For millennia battles were essentially affairs of linear encounter. From the 10th Century to the 20th Century, artillery generally fired directly in the two dimensional plane,limiting potential effects. The development of indirect fire changed this , two-dimensional model. Warfare became not so much a matter of linear encounter as one of engagement as cross and throughout an area; and artillery dominated land operations in both the First and Second World Wars as a result. Firepower was subsequently often applied in even greater weights, but its effects were frequently excessive and high-value targets proved elusive. During the Cold War in Europe,the importance of field artillery wanded relative to other arms. Artillery could only regain its utility by acquiring the highest-value targets and engaging them effectively with the appropriate degree of force in time and space true precision, as opposed to mere accuracy at a point. Improvements in target acquisition and accuracy will enable land systems once more to engage targets effectively throughout the battlespace with implications for warfare analogous to those precipitated by the introduction of indirect fire a century ago. Land operations will become increasingly three-dimensional and Joint. The effects of fire will increasingly be applied in, not merely via, the third dimensions, since targets themselves will increasingly be located, not just on the area of a battlefield, but in the volume of three-dimensional battlespace with values of indetermined by considerations of the fourth dimension, time. Fire, lethal and non-lethal, will also be targeted in other less tangible dimensions such as cyber-space and new types of 'virtual counterfire' will also emerge in the forms of legal and moral restraint. All will be viewed through the lens of perceptions. The burgeoning of firepower from all sources now becomes the spur for changes in the relationship between the land and air components, mindful of those novel factors that will increasingly inhibit the application of that firepower.

For millennia battles were essentially affairs of linear encounter. From the 10th Century to the 20th Century, artillery generally fired directly in the two dimensional plane,limiting potential effects. The development of indirect fire changed this , two-dimensional model. Warfare became not so much a matter of linear encounter as one of engagement as cross and throughout an area; and artillery dominated land operations in both the First and Second World Wars as a result. Firepower was subsequently often applied in even greater weights, but its effects were frequently excessive and high-value targets proved elusive. During the Cold War in Europe,the importance of field artillery wanded relative to other arms. Artillery could only regain its utility by acquiring the highest-value targets and engaging them effectively with the appropriate degree of force in time and space true precision, as opposed to mere accuracy at a point. Improvements in target acquisition and accuracy will enable land systems once more to engage targets effectively throughout the battlespace with implications for warfare analogous to those precipitated by the introduction of indirect fire a century ago. Land operations will become increasingly three-dimensional and Joint. The effects of fire will increasingly be applied in, not merely via, the third dimensions, since targets themselves will increasingly be located, not just on the area of a battlefield, but in the volume of three-dimensional battlespace with values of indetermined by considerations of the fourth dimension, time. Fire, lethal and non-lethal, will also be targeted in other less tangible dimensions such as cyber-space and new types of 'virtual counterfire' will also emerge in the forms of legal and moral restraint. All will be viewed through the lens of perceptions. The burgeoning of firepower from all sources now becomes the spur for changes in the relationship between the land and air components, mindful of those novel factors that will increasingly inhibit the application of that firepower.

Theorists in war studies have since the 1940’s debated the issue of the connection between technology and tactical development, and at the end of the 1990’s a technological revolution in warfare was debated. As presented in this thesis the debate is far from completed. Lieutenant Commander Erik Öhrn made an effort to construct a general theory for this connection in 2011 at the Swedish Defense University. Preliminary studies prove that the theory is applicable for naval tactics. The purpose of this thesis is to examine if the theory is valid in mechanized tactics by studying the introduction of the Swedish Combat Vehicle 90. In using a qualitative method, searching for theoretical constructed indicators, this thesis finds shortages in the theory as a general theory for the connection between technology and tactical development. The definition and concept of technology is among these shortages, which is a crucial part of the understanding of the revolution debated in previous research.

Fighting videogames (also known as fighting games) are ever growing in popularity and accessibility. The isolated console experiences of 20th century gaming has been replaced by online gaming services that allow gamers to play from almost anywhere in the world with one another. This gives rise to competitive gaming on a global scale enabling them to experience fresh play styles and challenges by playing someone new. Fighting games can typically be played either as a single player experience, or against another human player, whether it is via a network or a traditional multiplayer experience. However, there are two issues with these approaches. First, the single player offering in many fighting games is regarded as being simplistic in design, making the moves by the computer predictable. Secondly, while playing against other human players can be more varied and challenging, this may not always be achievable due to the logistics involved in setting up such a bout. Game Artificial Intelligence could provide a solution to both of these issues, allowing a human player s strategy to be learned and then mimicked by the AI fighter. In this thesis, game AI techniques have been researched to provide a means of mimicking human player strategies in strategic fighting games with multiple parameters. Various techniques and their current usages are surveyed, informing the design of two separate solutions to this problem. The first solution relies solely on leveraging k nearest neighbour classification to identify which move should be executed based on the in-game parameters, resulting in decisions being made at the operational level and being fed from the bottom-up to the strategic level. The second solution utilises a number of existing Artificial Intelligence techniques, including data driven finite state machines, hierarchical clustering and k nearest neighbour classification, in an architecture that makes decisions at the strategic level and feeds them from the top-down to the operational level, resulting in the execution of moves. This design is underpinned by a novel algorithm to aid the mimicking process, which is used to identify patterns and strategies within data collated during bouts between two human players. Both solutions are evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. A conclusion summarising the findings, as well as future work, is provided. The conclusions highlight the fact that both solutions are proficient in mimicking human strategies, but each has its own strengths depending on the type of strategy played out by the human. More structured, methodical strategies are better mimicked by the data driven finite state machine hybrid architecture, whereas the k nearest neighbour approach is better suited to tactical approaches, or even random button bashing that does not always conform to a pre-defined strategy.

Master of Arts / Department of Security Studies / Carla Martinez Machain / BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent studies regarding war termination and the bargaining model of war focus on how belligerents use coercion to reach a war settlement, but neglect the importance of tactical decisions. Although strategies are the principal tool used to conduct war, only significant tactical achievements lead to significant strategic achievements. METHOD: In this paper I analyze the tactics employed in two case studies, the Second Boer War between Great Britain and the South African Boers and the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland. Using the bargaining model of war, I discuss two categories of tactics. Targeted tactics focus on destroying the enemy’s critical vulnerabilities and dislocating their strengths while minimizing one’s own vulnerabilities. Nontargeted tactics focus on centers of gravity, employing military strength in an effort to overwhelm enemy forces with superior resources and technology. RESULTS: I demonstrate that tactics have a marked impact on the duration and outcome of warfare and targeted tactics minimize the cost of fighting in order to achieve strategic objectives and increase the bargaining advantage. CONCLUSION: Targeted tactics are a significant tool in warfare that affect war termination and hold the potential to increase the bargaining advantage at a lesser cost.

Thesis (PhD (Sport Sc) (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge of tennis tactics of a group of South African tennis coaches. A secondary purpose was to gather their perceptions about where they believe they learned about tactics. A mixed methodology approach was used. The first was a quantitative knowledge test administered to 37 coaches. The second was a qualitative semi-structured interview with five coaches. The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference in the choices of tactical options in 43 game scenarios between the less experienced and the more experienced coaches. No differences were found between coaches who were coaching at the top level compared to the lower levels. No differences were found between coaches who had been top tennis players and those who had not. The majority of the coaches in this study reported that they had learned tactics through trial and error. Problems facing the development of top level tennis coaches in South Africa are discussed in relation to their knowledge of tactics and the priorities for the development of mass participation supported by national sport policy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om ʼn groep Suid-Afrikaanse tennisafrigters se kennis van tennistaktiek te ondersoek. ʼn Sekondêre doel was om uit te vind waar die afrigters glo hulle sodanige kennis opgedoen het. Die navorsingsbenadering het uit gemengde metodologieë bestaan. Die eerste was ʼn kwantitatiewe kennistoets wat onder 37 afrigters afgeneem is. Die tweede was ʼn kwalitatiewe semigestruktureerde onderhoud met vyf afrigters. Die resultate van die studie dui daarop dat die minder ervare en meer ervare afrigters geen beduidende verskil getoon het in hul taktiese keuses in 43 wedstrydscenario’s nie. Geen verskil is opgemerk tussen afrigters op die topvlak en dié op laer vlakke nie. Boonop was daar geen verskil tussen afrigters wat eens topspelers was en diegene wat nié was nie. Volgens die meeste van die afrigters in die studie het hulle hul kennis van tennistaktiek deur die metode van leer en probeer opgedoen. Die studie bespreek die uitdagings in die ontwikkeling van topvlaktennisafrigters in Suid-Afrika wat betref hul kennis van taktiek en die prioriteite vir die bevordering van massadeelname ingevolge nasionale sportbeleid.

This thesis examines the influence of the Boer War 1899 – 1902 upon tactics and training in the regular British Army 1902 – 1914. The work argues that several key lessons drawn from South Africa became the tactical cornerstones for infantry, artillery and cavalry throughout the pre-First World War period and shaped the performance of the B.E.F. during the early battles of 1914. The experience of combat against well armed opposition in the Boer War prompted the British Army to develop improved tactics in each of the three major service arms. For example, infantry placed new emphasis on dispersion and marksmanship; cavalry improved their dismounted work and reconnaissance skills; and artillery adopted methods of concealment and strove to improve accuracy and co-ordination. Across the army as a whole, the experience of combat lead to an overall downgrading of the importance of drill and obedience, replacing it instead with tactical skill and individual initiative. In addition, the thesis also examines the impact of the Boer War upon overall British Army doctrine and ethos. The process of reform prior to the First World War was marked by wide ranging debates upon the value of the South African experience, and not all lessons drawn from the conflict endured, with tactical restructuring being further complicated by changes of government and financial restrictions. Nevertheless, key lessons such as dispersion, marksmanship, concealment and firepower were ultimately retained and proved to be of great value during initial clashes against the Germans in 1914. Additionally, the Boer War caused the British to place new emphasis upon overall training of the individual, allowing advanced tactical skills to be inculcated more easily than had been possible in earlier years. However, the short duration of the conventional period of the Boer War meant that there was less opportunity to derive operational lessons for future employment. Furthermore, the colonial policing role of the British Army and the likelihood of small scale deployments meant that developing an operational doctrine was of less immediate value than ensuring flexibility and tactical skill. This meant that the British Army took a somewhat skewed developmental path in the 1902 – 1914. The process of reform ultimately produced a highly adaptable force that was tactically skilled, but which was ill-prepared for the operational complications posed by large scale deployment. While the Boer War was the principal factor in driving reform during the 1902 – 1914 period, there were additional influences at work, including examples from the Russo-Japanese War 1904 – 1905 and various ideas drawn from the armies of the continent. However, this thesis argues that while these outside influences contributed to ongoing debate, they did not offer any particular fresh ideas and were therefore of less importance than the Boer War in shaping British Army development.

Polygyny is the most common mating system in mammalian species (95%), yet our understanding of polygynous systems and microevolutionary processes is still limited. Pinniped mating systems range from extreme polygyny (e.g. elephant seals) to sequential female defence by males and hence have often been used as models for mating system studies. Parentage analysis has enabled the examination of mating success, the identification of pedigrees, and the elucidation of social organisation, greatly enhancing our understanding of mating systems (Chapter 1). However, such analyses are not without pitfalls, with erroneous assignments common in open systems (i.e. when parental and offspring samplings are incomplete). We investigated the effects of the user-defined parameters on the accuracy of parental assignment using two commonly used parental allocation programme, CERVUS and PASOS (Chapter 2). We showed that inaccurate user-defined parameters in CERVUS and PASOS can lead to highly biased output e.g. the assignment rate at 95% CL of offspring with a sampled known mother to sampled males decreased from 58% to 32% when the proportion of candidate males sampled in the parameter options decreasing 4-fold. We found that the use of both CERVUS and PASOS for parentage assignment can increase the likelihood of correctly allocating offspring to sampled parents to 97% in our study system. Incorrect parental assignment can bias estimates of various biological parameters, such as lifetime reproductive success and mate choice preference, and hence bias ecological and evolutionary interpretations. Here, we propose solutions to increase the power of parentage assignment and hence decrease the bias in biological parameter estimates. In addition, we analysed the effects of the intrinsic bias in likelihood assignment approaches towards assigning higher probability of parentage on individuals with rare alleles and those with heightened offspring-parent matches, which increase with the number of homozygous loci (Chapter 3). We showed that, as a consequence of the algorithms employed in the programmes CERVUS and PASOS, heterozygote males with rare genotypes are assigned higher rates of parentage than males with common alleles. Consequently, where two males could both be biological fathers of a given offspring, parentage assignment will more often go to the male with the rarer alleles (most often in heterozygous loci). Thus, the commonly used parentage assignment methods may systematically bias the results of parentage analyses towards supporting the notion that females prefer more genetically unusual, most often heterozygous, males. Such a bias may sway investigators towards incorrectly supporting the concept that females choose genetically more unusual males for heterozygosity fitness benefits that underpin the good genes hypothesis, when in fact no such relationship may exist. In polygynous mammals, successful males mate with multiple females by competing with and limiting the access of other males to females. When the status of many males (age, size, health, genetic etc.) prevents them from achieving the primary mating tactic, theory predicts selection for a diversification of male mating tactics. Recent studies in pinnipeds have shown that observed male mating success was correlated to male paternity success in some species (elephant-seals), but not in others (grey seals). The existence of alternative mating strategies can explain those discrepancies. Chapter 4 implemented the guidelines provided in Chapter 2 and 3 and focused on the polygynous New Zealand fur seal Arctocephalus forsteri, predicting that 1) competition for females is likely to cause a diversification of male mating tactics; and 2) that alternative tactics can yield reproductive success. Our results indicated three male behavioural profiles; one corresponded to large territorial males and two illustrated a continuum of alternative tactics employed by non-territorial subordinate males. Our study highlights that holding a territory is not a necessary condition for reproductive success in a population of otariids. The degree of sexual size dimorphism in polygynous species is expected to increase with the degree of intra-sexual competition and in turn with the degree of polygyny. The life history of an individual is the pattern of resource allocations to growth, maintenance, and reproduction throughout its lifetime. Both females and males incur viability costs of mating and reproduction. However, male viability costs due to increase growth and male-male competition can be greater than female viability costs of mate choice and reproduction. Although an abundant literature on sexual dimorphism in morphology, physiology, and parasite infections is available, little is known on the intra-sexual differences in physiology and parasite infections associated to the reproductive success of different mating strategies in mammalian species. Chapter 5 examined the reproductive costs between territorial and subordinate males New Zealand fur seal related to their relative reproductive success using a multidisciplinary approach (behaviour, genetics, endocrinology, parasitology). We found that dominant New Zealand fur seal males endure higher reproductive costs due to the direct and indirect effects of high testosterone levels and parasite burdens. Our study highlights that holding a territory confers a higher reproductive success, but induces higher costs of reproduction that may impair survival. Understanding microevolutionary processes associated to polygynous systems is fundamental in light of the ongoing anthropogenic alteration of the environment through climatic variations and habitat reduction which ultimately affect opportunity for sexual selection and shape the life history trade-offs.

This thesis aims to develop a better understanding of insurgency and counterinsurgency warfare through a thorough analysis of the nature and strategies of insurgency and a comparative examination of the current strategic approaches to counterinsurgency warfare. Toward this end, a systems model approach, which views insurgent organizations as open systems, is adapted to the insurgent environment. Popular support, external support, and insurgent organization are determined as the major variables of the insurgency system. The evolution of French counterrevolutionary doctrine and its implementation in the Algerian rebellion is examined under the light of the major variables of the system and strategies of insurgency and counterinsurgency warfare. After an analysis of the F.L.N. tactics and French countermeasures, three important propositions are offered: First, popular support is the primary condition for the success of the insurgent organization; second, political, social, economic, and administrative factors have a primacy over military factors; and, third, domestic factors have a primacy over external factors in the outcome of a rebellion.

Formation movement is vital to preserve security among its units during military operations. We plan movement of a military formation over real, or simulated terrain, maximally preserving the relative positions of units in formation while it avoids barriers, and while its units avoid obstacles. Terrain is divided into homogeneous cells (say, squares), and a pair of neighboring cells is adjacent if the formation can transit between these cells while avoiding barriers with sufficient clearance. We induce a graph from these adjacencies, and determine the movement cost on each arc with a fine time-step simulation that finds local movement vectors to preserve relative formation position while avoiding approach too close to barriers or obstacles (this emulates solving differential equations with Euler's method). We then nominate an origin and a destination, select a shortest path, and repeat the time-step simulation over this path to determine the individual positions of each unit as the formation makes its transit. Game designers and robot controllers have published schemes to guide formation movement, but their movements can penetrate barriers, and myopically get caught in cul-de-sacs. By contrast, we guarantee that if a path exists that avoids these pitfalls, we will find it.