Terrain evaluation for military purposes: examples from the Balkans

Abstract

Aim/purpose Terrain has influenced military commanders and the outcome of military operations since ancient times (Rose & Nathanail 2000). The aim of terrain evaluation in support of military operations revolves around gaining maximum operational advantage from the ground. In war this includes maximizing the mobility of your own forces and ensuring the survival of your troops and in turn denying both of these to the enemy’s forces. Armed forces are also increasingly being used in peace keeping or peace enforcing roles. In such cases the aim of terrain evaluation is to support the humanitarian efforts of the military. The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was tasked with delivering humanitarian relief in Bosnia Herzegovina (Fig. 1). British troops were based in four main compounds at Vitez (School and Garage), Tuzla, Gornji Vakuf and Tomislavgrad. Terrain evaluation principles were used to advise on the feasibility of constructing water supply boreholes within the perimeter wire of each compound to ensure a secure supply of water independent of any of the warring factions. Later, the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) was tasked with ensuring that the provisions of the Dayton Peace Agreement were fully implemented (Haynes et al. 1997). One of the concerns was to ensure that the boundary between warring factions, which had been agreed on maps, was securely and accurately delineated on the ground. Terrain evaluation principles were applied to advise on the ease of installation and, malicious, extraction of border marker posts.