View source for Combat

{{Short description|Purposeful violent conflict}}
{{redirect2|Fight|Fighting|other uses|Fight (disambiguation)|and|Combat (disambiguation)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=November 2016}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Thure de Thulstrup - L. Prang and Co. - Battle of Gettysburg - Restoration by Adam Cuerden (cropped).jpg
| image2            = Combate Naval Iquique-Thomas Somerscales.jpg
| perrow            = 2
| image3            = Mitsubishi G4M is shot down in May 1944.jpg
| image4            = DF Boxing Championships 2014 (15531084348).jpg
| caption4          = [[Combat sports]]: Two [[Irish Defence Forces]] members hitting each other during a military-sanctioned [[boxing]] championship, 2014
| caption3          = [[Aerial combat]]: An [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Mitsubishi G4M]] on fire after being shot down by a [[United States Navy]] [[Consolidated PB2Y Coronado]] during [[World War II]], 1944
| caption2          = [[Naval combat]]: ''[[Battle of Iquique|Sinking of the Esmeralda during the Battle of Iquique]]'' by [[Thomas Somerscales]], depicting the [[Peruvian Navy]] [[ironclad]] ''[[Huáscar (ironclad)|Huáscar]]'' sinking the [[Chilean Navy]] [[corvette]] ''[[Chilean corvette Esmeralda|Esmeralda]]'' during the [[War of the Pacific]], 1879
| caption1          = [[Ground combat]]: ''[[The Battle of Gettysburg]]'' by [[Thure de Thulstrup]], depicting the [[Union Army]] and [[Confederate Army]] clashing during the [[American Civil War]], 1863
| alt2              = 
| total_width       = 400
}}
'''Combat''' ([[French language|French]] for '''''fight''''') is a purposeful [[violent]] [[Conflict (process)|conflict]] between multiple [[combatant]]s with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using [[weapon]]s) or unarmed ([[Hand-to-hand combat|not using weapons]]). Combat is resorted to either as a method of [[self-defense]] or to impose one's will upon others. An instance of combat can be a standalone confrontation or part of a wider conflict, and its scale can range from a fight between individuals to a [[war]] between organized groups. Combat may also be benign and [[recreation]]al, as in the cases of [[combat sport]]s and [[mock combat]].

Combat may comply with, or be in violation of, local or international laws regarding conflict. Examples of rules include the [[Geneva Conventions]] (covering the treatment of people in war), [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[chivalry]], the [[Marquess of Queensberry Rules]] (covering boxing), and the individual rulesets of various combat sports.

== Hand-to-hand combat ==
{{Main|Hand-to-hand combat}}
[[Hand-to-hand combat]] ([[melee]]) is combat at very close range, attacking the opponent with the body ([[Strike (attack)|striking]], [[kick]]ing, [[strangling]], etc.) and/or with a melee weapon ([[knife|knives]], [[sword]]s, [[Club (weapon)|baton]]s, etc.), as opposed to a ranged weapon.

Hand-to-hand combat can be further divided into three sections depending on the distance and positioning of the combatants:
* [[Clinch fighting]]
* [[Ground fighting]]
* [[Stand-up fighting]]

== Military combat ==
{{Main|War}}

Military combat always involves between two or more opposing [[military]] forces in [[war]]fare. Military combat situations can involve multiple groups, such as guerilla groups, [[Insurgency|insurgents]], domestic and/or foreign [[government]]s. A military combat situation is known either as a [[battle]] or a war, depending on the size of the fighting and which geographical areas in which it occurs. [[Combat effectiveness]] has always demanded that the personnel maintain strategic preparedness by being sufficiently [[Military training|trained]], [[military weapons|armed]], [[Military equipment|equipped]], and [[Military funding|funded]] to carry out combat operations in the unit to which they are assigned.<ref>North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Standardization Agency AAP-6 – Glossary of terms and definitions, p. 80</ref> Warfare falls under the [[law of war]], which govern its purposes and conduct, and protect the rights of [[combatants]] and [[non-combatants]].{{wiktionary}}
{{wikibooks|Fighting}}
{{Commons category multi|Fighting|Combat}}
{{Wikivoyage|War zone safety}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* [[Martin van Creveld]]: The Changing Face of War: Lessons of Combat, from the Marne to Turkey. Maine, New England 2007.

== Further reading ==
*[[Wong, Leonard]]. 2006. "[http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/659 Combat Motivation in Today's Soldiers: U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute]."''Armed Forces & Society'', vol. 32: pp.&nbsp;659–663. 
*Gifford, Brian. 2005. "[http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/2/201 Combat Casualties and Race: What Can We Learn from the 2003-2004 Iraq Conflict?]" ''Armed Forces & Society'', vol. 31: pp.&nbsp;201–225. 
*Herspring, Dale. 2006. "[http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/513 Undermining Combat Readiness in the Russian Military, 1992-2005.]" ''Armed Forces & Society'', Jul 2006; vol. 32: pp.&nbsp;513–531. 
*Ben-Shalom, Uzi; Lehrer, Zeev; and Ben-Ari, Eyal. 2005. "[http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/1/63 Cohesion during Military Operations: A Field Study on Combat Units in the Al-Aqsa Intifada]." ''Armed Forces & Society'', vol. 32: pp.&nbsp;63–79. 
*Woodruff, Todd; Kelty, Ryan; Segal, Archie Cooper, David R. 2006. "[http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/353 Propensity to Serve and Motivation to Enlist among American Combat Soldiers]." ''Armed Forces & Society'', Apr 2006; vol. 32: pp.&nbsp;353–366. 
*Dienstfrey, Stephen. 1988. [http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/4/549 "Women Veterans' Exposure to Combat."] ''Armed forces & Society'', vol. 14: pp.&nbsp;549–558.




{{Military and war}}
{{martial arts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Combat| ]]
[[Category:Military operations by type]]
[[Category:Violence]]