Resumen de Victorio's Military and Political Leadership of the Warm Springs Apaches
Victorio is widely acknowledged as being one of the best guerrilla leaders of the Apache Wars during the 1870s and 1880s. Yet previous accounts of Victorio make little or no effort to demonstrate why he was such an effective leader. This article combines a knowledge of Apache warfare techniques and primary sources to argue that not only did Victorio demonstrate a mastery of these principles of guerrilla warfare; he also displayed an ability to introduce new techniques to further confound his opponents. As a result Victorio, with a small number of warriors, was able to defeat the efforts of US and Mexican armed forces to destroy him for almost a year before being trapped and killed at Tres Castillos, Mexico, by Chihuahua state troops. The article will also show that Victorio’s military skills were augmented by a keen awareness of the political weaknesses of his enemies. This analysis of Victorio’s military and political skills concludes that his popular reputation as a great Apache leader is richly deserved and should be acknowledged.
