An examination of geography's critical effects on battles throughout the ages

This book gives a comprehensive overview of all relevant elements in topography and their practical application. It elaborates on the classical representation of terrain on maps such as cartographic projections, together with their classification, scale, and geographical elements. It is richly illustrated with photographs, maps and figures, in which the theoretical explanations are clarified. Readers will become acquainted with the physical characteristics of the ground, i.e. tectonic and erosive shapes, the importance and classification of terrain, genetic (fluvial, abrasive, glacial, karst) and topographic types such as higher (mountains, hills, peaks) and lower terrain (valleys, fields). In addition, the book discusses cartometry and coordinate systems, orientation in space (geographic, topographic, tactical) including by means of maps, instruments and the night sky and elaborates new techniques and technologies such as aerial photogrammetric imagery, global navigation satellite systems and LiDAR. The book also includes methods for the practical execution of concrete measurement operations, such as determining position and movement on land with maps, compass and azimuth which makes it especially useful for practitioners and professionals, e.g., for landscape planning, military exercises, mountaineering, nature walks etc. As such it offers a valuable guide not only for undergraduate students but also for researchers in the fields of geography, geosciences, geodesy, ecology, forestry and related areas looking for an overview on topography. Uniquely, the book also features an extensive glossary of topographical terms.

Throughout history, from Kublai Khan's attempted invasions of Japan to Rommel's desert warfare, military operations have succeeded or failed on the ability of commanders to incorporate environmental conditions into their tactics. In Battling the Elements, geographer Harold A. Winters and former U.S. Army officers Gerald E. Galloway Jr., William J. Reynolds, and David W. Rhyne, examine the connections between major battles in world history and their geographic components, revealing what role factors such as weather, climate, terrain, soil, and vegetation have played in combat. Each chapter offers a detailed and engaging explanation of a specific environmental factor and then looks at several battles that highlight its effects on military operations. As this cogent analysis of geography and war makes clear, those who know more about the shape, nature, and variability of battleground conditions will always have a better understanding of the nature of combat and at least one significant advantage over a less knowledgeable enemy.

This book of contributed chapters by subject matter expertly provides an overview and analysis of salient contemporary and historical military subjects from the military geographer’s perspective. Factors of geography have had a compelling influence on battles and campaigns throughout history; however, geography and military affairs have gained heightened attention during the past two decades, and military geography is the discipline best situated to explain them. Hence, the premise of this book and its contents are founded on the principle that geographical knowledge of space, place, people, and scale provide essential insights into contemporary security issues and promotes the idea that such insight is critical to understanding and managing significant military problems at local, regional, and global scales.

This 2007 book provides the most comprehensive examination of American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) combat doctrine and methods ever published. It shows how AEF combat units actually fought on the Western Front in World War I. It describes how four AEF divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 26th, and 77th) planned and conducted their battles and how they adapted their doctrine, tactics, and other operational methods during the war. General John Pershing and other AEF leaders promulgated an inadequate prewar doctrine, with only minor modification, as the official doctrine of the AEF. Many early American attacks suffered from these unrealistic ideas that retained too much faith in the infantry rifleman on the modern battlefield. However, many AEF divisions adjusted their doctrine and operational methods as they fought, preparing more comprehensive attack plans, employing flexible infantry formations, and maximizing firepower to seize limited objectives.