For the documentary film, see The Fog of War.
The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations.Joint Service Command and Staff College, Advanced Command and Staff Course Notes dated 2001The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability and adversary intent during an engagement, operation or campaign.
Levels
Causes of this ambiguity vary according to the level at which participants are:
Grand Strategic
Ambiguity is related to the political intent, capabilities and logistical strengths of an adversary, sources of information include diplomatic intelligence, secret (or special) intelligence, strategic modelling and data derived from open source intelligence. Participants seek to understand intent of and political motivations. Outcomes at this level may encompass military action but are more concerned with socio-political and economic outcomes from whic