Raiders of a Lost Art? Apache War and Society

Abstract

Through examining the guerrilla tactics of the Apaches, I hope to challenge an often-implicit assumption that formalized European principles of warfare are automatically superior to those of other societies. Drawing a brief parallel with current events, I shall argue that even today this is a risky assumption to make. Apache principles of war were a product of a social organization, which was geared towards raiding and warfare, based upon a clear set of guiding principles that reflect a high level of intelligence rather than a mere primitive inclination towards violence. In order to defeat these adept guerrillas, the US Army ultimately had to become Apaches to overcome them. However, there was an tendency to assume that the Apaches must be inferior and that European tactics must ultimately prevail against such ‘savages’. This conclusion was erroneous then and, with Apache guerrilla tactics as applicable now as they were 120 years ago, would be an equally wrong conclusion today. As such, the Apaches are not ‘raiders of a lost art’, though whether their modern equivalents are aware of this heritage, is open to question.