The Pizarro brothers' extreme degradation of Manco—urinating on him while chained—was intended to break him. Instead, it became an unforgivable act of psychological warfare that backfired, destroying any chance of a puppet regime and fueling an all-out war of resistance.

The Spanish were a tiny fraction of their own fighting forces. Their victory was a political achievement, leveraging deep-seated resentments of subjugated peoples against the Aztec and Inca empires, turning local populations into the primary military asset.

Despite commanding armies of tens of thousands, Inca generals were so disoriented by the unheard-of capture of their divine emperor that they offered no resistance. This complete bewilderment allowed a handful of Spaniards to dictate terms to a vastly superior force.

The Spanish didn't defeat the Inca Empire at its height. They arrived after a smallpox epidemic killed the emperor and a subsequent brutal civil war between his sons shattered the empire. This left the civilization politically fractured and militarily exhausted, making it ripe for conquest by a small force.

The Spanish horses were a decisive factor not just for their combat effectiveness but for their psychological impact. Against Inca warriors who lacked pikes or numerous bows and arrows, a handful of cavalry seemed invincible, creating a reputation that demoralized armies thousands of times their size.

Despite their aggressive plan, the psychological toll on the 168 Spaniards facing an army of thousands was immense. A firsthand account reveals their sheer terror, noting that many "urinate without noticing it out of pure terror" while waiting in hiding for the ambush to begin.

The British Army's new Snyder breech-loading rifles, capable of continuous fire, completely negated the Abyssinian charge tactic which relied on exploiting reloading pauses. This demonstrates how a key technological advantage can create a decisive and lopsided victory in a conflict.

Military technology often evolves incrementally. However, a breakthrough like the Maxim machine gun can suddenly render centuries of established doctrine—such as the drilled infantry charge—completely obsolete. This creates a strategic crisis that forces an equally radical technological and tactical response, like the tank.

To project absolute strength, Atahualpa engaged in psychological warfare against his own men. After he remained stoic as a Spanish horse breathed on him, he ordered the execution of soldiers (and their families) who had flinched, brutally enforcing a public code of fearlessness.