''Warriors'' is an American documentary series that aired on the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

in the United States. The show is hosted by

Terry Schappert Terry Schappert is a United States Army National Guard Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces veteran and martial artist who is a periodic commentator on FOX News, who hosted the 2009 show ''Warriors (History Channel), Warriors'' on ...

, a sergeant in the

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

. The show focuses on historical warrior cultures, major battles, and military leaders.

Format

Each episode focuses on Schappert immersing himself in a different warrior group. He talks with historians and weapons experts, samples the

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

and equipment, and practices with their weaponry, all in order to learn each group's techniques and frame of mind. Each episode usually displayed a reenactment of a major "signature battle" of the warrior culture being presented.

Episode list

"Braveheart"

First shown 3 Aug. 2008.

"Maya Armageddon"

This episode takes us to the little-known world of the

Mayan Empire The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing ...

. It delves into the culture, unique weaponry (like the

atlatl A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever, or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Classical Nahuatl, Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in Dart (missile), dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a Plain bearing, b ...

and obsidian club), and scientific achievements of the Mayans.

"Barbarian Massacre"

Terry Schappert travels to Germany to learn more about

Arminius Arminius (; 18/17 BC–AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic peoples, Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under th ...

, a German war chief that grew up with the Romans and studied their tactics. Arminius was able to use the Romans' own tactics against them in one of Rome's greatest defeats: the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

"Viking Terror"

Host Terry Schappert studies the tactics of the " Hell's Angels of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

." The host studies the harsh Nordic life, raiding tactics and sailing techniques of the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

. The show culminates in the Viking-

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

showdown at the

Battle of Maldon The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 or 11 August 991 AD near Maldon, Essex, Maldon beside the River Blackwater, Essex, River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the En ...

"Knight Fight"

Host Terry Schappert travels to France to study the Battle at Agincourt. He looks into the tactics of the heavily armored French Knights versus the lightly armored, fast moving expeditionary army of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

and his secret weapon, the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Longbow A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...

"Samurai Showdown"

Terry Schappert travels to Japan and studies the honor code of the

Samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

, or

Bushido is a Samurai moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. Its origins date back to the Kamakura period, but it was formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significantl ...

. He also studies the lifestyle, weaponry, tactics, and psyche of the Samurai. He also retraces the steps of the most famous ronin samurai,

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

"The Last Crusaders"

The rising

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

attempts to conquer all

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

trade routes, but the tiny island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

stands in its way. This island is also home to the fiercest knights, the

Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

, or Knights Hospitaller. 8,000 Knights and native Maltese fended off approx 48,000 Turkish warriors during the Siege of Malta. After the heroic stand, the capital of Malta is named after the commanding general,

Jean de Valette Fra' Jean "Parisot" de (la) Valette (; – 21 August 1568) was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 21 August 1557 to his death in 1568. As a Knight Hospitaller, joining the order in the , he fought with distinct ...

"Spartan Vengeance"

This episode takes the viewer back to ancient

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and follows the battles tactics of the

Spartan Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...

Hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldi ...

. Terry Schappert reenacts the brutal training, studies the mental discipline, and evaluates the superior weaponry that gave the Spartans an edge over the much larger

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n army at the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Polis, Greek city-states (including Sparta, Cla ...

"Zulu Siege"

Terry Schappert travels to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

to learn about the rise of the Zulu Nation. He studies their unique battle tactics and culture. He also reenacts one of Britain's most humiliating losses at the

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British invaded the Zulu Kingdom, Zululand ...

"Islands of Blood"

This episode explores the bloody history of the beautiful

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an Islands. Terry Schappert learns about the bloody hand-to-hand combat techniques and vicious weaponry (like shark tooth clubs) of the Hawaiian warriors. He also reenacts the tactics that

King Kamehameha the Great Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

used in his crushing victory at Battle of Nu'uanu Cliffs.

"Special Forces"

Green Beret Terry Schappert discusses the history and culture of the

US Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, is a branch of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The core missionset of Special Forces ...

. He also studies one of the first modern special forces units: The Alamo Scouts. He tries out their weapons, like the

Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Arm ...

and

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...

, and reenacts their

guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

References

External links

*

Episode Guide

History Channel

Review of

the History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

episode "Spartan Vengeance" {{History shows History (American TV channel) original programming American military television series Cultural depictions of Arminius Cultural depictions of Henry V of England Cultural depictions of Kamehameha I Cultural depictions of Miyamoto Musashi Cultural depictions of William Wallace