Meteorological Factors at the Operational Level of War

Abstract

This paper examines some historical cases where weather has been a factor in the outcome of military operations. In World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm, climatology is shown to have been extremely important. In an examination of World War II, the paper provides an example of how a commander's use of operational weather can give his fighting forces an enhanced capability. In a discussion of Vietnam, the paper exposes how military performance in the wake of adverse weather conditions can provide an indication of the operational ability to meet the strategic goals. Finally, applying meteorological factors to the principles of war shows that weather does not have a neutral effect in warfare; under every circumstance one side or the other benefits from the state of the environment. Meteorology, Weather, Overlord, Principles of war, Climatology, Strategy, Tactics, Vietnam, Climate, Environment.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 16, 1994
Accession Number
ADA283434

Entities

People

  • Jeffrey L. Barker

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Climate
  • Environment
  • Maneuvers
  • Meteorology
  • Military Applications
  • Military Operations
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • Ships
  • Southeast Asia
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weather Forecasting

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers