conventional war
Standard military engagement
Conventional war is armed conflict fought with standard military forces and weapons—infantry, tanks, artillery, aircraft—as opposed to nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare.
The term emerged during the Cold War when nuclear arsenals made the distinction necessary: The generals planned for conventional war while hoping to avoid nuclear escalation.
Conventional war also contrasts with guerrilla warfare and insurgency.
Organized land-based military
- navyMaritime military force
- air forceMilitary aviation branch
- infantryGround combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
cavalry · tanks · battleships · fighter jets · brigades · divisions · regiments · platoons
Deliberate tactical movement
- flankingAt the sides of
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
- barrageSustained, overwhelming attack
reconnaissance · logistics · fortification · blitzkrieg · airdrop · minefield · trench warfare · supply lines
Military combat events
- frontlineCombat's forward position
- trenchesElongated ground excavations
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
engagement · hostilities · casualties · combatants · offensive · defensive · advance · retreat
Supreme independent authority
- bordersLines separating regions
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
- treatyBinding pact between nations
- allianceFormal union of parties
territory · declaration · sanctions · embargo · superpower · nationalism · patriotism · colonialism
army
Organized land-based military
artillery · cavalry · tanks · battleships · fighter jets · brigades · divisions · regiments · platoons · squads
maneuver
Deliberate tactical movement
- flankingAt the sides of
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
barrage · reconnaissance · logistics · fortification · blitzkrieg · airdrop · minefield · trench warfare · supply lines · formation
battles
Military combat events
- frontlineCombat's forward position
- trenchesElongated ground excavations
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
campaign · engagement · hostilities · casualties · combatants · offensive · defensive · advance · retreat · occupation
sovereignty
Supreme independent authority
- bordersLines separating regions
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
- treatyBinding pact between nations
alliance · territory · declaration · sanctions · embargo · superpower · nationalism · patriotism · colonialism · independence
- WarsWorld War I, WWI, civil war, cold war, Korean War
- warfarebattle, combat, attack, war, armed conflict
conventional warguerrilla warfare
Irregular combat using ambushes
insurgency · asymmetric warfare · irregular warfare · partisan warfare · unconventional warfare
conventional warcyberwar
Conflict via computer systems
cyber warfare · information warfare · economic warfare · psychological warfare · hybrid warfare
conventional, convention, conventions, conventionally, unconventional, conventionality, convene, convened, convening