Читать книгу Simulation and Wargaming - Группа авторов - Страница 38

The game of chess has 64 squares, alternating in color but identical otherwise. The chess board is two‐dimensional, that is the 64 squares all occupy the same plane. The modern battlefield whether it be the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, Korea, or Iran; the open and rolling terrain of the North German Plain; or the deserts of Iraq and Kuwait is a three‐dimensional terrain: mountains, hills, plains, and valleys. That terrain is broken up by water: rivers, streams, lakes, swamps. There can be vegetation and man‐made objects that sit on top of the terrain. The terrain and these objects, unlike the chess board, change over time. Rain and snow change the trafficability of the terrain for combat systems, and it can be different for different types of systems (wheeled versus tracked and dismounted infantry). The terrain can be deformed by digging trenches, building obstacles, and explosions. Vegetation can change over time – a deciduous forest has much better lines of sight after the trees have dropped their leaves. Man‐made objects can be rubbled or destroyed. For the time being, we will ignore the airspace above the terrain, but fixed and rotary wing aircraft, manned and unmanned, are an integral part of modern ground combat, given the weather permits. And if we do represent aircraft, we cannot forget that rounds fired from artillery and mortars do share the same airspace as aircraft.