Jungle warfare or woodland warfare is

warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

s, or similar environments. The term encompasses

military operation A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operati ...

s affected by the terrain,

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

, and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

of densely-wooded areas, as well as the strategies and tactics used by

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

forces in these situations and environments. The jungle has a variety of effects on military operations. Dense vegetation can limit lines of sight and arcs of fire, but can also provide ample opportunity for camouflage and plenty of material with which to build fortifications. Jungle terrain, often without good roads, can be inaccessible to vehicles and so makes logistical supply and transport difficult, which in turn places a premium on air mobility. The problems of transport make engineering resources important as they are needed to improve roads, build bridges and airfields, and improve water supplies. Jungle environments can also be inherently unhealthy, with various tropical diseases that have to be prevented or treated by medical services. The terrain can make it difficult to deploy

armoured forces Armoured warfare or armored warfare (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armored warfare rests on the abil ...

, or any other kind of forces, on a large scale. Successful jungle fighting emphasizes effective small unit tactics and leadership. Jungle warfare has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for both sides in many conflicts, including

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and the

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

History

Pre-modern

Throughout world history, forests have played significant roles in many of the most historic battles. For example, in the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

between the Romans and the

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts ...

in 9 AD, the Germans used the forest to ambush the Romans. In

ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

, the Chinese Empire planted forests on its strategic borderland to thwart nomadic attacks. For example, the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

(960–1127) constructed and maintained an extensive defensive forest in present-day

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. In the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

, there were fighting and wars between the neighboring tribes of the Jivaro. Several tribes of the Jivaroan group, including the

Shuar The Shuar, also known as Jivaro, are an indigenous ethnic group that inhabits the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia. They are famous for their hunting skills and their tradition of head shrinking, known as Tzantsa. The Shuar language belongs to ...

, practised

headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim. More portable body parts (such as ear, nose, or scalp) can be taken as trophies, instead. Headhunting was practiced in historic times ...

for trophies and headshrinking.

Nicaragua guerillas

World War II

Conventional jungle warfare

Australian 2-pdr anti-tank gun in action at Bakri on the Muar-Parit Sulong Road

At the start of

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, the Japanese Imperial Forces were able to advance on all fronts. In the

Malayan Campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers, Axis forces in British Malaya, Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the World War ...

, time and again they infiltrated through the jungle to bypass static British positions based on road blocks so that they could cut the British supply line and attack their defences from all sides. In early 1942, the fighting in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

at the start of the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

took on a similar aspect and resulted in one of the longest retreats in

British military history The military history of the United Kingdom covers the period from the creation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain, with the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, to the present day. From the 18th century onwards, with the expansi ...

. Most members of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

left Burma with the belief that the Japanese were unstoppable in the jungle. The British Army in Burma 1944 SE198

The

Chindits The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the ...

were a special force of 3,500 that in February 1943 launched a deep penetration raid, code-named

Operation Longcloth The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the ...

, into Japanese occupied Burma. They went in on foot and used mules to carry supplies. The operation was not a military success but was a propaganda boost for the Allies because it showed that Allied forces could successfully move and fight in jungle terrain well away from roads. On the back of the propaganda success,

Orde Wingate Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindits, Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory duri ...

, the eccentric commander of the Chindits, was given the resources to increase his command to divisional size and the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

supplied the

1st Air Commando Group 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: Arts and entertainment *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *''001'', also known as the ''Princess of Klaxosaurs'', is a character and the central antagonist from ''DARLING in the FRANXX'' *Player number of b ...

to support his operations. The availability of air transport revolutionized Wingate's operational choices. In February 1944, Operation Thursday was launched, and air transport support supplied 1st Air to allow the Chindits to set up air supplied bases deep behind enemy lines from which aggressive combat patrols could be sent out to interdict Japanese supply lines and disrupt rear echelon forces. That in turn forced the Japanese 18th Division to pull frontline troops from the battle against X Force, which was advancing through Northern Burma, to protect the men building the

Ledo Road The Ledo Road () was an overland connection between British India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan. After the Japanese cut off the Burma Ro ...

. When the Japanese closed on a base and got within artillery range, the base could be abandoned and then set up in another remote location. The ability to sustain the bases that relied totally on air power in the coming decades would prove a template for many similar operations. Marine-raiders

After the first Chindits expedition, thanks to the training the regular forces were receiving and the example of the Chindits and new divisional tactics, the regular units of the Fourteenth Army started to get the measure of both the jungle and the enemy. Under General Slim, the attitude of training was that the jungle was not another enemy but could be used to their advantage. Comprehensive protection against disease particularly malaria, was instigated. There was also a change in the attitude to the weather; previously both sides stopped operations in the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season but the Commonwealth troops were now expected to move and fight during the wet season. When the Japanese launched their late 1943 Arakan offensive they infiltrated Allied lines to attack the

7th Indian Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry Division (military), division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign. History The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major-ge ...

from the rear, overrunning the divisional HQ. Unlike previous occasions on which this had happened, the Allied forces stood firm against the attack and supplies were dropped to them by parachute. The Japanese travelled lightly intending to resupply from captured material. In the

Battle of the Admin Box The Battle of the Admin Box (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Ngakyedauk or the Battle of Sinzweya) took place on the southern front of the Burma campaign from 5 to 23 February 1944, in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. Japane ...

from 5 February to 23 February, the Japanese were unable to comprehensively break into the heavily-defended box that contained the divisional supplies while the defenders were able to resupply and bring tanks into operation. The Japanese switched their attack to the central front, but again, the British fell back into defensive box of

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

and the Kohima redoubt. In falling back to the defensive positions around Imphal, the leading British formations found their retreat cut by Japanese forces, but unlike previously, they took that attitude that the Japanese who were behind them were just as cut off as the British. The situation maps of the fighting along the roads leading to Imphal resembled a slice of marble cake, as both sides used the jungle to outflank each other. Another major change by the British was that use of air support both as an offensive weapon to replace artillery and as a logistical tool to transport men and equipment. For example, the 5th Indian Infantry Division was airlifted straight from the now-quieter Arakan front up to the central front and were in action within days of arriving. By the end of the campaigning season, both Kohima and Imphal had been relieved, and the Japanese were in full retreat. The lessons learnt in Burma on how to fight in the jungle and how to use air transport to move troops around would lay the foundations of how to conduct large-scale jungle campaigns in future wars.

Unconventional jungle warfare

Immediately after the fall of Malaya and Singapore in 1942, a few British officers, such as

Freddie Spencer Chapman Frederick Spencer Chapman, (10 May 1907 – 8 August 1971) was a British Army officer and World War II veteran, most famous for his exploits behind enemy lines in Japanese occupied Malaya. His medals include the Distinguished Service Order a ...

, eluded capture and escaped into the central Malaysian jungle, where they helped to organize and train bands of lightly-armed local ethnic Chinese communists into a capable guerrilla force against the Japanese occupiers. What began as desperate initiatives by several determined British officers probably inspired the subsequent formation of the above-mentioned early jungle-warfare forces. The British and the Australians contributed to the development of jungle warfare as the unconventional, low-intensity, guerrilla-style type of warfare understood today. V Force and

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...

were composed of small bodies of soldiers and irregulars, equipped with no more than small arms and explosives but were rigorously trained in guerrilla warfare-style tactics, particularly in

close-quarters combat Close-quarters battle (CQB), also called close-quarters combat (CQC), is a close combat situation between multiple combatants involving ranged (typically firearm-based) or melee combat. It can occur between military units, law enforcement and Cr ...

, and fought behind enemy lines. They were joined in Burma by American led Kachin guerrillas were armed and coordinated by the American liaison organisation, OSS Detachment 101, which led, armed, and co-ordinated them. Another small force operating in the Far East was the Australian-led

Z Special Unit Z Special Unit () was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist clandestine operation, direct action, lo ...

, which carried out a total of 81 covert operations in the South West Pacific theatre, some of which involved jungle warfare.

Cold War

British experience during Malayan Emergency

After the war, early skills in jungle warfare were further honed in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, when in 1948 guerrilla fighters of the

Malayan Communist Party The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore f ...

(MCP) turned against the Commonwealth. In addition to jungle discipline, field craft, and survival skills, special tactics such as combat tracking (first using native trackers), close-quarter fighting (tactics were developed by troopers who were protected only with fencing masks and stalked and shot each other in the jungle training ground with air rifles), small team operations (which led to the typical four-man special operations teams) and tree jumping (parachuting into the jungle and through the rain forest canopy) were developed from Borneo's native

Iban people The Iban are an indigenous ethnic group native to Borneo, primarily found in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei and parts of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are one of the largest groups among the broader Dayak peoples, a term historically ...

to actively take the war to the Communist guerrillas, instead of reacting to incidents that were initiated by them. Of greater importance was the integration of the tactical jungle warfare with the strategic "

winning hearts and minds __NOTOC__ Winning hearts and minds is a concept occasionally expressed in the resolution of war, insurgency, and other conflicts, in which one side seeks to prevail not by the use of superior force, but by making emotional or intelligence, intelle ...

" psychological, economic, and political warfare as a complete

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

package. The Malayan Emergency was declared over in 1960, as the surviving Communist guerrillas were driven to the jungle near the Thai border, where they remained until they gave up their armed struggle in 1989.

Cuban Revolution

Brazilian military government guerrilla

Portuguese Colonial War

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Portugal was engaged in jungle warfare operations in Africa against the independentist guerrillas of

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The operations were part of what is collectively known as the "

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence ...

". In fact, there were three different wars: the Angolan Independence War, the

Guinea-Bissau War of Independence The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (), also known as the Bissau-Guinean War of Independence, was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea from 1963 to 1974. It was fought between Portugal and the African Party for t ...

and the

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and Portuguese Armed Forces, Portugal. The war officially started on 25 September 1964, and ended with a ceas ...

. The situation was unique in that small armed forces, those of Portugal, conducted three large-scale counterinsurgency wars at the same time, each in a different theatre of operations and separated by thousands of kilometres from the others. For those operations, Portugal developed its own counterinsurgency and jungle warfare doctrines. In the counterinsurgency operations, the Portuguese organized their forces into two main types, the grid (''quadrilha'') units and the intervention units. The grid units were each in charge of a given

area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and c ...

in which they were responsible to protect and keep the local populations from influence from the guerrillas. The intervention forces, mostly composed of special units (

paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

commandos A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opp ...

etc.) were highly-mobile units that were used to conduct strategic offensive operations against the guerrillas or to temporary reinforcing grid units under heavy attack.

Vietnam War

The British experience in counterinsurgency was passed onto the Americans during their involvement in the

, where the battlegrounds were again the jungle. Much British strategic thinking on counterinsurgency tactics in a jungle environment was passed on through BRIAM (British Advisory Mission) to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

headed by Sir Robert Thompson, a former Chindit and the Permanent Secretary of Defense for Malaya during the Emergency. The Americans further refined jungle warfare by the creation of such dedicated counterinsurgency special operations troops as the Special Forces (

Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

), Rangers, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP), and Combat Tracker Teams (CTT). During the 8 years of active U.S. combat involvement in the Vietnam War (1965–1973), jungle warfare became closely associated with counter insurgency and special operations troops. However, although the American forces managed to have mastered jungle warfare at a tactical level in Vietnam, they were unable to install a successful strategic program in winning a jungle-based guerrilla war. Hence, the American military lost the political war in Vietnam for failing to destroy the logistics bases of the Viet Cong and the Vietnamese People's Army along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. With the end of the Vietnam War, jungle warfare fell into disfavor among the major armies in the world, namely, those of the U.S.-led

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the Soviet-led

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

, which focused their attention to conventional warfare with a nuclear flavor that was to be fought on the jungleless European battlefields. American special operations troops that were created for the purpose of fighting in the jungle environment, such as LRRP and CTT, were disbanded, and other jungle-warfare-proficient troops, such as the Special Forces and Rangers, went through a temporary period of decline until they found their role in

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

operations in the 1980s.

Central American Crisis

Post-Cold War

The end of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s marked the beginning of the end of a number of

proxy wars In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term ''proxy war'', a belligerent with external support is the ''proxy''; both bel ...

that had been fought between the

superpowers Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, tec ...

in the jungles of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. In the euphoria at the

end of the Cold War End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

, many Western nations were quick to claim the

peace dividend ''Peace dividend'' was a political slogan popularized by US President George H. W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the light of the 1988–1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, that described the economic benefit of a decrease in ...

and reinvested resources to other priorities. Jungle warfare was reduced in scope and priority in the regular training curriculum of most conventional Western armies. The nature of major military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia saw the need to put an emphasis upon

desert warfare Desert warfare is warfare in deserts or similar arid or semi-arid environments. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, climate, and resource availability of these areas, as well as the strategies and tactics used by mil ...

and

urban warfare Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...

training in both the conventional and the unconventional warfare models.

Conflicts in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

Chittagong Hill Tracts

Jungle units and training schools

The following military and police forces have specialized units that are trained and equipped to conduct jungle warfare: * : the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

has four companies of '' Cazadores de Monte'' (Jungle Hunters). * : the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

has six Jungle Infantry Brigades: 1st, 2nd, 16th, 17th, 22nd and 23rd Jungle Infantry Brigades and others units, and the Jungle Warfare Training Center (CIGS). Brazilian

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, Commandos,

Parachute Infantry A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating drag or aerodynamic lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves various purposes like slowing ...

and

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

are trained in jungle warfare too. The SOF of some State Military Police Forces, like the Military Police of São Paulo's Comandos e Operações Especiais, the Military Police of Minas Gerais's Batalhão de Operações Especiais (BOPE)/COMAF, the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro's

Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE) (; literally "Battalion of Special Police Operations") is the tactical police unit and gendarmerie of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State (''PMERJ'') in Brazil. Duties The BOP ...

(which has an agreement with the CIGS) and the Military Police of Maranhão's Companhia de Operações de Sobrevivência em Área Rural (COSAR) has training or are specialized in jungle operations. Jungle artillery is made by the 1st and the 10th Jungle Field Artillery Group. * : **

Royal Brunei Armed Forces The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); (ABDB), Jawi script, Jawi: , is the official organisation and collective term for all of the military forces or service branches of the sultanate of Brunei, Brunei Darussalam. The RBAF consists of three pr ...

(RBAF) *** Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF) ****

Gurkha Reserve Unit The Gurkha Security Unit (GSU), formerly known as Gurkha Reserve Unit (GRU) and in Malay as (PSG), also referred to as the Royal Brunei Gurkha Reserve Unit, is a Nepalese special elite guard force and royal guard in Brunei. Background The ...

(GRU) ****Royal Brunei Land Force Regiment (RBLFR) ***

Royal Brunei Navy The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), natively known as (TLDB) is the naval force of Brunei. It is a small but relatively well-equipped military force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions, and to deter and defend the Bru ...

(RBN) ****Naval Surface Action Group (NSAG) ***

Royal Brunei Air Force The Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF), natively known as the (TUDB), is the air force of the sultanate of Brunei. It is headquartered and mainly based at the Royal Brunei Air Force Base, Rimba, opposite the Brunei International Airport (BIA).

(RBAF) ****No. 236 Squadron ****Parachute Airborne Tactical Delivery Unit (PATDU) **

Royal Brunei Police Force The Royal Brunei Police Force, RBPF ( (PDB) is in charge of keeping law and order in Brunei. The RBPF has been one of the 190 members of INTERPOL, an intergovernmental organisation worldwide since 1984. With a force of more than 4,400 officers ...

(RBPF) ***Special Operations Squad (PGK) * : **

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF; , ) is Cambodia's national military force. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief is King Norodom Sihamoni. Since 2018, General Vong Pisen has been the Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF as head of the Army, Na ...

(RCAF) *** Royal Cambodian Army **** 911th Special Forces Regiment **** B-70 ****All infantry divisions and mechanized infantry brigade can fight in the jungle. *** Royal Cambodian Navy ****Naval Infantry Company *** Royal Gendarmerie ****Infantry Battalion * : Brigada de Fuerzas Especiales, Batallones de Selva. * : the

Ecuadorian Army The Ecuadorian Army () is the land component of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces. Its 25,650 active soldiers are deployed in relation to its military doctrine. The contemporary Ecuadorian Army incorporates many jungle and special forces infantry un ...

maintains three units composed of jungle troops: the 17th, 19th and 21st Jungle Infantry Brigades ''(Brigadas de Infantería de Selva)''. In addition, it has an independent jungle battalion with personnel recruited from the native population of the jungle: the 23rd Special Operations Training Battalion (Batallón Escuela de Operaciones Especiales 23, or BEOES 23). It has also a training school for jungle operations, the ''Escuela de Selva "Cap. Giovanny Calles"''. * : **

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

*** Combat Reconnaissance Platoon (''Tontaipur'') are

Kostrad The Army Strategic Reserve Command (; abbreviated Kostrad) is a combined-arms formation of the Indonesian Army. Kostrad is a Corps level command which has up to 35,000 troops. It also supervises operational readiness among all commands and con ...

's special unit which expertise in

Reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

operations, it is trained in jungle warfare in accordance with the terrain of the tropical country. * : ** The

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

maintains an elite Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School which is used to train domestic and foreign units in methods for countering irregular warfare. * ** Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (MPRT) ***Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia ****Forest Ranger **

Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active personnel is 113,000 ...

(MAF) ***

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army (; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysi ...

**** 10th Parachute Brigade (10 PARA BDE) ****

21st Special Service Group The 21st Special Service Group (Abbreviation, Abbr.: 21 SSG, ), also known as the 21st Special Forces Group, serves as the Command (military formation), command for the Malaysian Army's special forces, the ''Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army unit), Ger ...

(GGK) ****

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

****

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

(KAD) ****

Royal Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment (; Jawi: ) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, three battalions are parachute trained and form part of the Malaysia ...

****

Royal Ranger Regiment The Royal Ranger Regiment (; RRD) is an infantry regiment of the Malaysian Army. Although it is second in seniority to the Royal Malay Regiment (''; RAMD''), the RRD can trace its origins back to the mid 19th century and the establishment of Th ...

(RRD) **** Territorial Army Regiment ***

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defence operations. RMN's area of operation consists of 603,2 ...

(RMN) ****

PASKAL Paskal or Paškal is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Paškal Jukić (1748-1806), preacher, musician, and professor of philosophy from what is now Croatia * Paskal Milo (born 1949), Albanian historian, politician and leader of the So ...

***

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force formations of the British Royal A ...

(RMAF) ****Royal Malaysian Air Force Regiment (RMAFR) *****HANDAU *****Infantry Security Group ***** PASKAU **

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Abbreviation, Abbr.; MMEA; – ''APMM''; Jawi script, Jawi: ); formally known as Malaysia Coast Guard for international identification, is the coast guard organisation of Malaysia, and principal gover ...

(MMEA) *** Special Task and Rescue (STAR) **

Royal Malaysia Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation, and its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman, Kuala ...

(RMP) ***

General Operations Force The General Operations Force (GOF; ; PGA, Jawi: ) serves as the light infantry arm of the Royal Malaysia Police. It was originally established in 1948 during the Malayan Emergency by the British colonial administration. At that time, the poli ...

*** Special Operations Command (PGK) **** Special Actions Unit (UTK) **** VAT 69 Commando (VAT 69) ***

UNGERIN The Marine Assault Team (MAST) (, Jawi Script, Jawi: اونيت ڬمڤور مارين), formally known as the UNGERIN is a maritime counter terrorism and tactical unit of the Royal Malaysia Police's Marine Operations Force. Having become fully ...

* : **

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

***

Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army (; ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southea ...

****Airborne Infantry Division (AID) ****Armoured Infantry Battalions (AIB) ****

Border Guard Forces Border Guard Forces (; abbreviated BGF) are subdivisions of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) consisting of former insurgent groups in Myanmar under the instruction of Regional Military Commands. The government announced its plan to create Bor ...

(BGF) ****Light Infantry Divisions (LID) ****Special Forces Brigade (SFB) ***

Myanmar Navy The Myanmar Navy (; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. With 19,000 active personnel, the navy operates more than 227 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in counterinsurgency, counte ...

****Myanmar Navy SEALs ****Naval Infantry Battalion (NIB) **

Myanmar Police Force The Myanmar Police Force (), formerly the People's Police Force (), is the law enforcement agency of Myanmar. It was established in 1964 as an independent department under the Ministry of Home Affairs. History The Police Force in Myanmar h ...

*** Border Guard Police (BGP) ***Combat Police Battalions (SWAT) ***Forestry Security Police Force * **

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

(AFP) ***

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

(PA) ****All infantry divisions, armor division and combined arms brigade can fight in the jungle. ****

Light Reaction Regiment The Light Reaction Regiment (LRR) is the special operations unit of the Philippine Army (PA), under the operational control of the Special Operations Command (Philippines), Armed Forces of the Philippines Special Operations Command (AFPSOCOM). ...

(LRR) **** Scout Ranger **** Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) ***

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

(PN) ****

Naval Special Operations Command The Naval Special Operations Command (NAVSOCOM) is a separate command of the Philippine Navy trained in special operations, sabotage, psychological warfare, psychological and unconventional warfare and is heavily influenced by the United States Na ...

(NAVSOCOM) ****

Philippine Marine Corps The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) () is a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special operations missions. The Philippine Marines share the traditions of both the US ...

(PMC) ***** Force Reconnaissance Group (FRG) *****Marine Brigades *****Marine Rifle Battalions (MRB) *****Marine Security and Escort Group (MSEG) *****Marine Scout Snipers (MSS) ***

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

(PAF) **** 710th Special Operations Wing (710th SPOW) **

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the cou ...

(DENR) ***Park Ranger **

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

(PNP) ***Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) *** Special Action Force (SAF) * **

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

(MOI) ***Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) **** Volunteer Defense Corps (VDC) ** Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) ***

Royal Forest Department The Royal Forest Department (Abbreviation, Abrv: RFD; , ) is a department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Thailand), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), part of the Government of Thailand. History On 18 Se ...

(RFD) ****Forest Ranger ****Park Ranger ****Small Ranger Unit (SRU) **

Royal Thai Armed Forces The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF; ; ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand. The Highest Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are managed by the Minist ...

(RTARF) ***

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

(RTA) **** 31st Infantry Regiment, King Bhumibol's Guard ****All infantry, cavalry, and mechanized infantry divisions can fight in the jungle. ****Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols Company (LRRP) ****

Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command The Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command () also known as Pa Wai Airborne () is the special forces of the Royal Thai Army. Its headquarters are King Narai Camp in Lopburi. History The Royal Thai Army recognizes the importance and necessi ...

(RTASWC) ****

Thahan Phran The Thahan Phran (ทหารพราน; literally "hunter soldiers"; AKA Thai Rangers) AKA the Royal Thai Paramilitary Force is a paramilitary light infantry force which patrols the borders of Thailand and is an auxiliaries, auxiliary of t ...

***

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy (Abbreviation, Abrv: RTN, ทร.; , ) is the Navy, naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as the father of the Royal N ...

(RTN) ****Mekong Riverine Unit (MRU) ****

Royal Thai Marine Corps The Royal Thai Marine Corps or RTMC ( are the marines of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The Royal Thai Marine Corps was founded in 1932, when the first battalion was formed with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). It was expanded ...

(RTMC) *****Marine Division ******1st Marine Regiment ******2nd Marine Regiment ******3rd Marine Regiment ******Marine Task Forces (MTF) *******Marine 61st Special Operations Center *******Marines Task Unit 411 ******* Paramilitary Marine Regiment ******

RECON In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconna ...

**** Royal Thai Navy SEALs ***

Royal Thai Air Force The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) (; ) is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913 as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force has engaged in numerous major and minor conflicts. During the ...

(RTAF) **** RTAF Security Force Command ***** Special Operations Regiment (SOR) **

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...

(RTP) ***

Border Patrol Police The Border Patrol Police (; (BPP) is a Thai paramilitary police under the jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Police, responsible for border security, counterinsurgency, disaster relief, law enforcement, operating in difficult terrain, and supporting ...

(BPP) ****Aerial Reinforcement Division (ARD) aka Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU) ***** Naresuan 261 *****Special Forces Company (SFC) ****All Border Patrol Police Regional Divisions can fight in the jungle. *****Special unit Border Patrol Police Regional Divisions ******4th Border Patrol Police Regional Divisions *******43th Border Patrol Police Sub-Division ********SINGA Special Operations Team *******44th Border Patrol Police Sub-Division ********Long Range Surveillance Unit (LRSU) * : The U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division is the primary jungle warfare unit in its size. The 25th Infantry Division conducts military operations primarily in the Asia-Pacific region; it also operates the Jungle Operations Training Course, Jungle Environment Working Group, and the Lightning Academy Jungle School.

Jungle warfare training

Jungle Warfare School 160616-A-AR772-028

India

The Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) located in Vairengte,

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, is the primary jungle warfare training center for Indian forces.

Brazil

The Jungle Warfare Training Center (CIGS) in Brazil is the primary jungle warfare training center for Brazilian forces. They seek to copy the capacities of units of homologous commands.

United States

US Army Jungle Operations Training Center-waterborne operations training

The Jungle Operations Training Center (JOTC) located at

Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated ...

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

is the primary jungle warfare training center for American forces. Opened in its present rendition in 2013, JOTC is operated by the 25th Infantry Division and primarily trains personnel of the 25th Infantry Division, special forces, and foreign partners. Hawaii was chosen as the location for JOTC due to its climate, geography, capacity, and operational history in jungle training within the Pacific. Jungle warfare training is not new to this organization in Hawaii or the United States. During World War II the JOTC, also known as the Pacific Combat Training Center, was established in Hawaii to teach soldiers survival and fighting skills in tropical environments. Over 300,000 U.S. military personnel were trained in jungle fighting prior to deploying throughout the Pacific. Between 1956 and 1965, this same installation in Hawaii was home to the Jungle and Guerilla Warfare Training Center followed by the Recondo School from 1971 to 1979. The U.S. Asia-Pacific Rebalance Strategy necessitated jungle warfare training for the U.S. military be increased in priority. JOTC's revival at its original location in Hawaii is in part due to closure of the

Fort Sherman Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base in Panama, located on Toro Point at the Caribbean (northern) end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón, Panama, Colón (which is on the eastern bank). It w ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

JOTC location in 1999. Another jungle warfare training center, Camp Gonsalves, is operated by the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

on northern

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Jungle Warfare, The Game

Jungle, Japanese and the Australian Army: learning the lessons of New GuineaU.S. WWII Newsmap featuring Jungle Warfare
hosted by th
UNT Libraries Digital Collections

* ttp://senoipraaq.com/Senoi Praaq Special Forces {{DEFAULTSORT:Jungle Warfare Warfare by type