Man-A-Foot.

This is coolbert:

Good program several nights ago on PBS TV. Was part two of a three part series called "Guns, Germs, and Steel".

Adapted from a book of the same name by Jared Diamond.

Deals with the reasons as to why "European" peoples in the last five hundred years have become such masters of the world.

Diamond's hypothesis is that indeed, guns, germs, and steel are part and parcel of the winning formula for western European man. Enabled "Europeans" to gain dominion over much of the world, and maintain same.

Episode two of the three part series deals in depth with the conquest of the Inca Empire by the Conquistadores under Pizarro.

Many experts have theorized as to how the Inca fell to the Spanish. And fell with such apparent ease. This is a subject that has fascinated many. HOW were about one hundred fifty [150] Spaniards able to defeat the Inca Empire, an empire that was able to field armies of literally tens of thousands.

[At the time of the first clash between the Spaniards and the Inca, the Inca had an army readily at hand that numbered eighty thousand [80,000] warriors!!]

Diamond of course attributes the victory of the Spanish as being due to the combination of guns, germs and steel. AND horses. The Spaniards were also very guileful and did have a plan that did succeed. The combination of mounted men, armored, wielding steel swords [rapiers], and backed up by cannon [Pizarro did have ONE cannon with him, a backpack variety], and arquebus [a very early form of long rifle] fire. All this exacerbated by the effects of a weakened Inca population that had just endured their first taste of epidemic [small pox] ["white man's germs"].

During this initial clash with the Spaniard, the Inca fate was sealed. Venturing forth to meet the newcomers, the Inca, Atahualpa [the ruler of the Inca was also called the Inca] had with him four thousand [4000] UNARMED warriors. Why this was so is not clear. Perhaps the Inca wanted to demonstrate his power over the newcomers by defeating them unarmed??!! IT IS NOT clear if this was so. That was only speculation.

Attacking, in again, a guileful manner, the Spaniard horsemen WERE able to slaughter this ENTIRE force of warriors. The armored rider, on horseback, wielding a rapier, was unstoppable and unbeatable. Of course, those 4000 Inca warriors were UNARMED, ill-led, unprepared, without a plan. Still, that such a defeat would occur makes one wonder??

The Inca army, if organized, led, equipped, trained, motivated, and resolute, COULD have stopped and defeated the Spaniards. But these were warriors, the Inca. When the Inca, Atahualpa, was captured, that army of 80,000 men melted into the mountains and did not come to his aid. These were warriors, not soldiers [soldiers fight according to a plan, accepting discipline, and as a team].

This would have been an instance of men-a-foot [infantry], defeating cavalry. Need the training, planning, equipment, and resolve to defeat horsemen. I have blogged about this before.

The Inca could have employed a variety of weapons and tactics to do so.

The Inca did have sling throwers [peltists] .

The Inca evidently DID not have archers, the American Indian for the most part preferring close-quarters-combat mano-a-mano.

Combat between the Spaniard horsemen and the Inca men-a-foot could have transpired in this manner:

Inca await the charge of the Spaniards. Teams of Inca warriors, specially trained, equipped, and organized, stand their ground.

Each team of Inca are assigned a horseman as their target in the battle.

Inca peltists, in large numbers, initiate a bombardment of the Spaniards that is continuous. A bombardment NOT necessarily designed to kill, but rather to distract, cause wounds, confusion, etc., in the ranks of the Spaniards.

Inca warriors, fighting as part of a team, throw bundles of burning twigs, burning brush, and hoops afire at the horses.

Several Inca from each time move in with long, flint-tipped lances, attempting to stab the horses their team has been assigned to defeat.

Some Inca with lassoes attempt to rope a leg of a horse. To hobble and constrain the horses movement.

Other Inca with forked sticks attempt to move in on the horse and rider, the object to de-horse the rider if possible. Several men attack at the same time with forked sticks from different directions.

A horseman, when unhorsed, is attacked by a man wielding a war club, or several men wielding war clubs. These clubmen will attempt to attack the horses legs too, if possible.

A horseman, on the ground, off his feet, would be made short work of. Stunned by mallet or club impacts, stabbed by flint knives.

A large number of Inca warriors, fighting in this manner, COULD have defeated the Spanish horsemen. Resoluteness, equipment, training, planning, etc. All this could have succeeded. Team work was necessary. NONE of the tactics or weapons by themselves would have succeeded. A synergistic effect was necessary. Peltists, rope and fire throwers, spear, forked stick and club wielders would have had to COMBINE actions for victory. Combined arms at a primitive level. But very illustrative of the concept.

This DID NOT happen.

And the result was a relatively easy, almost too easy conquest of the New World by rapacious Conquistadores.

[It was not mentioned in the program that after the death of Atahualpa, the Spanish did find a collaborator who ruled as a proxy for them. This was true of Spanish conquest throughout the New World. Where ever they went, the Spanish sought out and were able to find collaborators or allies that great assisted them.]

coolbert.