Nine Things You Did Not Know About the Huns

Nine Things You Did Not Know About the Huns

Stephanie Schoppert - July 29, 2016

Huns Battle Tactics

Nine Things You Did Not Know About the Huns
Medieval tapestry of a Hun siege

Reports of the Huns in battle suggest that they were very skilled and devious. Attila was known to study strategy and even learn the strategies and the politics of his enemies in order to have the upper hand. The Huns preferred to fight with surprise attacks, through deceit and by cutting off supply lines. They preferred to avoid direct battle often fighting from a distance or using other means of attack. The Huns were very strategic in their army formations choosing to have irregularly sized divisions in a single line. Then they would have a separate force in reserve that would watch for ambushes. The Huns themselves often used ambushes against their enemies and therefore knew how devastating an ambush could be against an unprepared army. Their provisions and extra horses would be kept a mile off guarded by a small force.

When they controlled the battle, Huns preferred to keep it long range. They would keep the enemy at bay with bows and would sometimes even fake a retreat in order to increase the battle distance. The Huns got their brutal name partially due to the fact that they would pursue their enemies after a defeat. The Huns would rather force an army back to their camp and wear them out with a long siege than to continue a drawn-out head to head battle.

The Huns were skilled with a variety of weapons that allowed them to be flexible in battle. Most Hunnic warriors would be armed with both a bow and a lance and they were skilled enough to use both interchangeably as the battle required. Huns were also known to protect themselves with maille and helmets.

Advertisement