Final answer:
A battleground refers to a location where a battle takes place, with its geographical characteristics, such as difficult ground, hemmed in ground, and desperate ground, influencing military strategy and tactics.
Step-by-step explanation:
A battleground is an area of land where a battle is fought or has been fought. In historical contexts, these grounds are often characterized by specific geographical features that impact the tactics and outcomes of battles. Examples include:
Difficult ground: Terrain that is hard to traverse, such as mountain forests, rugged steeps, marshes, and fens.
Hemmed in ground: Areas where movements are restricted, such as narrow gorges that could leave an army vulnerable to being crushed by a smaller force.
Desperate ground: Situations where an army must fight immediately to avoid destruction.
Geography by its very nature dictates the ebb and flow of combat, and understanding the various types of terrain is crucial in military strategy. The terms mentioned above, for example, can dictate certain tactical decisions such as not fighting on dispersive ground, halting not on facile ground, or avoiding attack on contentious ground. On critical ground, an area beyond one's own country that provides communication in all directions, or serious ground, which refers to deep penetration into enemy territory, specific strategic considerations must be taken into account to secure victory.