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Fourth generation warfare (4GW) is a concept in American military doctrine defined in 1989 by a team of American analysts, including William S. Lind, used to describe warfare's return to a decentralized form. In terms of generational modern warfare, the fourth generation signifies the nation states' loss of their monopoly on combat forces, returning in a sense to the uncontrolled combat of pre-modern times. The simplest definition includes any war in which one of the major participants is not a state but rather a violent ideological network. Fourth Generation wars are characterized by a blurring of the lines between war and politics, soldier and civilian, peace and conflict, battlefield and safety. While this term is similar to terrorism and asymmetric warfare, it is much narrower. Classical examples, such as the slave uprising under Spartacus or the assassination of Julius Caesar by the Roman senate, predate the modern concept of warfare and are examples of the type of combat modern warfare sought to eliminate. As such, fourth generation warfare uses classical tactics—tactics deemed unacceptable by the preceding generations—to weaken the technologically advantaged opponent's will to win. Military doctrine is a level of military planning between national strategy and unit-level tactics, techniques, and procedures. ...
William S. Lind is an American expert on military affairs and a pundit on cultural conservatism. ...
A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ...
An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ...
Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ...
Terrorist redirects here. ...
Asymmetric warfare is a term that describes a military situation in which two belligerents of unequal power or capacity of action, interact and take advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of themselves and their enemies. ...
Combatants Army of escaped slaves Roman Republic Commanders Crixus †, Oenomaus †, Spartacus †a, Castus †, Gannicus †Gaius Claudius Glaber, Publius Varinius, Gnaeus Clodianus, Lucius Gellius Publicola, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Gnaeus Manlius, Marcus Licinius Crassus, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, Lucius Quinctius, Gnaeus Tremellius Scrofa Strength 120,000 escaped slaves and...
Gaius Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in classical antiquity. ...
Modern warfare involves the widespread use of highly advanced technology. ...
History
The concept was first described by the authors William S. Lind, Colonel Keith Nightengale (USA), Captain John F. Schmitt (USMC), Colonel Joseph W. Sutton (USA), and Lieutenant Colonel Gary I. Wilson (USMCR) in a 1989 Marine Corps Gazette article entitled “The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation”.
The generations of warfare described by these authors are:
- 1st Generation: tactics of line and column; which developed in the age of the smoothbore musket.
- 2nd Generation: tactics of linear fire and movement, with reliance on indirect fire.
- 3rd Generation: tactics of infiltration to bypass and collapse the enemy's combat forces rather than seeking to close with and destroy them; and defense in depth.
The use of fourth generation warfare can be traced to the post-World War II Cold War period, as superpowers and major powers attempted to retain their grip on colonies and captured territories. Unable to withstand direct combat against bombers, tanks, and machine guns, non-state entities used tactics of secrecy, terror, and confusion to overcome the technological gap. Mao's concept of the People's war and Ho Chi Minh's conduct in the Indochina Wars are contemporary examples of 4GW. Muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk. ...
For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...
A superpower exerts economic, political, cultural and military influence around the globe using hard powers and soft powers. ...
This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping boobs. ...
A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...
“Mao†redirects here. ...
Peoples war (also called protracted peoples war) is a military-political strategy invented by Mao Zedong. ...
For the city named after him, see Ho Chi Minh City. ...
The Indochina Wars refers to wars of national liberation that erupted in the wake of World War II, fought in Southeast Asia from 1947 until 1979, between nationalist Vietnamese against French, American, and Chinese forces. ...
Fourth Generation warfare has often involved an insurgent group or non-state entity trying to implement their own government or reestablish an old government over the current ruling power. However, a fourth generation war is most successful when the non-state entity does not attempt, at least in the short term, to impose its own rule, but tries simply to disorganize and delegitimize the state in which the warfare takes place. The aim is to force the state adversary to expend manpower and money in an attempt to establish order, ideally in such a highhanded way that it merely increases disorder, until the state surrenders or withdraws. Fourth generation war could be said to be the ultimate strategy of scorched earth, leaving nothing for the occupier to occupy. Speaking figuratively, the non-state adversary, not being able to expel the invader from his home, tries to bring it down on both their heads, leaving the invader no choice but to leave the ruins alone. A scorched earth policy is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. ...
Fourth Generation Warfare is often seen in conflicts involving failed states and civil wars, particularly in conflicts involving non-state actors, intractable ethnic or religious issues, or gross conventional military disparities. Many of these conflicts occur in the geographic area described by author Thomas Barnett as the Non-Integrating Gap, fought by countries from the globalised Functioning Core. Failed state is a controversial term intended to mean a weak state in which the central government has little practical control over much of its territory. ...
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Characteristics of 4th Generation War 4th Generation War is normally characterized by a “stateless” entity fighting a state. Fighting can be either physically such as Hezbullah or the LTTE to use two modern examples. In this realm the 4GW entity uses all three levels of Fourth Generation War. These are the physical (actual combat, it is considered the least important), mental (the will to fight, belief in victory, etc) and moral (the most important, this includes cultural norms, etc) levels. Fighting can also be without the physical level of war. This is via non-violent means. Examples of this could be Ghandi’s opposition to the British Empire or by Martin Luther King’s marches. Both desired their factions to deescalate the conflict while the state escalates against them, the objective being to target the opponent on the moral and mental levels rather than the physical level. The state is then seen as a bully and loses support.
Another characteristic of 4GW is that as with 3rd Generation War the 4GW combatant’s forces are decentralized. With 4GW there may even be no one combatant and that smaller groups organize into impromptu alliances to target a bigger threat (that being the state armed forces or another faction). As a result these alliances are weak and if the state’s military leadership is smart enough they can split their enemy and cause them to fight amongst themselves.
Yet another factor is that centers of gravity have changed. These centers of gravity may revolve around nationalism, family or clan honor, proving one’s manhood or a belief that one is ordered to fight perceived enemies of one’s religion. As a result strategy becomes more problematic while combating a 4GW entity.
It has been theorized that a state vs. state conflict in the 4GW realm would involve the use of computer hackers and law fare to obtain the weaker side’s objectives. The logic being that the civilians of the stronger state would lose the will to fight as a result of seeing their state engage in alleged atrocities and having their own bank accounts harmed.
Ways for a State Military to Combat a 4GW Entity There are few examples of the state being effective in a 4GW conflict. The only major example is that of the British Army in North Ireland after the events of Bloody Sunday. A notable theorist of 4GW by the name of William Lind believes that the reason for the British being successful in that conflict was that the British Army did not use heavy weapons in that period and that the British Government forces attempted to get to know the areas involved in the conflict. Also according to Lind the British did not engage in collective punishment and desired to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. In other words they won over the population by reducing the risk of damage to civilians and their property and by getting to know the local area.
Another option is from FMFM 1A. It is called the Hama model in the paper. According to FMFM 1A to engage in this means that the state is to use overwhelming force to generate large amounts of casualties and do so fast enough that the objectives are achieved before international outrage is sufficient to stop the operation, though this approach wasn’t given much time in the paper. It does warn though that combining the two approaches could be disastrous for the state and its objectives.
Elements Fourth Generation Warfare is defined as conflicts which involve the following elements: - High Technology
- Terrorism
- A non-national or transnational base
- A direct attack on the enemy's culture
- Highly sophisticated psychological warfare, especially through manipulation of the media
Examples The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ...
Combatants Lebanese Front Syria LNM PLO Commanders Bachir Gemayel Dany Chamoun Kamal Jumblatt Yasser Arafat The multi-sided Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) had its origin in the conflicts and political compromises after the end of Lebanons administration by the Ottoman Empire and was exacerbated by the nations...
For the UK post-rock band, see Troubles (band) The Troubles is a term used to describe the latest installment of periodic communal violence involving Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the late...
Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, BSL, NISL, ISL Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP - First Minister Ian Paisley - Deputy First Minister...
Combatants Russian Federation Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Strength At least 93,000 in Chechnya in 1999 About 30,000 in Chechnya in 2007 (mostly MVD) 10,000 to 20,000 in 1999 (including private militias) 700 in Chechnya in 2007 (Russian est. ...
Occupation zones in Iraq as of September 2003 The post-invasion period in Iraq followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition led by the United States, which overthrew the Baath Party government of Saddam Hussein. ...
Combatants Hezbollah Amal LCP Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General of Hezbollah) Imad Mughniyeh (Commander of Hezbollahs armed wing)[5] Dan Halutz (CoS) Moshe Kaplinsky[12] Udi Adam (Regional) Strength 600-1,000 active fighters 3,000-10,000 reservists[6] 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC)[13...
Combatants Islamic Courts Union Pro-Islamist militias Popular Resistance Movement (PRM) Hawiye clan militiamen Alleged: Foreign Mujahideen al-Qaeda Ethiopia Transitional Government of Somalia AMISOM Puntland Commanders Hassan Aweys Hasan Hersi Adan Ayrow Sheikh Abdikadir (PRM) Barre Adan Shire Hirale Meles Zenawi Strength 3,000–3,500 militia 10,000...
See also - General
- Lists and examples
First generation warfare is a term created by the U.S. military in 1989, referring to the earliest stages of organized, state-controlled armed forces waging war in the modern era. ...
Second generation warfare is a term created by the U.S. military in 1989, referring to the tactics of warfare used after the invention of the rifled musket and breech-loading weapons and continuing through the development of the machine gun and indirect fire. ...
Third generation warfare is a term created by the U.S. military in 1989, referring to the tactics of warfare used after the Wehrmachts development of the blitzkrieg. ...
Military operations other than war is a United States military concept that encompass the use of military capabilities across the range of military operations short of war. ...
A Campaign desk is an antique desk of normal size which was used by officers and their staffs in rear areas during a military campaign. ...
Military stratagem in the Battle of Waterloo. ...
War Cycles Wars are complex phenomena with multiple determinants. ...
This is a list of lists of wars, sorted by country, date, region, and type of conflict. ...
This is a partial list of battles that have entries in Wikipedia. ...
The 1453 Siege of Constantinople (painted 1499) A siege is a prolonged military assault and blockade on a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ...
References
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