text: Armies, Corps, and Divisions
  land forces involved. In general war, large and heavily armed conventional forces compete for military
  supremacy by conducting multi-domain large-scale combat operations.
  1-40. Large-scale combat operations are extensive joint combat operations in terms of scope and size of
  forces committed, conducted as a campaign aimed at achieving operational and strategic objectives
  (ADP 3-0). These operations aim to defeat the enemy’s armed forces and eliminate the enemy’s military
  capability. Wars are dominated by large-scale combat operations, but they almost always include irregular
  and unconventional warfare. For example, Soviet partisans waged unconventional warfare against German
  lines of communications during World War II. Similarly, the Vietcong conducted guerrilla warfare
  throughout the Vietnam War, even as the North Vietnamese Army fought conventional battles against U.S.
  and South Vietnamese forces.
  1-41. The most extreme form of conflict is total war. Total war is characterized by mass mobilization of the
  citizenry of at least one belligerent, conventional warfare, the possible use of chemical, biological,
  radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons, and potentially large-scale conflicts in multiple theaters. U.S.
  forces campaign during total war with a long-term view to the future transition period at the end of the main
  period of hostilities. Wars disrupt political, social, and economic structures in conflict areas. They often
  create the conditions that result in large-scale humanitarian crises that require significant resources and
  additional commitment of joint and multinational forces to address.
  ARMY FORCES ALONG THE COMPETITION CONTINUUM
  1-42. Although Army forces are optimized for large-scale combat operations, they must be able to operate
  anywhere along the competition continuum. In reality, Army forces often operate on several levels along the
  continuum simultaneously. In every case, achieving the end state requires creating conditions that advance
  U.S. national strategic interests. Some situations require applying massive force in major combat operations
  to eliminate a threat; others involve applying military power more selectively to achieve limited objectives.
  The goal at any point is to move conditions to a lower level of violence and competition, returning U.S. forces
  to a level of favorable competition below armed conflict.
  RANGE OF MILITARY OPERATIONS
  1-43. The range of military operations is a conceptual model that helps relate military activities and
  operations in scope and purpose to each other. During competition, Army forces conduct operations to shape
  the security environment and prevent adversaries from achieving their objectives without using armed force.
  In armed conflict and war, Army forces conduct operations to defeat enemy forces. In all cases, Army forces
  conduct operations to establish the conditions necessary to achieve their objectives. Grouping military
  operations with common characteristics in the four categories of the range of military operations helps to
  describe a major operation’s general characteristics, not the details of its execution. Characterizing the
  employment of military capabilities as one or another type of military operation has several benefits. For
  example, publications can be developed that describe the nature, tasks, and tactics associated with specific
  types of diverse operations, such as noncombatant evacuation operations and counterinsurgencies. The four
  categories in the range of military operations are—
  * Military engagement and security cooperation.
  * Crisis response operations.
  * Limited contingency operations.
  * Large-scale combat operations.
  Each category corresponds broadly to a range along the competition continuum and to the Army strategic
  roles. (See figure 1-3 on page 1-10.)