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Military Geoscience: A Multifaceted Discipline

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Military Geoscience: A Multifaceted Approach to the Study of Warfare

Part of the book series: Advances in Military Geosciences ((AMG))

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Abstract

Military geoscience is defined as the application of geology and geography to the military sphere. Geology was first taught in military academies in the mid-nineteenth century, although military geologists and geographers were not employed by Western nations as such until the First World War (WWI). These were few in number, and their use was significantly increased during the Second World War, particularly in Germany. Academic interest developed primarily after WWI and has increased since, resulting in a series of conferences, beginning in 1994. These conferences, 13 in number, initially stressed military geology, but beginning in 2000, military geography and conflict archaeology, among other subjects, were incorporated. The International Association for Military Geosciences was established in 2013 and now sponsors biennial International Conference on Military Geoscience (ICMG) throughout the world. A book series was established by Springer in the same year. This volume is the seventh in that series and contains papers spanning time from 490 BC into the twenty-first century based on presentations given at the 13th ICMG in June 2019 in Padua, Italy. Emphasis is placed on Italian military geoscience research dealing with WWI, although other topics are also addressed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Translation: before writing (before the term existed)

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to the reviewers who helped us prepare this volume: Jérôme Brenot, Mark Bulmer, Doug Caldwell, Peter Doyle, Francesco Ferrarese, Frank Galgano, Steve Henderson, Andy Lohman, Paolo Macini, Marco Mondini, Paul Nathanail, and Rachel Woodworth. We also wish to thank Ted Rose for his invaluable advice during preparation of this volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Padova, DISSGEA-Department of Historical and Geographical Sciences, and the Antiquities, Padova, PD, Italy

    Aldino Bondesan

  2. Research fellow at the Department of Military Geography, Faculty of Military Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Aldino Bondesan

  3. 3 Haytor Vale, Haytor, Newton Abbot, Devon, UK

    Judy Ehlen

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  1. Aldino Bondesan
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Correspondence to Aldino Bondesan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. DISSGEA-Department of Historical and Geographical Sciences and the Antiquities, University of Padova, Padova, Padova, Italy

    Aldino Bondesan

  2. 3 Haytor Vale, Haytor, Newton Abbot, Devon, UK

    Judy Ehlen

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Bondesan, A., Ehlen, J. (2022). Military Geoscience: A Multifaceted Discipline. In: Bondesan, A., Ehlen, J. (eds) Military Geoscience: A Multifaceted Approach to the Study of Warfare. Advances in Military Geosciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79260-2_1

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