power to an area. Consequently, every phase of a military operation is subject to the effects of terrain and the elements of the natural landscape, the pervasive influence of weather and climate, and the elements of the human landscape. Hence, specific characteristics of places can be linked systematically with their effects on military activities, and the characteristics and effects can be correlated to regions. These effects are to some extent predictable, manageable, and can be useful in planning military operations.

Military Operating Environments

The study of geography demonstrates powerfully that places matter and that each place has unique characteristics. Military geographers think of places as operating environments, each exclusively influenced by the interrelationship of a discrete set of geographic variables. Karl von Clausewitz called the operating environment “terrain” in his famous 1832 treatise On War. In von Clausewitz's view, the environment is composed of the sum of the land and its inhabitants. Like von [Page 3045]Clausewitz, other strategists indicate that the operational significance of the environment varies with the mission, technology, and current circumstances. So too, then, must a geographic assessment of a military operating environment. Consequently, military geographers link geography and military operations by asking three fundamental questions: (1) What is the environment like? (2) Why is it like this here? (3) How will it shape the operation?

Thus, the military operating environment is the aggregate of all factors of the landscape that shape and control the ebb and flow of military operations, and in the final analysis, an examination of the operating environment typically results in an assessment of the following:

• Key terrain: strategic areas and selected critical objectives
• Surface structure: movement corridors and terrain compartments
• Weather and climate: effects on humans, machines, and operations
• Transportation networks and nodes
• Resources
• Logistical requirements
• Human landscapes: population, ethnic groups, urban zones, and cultural considerations

The Environmental Matrix

Military plans must be considered based on the advantages and limitations afforded by the geographic characteristics of the operating environment. In a wartime context, the purpose of any strategy is to weaken or destroy the enemy's ability to resist and to enable the fulfillment of stated objectives. To this end, distinctly different strategies have been pursued throughout history. The fundamental military strategy is the employment of military force to cause an enemy to capitulate completely. At the other end of the spectrum, people may employ a more limited approach, in which destruction of the enemy is thought to be impossible because political aims are restricted or because military power is inadequate. Insurgent forces use this form of strategy to prosecute their objectives: They employ military force at selected times and places with the objective of wearing down their opponent. Nonetheless, regardless of the strategy, the success of a military operation depends on a reliable plan that takes into account a cogent analysis of extant geographic factors in a military operating environment.

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