ground war
Boots-on-soil combat
A ground war is military combat fought primarily by land forces—infantry, tanks, and artillery—as opposed to aerial bombardment or naval operations.
The term often appears in discussions about escalation: The president resisted calls for a ground war.
Politicians distinguish ground wars from air campaigns because committing troops on the ground typically means higher casualties and longer engagements.
- infantryGround combat troops
- trenchesElongated ground excavations
- no man's landUnowned space between enemies
- bootsAnkle-covering footwear
- combatArmed hostile engagement
hand to hand · battlefield · battle lines · tanks · soldiers · mud · artillery · frontline · front lines · foxhole · advance · occupation · territory · scorched earth · invasion · casualties · troops · troop surge
- combatbattle, fight, combat, unarmed combat, grappling
- warfarebattle, combat, attack, armed conflict, military strategy
ground warair war
Fighting between aircraft
aerial warfare · air campaign · naval warfare · aerial bombardment · strategic bombing
ground warcold war
Hostility without open fighting
economic warfare · proxy war · trade war · cyberwarfare · information warfare
ground wardiplomacy
Negotiation between nations
peace negotiations · ceasefire · armistice · détente · peace treaty
ground, war, grounds, grounded, grounding, groundless, underground, wars, warring