12 Historical Combat Techniques That Sound Made Up But Aren't

During the First Scottish War of Independence against England, Roxburgh served as the key strategic fortress still held by the English. Its strong position meant a regular siege would take years. Robert the Bruce's lieutenant, James Douglas, planned an audacious scheme to take the castle back in one night.This is an audacious scheme: dressing up as cows to take a castle.take the castle back in a single night.

Douglas chose to attack on Shrovetide, the night before Lent began. He calculated the castle garrison would be too drunk to notice the cows in the surrounding fields were not actually cows. Sixty of Douglas's men hid on their hands and knees as cows, unnoticed until it was too late.

They crept up to the castle unseen. They scaled the walls using rope ladders fastened to spears. They then opened the gates for the rest of the army to overwhelm the English garrison.

"Stick 'em with the pointy end" is optional for this German technique from the 15th-century Codex Wallerstein.Codex Wallerstein details Mordhau ('Murder Stroke') using the sword pommel instead of the blade.People should believe this.

Plate armor from the High Middle Ages made it hard for a blade to pierce. Using the sword's pommel as a war hammer is not as strange as it sounds.

Pankration is the ancient Greek fighting style with no limits.Pankration was a Greek fighting style meaning "all of the power." This shows the principles behind it. It served as a forerunner to modern mixed martial arts; in pankration, almost anything is allowed except biting or eye-gouging.

The discipline's brutality—attacking an opponent's genitals and strangulation were both legal and expected—made it an ideal way to train soldiers. The formidable troops of Sparta and Alexander's conquering army practiced pankration.

Allegedly, when cornered and fighting hard at Thermopylae,Thermopylae describes the ancient Greek fighting style with no limits.The final Spartan warriors used pankration to take down as many Persians as possible.

World War I introduced a terrifying array of new weapons. However, for trench raids, rifles with bayonets were too long to use well. Close-quarter weapons like the trench knife were used, while many just used their digging tools.Getting medieval in World War I involves using a trench knife.were used

Erich Maria Remarque's work is referenced.All Quiet on the Western Front covers the experience of trench warfare. This work is fiction, but it stems from the author's direct war experiences. The terrifying sight of a trench raid appears in chilling detail:

But the bayonet has lost much importance. Now, charging with bombs and spades is the usual method.

The fate of the ancient Mediterranean world was decided at the Battle of Zama.The Battle of Zama took place.In 202 BCE, the legendary Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca lined up war elephants, aiming to smash the Roman legions.

The Roman general met this threat.Publius Scipio was involved in the Battle of Zama.The Romans arranged lanes for elephants to pass. A coordinated horn blast from their cavalry startled the elephants, sending many back into their own lines. The Romans won a hard fight, securing victory in the Second Punic War.

Ships historically subdued coastal fortresses using blockades. Takamatsu Castle's unique spot is that it sat miles inland, not on the coast.

Attacking commander Toyotomi Hideyoshi devised unusual ways to take strong castles. His plans included scaling mountains.Hideyoshi planned to scale mountains.Hideyoshi planned to scale mountains in the night.Hideyoshi planned to buy up all the rice of a province.Hideyoshi planned to buy up all the rice of a province, but the attack on Takamatsu Castle was the most daring.Takamatsu Castle.Hideyoshi made the most audacious attack. He diverted a nearby river to flood the land around the castle. He built siege towers on barges to rain fire on the castle walls.

Legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi devoted his whole life to swordsmanship. He avoided being unarmed, refusing even to enter a bathtub.

In 1612, Miyamoto was scheduled to duel a skilled opponent on Ganryu Island.Ganryu Island.Ganryu Island is a small place in the strait between Honshu and Kyushu. Musashi arrived hours late and carved a sword from an oar for the duel. His opponent, Sasaki Kojiro, became furious over Musashi's delay.Musashi's lateness.Sasaki Kojiro threw away his sword scabbard, showing he intended to fight to the death because of Musashi's delay.

Both men struck at once. Kojiro's blow only cut Musashi's headband; the oar crushed his opponent's skull.

In the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1937), the modern Italian army won a hard fight against the Ethiopian army. The Italians used modern aircraft and tanks like the L3, expecting an easy win.

Ethiopian forces fought the invasion fiercely. The poorly equipped Ethiopian troops used any means to slow the Italian advance. Future Axis powers, Germany and Japan, provided material support to the Ethiopian forces.Germany and Japan provided material support to the Ethiopian forces.Boulders supported Ethiopian forces. During the Christmas Offensive, troops rolled boulders from high ground to stop lightly armored L3s, letting infantry swarm them.

Italian firepower won, but they suffered losses much worse than first reported.

Sohei, or warrior monks, mastered weapons from bows to naginata, having a long history in Japan. When guns arrived in Japan in the 16th century, monks from militant Buddhist sects used modern firepower without hesitation.

The Saika Ikki, a corps of elite gun-toting monks, formed a mercenary army led by Saiga Magoichi, who helped the defenders during the decade-long siege of Ishiyama Honganji.The Saika Ikki, a corps of elite gun-toting monks, formed a mercenary army led by Saiga Magoichi, who helped the defenders during the decade-long siege of Ishiyama Honganji.(1570-1580). Matchlock muskets devastated attackers; multiple assaults failed. Defenders of the citadel surrendered in 1580 after years of effort to subdue key allies.

The emperor's intervention spared the defenders. They burned the complex, but the defenders built a new citadel, Nishiyama Honganji, on the same site.1591The new citadel still stands today.

Elephants were a terrifying, uncontrollable weapon. Once moving, they could decide battles against the enemy. They could also devastate their own side.

Pigs offered a bizarre countermeasure to disrupt the charge. Ancient sources claim the squeals of frightened hogs...terrified elephantsAncient sources describe using pigs against elephants, such as the...Romans against Pyrrhus of Epirusin 275 BCE.

At the siege of Megara in 266 BCE, this tactic escalated. Unfortunate pigs were allegedly set alight and released to cause chaos. Take this account with caution; it was written a century later.set alightAs that account was written about a century after the events, it should be taken with a large pinch of salt.

18th-century European warfare brings soldiers in bright uniforms with guns. The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-1746 used a more primitive tactic: the fearsome Highland charge.

Highland supporters of Prince Charles Edward Stuart's claim came mostly from the Scottish Highlands. Warriors used a volley, closed with the enemy fast, and won the melee fight.

This technique worked well at the battles ofPrestonpansandFalkirkHowever, when a well-disciplined government force faced the Jacobites atCulloden, the last major battle on British soil, superior firepower and bayonets defeated the rebels.

The US Navy uses trained sea mammals since1959The former Soviet navy started a similar program in 1965, but they lacked the skill to properly care for the dolphins.

Russian dolphins had a lethal use; they trained to impale intruders with a muzzle bearinga spikeBeluga whales and seals also trained for sentry duty against saboteurs.

Top-secret research into military uses formarine mammalscontinues today.