Guerilla Warriors: Native American Military Tactics

Native American soldiers mounted offense on open ground or struck from wooded areas.Native American soldiers relied on small raiding parties.They used quick-hit strategies. These strikes often resulted in few losses for the attacking force.

Warriors brandished bows and clubs while rushing the enemy just before dawn. Rewards went to warriors who killed foes.

European army recruits in the French and Indian War trained as a single unit, like their Roman forebears. Native American tradition differed.Native American men fought alone.They fought apart from their fellow warriors.

Chiefs told their men the conflict's aims and general plans. But on the field, each warrior acted for himself. Warriors who showed personal skill earned respect among Native American tribes.

This ability to think and act independently while aiming for a shared goal confused rigid European forces in early fights.

For overall battle plans, most Native American chiefs focused on keeping their warriors alive. This caused the quick-hit tactics and early-morning raids.

Native Americans kept focusing on saving lives even when facing European soldiers. Later chiefs refined earlier tactics and began using ambushes.They started using ambushes whenever possible.

Also, there was no shame in retreating.A Native American's only shame was surrender.When a Native American raiding party or tribal battalion used handmade weapons, they destroyed everything in their path.

Native American raiding parties or tribal battalions drew handmade weapons. They destroyed everything in their way.

Most survivors from a defeated tribe returned home and joined the winning tribe. One Native American nation used a harsher method.

The IroquoisIroquoisThe Iroquois systematically harmed captured warriors, sometimes burning them alive. Crying out during these attacks was seen as weakness. European observers reported Native Americans enduring great pain without making a sound.

Raids often began as revenge to make up for losses suffered by a tribe. Survivors were often taken to the winning tribe's home to fill the spot of a lost relative.

Several people who took the role of a former victim were fully adopted, sometimes even marrying into the tribe.White settlers faced this treatment too, because Native Americans did not make racial judgments.

Many colonial settlers became full members of the tribe that first attacked them.

Native American tribes used combat tactics, like theatricality, to frighten enemies. They tried to strip opponents of their will to fight.

Scalping was a popular way to get a terrified response, taken as a prize in combat or to scare people.Scalping served a valuable social purpose.Native American culture used scalping for social reasons.This happened in Native American culture.Tribes hung scalps in villages, gave them to spouses, and traded them for rewards.

During the colonial era, European armies sought wide-open battlefields. This helped commanders direct the attack.Native American chiefs used the terrain to plan their attack.

Chief Crazy HorseCrazy Horse.Crazy Horse once misledGeneral George Crook and his troops rested in a valley bottom. 1,500 Sioux warriors surprised them, causing many casualties.

Most Native American nations knew horsemanship well.They knew horsemanship.However, their cavalry tactics differed greatly from those of the Europeans they fought.

Riding in a loose clump meant defenders could not wipe out whole waves with opening volleys. Once the loose formation hit its target, grouped Native American warriors could take a large section of a focused area.

This move could cripple a defensive line easily.

Native American warriors fought individually, yet they also followed their chief's direction.

For example, at the Battle of Little Bighorn, chiefs wore flags with colors marking their tribe.These colors identified their tribe.Legendary combatant Crazy Horse used mirrors to send orders to his men. Chiefs also used "eagle horns," which were whistles carved from eagle leg bones.

Native American warriors used their trademark combat whoops to signal communication on the front.

Besides using their own advanced front-line communication, Native American tribes secretly took control of the enemy's simple talking tools.

Sioux and Cheyenne men often captured buglers or brought bugles into battle.They did this for a double purpose.The first purpose was to communicate between tribes; the second was to confuse British soldiers.This allowed communication between tribes and disoriented British servicemen.

After Europeans claimed the New World, Native American fighting grew from small groups to entire tribes of hundreds or thousands to defend their land.Native American combat swelled from small forces to entire tribes of hundreds and thousands to defend their territory.Each tribe used its own tactics.When a chief felt a battle was needed, a messenger carried a pipe to other chiefs. Chiefs who smoked the pipe agreed to join the fight.

This let them choose their path freely, making them (and their warriors) more committed to the fight.

Most history shows the U.S. government did not prioritize settling the American West. During the 1840s to 1880s, the United States focused on keeping the republic together. Thus, the War Department tended toStaff the Western frontier.Use men.These men picnicked and hunted much more than they trained.

Native Americans spent their lives fighting on horseback. People wrongly thought Native Americans only used bows and arrows against American soldiers. Instead, Native Americans adapted fast to modern fighting. Often, Native Americans were better prepared than the soldiers they faced.

One member of Custer's Seventh Cavalry reported, "[S]Sending raw recruits and untrained horses to fight mounted Indians simply sends soldiers to be killed without a chance to defend themselves.

After the French and Indian conflict, even Native Americans allied with the British suffered. Treaties repeatedly failed and were disrespected. Europeans ignored Native American customs, like bringing survivors into the tribe. Because of these rights violations, Native Americans united under Pontiac's leadership.

Pontiac observed the British and French armies in battle. Pontiac taught his men disciplined, formation-based combat. He added his own style, telling his men to form aShow a series of patterns.Patterns include half-moons, squares, circles, lines, and columns.These new formations shifted quickly and worked well on rough ground.

In 1755, General Edward Braddock gathered 1,400 British soldiers and moved toward the French post, Fort Duquesne. About 10 miles away, the force met a combined militia of 900 Frenchmen, Canadians, and Native Americans.

The smaller French army, instructed on Native American tactics,They completely destroyed Braddock's forces..The French lost 39 people; the British lost 977.

A young lieutenant colonel, George Washington, saved the French from losing many lives. He recognized defeat and got his remaining men out. The tactical retreat earned him the title "Hero of the Monongahela."

Washington and his commander, General John Forbes, learned a major lesson from the defeat.AsGeneral Forbeswrote, "We must comply and learn the Art of Warr, from Enemy Indians."