Welcome to my new series of posts on archery tactics. We are going to go over some general information and also get into the weeds of some historic battles. It should be fun, so hang on to your hats.

The bow and the arrow had certain advantages over the atlatl and dart technology that preceded it. It developed primarily as a weapon of ambush (Mercer, “The Origins of Warfare,” 159-160). An archer can shoot from a variety of positions, from behind cover, up in trees, squatting, kneeling, sitting, even laying down in certain situations. To throw a spear or an atlatl and dart required the hunter or warrior to expose himself entirely and usually to cast from a standing position. An archer can also send a projectile a much greater distance than a spear thrower can launch a spear and with greater accuracy and rapidity.

Archers were often despised by early Greek writers because the bow is a long-distance weapon and its use implied cowardice to face the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. The honorable attributes of strength, courage, and steadfastness in the face of the enemy were of no use against a weapon that could kill from a 100 paces away.

Still, ambush remained the most common form of attack because the fundamental principle of violence is to fight against weakness, to engage only when the odds are highly in your favor. Fighting is dangerous, and the possibility of injury is real. Humans have very few natural defenses, and if, they can be caught unarmed, they are very vulnerable. For that reason, humans will always avoid direct face-to-face combat if they can, and they will always seek a weapon.

The most common and lethal form of combat is the raid—night raids, dawn attacks, encirclement, and ambush. The skeletons of the earliest humans show that raids occurred from the beginning of human history. Injuries from projectile weapons, including bows and arrows, suggest that the most common form of attack was ambush. Projectile points are usually found being shot at an upward angle and from behind as if the archers were squatting behind cover and shooting upwards at their prey (Gat, War in Human Civilization, 114-117; Koch, “Cannibalistic Revenge in Jalé Warfare,” 181-188)

It is important to understand that an effective ambush requires considerable tactical skill in reading and understanding the landscape, organizing dispersed forces, and coordinating the attack. Terrain, such as cliffs, rivers, lakes, swamps, and canyons, that block the prey’s escape and pins them down in a vulnerable position is best. Ambush is an important offensive tactic and when well executed can result in overwhelming victories. Archers can shoot from cover, though they are limited in that they can’t usually shoot from a prone position and they have to have room enough for the limbs of the bow to remain unimpeded by brush or rock during draw and release. Usually, they have to expose themselves at least a little when shooting (Malone, The Skulking Way of War, 21-23). Archers might also engage in raids against stationary targets, such as villages, towns, or castles.

The objective of a raid was to catch the prey off guard and confuse them. Consequently, raids took place at times that gave the raiders a tactical advantage, such as darkness, first or last light, during storms, or heavy fog. Fire arrows could be used to ignite homes or shelters and cause greater confusion and fear. In most aboriginal societies, formal archery battles took place at considerable distance, and arrows were shot at a high arc and were easy to dodge.

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