section_path: Non-calendar-based reckoning/Military campaigning seasons
section_name: Military campaigning seasons
paragraph_text: Military campaigning seasons
  
  Seasonal weather and climate conditions can become important in the context of military operations. Seasonal reckoning in the military of any country or region tends to be very fluid and based mainly on short to medium term weather conditions that are independent of the calendar.
  
  For navies, the presence of accessible ports and bases can allow naval operations during certain (variable) seasons of the year. The availability of ice-free or warm-water ports can make navies much more effective. Thus Russia, historically navally constrained when confined to using Arkhangelsk (before the 18th century) and even Kronstadt, has particular interests in maintaining and in preserving access to Baltiysk, Vladivostok, and Sevastopol. Storm seasons or polar winter-weather conditions can inhibit surface warships at sea.
  
  Pre-modern armies, especially in Europe, tended to campaign in the summer months - peasant conscripts tended to melt away at harvest time, nor did it make economic sense in an agricultural society to neglect the sowing season. Any modern war of manoeuvre profits from firm ground - summer can provide dry conditions suitable for marching and transport, frozen snow in winter can also offer a reliable surface for a period, but spring thaws or autumn rains can inhibit campaigning. Rainy-season floods may make rivers temporarily impassable, and winter snow tends to block mountain passes. Taliban offensives are usually confined to the Afghanistan fighting season.