For a long time in the history of human war, the battle lines of both sides in offensive and defensive operations were generally relatively stable and clear, and the army used a linear approach to combat. After the Second World War, the use of vertical landing, airborne combat, deep attack, and beyond attack and other operational methods promoted the development of non-linear warfare. After the second half of the 20th century, the use of non-linear combat became more prominent. The U.S. Army put forward the concepts of "non-linear combat" and "non-linear battlefield" in the 1986 and 1993 versions of the Operational Outline, respectively. Flexible and mobile non-linear combat has increasingly become an important form of modern battlefield operations. The objective of non linear operations is to wipe out the enemy's effective forces, rather than compete with the enemy for positions. The operational deployment is versatile and decentralized, the operational style is changeable, and the combination of attack and defense is close. It emphasizes the creation of fighters and the annihilation of the enemy in the maneuver, and requires high overall cooperation, control coordination and rapid response capabilities of the troops. It emphasizes that the enemy should be attacked at the same time in all depth, in all directions and by multiple means, and that combat operations should run through all time, space, process and fields. Operational characteristics: ① The battle line is dynamic and changeable. In battle, the opposing sides no longer stay on a relatively stable front, and there is no obvious and fixed dividing line on the battlefield. ② The battle space, means and ways are diverse. Operation is not only limited to the ground battlefield, but also may involve other services and arms. Multidimensional battlefields are intertwined, and the time, space, force elements of operations and their strike, defense, and maneuver elements are intertwined, which makes the means and methods of operations complex and diverse. ③ The operational area is flexible. Information technology weapons have long strike distance and high precision, which increases the space distance between two sides of the battle. The battle is often non-contact fire attack and information attack. ④ Operational uncertainty is high. The area of engagement, scale of operations, methods of operations and means of use of both sides of the war are quite optional, and the style, methods and means of operations are more difficult to determine. In the future information-based war, non-linear warfare will play an important role in the information-based battlefield, and the battle style will be more flexible and diverse.
Publisher: China Military Encyclopedia Editorial Office [1]
