Mountain warfare or alpine warfare is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, hazards, and factors of combat and movement through rough terrain, as well as the strategies and tactics used by military forces in these situations and environments. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border and may also be the origin of a water source such as the Golan Heights. Attacking a prepared enemy position in mountain terrain generally requires a greater ratio of attacking soldiers to defending soldiers than a war conducted on level ground. Mountains present natural hazards such as lightning, strong gusts of wind, rockfalls, avalanches, snowpacks, ice, extreme cold, and glaciers with their crevasses; in these ways, it can be similar to cold-weather warfare. The generally uneven terrain and the slow pace of troop and material movements are additional threats to combatants. Movement, reinforcements, and medical evacuation up and down steep slopes and areas in which even pack animals cannot reach involves an enormous exertion of energy.
History
Second Punic War
In 218 BC, the Carthaginian army commander Hannibal marched troops, cavalry and African elephants across the Alps in an effort to break Rome's Italian alliances to force a negotiated peace by approaching it from north of the Italian Peninsula. The Roman government was complacent because the Alps were viewed as a secure natural obstacle to would-be invaders. In December 218 BC, the Carthaginian forces defeated Roman troops, in the north, with the use of elephants. Many elephants did not survive the cold weather and disease typical of the European climate. Hannibal's army fought Roman troops in Italy for 15 years but failed to conquer Rome. Carthage was ultimately defeated by Roman general Scipio Africanus at Zama in North Africa in 202 BC.
Early modern history
The term mountain warfare is said to have come about in the Middle Ages after the European monarchies found it difficult to fight the armies of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the Alps. The Swiss fought in smaller units and took vantage points against a huge unmaneuverable army. Similar styles of attack and defence were later employed by guerrillas, partisans and irregulars, who hid in the mountains after an attack, which made it challenging for an army of regulars to fight back. In Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign, Alexander Suvorov's Italian and Swiss expedition and the 1809 rebellion in Tyrol, mountain warfare played a large role. Another example of mountain warfare was the Crossing of the Andes, which was carried out by the Argentinean Army of the Andes (Spanish: Ejército de los Andes), commanded by General José de San Martín in 1817. One of the divisions climbed mountains surpassing 5000 meters in height. The Caucasian War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. The first British invasion of Afghanistan ended in 1842, when 16,000 British soldiers and camp followers were killed as they retreated from Kabul through the Hindu Kush back to India.
World War I
Mountain warfare came to the fore once again during World War I, when some of the nations that were involved in the war had mountain divisions that had not been tested. The Austro-Hungarian defence repelled Italian attacks by taking advantage of the terrain in the Julian Alps and the Dolomites, where frostbite and avalanches proved deadlier than bullets. During the summer of 1918, the Battle of San Matteo took place on the Italian front and was fought at the highest elevation of any during the war. In December 1914, another offensive was launched by the Ottoman supreme commander Enver Pasha with 95,000–190,000 troops against the Russians in the Caucasus. Insisting on a frontal attack against Russian positions in the mountains in the heart of winter, the result was devastating, and Enver lost 86% of his forces.
World War II
Mountain terrain reshaped nearly every assumption of conventional World War II warfare. High altitude, extreme cold, and the near impossibility of mechanized movement stripped armies of their most powerful force multipliers: armor, motorized logistics, and air support. Examples of mountain warfare used during World War II include the Battles of Narvik, Battle of the Caucasus, Kokoda Track campaign, Battle of Attu, Operation Rentier, Operation Gauntlet, Operation Encore, the British defence at the Battle of Hong Kong, and several battles during the Italian Campaign such as Monte la Difensa and Monte Majo. During the Korean War there were many mountain battles, including such key events as the Battle of Kapyong. One ambush tactic used against the Germans during the Battles of Narvik utilised hairpin bends. Defenders would position themselves above them and open fire when attackers reached a certain point below, parallel to themselves. This would force the attackers to retreat, to continue under fire, or to attempt to climb the mountain another way. The tactic could be planned in advance, or employed by a retreating force. Another tactic utilised was the 'ascending platoon attack'. Attackers would scout higher enemy positions from the ground, aided by bad weather or poor visibility. A light machine gun team would open fire towards the high enemy position from a distance, offering cover for the remaining soldiers to gradually advance.
Kashmir conflicts
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
