Apache Tactics 1830-86

by Robert Watt, Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Overview

The Apache culture of the latter half of the 19th century blended together the lifestyles of the Great Plains, Great Basin and the South-West, but it was their warfare that captured the imagination. This book reveals the skillful tactics of the Apache people as they raided and eluded the much larger and better-equipped US government forces. Drawing on primary research conducted in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, this book reveals the small-unit warfare of the Apache tribes as they attempted to preserve their freedom, and in particular the actions of the most famous member of the Apache tribes - Geronimo.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849086301
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	01/24/2012
Series:	Elite , #119
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	901,203
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Dr Robert Watt is a lecturer at the University of Birmingham where he teaches a course on the Indian Wars for the History Department. He has previously published a number of articles for American history journals on both the Apaches and their campaigns throughout the 19th century and has travelled widely throughout Arizona and Mexico researching the subject.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

The historical background - the Apaches and Spain, Mexico, and the United States The scope of this text

The scale of Apache warfare

Chronology 8

Environment and Culture 13

Apacheria

The role of raiding in Apache life

Training

Leadership

Guerrilla Strategies & Tactics 16

The Raid

Raiding ranches and villages

Evasion 18

Victorio's evasion strategy

The Ambush 23

The planned ambush: Ojo Caliente, September 4, 1879 - Cuchillo Negro River, September 30, 1879 -Santa Cruz Mountains, May 15, 1886

The killing ambush: Candelaria Mountains, November 1879

Ambush by decoy and deception: Horseshoe Canyon, October 24, 1871 - Las Animas River, September 18, 1879 - Sierra Mad re Mountains, April 1883 - McEvers Ranch, September 10-11, 1 879 - Whetstone Mountains, May 5, 1871 - Caballo Mountains, January 30, 1880

The ad hoc ambush: the Apache "roadside bomb" - Las Palomas, March 1880 - Goodsight Mountains, September 7, 1 880 - Carrizo Canyon, August 12, 1881

The Attack 44

The rarity of direct attack

Attack after successful ambush: Cerro Mata Ortiz, November 13, 1882 - Conline's skirmish, April 5, 1880 Combined tactics: Hembrillo Basin, April 6-7, 1880

Other Aspects of Apache Warfare 53

Targeting horses and mules

Reactions to American technology

Terror tactics

The Failure of Apache Resistance 59

The Apache scouts

Shortage of ammunition

Numerical weakness

Defeats

Further Reading 62

Index 64

Editorial Reviews

In No. 199 of Osprey's Elite series, author Watt, resident expert on American Indian wars at the University of Birmingham, England, presents in 64 pages an English military expert's distillation of the tactics and weapons the Apaches employed against their various adversaries.” —Jon Guttman, Wild West (December 2012)

From the Publisher