The Iroquois (5 Nations) Warrior, an Overview and TO&E

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<Pending Approval By Snip Before this should be considered Canon>

Pre-1700s:  The Warrior types of the Five Nations could roughly be divided into two types:

1)  Braves, semi-professionals who place honor highly and put in much time and effort to honing their skills with the bow, knife, and tomahawk.  Primarily Ambushers wearing no armor and sometimes nothing more than breeches, and relying on skill, stealth, and speed.

2)  Villagers, some settled-down braves but predominately farmers, laborers, and craftsmen.  Little uniform skill in any particular discipline and predominately armed with spear, knife, or tomahawk with a leavening of bows of varying skill levels.  Defense troops generally considered unsuited to mobile warfare except in cases of a siege or set piece battle.

1700s:  The two types of warrior continued, with a third added:

1)  Braves remain semi-professional, though more and more they are full time soldiers.  Arms begin to include muskets and rifles but continue to maintain bow, tomahawk, and knife as primary weapons.  They remain ambushers, though by the end of this period their uniforms begin to become a more uniform buckskin color.  Their ability to live off the land has dropped somewhat but they could still reliably be used.

2)  Militia.  By the end of the Naragannset War, villagers are mere villagers no more.  By law every man's rite of passage from boyhood to manhood includes equipping himself as a soldier with musket, tomahawk or knife, and accoutrements.  Training is in what a European would consider a skirmish line, as the terrain nor the national psyche is conducive to formal linear battle lines.

3)  Gunners.  A truly professional force from its inception.  Artillery was an incredibly rare affair prior to the mid 1700s, but by the end of the century a small but professional corps of gunners had been formed.  Guns are typically light field guns, with fortresses rarely even having a gun heavier than 18 pounds and most field pieces being 6 pounds or less.  Sidearms were musketoons, with overall grey uniforms.

1800s:  While there were general improvements in arms, there was little actual change throughout the century. 

1900s:

1)  Braves.  Now fully professional soldiers, the membership is still a bit more 'society' and less 'academy'.  Weapons are early bolt-action single shot carbines and lever action carbines, with the Lee-Mohawk 1899 straight-pull bolt action carbine only starting to see service.  Tomahawks and knives remain universal.  The tactics have changed little either, with individual skill and small unit actions and ambushes being the primary methodology.  Uniforms have become 'uniform' with buckskin tunics over earth brown trousers, with formal uniforms having panels of red and blue with decoration.

2)  Militia.  Tactics, training, and methodology have barely changed.  Uniforms have standardized on Green tunics over buckskin trousers.  Weapons have also been standardized on the Mohawk-72 trapdoor rifle and bayonet or the Mohawk-85 single-shot bolt action and bayonet. 

3)  Gunners.  12lb Muzzle loaders are still seen in the further afield forts.  However, small breech-loading pieces in the 6 and 12lb range have become standard field guns for their ability to be rapidly moved across the densely wooded terrain of the frontier.  Fortress guns have caught up with naval rifles and guns of between 5 and 10 inches can be found, with some 6 and 12lb guns in support.

Current (1911):

1)  Braves.  Whether mounted or dismounted, braves all uniformly wear buckskin over brown with brown leathers and brown oilskin hats, and now universally carry the M-99* Carbine in the now universal .24 Lee-Mohawk caliber.  The carbine is 8 shot, loaded by 2 x 4rd stripper clips.  Tactics now include improved marksmanship training and 'assault' tactics as well as ambusher tactics, with braves carrying a shovel in addition to their tomahawk for rapid entrenchment when needed.  Officers, cavalry, and braves who either have earned one as a commendation for valor or have afforded their own have the "Seneca Six" a 44 caliber break-open revolver, cavalry have two issued.  Specialists within the Braves include machine gunners equipped with .24cal light machine guns, and sharpshooters equipped with Lee-Mohawk M99** rifles (standard rifles with fully adjustable target sights).

2)  Militia.  The wars against the Sioux transformed the militia system fundamentally.  From merely equipping oneself with the proper kit and keeping it in working order, the militia became far more formalized.  Each village, town, and precinct within a city had its men divided into 6 parts, with each man between 15 and 35 being required to drill twice a year with their "company", the drills being 4 weekends in length.  At age 14, the young men would go to tribal training centers, where they would be taught by Braves to use their equipment and tactics and drills to operate according to the national doctrine.  Doctrine is a combination of entrenchment tactics and open field movement by skirmish order, with specfic training given in woodland movement by stealth, as well as general military discipline, rank structure, and other valuable skills.  Young men who excel in their training are given opportunity to join the Braves, so militia training is also selection to find the most talented, tough, and elite young men in the nations.  And instead of the purely traditional requirement that each man furnish his own equipment, each young man upon graduation from training receives an M-99* long rifle, bayonet, accoutrements, and two uniforms of sage over buckskin with brown leathers and a brown oilskin hat, which most men augment with a tomahawk and sometimes a revolver.  When the young man has paid to his militia the cost of the equipment, he is counted in the rolls of men of the tribe and gains his full voting rights. 

3)  Gunners.  The adoption of the Machine Gun was critical in stopping the Sioux.  Thus the Machine Gun, in both .24 Lee-Mohawk and .366cal (9x62 OTL) are considered important elements of the field force.   Some pressure has been placed to mass produce and mass issue the .24cal portable machine gun (OTL Madsen Gun) to all units of infantry and cavalry.  However, at the moment only the Braves have machine guns outside of the specialists, and then only in small numbers. 

Field Artillery found the 6 pounders to be valuable for cavalry and poor terrain, but generally having an ineffective explosive round.  Therefore on the whole, the 6lb guns have been replaced with short-barrelled 12lb guns firing a slower shell with better explosive properties and rapid fire.  6lb guns phased out of field service replaced the last remaining breechloaders to be found on the frontiers, or were sold to what became vassal tribes to the West.  For heavy field artillery, the 18lb gun was found to have an ideal balance for the job, still able to be rapidly moved on roads or well maintained trails, but with the range to fire on the vast open battlefields with their swirling, unpredictable needs for artillery support from the small but professional arm. 

For those in the Gunnery branch, the grey on grey has been replaced with sage on grey, with grey cloth caps.  Universally personal weapons are either the M99* Carbine, or the .44 Revolver.  Gunners are also recruited directly from the militia schools, with those showing a keen mind for numbers and engineering principles being offered to stand for selection.  The Gunnery Branch is also responsible for the Sappers, subject matter experts in field engineering who command the construction of field fortifications and siege works in a special relationship with the officer corps where a Sapper has authority beyond their official rank or pay when it regards fortifications or engineering works.

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By overall numbers, the breakdown of the Army of the Confederation is as follows:

Gunners:  500,000.  100,000 Sappers, 150,000 Field Gunners, 250,000 Fortress Gunners.

Braves:  1 Million.  800,000 Infantry, 200,000 Cavalry.

Militia:  Approximately 4 million men under arms between the ages of 15-50.  35-50 year old men considered second-line militia not suited to mobile warfare.

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Small Arms, as of 1910:

Edged Weapons:

Bayonets, Tomahawks, and Knives.  These are traditional weapons, with the Bayonet merely being a knife fitted with attachments. 


Pistol:

.44-40.  Standard load of the "Seneca Six" (OTL S&W Model 3 top break).  A venerable design brought up to smokeless powder from Black Powder, and the same with the revolver itself.  While modern autopistols are in use in other armies, and some have begun use in small numbers within the Iroquois, the 'stopping power' at close range of the hard lead .44 caliber bullet, combined with the utter reliability of the single-action, have maintained this as the primary issue sidearm to all officers, sappers, and cavalry.  There are noises of a double-action revolver being demanded, but traditionalists counter that such rapidity of fire would be at the expense of skill and would consume ammunition too rapidly for the meager supply situation available on the frontiers.

.38 ACP.  Very small numbers, used in commercially available handguns by some officers.


Rifles/Carbines:

.24cal Lee-Mohawk (OTL Lee-Navy).  Standard load of the Lee-Mohawk M99 and M99* rifle and carbine (Lee Navy straight pull bolt action w/8rd stripper fed mag).  The Lee-Mohawk rifle is a reliable design that to a degree was purpose-built for the terrain and service requirements of the Iroquois.  The requirements being highly accurate at ranges less than 500yds, able to have a relatively high magazine capacity and rate of fire for close range engagements, and a light cartridge that could be carried in quantity.  The standard issue rifle and carbine showed exceptionally flat trajectories up to 600 and 400yds respectively, and both are issued as standard with a notch and hooded post pre-set for elevation from the arsenal, with only a windage screw.  Typical Braves carry the Carbine as it is lighter and handier, and typical combat ranges are less than 300yds in the woodlands and forested mountains of the 5 nations.  The Militia is issued the rifle as it can accept the bayonet, deemed useful in the Sioux Wars for stopping cavalry, and the longer sight radius is expected to assist in accuracy from lesser-trained troops.  The only gripe made about the rifle is the perceived lack of 'stopping power' of the diminuitive cartridge, only a third the weight of the former .45 caliber cartridge.  Early bullet designs were fully jacketed, which gave great penetration of brush and light cover but were known to pass clean through targets at shorter ranges without causing significant damage.  The 1909 cartridge left a 'soft tip' of exposed lead which causes the bullet to yaw wildly and cause devastating damage to a body as it expands, and was found to be effective against both man and horse.

.45-70.  Standard load of older trapdoor and single-shot bolt actions, phased out of front-line service.  This venerable cartridge was used up until the final stages of the Sioux Wars, and is maintained in small quantities by the older men of the militia and some fortress armories.  Devastating in close-range combat and capable of engaging area targets out to nearly 1000yds.

Shotguns:

A few break action and single-shot bolt-action shotguns in 12 gauge are issued to guards and fortress troops.

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Machine Guns:

-M08 Machine Gun.  OTL Madsen Gun chambered in .24cal (6mm Lee).  Issued in small numbers to Braves, typically 1 per War Party (platoon), and issued at one per battery to field artillery batteries for personal defense.

-S1898 Machine Gun.  OTL M1895 Colt.  The general-issue Machine Gun within the Army, Navy, and the typical machine gun found on fortresses.  This gun comes in two chamberings, .24cal and .366cal.  The latter chambering came about due to war experience showing that an emplaced machine gun may have times where effective fire in excess of 600yds is both required and practical, such as onboard ships and fortresses, as well as in the indirect fire role against massed cavalry or infantry.  The .24cal version is considered relatively handy for a crew served weapon, with a Company of these being attached to every division, as opposed to a single war-party of the heavier guns. 

Field Artillery.

6lb Field gun.  A light field piece able to be packed by mule, towed by its own crew, or towed by 1-2 horses.  This gun fires a 6lb (57mm) high explosive shell from a sliding breech mechanism with a simple large recoil spring around the barrel, and is considered accurate to 1200yds in the direct fire role and 2500yds in the indirect fire role.  Typically deployed in batteries of two guns and mixed into infantry units.

12lb Field Gun.  A medium field piece in the 12lb (75mm) caliber.  Towed by a 4 horse team, and with a simple recoil system.  Considered accurate to 4000yds in the indirect fire role.  Typically deployed in batteries of six guns at the Brigade or Division level.

12lb Mountain Gun.  A light field piece able to be packed by mule, towed by its own crew, or towed by 1-2 horses.  Designed to address a lack of explosive power and shrapnel production from the 6lb gun.  Accurate to 1000yds in the direct fire and 2000yds in the indirect fire roles.  Typically deployed as single or two gun batteries mixed into infantry or cavalry units.

18lb Field Gun.  A medium-heavy field piece in 18lb (84mm) caliber.  The new 'backbone' field piece of Divisional field artillery and fortress guns within the 5 nations.  Relatively quick firing with an interrupted screw breech mechanism and hydro-pneumatic recoil reduction.  Transports by rail or with a 6 horse team.  Considered accurate to 6000yds in the field, and up to 8000yds when fully stabilized in a fortress emplacement.  While far less handy than its lighter counterparts, this gun has substantially better shrapnel performance and explosive power and is phasing the 12lb field gun out of service, expected to be complete by 1920.

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Overview of Tactics:

On the March, In the Patrol:

The Iroquois historical 'formation' of the War Party (Platoon) figures heavily into any movement in the patrol, with the War Party or a select group of members thereof being the typical size of a patrol.  Their terrain and the cultural ethos of the peoples who have lived in North America for these centuries emphasizes an ambush and counter-ambush type of warfare, with typical 'battles' over the centuries being swirling affairs in the heavy woods, and only occasionally more set-piece battles when a barrier such as a creek or river, or a strategic town forced both armies to fight in a confined space.  Fire and maneuver tactics evolved from the time of bows on through muskets to modern rifles, with both sides seeking to ambush and then to pin and flank the enemy.  One interesting yet small note of these sorts of small unit tactics is that the idea of a magazine cut-off was never once considered by Iroquois weapon designers, and some of the other arms from foreign manufacturers bearing such devices have been looked at quizzically, as an Iroquois warrior never expects to fire steadily over long ranges in battle lines, but rather in an overlapping series of short sharp engagements of 1-2 minutes at ranges between point blank and 200yds. 

When large formations are on the march, they march in columns, with War Parties afield.  Formations of battalion size or smaller tend to operate as companies of war parties more loosely tied to one another, with some tied to any 'train' to guard it and the rest operating in patrols.  This leads to a difficulty in making large-scale preparations or changes while on the move and a somewhat slower overall march speed, but an incredibly fast immediate reaction to any enemy contact, with individual War Parties able to operate independently upon enemy contact and lower-level leaders empowered to coordinate amongst themselves in an ad-hoc fashion.

In the Defense:

Warfare of breastworks combined with artillery is the set standard.  Breastworks tend to be more based in individual strongpoints linked by fire and some communications trenches due to the terrain rather than well-dug trenchworks as you would more typically find in easier terrain such as that of the Great Plains.

In the Attack: 

Large scale assaults are a rarity, as it is against the typical ethos.  When a sufficient siege has been employed to cause such things to occur, it is typically supported by artillery and machine guns to suppress a section of the line followed by a nighttime attack to deny the enemy warning and visibility of the troops moving in the open.

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To specifically describe the 'cavalry' of the Iroquois.  One hailing from Europe, or even from the vast plains or steppes, would find this to be indeed poor cavalry.  Mounted on ponies, Mounted Braves are literally that.  Armed with the same carbine as their footbound counterparts, with only the addition of a pair of revolvers, the mounted Braves ride into battle but prefer to dismount immediately and fight as infantry.  In short, their mounted status does not add any shock value to their combat effectiveness on the whole, but rather effectively doubles the distance that can be marched over suitable terrain before relatively fresh warriors dismount for the fight.  On war-party level, the cavalry has a single light machine gun, though new doctrine states for a pair of these to be issued at the war-party level due to the long ranges in which they operate from main lines and the primary function they perform as 'fire brigade' on the frontier.  At higher levels, a battery of two 12lb mountain guns are issued at the battalion level, with new doctrine requiring a single gun of 12lb or 6lb caliber at the company level due to the same reasons as the new machine gun doctrines.