ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the idea of ‘land power’ and explains the ways in which the land environment differs from the air and maritime domains. It also explores the ways in which land warfare has changed since 1900, and examines, respectively, modern tactics and the operational level of war. The book explains the historical conduct of land warfare since 1900, looking at the shift in the practical and theoretical conduct of military operations on land. It identifies the importance of the First World War as the catalyst for the emergence of modern land tactics. The book provides the historical development of the theory and practice of counterinsurgency. It demonstrates simultaneously the great flexibility inherent in land forces, which can undertake complex conflict prevention and conflict resolution tasks, and the tensions and difficulties that can afflict these operations in practice.
