Military Geoscience: A Multifaceted Discipline

Abstract

AbstractMilitary geoscience is defined as the application of geology and geography to the military sphere. Geology was first taught in military academies in the mid-nineteenth century, although military geologists and geographers were not employed by Western nations as such until the First World War (WWI). These were few in number, and their use was significantly increased during the Second World War, particularly in Germany. Academic interest developed primarily after WWI and has increased since, resulting in a series of conferences, beginning in 1994. These conferences, 13 in number, initially stressed military geology, but beginning in 2000, military geography and conflict archaeology, among other subjects, were incorporated. The International Association for Military Geosciences was established in 2013 and now sponsors biennial International Conference on Military Geoscience (ICMG) throughout the world. A book series was established by Springer in the same year. This volume is the seventh in that series and contains papers spanning time from 490 BC into the twenty-first century based on presentations given at the 13th ICMG in June 2019 in Padua, Italy. Emphasis is placed on Italian military geoscience research dealing with WWI, although other topics are also addressed.KeywordsMilitary geoscienceMilitary geographyMilitary geology