Theres always going to be casualties in war and i bet most iraqis are glad the coalition is there, but i expect the liberals have never been there to ask..

Well seeing as American exists due to spanish, french and british occupation they definatly know

Originally Posted by Bory

Throught history there are prime examples of armies walking in to another country, taking on the natives and winning. If it wasn't true, Australia would be a series of some 600 Aboriginal Republics.
Another example, the Boer War. We took on the people who knew that land backwards, and won.

Also with a little help using concentration camps on the Boers.

Your knowledge of Australian history is rather wobbly.

Hmmmmmmmmm, I believe the Maoris succesfully fought against the British. So well that the Brits signed a peace treaty to end the war.
Can any kiwis shed some light on this????
The Aussie aboriginies never combined to put up a fight against the early English pioneers. Just many years of minor skirmishes/ clashes until disease, alcohol and apathy took over.
Boar war wasn't such a push over. The Boers gave the Brits some bloody battles before finaly exhausting themselves.
Have any native populations succeded in winning against a more modern European invader??????
Be interesting to know.

There were some fierce battles between the Kiwis and the Brits and there was a great deal of respect from both sides over their fighting ability.
Another interesting set of Battles was in Nepal when Britain fought Gurkha's. The finial battle was long and fierce and it was the first time Gurkha's had not cleared the battle field, so they adopted the British soldier as a brother and the link was forged that remains until this day.

The treaty was the Treaty of Waitangi. It was signed partly because of maori ferocity, and the fact that some were armed with muskets and were giving it some stick, but mostly because France was having a look in and signing the treaty meant it became a British colony faster.

it's a disputed fact but the maori invented trench warfare on their pa (forts) to escape british cannon bombardment.

the british also thought the bayonet was the worlds best close quaters weapon....till they met the tiaha

whats that? the Maori version of the Gurkha's kuri?

Saw a VHS movie some years ago set during the Moari wars.
Called UTU I think. Not bad for a local production.
Moaris had some good weapons, fortifications and adapted to European tactics and weapons very quickly. Smart buggers eh.

I don't mind the odd can of Speights on occasion.
Cheers.

If you have a careful look at India before the British arrived it was rather like Europe a series of small countries. These were all unified under one flag over a period time. At one time India even took in Tibet and bordered on Iran, even the parts that are now Pakistan happily came under British rule until Independence

Originally Posted by Locke

whats that? the Maori version of the Gurkha's kuri?

this page will give some info;

http://www.tu.co.nz/taiaha.htm


it looks like a spear but the "blade" end is the business end of this weapon, very fast, very deadly.

i especially like this story:

During World War 2, a 28 Maori Battalion soldier armed with a taiaha defeated a bayonet instructor from the Scots Guards during a public demonstration at Maadi Camp, Egypt in 1943.