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A common perception of war is a series of military campaigns between at least two or more opposing sides involving a dispute over sovereignty, territory, resources, religion or a host of other issues. A war to liberate an occupied country is sometimes characterised as a "war of liberation", while a war between internal elements of the same state may constitute a civil war.
Aside from humans, ants are the only other species known to exhibit such behavior on a large scale.1 A battle is an instance of combat in warfare between two or more parties wherein each group will seek to defeat the others. Battles are most often fought during wars or military campaigns and can usually be well defined in time, space and action. Wars and campaigns are guided by strategy whereas battles are the stage on which tactics are employed. German strategist Carl von Clausewitz stated that "The employment of battles to gain victory" is the essence of strategy. Military history is the recording, in writing or otherwise, of the events in the history of humanity that fall within the category of conflict. This may range from a melee between two tribes to conflicts between proper militaries to a world war affecting the majority of the human population.
 Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan at the end of World War II, but was ultimately never used. It was scheduled to occur in two parts — Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyūshū, set to begin in November, 1945; and later Operation Coronet, the invasion of Honshū near Tokyo, scheduled for the spring of 1946. Kyūshū was to be invaded at three points — Miyazaki beach, Ariake beach, and Kushikino beach. Southern Kyūshū would become a staging ground for operation Coronet, and would give the Allies a valuable airbase from which to operate. Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan, the Japanese surrendered and the operation was cancelled.
Photo credit: U.S. Army's First Division December 3:
Eras of warfareOverview • Prehistoric • Ancient • Medieval • Gunpowder • Industrial • Modern Types of warfareAerial • Amphibious • Arctic • Armoured • Artillery • Asymmetric • Attrition • Biological • Cavalry • Chemical • Conventional • Desert • Electronic • Ground • Guerrilla • Fortification • Herbicidal • Infantry • Information • Jungle • Maneuver • Mechanized • Mercenary • Mountain • Naval • Network-centric • Nuclear • Psychological • Radiological • Siege • Ski • Space • Sub-aquatic • Submarine • Surface • Total • Trench • Unconventional • Urban Categories
ListsArmies • Battles • Civil wars • Commanders • Corps • Divisions • Fleets • Invasions • Operations • Orders of battle • Sieges • Tactics • Wars Other related topicsCulture · Geography · Health · History · Mathematics · Natural sciences · Philosophy · Religion · Society · Technology |
