Military Prowess of the Asante Empire

 THE ASANTE EMPIRE'S MILITARY STRENGTH.

The army of the Asante Kingdom was very organized and disciplined. The King (Asantehene) was in charge and acted as the supreme leader while the other regional chiefs took command of various divisions of the army. 

One of the key factors that made them successful was their recruitment strategy. The empire forcibly enlisted young soldiers from its vast territories which ensured that they had an endless supply of manpower. The military had special divisions including elite shock troops, cavalry units, and skilled archers. 

The Asante army adopted the use of traditional weapons and Europeans firearms which they acquired from their trade with the Dutch and the Portuguese. Some of the weapons utilized were swords, spears, poisoned arrows for long range attacks, flintlock muskets and rifles. They developed ambush tactics, surprise attacks, which made them very unpredictable in warfare. To gain advantage over their enemies, they used camouflage and decoy troops leading to decisive victories.

https://websterreview.lse.ac.uk/articles/61

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