Combat

Combat (French for fight) is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or can be used as a tool to impose one's will on others. An instance of combat can be a stand-alone confrontation or a small part of a much larger violent conflict. Instances of combat may also be benign and recreational, as in the cases of combat sports and mock combat.

"Fight" and "Fighting" redirect here. For other uses, see Fight (disambiguation) and Combat (disambiguation).
Ground combat: The Battle of Gettysburg by Thure de Thulstrup, depicting the Union Army and Confederate Army clashing during the American Civil War, 1863
Naval combat: Sinking of the Esmeralda during the Battle of Iquique by Thomas Somerscales, depicting the Peruvian Navy ironclad Huáscar sinking the Chilean Navy corvette Esmeralda during the War of the Pacific, 1879
Aerial combat: An Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi G4M on fire after being shot down by a United States Navy Consolidated PB2Y Coronado during World War II, 1944
Combat sports: Two Irish Defence Forces members hitting each other during a military-sanctioned boxing championship, 2014

Combat may comply with, or be in violation of, local or international laws regarding conflict. Examples of rules include the Geneva Conventions (covering the treatment of people in war), medieval chivalry, the Marquess of Queensberry Rules (covering boxing), and several forms of combat sports.

Hand-to-hand combat
Main article: Hand-to-hand combat

Hand-to-hand combat (melee) is combat at very close range, attacking the opponent with the body (striking, kicking, strangling, etc.) and/or with a melee weapon (knives, swords, batons, etc.), as opposed to a ranged weapon.

Hand-to-hand combat can be further divided into three sections depending on the distance and positioning of the combatants:

Military combat
Main article: War

Military combat can involve multiple groups, including guerilla groups, insurgencies, and domestic and/or foreign governments. A military combat situation is known either as a battle or a war, depending on the size of the fighting and which geographical areas in which it occurs. Combat effectiveness has always demanded that the personnel maintain strategic preparedness by being sufficiently trained, armed, equipped, and funded to carry out combat operations in the unit to which they are assigned.[1] Warfare falls under the law of war, which govern its purposes and conduct, and protect the rights of combatants and non-combatants.

Look up combat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Fighting
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fighting and Combat.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for War zone safety.

References
  1. North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Standardization Agency AAP-6 – Glossary of terms and definitions, p. 80

Sources
  • Martin van Creveld: The Changing Face of War: Lessons of Combat, from the Marne to Turkey. Maine, New England 2007.

Further reading



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.