Editorial: Mountain Warfare in the Light of Contemporary and Future Armed Conflicts

Mountain warfare represents one of the most demanding forms of military operations.Opposing forces face not only each other, but also harsh natural conditions.The rugged landscape of high mountains with steep slopes, connected by narrow valleys, cliffs, and narrow ridgelines, combined with high altitude and unpredictable weather, heavily influences all military operations, from logistical support to assaults on enemy positions.In such an environment, an enemy's bullet, grenade, or shell is not the only danger; soldiers also die from hypothermia, avalanches, falls, etc.Such conditions demand extremely fit soldiers, capable of both physical endurance and psychological resilience, using specialized weaponry and equipment.Soldiers require specialized training to help them survive in such harsh terrain, let alone conduct combat missions.At the same time, mountains are usually located far from urban environments, which limits logistical support and necessitates greater effort in transporting essential supplies, such as drinking water, food, building materials, weapons, and ammunition.Transport to and within the mountains is usually restricted to narrow trails or goat paths, forcing reliance on manual effort, in the form of soldiers and pack animals, to move supplies to higher positions.NATO, drawing on past experiences and recognizing the need to develop new knowledge regarding mountain warfare, established the NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence (MW COE) in 2015 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.While Slovenia acted as the Framework Nation, Croatia, Germany, and Italy joined the project as Sponsoring Nations, and Austria became a Partner Nation.On 27 November 2015, the Centre received its accreditation and became the twenty-second NATO Centre of Excellence.Currently, eight nations are participating in the centre, with Czechia, Poland, and Romania joining in subsequent years.The Centre's primary mission is to enhance "the mountain warfare capabilities