Military geosciences before the twenty-fi rst century

ABSTRACT Potential military applications of geology became apparent in Europe by the late eighteenth century, notably to Napoleon Bonaparte. In the United Kingdom, nineteenth-century practice was commonly to teach elementary geology to army officer cadets, and in twentieth-century confl icts to deploy a single uniformed geologist as a staff offi cer within each major regional headquarters, initially leaving terrain analysis to geographers. In Germany, considerably greater use was made of uniformed geologists serving as teams within all theaters of military operation in both world wars, generating a wealth of data now published or accessible in national archives. Rose, E.P.F., 2014, Military geosciences before the twenty-fi rst century, in Harmon, R.S In the United States, a few military geologists were appointed to serve in uniform i