Conventional warfare - Definition and Overview

Conventional warfare means a form of warfare conducted by means other than with chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. In other words it is warfare without the use of weapons of mass destruction.

The overwhelming majority of wars have been conducted using the means of conventional warfare. Biological warfare has not been used since the 19th century (though it is possible that the recent anthrax attacks in the United States were bioterrorism), and chemical warfare has been used only a few times. Nuclear warfare has only occurred once with the United States bombing the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II in the Pacific.