V. H. SHARYAN, Colonel (Res.), Research Fellow, Center for Research
on Operational Art, NDRU, MOD, RA

SUMMARY

Commanders often claim that in the mountains they fight not only against the enemy, but also against the environment, and if troops can fight in mountainous environments, then they can fight in any conditions. The organization and conduct of an operation in mountainous environ­ments significantly differ from those of the ordinary. When conducting operations in an elevation zone, the command and the troops act in an emergency situation (in extreme conditions), when the load on the service­men, armaments and military equipment, as well as the installations heavily increases, and the order, methods and forms of actions that are effective in normal conditions become difficult to implement.

As a rule, in the mountains, groups of troops have to act indepen­dently on separate axes, use special modes and methods of action, and solve a number of non-standard tasks during the operation.

Due to the specifics of preparing and conducting operations in mountainous environments, the command has to demonstrate a creative approach, somewhat an incessant search for effective ways and means of solving the assigned task, based on the utmost consideration of the impact of mountainous conditions on the actions of troops, knowledge of the theory and experience of preparing and conducting operations in the mountains. In essence, mountain warfare requires a unique mindset, as well as specific skills.