What’s Fog of War?

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Military operations are heavily dependent on communications and intelligence to be successful. When one or both of these elements are compromised, the result is often called a fog of war. This sentence encompasses all the confusions and miscalculations that can occur during a real combat situation. There is also a political version, where public opinion can be influenced by disinformation or ambiguous reporting of facts.

A common occurrence caused by fog of war is called “friendly fire.” Troops can be placed on the battlefield according to a master plan, but those positions could change without warning during the actual battle. The results of this unplanned movement could be catastrophic, as friendly forces fail to recognize their comrades, or target positions deemed vacant by friendly troops. A number of accidental “friendly fire” deaths can be attributed to wartime confusion.

Communication problems can also occur due to fog of war. If field commanders cannot communicate vital course corrections or enemy positions to the operations center in real time, soldiers and military equipment could be endangered. Such delays and miscommunication are typically attributed to the fog of war, as combatants may have to improvise a new strategy or retreat without sufficient time to report their actions to headquarters. This can also work in the opposite direction, when vital orders from commanders cannot reach the battlefield in time.

The concept has come under considerable criticism over the years. The families of soldiers killed by “friendly fire” often blame their deaths on poor planning by superiors. The military’s response to these allegations often includes an allusion to the fog of war, meaning that some battlefield casualties were due to real-time confusions or miscalculations, not bad planning. Some critics accuse the military of relying too much on this defense to justify its actions or missteps.

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