Collateral Damage
At a glance:
- Series: Magill’s Guide to Military History
- Categories: Military History
- Subcategories: Murder, Homicide, Execution, Assassination, Bombs, Bombings, Explosions
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present, 20th & 21st Century European History, Worldwide
The unintentional (if often inevitable) killing of civilians in a military action. While the term “collateral damage” did not enter the English lexicon until the 1980’s, civilian casualties are an ancient occurrence in war. However, the “industrial” warfare of the twentieth century greatly accelerated the problem by introducing ever-improving long-range artillery and indiscriminate aerial bombing. In the last half of the twentieth century, cruise missiles, “smart” bombs, and other guided weaponry were developed, in part, to solve the problem of collateral damage. However,...
[The entire page is 127 words long]
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