On June 2, 1763, as part of a general Indian (as in Native American) uprising known as Pontiac’s Rebellion, Chippewa warriors captured Fort Michiimackinac what is now present day Mackinaw City, by storming the fort. How did they get in? By playing lacrosse and pretending to chase the ball into the fort and taking the defenders by surprise.
Digging Deeper
Throughout history, military minds have used trickery to fool their enemies, sometimes with great success. An ancient example would be the Greeks using a giant wooden horse secretly filled with Greek warriors left at the gates of Troy. Thinking the horse was a peace offering, as the Greeks had gone back to their ships and appeared to sail off back to Greece, the duped Trojans brought the horse into their city and celebrated their victory. At night, while drunken Trojans slept, the Greeks in the horse crept out and opened the city gates, allowing their comrades in to slaughter the inhabitants and sack the city.
Of course, camouflage is a form of trickery, and can be quite effective at hiding people and equipment. Modern clothes printing techniques make convincing camo available to hunters, and the military now uses a computer generated digital pattern to help hide their soldiers and Marines. Although not “realistic” looking, the digital camo is actually more effective than leafy prints. Modern camouflage nets are not your father’s burlap strips on a net. They consist of special materials that dissipate radar waves and foil infrared detection. Stealth aircraft are an extreme (as in extremely expensive) method of camouflage.
