Land mine

Part of a series on
War
History Prehistoric Ancient Post-classical Early modern Pike and shot napoleonic Late modern industrial fourth-gen
Military Organization Command and control Defense ministry Army Navy Air force Marines Coast guard Space force Reserves Regular / Irregular Ranks Specialties: Staff Engineers Intelligence Reconnaissance Medical Military police Land units: Infantry Armor Cavalry Artillery Special forces Signal corps Naval units: Warships Submarines Aircraft carriers Landing craft Auxiliary ship Air units: Fighters Bombers Command Close air support Electronic-warfare Reconnaissance Combat systems: Fire-control system Fire-control radar Director (military) Combat information center Sonar Radar Historical: Ship gun fire-control Gun data computer Torpedo data computer Development: Basic training Military manoeuvrers Combat training
Battlespace Aerospace Air Airborne Space Land Cold-region Desert Jungle Mountain Urban Subterranean Tunnel Sea Amphibious Blue Brown Green Surface Underwater Cyber Information
Weapons Air defence Armor Artillery Barrage Biological Camouflage Cavalry Horses Air cavalry Chemical Combined arms Conventional Cyber Denial Disinformation Drone / Robot Electronic Infantry Loitering Missile Music Nuclear Psychological Radiological Unconventional
Tactics List of military tactics Aerial Airlift Air assault Airbridge Airdrop Battle Cavalry Charge Counterattack Counterinsurgency Defeat in detail Foxhole Drone Envelopment Guerrilla Morale Rapid dominance Siege Swarm Screen Tactical objective Target saturation Trench Withdrawal
Operational Military operation Operations research Blitzkrieg Expeditionary Deep operation Maneuver Operational manoeuvre group Raid
Strategy List of military strategies and concepts Military campaign Attrition Commerce raiding Counter-offensive Culminating Defence in depth Fabian Empty fort Mosaic Deception Defensive Depth Goal Naval Offensive Scorched earth
Grand strategy Asymmetric Blockade Broken-backed Class Cold war Colonial Conquest Containment Economic Endemic Fleet in being Irregular Liberation Limited Network-centric New generation Perpetual Political Princely Proxy Religious Resource Strategic Succession Technology Theater Total war World war
Administrative Branch Policy Staff Training Service Sociology
Organization Area of responsibility Chain of command Command and control Doctrine Principles of war Economy of force Medicine Engineers Intelligence Ranks Technology and equipment
Personnel Military recruitment Conscription Recruit training Military specialism Women in the military Children in the military Transgender people and military service Sexual harassment in the military Conscientious objector Counter-recruitment
Logistics History Military–industrial complex Arms industry Materiel Supply-chain management Main operating base Forward operating base Outpost
Science Power projection Loss-of-strength gradient
Law Court-martial Geneva Conventions Geneva Protocol Islamic rules Justice Perfidy Jewish laws on war Right of conquest Rules of engagement Martial law War crime
Theory Air supremacy Command of the sea Full-spectrum dominance Overmatch Unrestricted Warfare
Related Outline of war Just war theory Principles of war Philosophy of war War film Military science fiction War game Lanchester's laws Security dilemma Tripwire force Mercenary War novel Women in war War resister War studies Anti-war movement Horses in warfare Wartime sexual violence Fifth column
Lists Battles Military occupations Military terms Operations Sieges War crimes Wars Weapons Writers
v t e

A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it.^[1]

Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used.^[2] A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Land mines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a minefield^[3] which is dangerous to cross.

The use of land mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy. Seventy-eight countries are contaminated with land mines and 15,000–20,000 people are killed every year while many more are injured. Approximately 80% of land mine casualties are civilians, with children as the most affected age group. Most killings occur in times of peace.^[4] With pressure from a number of campaign groups organised through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a global movement to prohibit their use led to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Treaty. To date, 164 nations have signed the treaty, but these do not include China, the Russian Federation, or the United States.^[5]