Strategic defence
Encyclopedia
A Strategic defence is a type of military planning
doctrine
and a set of combat activities
used for the purpose of deterring, resisting and repelling a strategic offensive, conducted as either a territorial or airspace invasion
, or a naval offensive
to interrupt shipping lane traffic as a form of economic warfare
. Strategic defensive need not be passive in nature, and often involves military deception
, propaganda
and psychological warfare
, as well as pre-emptive strategies. All forms of military force are included in the planning, and often civil defence organisations are also included.
In terms of military theory, strategic defensive thinking seeks to understand and appreciate the theoretical and historical background to any given war and conflict scenario facing the decision-makers at the national level. The requirement of the decision makers for the strategic defence analysts is usually for providing a detailed understanding of strategic and defence issues of relevance to the national and regional relations and intentions.
Some of the more common issues encountered by strategic defence planners include:
Strategic defensive is also a predominant peace-time posture of most nation-states in the world at any one time, although the national military intelligence
services are always conducting operations to discover offensive threats to security to ensure adequate warning is provided to bring armed forces to a state of combat readiness
.
In terms of scale of combat, the strategic defensive is considered either a war
that can last from days to generations, or a military campaign
as a phase of the war, involving a series of operations delimited by time and space and with specific major achievable goal allocated to a defined part of the available armed force. As a campaign, a strategic defence may consist of several battles
, some of which may be offensive
in nature, or may result in the conduct of withdrawals
to new positions, encirclement
s, or sieges either by the defender or attacker as a means of securing strategic initiative
. The strategic goal of a strategic defensive may require a conduct of an offensive operation far removed from the main national territory, such as the case with the 1982 Falklands campaign
, which sets logistics apart as the dominant consideration in strategic defensive as a doctrine.
Military plan
A military operation plan is a formal plan for military armed forces, their military organizations and units to conduct operations, as drawn up by commanders within the combat operations process in achieving objectives before or during a conflict...
doctrine
Military doctrine
Military doctrine is the concise expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements.It is a guide to action, not hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across the military...
and a set of combat activities
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
used for the purpose of deterring, resisting and repelling a strategic offensive, conducted as either a territorial or airspace invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
, or a naval offensive
Naval offensive
A naval offensive is the aggressive deployment of naval forces during a military campaign to strategically, operationally or tactically provide secure use of shipping routes, or coastal regions for friendly shipping, or deny them to enemy shipping....
to interrupt shipping lane traffic as a form of economic warfare
Economic warfare
Economic warfare is the term for economic policies followed as a part of military operations during wartime.The purpose of economic warfare is to capture critical economic resources so that the military can operate at full efficiency and/or deprive the enemy forces of those resources so that they...
. Strategic defensive need not be passive in nature, and often involves military deception
Military deception
Military deception is an attempt to amplify, or create an artificial fog of war or to mislead the enemy using psychological operations, information warfare and other methods. As a form of strategic use of information , it overlaps with psychological warfare...
, propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and psychological warfare
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations , have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda...
, as well as pre-emptive strategies. All forms of military force are included in the planning, and often civil defence organisations are also included.
In terms of military theory, strategic defensive thinking seeks to understand and appreciate the theoretical and historical background to any given war and conflict scenario facing the decision-makers at the national level. The requirement of the decision makers for the strategic defence analysts is usually for providing a detailed understanding of strategic and defence issues of relevance to the national and regional relations and intentions.
Some of the more common issues encountered by strategic defence planners include:
- Problems of security and confidence-building in interstate relationships in the strategic neighbourhood
- National defence policy
- Arms proliferation and arms control in the immediate strategic region, or within reach of the weapon systems in question
- Policy advice to the higher levels of the national Defence organisation
- The strategic implications of developments in the nation's geographic region
- Reviewing security agenda, and formulating a new one if necessary
Strategic defensive is also a predominant peace-time posture of most nation-states in the world at any one time, although the national military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
services are always conducting operations to discover offensive threats to security to ensure adequate warning is provided to bring armed forces to a state of combat readiness
Combat readiness
Combat readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations, or functions consistently with the purpose for which they are organised or...
.
In terms of scale of combat, the strategic defensive is considered either a war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
that can last from days to generations, or a military campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
as a phase of the war, involving a series of operations delimited by time and space and with specific major achievable goal allocated to a defined part of the available armed force. As a campaign, a strategic defence may consist of several battles
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
, some of which may be offensive
Offensive (military)
An offensive is a military operation that seeks through aggressive projection of armed force to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational or tactical goal...
in nature, or may result in the conduct of withdrawals
Withdrawal (military)
A withdrawal is a type of military operation, generally meaning retreating forces back while maintaining contact with the enemy. A withdrawal may be undertaken as part of a general retreat, to consolidate forces, to occupy ground that is more easily defended, or to lead the enemy into an ambush...
to new positions, encirclement
Encirclement
Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The German term for this is Kesselschlacht ; a comparable English term might be "in the bag"....
s, or sieges either by the defender or attacker as a means of securing strategic initiative
Strategic Initiative
A strategic initiative is an endeavor intended to achieve three interrelated outcomes: * A boundary-spanning vision or “strategic intent”* Realization of important benefits to “strategic” stakeholders and* Transformation of the organization...
. The strategic goal of a strategic defensive may require a conduct of an offensive operation far removed from the main national territory, such as the case with the 1982 Falklands campaign
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, which sets logistics apart as the dominant consideration in strategic defensive as a doctrine.
Recommended reading
- The Adelphi Papers, Volume 359, Number 1, August 01, 2003 S.J. Lukasik; S.E. Goodman; D.W. Longhurst, Chapter 2: Strategic Defence Options, pp. 15-24(10)