Conventional warfare in the context of "Improvised explosive device"

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⭐ Core Definition: Conventional warfare

Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined and fight by using weapons that target primarily the opponent's military. It is normally fought by using conventional weapons, not chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.

The general purpose of conventional warfare is to weaken or destroy the opponent's military, which negates its ability to engage in conventional warfare. In forcing capitulation, however, one or both sides may eventually resort to unconventional warfare tactics.

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👉 Conventional warfare in the context of Improvised explosive device

An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs, or homemade bombs.

The term "IED" was coined by the British Army during the Northern Ireland conflict to refer to booby traps made by the IRA, and entered common use in the U.S. during the Iraq War.

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Conventional warfare in the context of Spanish American wars of independence

The Spanish American wars of independence (Spanish: Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the Napoleonic Wars. The conflict unfolded between the royalists, those who favoured a unitary monarchy, and the patriots, those who promoted either autonomous constitutional monarchies or republics, separated from Spain and from each other. These struggles ultimately led to the independence and secession of continental Spanish America from metropolitan rule, which, beyond this conflict, resulted in a process of Balkanization in Hispanic America. If defined strictly in terms of military campaigns, the time period in question ranged from the Battle of Chacaltaya (1809) in present-day Bolivia, to the Battle of Tampico (1829) in Mexico.

These conflicts were fought both as irregular warfare and conventional warfare. Some historians claim that the wars began as localized civil wars, that later spread and expanded as secessionist wars to promote general independence from Spanish rule. This independence led to the development of new national boundaries based on the colonial provinces, which would form the future independent countries that constituted contemporary Hispanic America during the early 19th century. Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule until the 1898 Spanish–American War.

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Conventional warfare in the context of Yugoslav Partisan

The Yugoslav Partisans, officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia (often shortened as the National Liberation Army) was the communist-led anti-fascist resistance to the Axis powers (chiefly Nazi Germany) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. Led by Josip Broz Tito, the Partisans are considered to be Europe's most effective anti-Axis resistance movement during World War II.

Primarily a guerrilla force at its inception, the Partisans developed into a large fighting force engaging in conventional warfare later in the war, numbering around 650,000 in late 1944 and organized in four field armies and 52 divisions. The main stated objectives of the Partisans were the liberation of Yugoslav lands from occupying forces and the establishment of a communist-ruled Yugoslav state.

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Conventional warfare in the context of Nuclear warfare

Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can produce destruction in a much shorter time and can have a long-lasting radiological result. A major nuclear exchange would likely have long-term effects, primarily from the fallout released, and could also lead to secondary effects, such as "nuclear winter", nuclear famine, and societal collapse. A global thermonuclear war with Cold War-era stockpiles, or even with the current smaller stockpiles, may lead to various scenarios including human extinction.

To date, the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict occurred in 1945 with the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, a uranium gun-type device (code name "Little Boy") was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, a plutonium implosion-type device (code name "Fat Man") was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Together, these two bombings resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 people and contributed to the surrender of Japan, which occurred before any further nuclear weapons could be deployed.

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Conventional warfare in the context of Paraguayan War

The Paraguayan War (Spanish: Guerra del Paraguay, Portuguese: Guerra do Paraguai, Guarani: Paraguái Ñorairõ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (Spanish: Guerra de la Triple Alianza, Portuguese: Guerra da Tríplice Aliança, Guarani: Ñorairõ Triple Alianza Rehegua), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadliest and bloodiest inter-state war in Latin American history. Paraguay sustained large casualties, but even the approximate numbers are disputed. Paraguay was forced to cede disputed territory to Argentina and Brazil. The war began in late 1864, as a result of a conflict between Paraguay and Brazil caused by the Uruguayan War. Argentina and Uruguay entered the war against Paraguay in 1865, and it then became known as the "War of the Triple Alliance".

After Paraguay was defeated in conventional warfare, it conducted a drawn-out guerrilla resistance, a strategy that resulted in the further destruction of the Paraguayan military and the civilian population. Much of the civilian population died due to battle, hunger, and disease. The guerrilla war lasted for 14 months until president Francisco Solano López was killed in action by Brazilian forces in the Battle of Cerro Corá on 1 March 1870. Argentine and Brazilian troops occupied Paraguay until 1876.

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Conventional warfare in the context of Unconventional warfare

Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces or actions such as subversion, diversion, sabotage, espionage, biowarfare, sanctions, propaganda or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventional warfare as well as international conventions.

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Conventional warfare in the context of Nuclear war

Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can produce destruction in a much shorter time and can have a long-lasting radiological result. A nuclear exchange would likely have long-term effects, primarily from the fallout released, and could also lead to secondary effects, such as "nuclear winter", nuclear famine, and societal collapse. A global thermonuclear war with Cold War-era stockpiles, or even with the current smaller stockpiles, may lead to various scenarios including human extinction.

As of 2025, the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict was the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6 and 9, 1945, in the final days of World War II. The two bombings resulted in the deaths of between 150,000 and 246,000 people. A debate continues over ethical, legal, and military aspects of the bombings, including their role in the surrender of Japan.

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Conventional warfare in the context of National Guard (Brazil)

The Brazilian Army (Portuguese: Exército Brasileiro; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordinating itself, in the Federal Government's structure, to the Ministry of Defense, alongside the Brazilian Navy and Air Force. The Military Police (Polícias Militares; PMs) and Military Firefighters Corps (Corpos de Bombeiros Militares; CBMs) are legally designated as reserve and auxiliary forces to the army. Its operational arm is called Land Force. It is the largest army in South America and the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Brazil.

Emerging from the defense forces of the Portuguese Empire in Colonial Brazil as the Imperial Brazilian Army, its two main conventional warfare experiences were the Paraguayan War and the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, and its traditional rival in planning, until the 1990s, was Argentina, but the army also has many peacekeeping operations abroad and internal operations in Brazil. The Brazilian Army was directly responsible for the Proclamation of the Republic and gradually increased its capacity for political action, culminating in the military dictatorship of 1964–1985. Throughout Brazilian history, it safeguarded central authority against separatism and regionalism, intervened where unresolved social issues became violent and filled gaps left by other State institutions.

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