Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process and Game Theory in Military Decision-Making: A Perspective of Bangladesh Liberation War

Game Theory provides a mathematical framework for evaluating the decision-making processes and strategies of competing players in adversarial conditions. Military decision-making involves developing plans and assessing the resources by commanders and their staff. Consulting the rationale behind the study is one of the principles of the mission analysis process. In this article, a military decision-making problem has been analyzed using a combined approach based on game theory and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The payoff matrix is established using Cantwell's Ten-Step method to determine the military worth values for a two-person zero-sum game. Pairwise comparisons of multiple criteria and courses of action (COA) are compared by AHP to identify the optimal COA. Military strategies employed in the Battle of the Belonia Bulge are analyzed, which was fought between the Bangladesh Liberation Force and the Occupied Pakistan Army during the Liberation War of 1971. This study presents an expert-driven analysis based on a military decision planner's situational assessment. After analyzing the scenario using both methods, it was observed that the findings are consistent with the commander's decision in war situations.