Combat

File:Thure de Thulstrup - L. Prang and Co. - Battle of Gettysburg - Restoration by Adam Cuerden (cropped).jpg

Ground combat: The Battle of Gettysburg by Thure de Thulstrup, depicting the Union Army and Confederate Army clashing during the American Civil War, 1863

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Naval combat: Sinking of the Esmeralda during the Battle of Iquique by Thomas Somerscales, depicting the Peruvian Navy ironclad Huáscar sinking the Chilean Navy corvette Esmeralda during the War of the Pacific, 1879

File:Mitsubishi G4M is shot down in May 1944.jpg

Aerial combat: An Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi G4M on fire after being shot down by a United States Navy Consolidated PB2Y Coronado during World War II, 1944

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Combat sports: Two Irish Defence Forces members hitting each other during a military-sanctioned boxing championship, 2014

Combat (French for fight) is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or can be used as a tool to impose one's will on others. An instance of combat can be a stand-alone confrontation or a small part of a much larger violent conflict. Instances of combat may also be benign and recreational, as in the cases of combat sports and mock combat.

Combat may comply with, or be in violation of, local or international laws regarding conflict. Examples of rules include the Geneva Conventions (covering the treatment of people in war), medieval chivalry, the Marquess of Queensberry Rules (covering boxing), and several forms of combat sports.

Hand-to-hand combat

Hand-to-hand combat (melee) is combat at very close range, attacking the opponent with the body (striking, kicking, strangling, etc.) and/or with a melee weapon (knives, swords, batons, etc.), as opposed to a ranged weapon.

Hand-to-hand combat can be further divided into three sections depending on the distance and positioning of the combatants:

Military combat

Military combat can involve multiple groups, including guerilla groups, insurgencies, and domestic and/or foreign governments. A military combat situation is known either as a battle or a war, depending on the size of the fighting and which geographical areas in which it occurs. Combat effectiveness has always demanded that the personnel maintain strategic preparedness by being sufficiently trained, armed, equipped, and funded to carry out combat operations in the unit to which they are assigned.^[1] Warfare falls under the law of war, which govern its purposes and conduct, and protect the rights of combatants and non-combatants.