Post by insurrectomad on Jun 15, 2010 18:26:24 GMT -5
Aguinaldo made a plea for vast numbers of bowmen units to be formed, both when first fighting the Spanish and later when waring against the Americans. Bands of Igarot warriors it is recorded, where placed in the forefront of the lines surrounding the walls of Intumuros in 1898, but I have not seen any records of their achievements.
Was any Spaniard or American soldier ever wounded or killed by an arrow? Was any American ever killed by a spear? I suspect the answer is no to both questions. Only native tribesmen from the hills used bows & arrows, and only they had the Knowledge and skill to make the arrows. I'm sure they had only hunting bows with there limited short range and had no program of the mass production of arrows needed to mount a military campaign in the field. The success of the bowmen in Japan & China had already shrank to a shadow threat by the time of the Boxer Rebellion for instance. The Welsh & English Long bowmen were feared throughout Europe for 200 years. They could outdistance & had a far more rapid rate of fire against any gun up to the American Civil War. the problem was with the time it took to train a bowman and the effort required to manufacture the arrows. 7000 arrows were used at the battle of Agincourt, requiring a train of covered wagons to transport them. Far simpler to produce muzzle-loading muskets & simple lead balls with just a few hours instruction in how to fire them needed! Even so this was also beyond the ability of the Filipino Army & suppliers. There where not enough manufacturers of Blackpowder or the raw ingredients such as saltpeter to supply the army. Lastly bows or musket fire is only effective when used in large formations of trained men so as to fill the air with a cloud of arrows falling into killing zone. Musket brigades fired at an angle; crisscrossing the zone in a curtain of lead. Had Gen. Luna been given more time and support by the Rep. Govt. it may have been possible, but that never happened of course.
Was any Spaniard or American soldier ever wounded or killed by an arrow? Was any American ever killed by a spear? I suspect the answer is no to both questions. Only native tribesmen from the hills used bows & arrows, and only they had the Knowledge and skill to make the arrows. I'm sure they had only hunting bows with there limited short range and had no program of the mass production of arrows needed to mount a military campaign in the field. The success of the bowmen in Japan & China had already shrank to a shadow threat by the time of the Boxer Rebellion for instance. The Welsh & English Long bowmen were feared throughout Europe for 200 years. They could outdistance & had a far more rapid rate of fire against any gun up to the American Civil War. the problem was with the time it took to train a bowman and the effort required to manufacture the arrows. 7000 arrows were used at the battle of Agincourt, requiring a train of covered wagons to transport them. Far simpler to produce muzzle-loading muskets & simple lead balls with just a few hours instruction in how to fire them needed! Even so this was also beyond the ability of the Filipino Army & suppliers. There where not enough manufacturers of Blackpowder or the raw ingredients such as saltpeter to supply the army. Lastly bows or musket fire is only effective when used in large formations of trained men so as to fill the air with a cloud of arrows falling into killing zone. Musket brigades fired at an angle; crisscrossing the zone in a curtain of lead. Had Gen. Luna been given more time and support by the Rep. Govt. it may have been possible, but that never happened of course.