A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or cities and buildings.
History
In its old strict sense, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, etc., by an assailant with the aim of weakening the opponent's resistance and particularly to pressure the civilian population and authorities of a besieged place to persuade their military commander to capitulate before its defenses were overcome. or the massed bombardments preceding Operation Uranus during World War II.
International law
In modern international humanitarian law, bombardment is generally treated as a subcategory of "attack", defined in Article 49(1) of Additional Protocol I (1977) to the Geneva Conventions as "acts of violence against the adversary". Article 51(5)(a) of the same protocol lists bombardment as one specific form of attack.
International humanitarian law also requires attacks to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack. These rules require parties to distinguish between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects, refrain from attacks expected to cause excessive incidental civilian harm, and take feasible precautions in planning and conducting attacks.
Hague Conventions
The first international treaties specifically regulating bombardment emerged from the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. The land warfare regulations adopted in 1899 prohibited attacking or bombarding undefended towns, villages, and dwellings. The 1907 Hague Convention IX (Convention Concerning Bombardment by Naval Forces in Time of War), in force from 26 January 1910, applied comparable restrictions to naval operations.
Assessment
In modern conflicts, the assessment of bombardment increasingly relies on post-strike evaluation, including battle damage assessment, to determine the extent and effects of strikes.