Military Geoscience: A Multifaceted Approach to the Study of Warfare

Dr. Aldino Bondesan is an assistant professor at the Department of Historical and Geographical Sciences, and the Ancient World, University of Padua. where he teaches Environmental Geology, Physical Geography, Geomorphology, Geological Surveying and Landscape Analysis, among other subjects. Dr. Bondesan has developed expertise in Military Geography and Geology, and has also performed research on fluvial geomorphology, glaciology and glacial morphology in the Italian Alps and in polar region, desert geomorphology, geological mapping, karstology, geoarchaeology, geophysics and coastal dynamics. He is currently president of the Italian Society of Military Geography and Geology and a Research Fellow in the Department of Military Geography, Faculty of Military Science, University of Stellenbosch (South Africa). Dr. Judy Ehlen has BA and MA degrees in Geology and a BA in German from the University of Oregon, an MA in History from George Mason University, and aPh.D. in Geography from the University of Birmingham (UK). Before retirement in 2005, she worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers for more than 30 years in research related to image analysis of the geologic properties of terrain with respect to military needs. Since retiring, her research has concentrated on military geoscience, particularly the analysis of how terrain affects the outcome of historical battles, editing and reviewing.

“The number of chapters in the publication illustrates the breadth and depth of military geoscience, as well as the relevance of geoscience to past, present and future conflicts or military operations and missions. … This can also be an incentive for Slovenian researchers and the Slovenian Armed Forces to increase activities in the field of military geosciences, especially in view of the rich military and war history in the geographically and geologically diverse territory of Slovenia.” (Klemen Kocjančič, Contemporary Military Challenges, Vol. 24 (3), September, 2022)

• Chapter 1.- The Geography of Territorial Disputes in the East and South China Seas.- Chapter 2-The Devil’s Garden: A study of mine warfare at El Alamein.- Chapter 3-Simulating the Trench War: The practice camps in Aube (Champagne, France) 1914-1919.- Chapter 4-Infrastructure Support: an era of change and complexity.- Chapter 5-The U.S.10th Mountain Division in Italy, 1945: Initial operations in the Appenines.- Chapter 6-‘News on the Eastern Front’ The WWI tactical maps of the Italian Army in the historical archive of the 3rd Armata: Proposals for a semiologic interpretation and a digital analysis.- Chapter 7-The 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale, Colorado: The Origin of Mountain 32 Alpine Warfare Testing and Training in the U.S.- Chapter 8-The Demarcation of the Czechoslovak Border in the Period 1918-1924.- Chapter 9-Defending Britain’s Soft Underbelly: Invasion, fortification and geology near Portsmouth, Hampshire.- Chapter 10-Examples of German Trafficability Maps from the Eastern Front in Europe 1941-45.- Chapter 11-German Military Specialist Maps of the North Italian Theatre of War 1945.- Chapter 12-War Geology of the Imperial and Royal Army at the Isonzo-Front 1918.- Chapter 13-Environmental Impact of Military Shooting Ranges.- Chapter 14-The Evolution of the Italian Treatises about Military Geography and Geology During the Last Two Centuries.- Chapter 15-The Vietnam War: A geographic analysis.- Chapter 16-The Italian Corps of Engineers in WWI: Innovations in mining, and tunnel warfare.- Chapter 17-Remarking Warscape Archaeology: Fresh news from the not-quiet Central-Alpine Front.- Chapter 18-An evaluation and comparison of ordinary least squares and geographically weighted regression tools for predicting surface soil texture, using remote sensing.- Chapter 19-The Durand Line: A fragile border in the heart of Asia.- Chapter 20-Geographical representation of the Royal Italian Army war sectors and sites during the First World War.- Chapter 21-The Development and Implications of Arab Underground Guerrilla and Terror Activity in the Gaza Strip.- Chapter 22-The Utility of Soil-Landform Relationships in Terrain Mobility Models Based on Soil-strength Characteristics.- Chapter 23-Italian Prisoners of War in South Africa: circumstances and contributions.- Chapter 24-Current Operational Challenges for Military Geo and Innovative Approaches.