High ground

The military importance of the high ground has been recognized for over 2,000 years, citing early examples from China and other early-dynastic cultures who regularly engaged in territorial/power struggles.

In Sun Tzu's The Art of War, military leaders are advised to take high ground and let the enemy try to attack from a lower position.

[2] General Ji Ling of the late Eastern Han dynasty used this principle to his advantage by sending lookouts to positions of higher-ground to scout for and provide early warning about enemy troops.

[citation needed] Very steep and/or rocky terrain, like mountain sides, can be an obstacle to tanks and armored personnel carriers, or in the past to cavalry and war elephants.

For example, in the Soviet–Afghan War, mujahideen guerrillas based themselves in the mountains of Afghanistan, thereby protecting themselves from the Soviet motorized divisions.