ABSTRACT
Iroquois military success has been attributed to several factors. These include a strategic position between the western fur supply and the eastern market, a political organization superior to those of their neighbors, access to guns and ammunition, and high morale. An explanation of why the Iroquois were a military success will be provided by analyzing their tactics in terms of three variables — weapons, armor, and mobility — which are commonly used by military analysts. The development of European military methods is characterized by alternating periods of armored and unarmored warfare. In summary, an analysis of Iroquois tactics as compared with those of their enemies indicates three periods in time when the discrepancy between weapons and tactics gave an advantage to the Iroquois. The first period in which the Iroquois held an advantage was an armored phase; the second period was a transitional phase; the third period was an unarmored phase.
