When I was in ROTC we studied this battle. Custer made just about every single tactical and strategic mistake a field commander can make. With entirely predictable results.
So not being reinforced was his fault? Did they tell you that after this generals had a huge amount of power taken away? They no longer can choose where to go and whom to reinforce.
@@jaceseldom8236 We studied His command decisions. His operations planning and strategy. His decisions once the attack was underway. At every turn he systematically ignored information and failed to adapt his attack accordingly. He made everything mistake in the book, made a complete hash of it, and got his entire command slaughtered.
@@jaceseldom8236 The scope of our analysis was his decisions. Were there other factors that might have made a difference? Probably. Would it have prevented the crushing defeat? Personally I doubt it. Not with the way he so totally underestimated the Sioux and botched the attack planning.
@@winterleia9027 He was much more badly outnumbered than you think. The Sioux encampment was enormous. Far larger than most people would believe then or today. There are no hard numbers available of course. However, it's most likely there were between 3,000 and 5,000 Warriors in the Sioux encampment. US doctrine, even at that time, is that you don't attack without 2:1 odds in the open or 3:1 against a prepared defense. This is the single biggest intelligence failure of the battle as far as the US Army is concerned. Custer was also counting on the element of Surprise. Which was blown when Sioux hunting parties spotted the troopers hours before they were in position. It didn't help that Custer ordered his men to leave their sabers behind in an effort to move quietly. Not that it would have mattered in the end. There were more than enough Sioux to block, and then encircle, every column of attack as it came in. Custer pushed way to close to the encampment to have a prayer of falling back as Reno did. You are right that he split his command in the face of being totally outnumbered. If he had remained concentrated he would have stood a real chance of pulling back with most of his command intact.
He actually went in earlier than expected because he thought that the enemy Indians knew their position which forced him to either risk being attacked or risk attacking what he thought was a much smaller number of enemies due to outdated information from his allied crow Indian scouts.
they have to much men i neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooore give me all your men so i can lose i mean win
It is interesting that only three years after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the British, under General Lord Chelmsford made exactly the same error, i.e. he under estimated native indigenous warriors - with exactly the same results. The battle of Isandlwana was almost a rerun of Custer's debacle, only about five times bigger. One of the cardinal rules of war (according to Sun Tsu) is to never under estimate the enemy, yet here we are, 150 years later still making the same mistake.
This mistake basically won't happen again. We reached a point in human history where firearms vs cold weapons won't happen in mass battle. In fact, the last time I'm aware of it is in China during WWII and I'm not even sure the size of some Chinese militia using cold weapons vs Japanese with firearms.
@@Seriona1 No, human stupidity can overcome all. In the last 150 years Afghanistan has been invaded by the British (twice), the Soviets and the western allies. Each time the opposition was underestimated and the results are history.
@@Seriona1 No, I am speaking of the military failing of underestimating the enemy. You are claiming that this could not happen again because of developments in weapon design. You are the one who has gone off the point here.
"We Cheyenne called him (Custer) 'Hi-Es-Tsie'-Long Hair. The Arikara called him 'Creeping Panther Who Comes in the Night.' The Crow called him 'Son of the Morning Star Who Attacks at Dawn.' I remember him. I saw him die." - Kate Bighead, Son of the Morning Star (1991 TV miniseries).
Is there any eyewitness testimony as to WHEN during the battle Custer was killed ? I wonder if was he alive long enough at the so-called "last stand" to see his blunder ?
@@touranzohdy3251 Custer's body was found at the top of Last Stand Hill, so he most likely was still alive by the time he began his retreat up to the time his column began to collapse and was eventually overwhelmed.
In the series you mention Kate Big Head talks about Custer child being a blonde haired girl that died young, actually the child if his.. was a male and lived to be 20.. Captain Tom Custer had an illegitimate son, and he was treated for V.D. during the Civil War, so that shoots down Jeffrey Wert,s belief you cant have children if you had VD
Back in the day, grabbing the enemy's colours and returning them to one's own lines were enough to be awarded that medal. Major Smedley Butler was awarded the Medal of Honor during the occupation of Vera Cruz, together with... 56 other military personnel from the Army, Marine Corps and Navy. Butler tried to return his medal because he said he hadn't done anything to deserve it but higher ups told him to shut up and keep the medal.
Mummy Enthusiast If you don’t believe me google how many medals of honor were given out to the soldiers at Wounded Knee and what they are for. These practices change over time.
In the service, officers hold both temporary and permanent ranks. Typically the permanent rank is lower than the temporary rank which one gains during wartime... and most officers are reduced to their permanent rank in peacetime.
Custer's rank of Maj Gen was a "brevet" rank. Brevet is awarded for bravery, but it is temporary in nature. He was LtCol by regular rank. So, he wasn't demoted. He reverted to regular rank. This is normal and not a punishment.
Fun fact: He finished dead last in his class at West Point and would not have even graduated had the Army not needed every West Point trained officer they could. Bear in mind, half of the graduates from 1861 immediately defected to the Confederacy.
@@CanadioIsCool Yeah, but he was literally released from the stockade straight to the front in 1861. Without the Civil War, Custer is kicked out of the Army in disgrace.
A little correction if you don't mind :p, powdered wigs were 18th century fashion, Custer & confederate cavalry general J.E.B Stuart evokes the 17th century cavalier persona with wide-brimed hats & boots.
I probably sound like an anachronism but. How dare that scumbag wear the style of the heroic Cavaliers they already knew that they couldn’t win but it was a divine right thing that some people still believe in I know because I am one of them
Had an ancestor riding under J.E.B. Stuart's unit who faced Custer and the Michigan Brigade on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Wrote in a journal that they were some of the best horse soldiers and cavalrymen he'd ever seen -- Federal or Confederate
One thing that really resonated with me is from night at the museum of all things. Custer was ashamed that the biggest thing he is known for is his greatest defeat. Obviously he didn't actually say that, he was killed and has been dead for a long time now. But I know that he would feel that way had he survived or were here now.
Ironically, the movie was actually accurate😂 Custer was debatably the best cavalry commander in the Civil War, and was known to his superiors as a daring and clever commander.
Mate, I feel so sorry for the French Army during WW2. You lot had over 100 divisions. You could have EASILY rolled the Germans up with our help, but Generals were too stuck in the past to realise that.
French intelligence: generals the Germans have a lot of motorized vehicles lined up outside the Ardennes French High Command: that’s preposterous, you can’t move vehicles through the Ardennes. Don’t change a single thing (That’s an actual fact btw)
My Canadian dad once visited the Little Bighorn battlefield when a fat man with a deep southern accent piped up and said "I always wanted to see where that Yankee died!"
What happened at the Little Big Horn, including the events leading up to it is very complex. Hindsight makes everything clear and precise. Custer's orders from General Terry, his experience fighting on the plains, and limited available battle space intelligence all converged on those dusty slopes. If we were faced with the exact same scenario, what would we do better? History is judged by fools with the benefit of hindsight and perfect knowledge. Custer may not have always been a hero, but neither was he always an arrogant villain. His actions that day essentially brought an end to the Plains warfare which is exactly what the expedition of 1876 and President Grant desired. Highly recommend A Terrible Glory by James Donovan.
Custer was used by President Grant to solve the "Indian problem". Custer wanted to bring the gatling guns but wouldn't be able to meet the timetable that Grant had established for him if he had to lug the guns behind him. I think Grant deserves as much as the blame as Custer. At that point in his career, Custer wanted to retire and hit the lecture circuit in Philadelphia, New York and Washington.
@@ethanweeter2732 Not really. Terry’s orders were to find the Indians and return. But he including a caveat so he wouldn’t get any blame; he told Custer that if the conditions were right, to attack. Which he knew Custer would do anyway.
Axor Unknown he was smart and daring . Plenty of armies overcame the numbers disadvantage that he had before his doom , so you can blame his death on his own soldiers that failed him that day , and the lack of reinforcements.
This video is intentionally trying to make him look bad and did very little research. He was known for carefully scouting areas and then personally leading the charges himself (generals don't do that). Surprise, speed, and aggression made him victorious many times, and he fought in several major battles in the Civil War. He was promoted to General (by age 23) because the Union was looking for officers to fight the enemy, not advance their own political careers. The Union Army was plagued by bad career officers while Custer had the experience. He also had a successful career after the war, mostly against Indian tribes. This video is covering events from the early 1860s to the late 1870s. There is also more about the battle than the video showed. His regiment wasn't wiped out, just the portion he led into battle. Yes, this was a loss for the Army, and Custer was killed, but it was due to poor coordination and overwhelming numbers. This battle is highly criticized because everybody thinks he could have done things differently. But he didn't have the information we have today and used tactics that have been highly successful. In my opinion, this battle comes down to "you win some, you lose some."
@@jasona9 Give facts regarding"he turned down Gatlin Guns"because he didn't turn down Gatlin guns. When posting make sure you have some sort of knowledge on facts which you clearly are lacking in.
After the Civil War Robert E. Lee was asked about the cause of the South's defeat. He replied to the effect: "I always thought the Yankees had something to do with it." A similar statement might be made about Custer. Why did he loose the battle? Perhaps the the Indians had something to do with it.
Yes, I agree. McClellan was by far the worst general. Even after he was fired, he still tried to lose the war for the Union by running for president on a platform of peace when total destruction of the Confederacy was practically assured. An incompetent loser and a coward almost to the point of treason.
I was just thinking about how great of a movie this would be. A scrappy young hero that the audience loves at first but the heroism slowly falls out until greed for power gets the best of him and he leads his last charge
This is not movie material, it's a too rich story with too many moving parts, spanning decades. A 10 episode mini series of 10 hours can get it done properly.
Having been to the Little Big Horn battlefield, I can see why Reno and Benteen didn't come to Custer's aid. First, they were about 2 miles from where Custer was, pinned on a small hilltop by some of the Plains Indians. They couldn't go anywhere. Custer's problem was that he and his men were driven to Last Stand Hill by the native Americans' counterattack. Having some military background, I could immediately see that Last Stand Hill was a BAD position - it has lots of dead ground that allows your opponent to get within a few yards of your position. However, it was the last piece of high ground on the west end of the ridge, so they were trapped. My favorite summary of the battle I ever heard was from a conversation between a couple of bikers who were leaving the interpretive centre. As one biker related to the other, "If I was sitting around a campfire with my friends and family singing "Kumbaya" and the Feds attacked, I would be p****d too!"
I went there a couple of years ago, a buckets list thing to travel from the UK to do. I couldn't agree more with you summary of the Benteen/Reno position. They had a defensible spot from which they were pinned, to leave would have been near suicidal. The one thing that has always puzzled me is the grave markers for the Custer position. If that is indeed where they made their last stand it was awful, the side of a steep incline a few feet from the crest, a half blind man with a bent rifle barrel could have picked them off. The flat top although not perfect would of at least given better protection, it's the one aspect I just didn't get. An interesting place I'd visit again.
@@rialobran Well, considering they were in full flight, being chased by the native Americans, they didn't have much of a choice. Last Stand Hill is at the far end of the ridge, and with flat open terrain on three sides and the Plains Indians closing in from behind, they had nowhere else to go. You also have to consider that the US Cavalry horses were likely exhausted after galloping for 2-3 miles, while the Plains horses would have been much fresher, having travelled half that distance. Once their section of the army was routed, I think their only chance would have been to get out of the wash they were in and move northeast into the hills, more or less back in the direction they came from. But they didn't, and so were trapped.
@@rialobran Version I heard from Indian sources was the Custer fight was over "in the time it takes a hungry man to eat his dinner", so the impression is while some of the Sioux were firing on Custer's position, others were sneaking in via the dead ground. The Indian source suggests these infiltrators basically opened fire from point-black range and annihilated Custer's position in a few ragged volleys, then picked off the survivors at their leisure.
@@lordofthewasteland4525 What "armchair generalling" is there to be found in repeating verbatim what someone else is reported to have said? I think you misunderstand the term, champ.
Zane Pain They didn’t know how many people were in that village, thus meaning he can’t be called dumb for that, he can never be called dumb, he just made a mistake, we all make mistakes so by your logic, everyone is dumb
Crusader King custer was arrogant but dumb is perspective. He did finish last in his class at WestPoint. Look up the oral history of the battle of little big horn told by a native American. Very interesting. The people were suprised by custer and attacked immediately. It lasted 10 minutes
Pizzaguy173 he was trying to kidnap women and children to use them for leverage to negotiate with the Indians for them to rejoin the others on the reservation. Not saying either is right.
@@MS-dp9up Reservations are one of the worst things that you could possibly due to a tribe. It stripes their dignity, and their freedom from them. They only tried to protect themselves from people who did not care about what they wanted.
No. Lieutenant Colonel Custer did that. He held a brevet as general* of volunteers during the Civil War. But his regular Army rank was Lieutenant Colonel. *brigadier general.
The Hand Exactly. I believe a similar thing happened in WWII. Weird note, the SS did this as well, but in reverse: men would have a high rank in the regular SS (often due to sycophantic behaviour rather than skill), and would be given a Waffen SS rank more suitable to their experience and skill when they were transferred to the armed branch.
Not a mistake. As the above comments collectively state. Custer was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel following the Civil War. He received a battlefield promotion (brevet promotion) during the Civil War to Brigadier General. Following the war, he reverted to his rank of Captain. He was then promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the rank he held when he died at LBH.
Mathematically, one does not need to be lucky: If there's a 95% chance of succeeding in an action & a 5% chance of dying, most generals would not take the action because they don't want to die. They have worked their way up over the course of a lifetime & will feel they have too much to lose. But if a general took a course of action of such risk a dozen times, not only would the press hail him as a daredevil, but he would still have only a 46% chance of being dead. The human brain tends to exaggerate moderate risks of death because it quite simply doesn't want to be dead. It is interesting how the young are always the ones to take risks. Humans instinctively value the life that they have already led more than that which is yet to come.
Yes, but 11 of his horses were shot! Let’s say you 2 times more likely to have your horse shot then you getting shot, just due to size. Still, he is really lucky that his horses got shot 11 times and didn’t get seriously injured. That’s pretty lucku
2 things to note which I think you covered well. First, Custer for some reason is thought my modern society to be a coward. He was not a coward. He had many faults, but lack of bravery was not one of them. Second- Many people don't know that Custer played a significant role at Gettysburg. I think you could have covered his charge into Stuart's men better. Custer was outnumbered, outgunned, and totally rammed the confederates. It was a crazy clash of horses. I never knew Custer was a Buckeye. I'm not sure there is another state that is responsible for the destruction of the South like Ohio- Grand, Sherman, and now Custer were born in Ohio.
General Sheridan was born there too, as was General George Crook. I'm from Ohio myself, and I have visited Grant's birthplace, Custer's birthplace, and both Sherman's and Sheridan's birthplace. Two personal heroes of mine were born in Ohio: George Armstrong Custer, and the greatest Native leader that ever lived - Tecumseh of the Shawnee.
This is a channel I can actually learn from, I am doing online school and am not learning anything. Most of my information/education comes from this channel, not from school. Keep it up Infographics show!
That ‘minor battle’ was the Battle of Hanover (live there currently). By Custer joining Farnsworth and pushing Stuart from a direct route to Gettysburg, the confederate forces were doomed without its cavalry.
I wouldn't say instrumental it was more like at the right place at the right time kind of deal he litteraly graduated last if it were not for the civil war he wouldn't of been in the army. Bassicly he was just really lucky.
@@Demicleas ...you can say the same about any general or historical figure, then..."just in the right place at the right time". in reality, Custer was a sensational general whose accomplishments are more historically significant than biased modern interpretations would suggest.
@@nikoc8968 People don't realize he was the unsung hero of Gettysburg, took on a force way bigger then his and stopped the north from being completely flanked by the confederacy
@@Demicleas "Lucky", that's funny. Maybe he carried a rabbit's foot too, always avoided the number 13, never walked under ladders, and avoided breaking mirrors at all costs. You're an idiot.
A favorite anecdote about George Custer: Upon graduating West Point, he received his first set of orders posting him in the West. They mistakenly sent him forth as "Lieutenant General Custer." Rather than have the error corrected, he had a glorious three-star general's uniform tailored and showed up at his new fort wearing it. I think he managed to do a convincing job for a while before things were sorted out. I heard this tale from a West Point lieutenant at my first duty station, and I have no other source for it. 😂
I think that was after the Civil War. During the war, he was promoted to Major General on a temporary basis just for the duration of the war. Once the war ended, he had his rank reduced to Lt. Colonel, and that was the rank he held at the Battle of Little Big Horn. I could see him showing up to his new post in the west with a uniform still showing his Major General rank before being made to take off the extra rank.
I read a similar story about a guy named "Major". In fact, that was his first and middle name too, making him Major Major Major Major. They made a movie about it, so it must be true.
@@dinahnicest6525 Joseph Heller's satyrical war story, CATCH 22, was a best seller when he published it in 1962. Major Major Major Major was a character in the book. I read it back then, and 10 years later it was required reading in my college Americal Literature class. I enjoyed it. 😎🖖
@@lednails capturing women and children in camp at Washita was how he got the Cheyenne warriors to surrender without breaking into a prolonged fire fight and sustaining casualties. IDK, sounds like something Sun Tzu would approve of to me.
@@D0nnyy Yes, because killing thousands of men on the battlefield is more noble than taking a few hundreds of women and children as captive in order to avoid further bloodshed. Who teaches you this "moral"?
@@jerikromero1746 Indeed, It was genius. But Custer took most of the women and children captive before his regiment was threatened by other tribes further downriver. As warriors from these other tribes (more Cheyenne, Kiowa, Arapaho...) began to surround his regiment, Custer ordered his men to position the captives close around the regiment. It was an ingenious idea, and Custer thought of it on the quick. He then made a feint, as if his regiment was going to attack, and all the warriors from all the other tribes hightailed it out of there. As Sun Tzu writes: "Always do what your enemy doesn't expect you to do".
Thanks to The Widow Custer, Frederick Whittaker, and Thomas Rosser, many people think that way. They were on a crusade to preserve Custer's reputation, and Reno became their whipping boy. On the other hand, the soldiers under Reno's command, and the generals up the chain of command found no fault with his conduct. Through the Civil War and up to the Little Big Horn, there was no hint of cowardice or poor judgement on his record, either. He simply had the misfortune of; surviving the battle, not being a likable guy, not having a PR team, and being chosen by civilians who were not there to be the scapegoat.
@@milwaukeejt Terry made the major mistake allowing Custer to leave the infantry behind. People like to rip Custer for arrogance but Sheridan, Terry, Gibbon, and Crook all thought the Sioux and Cheyenne wouldn't seek a fight with a full regiment of Cavalry. They weren't worried about getting wiped out, but rather not being able to force a fight. Each column was thought to be more than enough to handle any anticipated Sioux/Cheyenne/Arapaho force. In reality each column would be barely enough. Crook and his command almost shared a similar fate to Custer at Rosebud.
I am absolutely ashamed for the behavior of my government in not working to find better solutions to the "Indian Problem." I visited the Pequot museum when I went to Foxwoods recently and was mortified by how even the early colonists handled the situation.
I spent 21 years in the Army Special Operations Community and also served on the cadre at West Point for awhile. According to his written correspondence, Custer wasn't particularly happy about this assignment but he followed his orders. And if one actually studies Custer's movements during the battle, he actually had the upper hand for the most part even after being put on the defensive. It wasn't until the Indians found his left flank hanging in the air that things went downhill. That flank SHOULD have been held down by Reno and Benteen. If they had actually followed orders they would have come into the fight directly BEHIND the enemy force. That possibly could have rewritten this entire story.
"Dumbest US general in History?"... maybe, but It would be interesting to search who provided Crazy Horse with better rifles than those of the US Cavalry.
Douglas MacArthur in Korea certainly would give him a run for his money. He lead his troops into a slaughter the same way Custer did. Then he blamed it on the marines.
@@themanimal369 but yet they had the then shiny and new colt revolver as their sidearm. maybe they thought the repeating rifles were less accurate for some reason
the message wasn't "ignored". the on-duty that day was an italian that was so fresh from the boat that he didn't really speak english yet. Custer's written note was rather clear, but so lakonic that it didn't really betray the urgency of the situation and the words of the courier two benteen were: "Indians! they sciddadeling!" which in the lingo of the time could mean many things, but was usually used to denote an unorganized or panicked behaviour. given the context, benteen understood it as the meaning that the sioux and cheyenne were retreating in panic., so he moved forward, but without the haste that would have been needed. he was cleared from all responsibility in two separate court mashalls. i know i repeat myself, but once again your research is wanting.
As a direct descendant of this tribe and the atrocities it survived, we still have the warrior spirit and would do it again if we could. It was imperative that they did what they could in order to resist.
All I know is that it’s always easy for us to see all the mistakes or to know how much better we would have done it when we are sitting on our couches, warm, well fed and made well aware of the ins and outs of the area and situation. To me it’s just a really sad situation that could have been avoided had there have been reasonable choices made from both sides. So sad that all of these mostly young men were under fed, hard driven, cold and sleep deprived and not at their best. When you are in a panic, you are already not at your best. A lot of these 16 to 25 year olds were sons of immigrants whose family came here for a better life. Also so sad for the Custer family that lost so many family members in this battle. 😢
But there are basic aspects of military leadership, and tactical competence that are expected from the officers in the lead. In this case, he failed to listen to his scouts who reported that trail sign alone indicated a major concentration of Native Americans. THEN, he failed to confirm or deny by a personal recce. He split his force in the face of an enemy who was AT LEAST his size, if not larger. He failed to ensure his troopers were issued more ammo, as they were about to go into a fight, regardless of numbers. He failed to concentrate his forces thus they were strung out all along the ridgeline and in Reno's case down in the valley; where they could not mutually support each other. AFA Command climate he was, arrogant, short with his company commanders and put himself exactly where he could not influence the fight once joined.
The disaster of "Little Big Horn" does not make him "dumb", his actions and leadership during the Civil War were valuable to the success and survival of the Armies he commanded. War entails a lot of "luck", a "lucky shot" destroyed the HMS Hood, a "lucky shot" doomed the Bismark, ... so is war. Ciao, L
@@williambodin5359 His rank in the regular army was Captain. During the war he was promoted to brevet rank (temporary), of Major General of Volunteers in command of the 3rd Calvary Division. After the war there was a surplus of officers especially Generals as the army shrunk, and those with the brevet Rank where reverted to their regular army rank. Custer reverted to Captain and a short while later was actually promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assigned to the 7th Calvary. These officers where often addressed by their brevet ranks out of respect.
I took a trip to Montana in August of 2019 because my Grandpa was going to a Marines conference in Billings. We went to the sight of the battle. My grandparents kept on talking about how wonderful and brave Custer was for fighting his last stand. I'm on the side of the people who aren't fond of Custer, so I was noticeably irritated by the whole situation.
Well, that was actually brave. Most officers would of just stayed back and told their men to charge. Him charging into battle with his men was definitely brave, definitely not the smartest move, but the man wasn’t a coward when it came to battle.
Question time. The Little Bighorn Battlefield is currently surrounded by a reservation, what is the name of that reservation? At the battle of Little Bighorn, or Greasy Grass if you prefer, which side did the people for answer above fight for? What does it tell you when the people who lived and had treaty rights to the land where the battle occurred before during and after the battle fought for one side and not the other?
One thing to consider: most of what we "know" about "Custer's last stand" comes from people who have an interest in putting all the blame on him. It doesn't in, itself mean that he is blameless, but it should be enough to make us cautious when allocating blame for US Cavalry's Little Big Horn disaster. One essential point in history is always to find "where the people are writing from"
Don't forget, we still have first hand accounts from men who were there. Benteen and Reno were there up and to the point of battle. Not everything is written from the Natives point of view.
@discorperted Well first off, all of the trooper's bodies were desecrated, their bodies looted and mutilated, so you wouldn't be able to tell what they were doing at time of death, plus the natives took the firearms. Point being, there would be very little evidence of that.
2:15 ..and this is how battles are fought.. you just neatly and in organized manner smile at your enemy as you gently pass them by and try to be synchronized so it all looks like smooth waves on a calm sea, just don't fall of the horse, don't bump into anyone.. remember, be gentle..
Custer was a Lieutenant-Colonel at the time of his death. General was a brevet rank for the duration of the civil war and all of his contemporaries were put back to lieutenants whereas Custer was put back to Captain because his wife was from a prominent family and she petitioned his superiors to get him a higher rank. There was no last stand.
Funny how in the civil war 2LT made BG after 1-2 years at like 24/25 years old. Madness glad they got sorted back down after the war, or else it would be very lopsided and hard to promote (it already was hard enough back then)
cant find it now but i remember seeing a video analyzing the battle arguing that custer wasn't an idiot just didnt have the whole picture. not only did he underestimate the size of the indian force but he also didnt know where they were positioned. really wish i could find the vid, it was quite informative.
"Dumb" because we have decades of foresight lol I'm sure it wasn't dumb at the time. People love to make giant assumptions about what they "would have done"
Exactly, and the title claims Custer was "dumb" because of 1 single battle. The narrator then contradicts this by saying, "Custer was an American Civil War hero".
Agree with both of you. Custer’s force was spotted by a small contingent of enemy fighters, not far from the camp, those fighters then beat feet for the main camp. Element of Surprise assumed lost, no Comms with the other columns or knowledge of how far out they were. Decision time, in an Army that would Court Martial an officer for inaction and cowardice at the drop of a hat. What do you do now? About face and go home? No choice but to engage.
He's also in native territory knowing the land is literally the most important thing in on foot battles. Not saying Custer was outmatched he made mistakes that cost him his men and himself.
Agree, think McClellan was the dumbest. He had several chances to win the war. At the battle of Antietam, once confederate general remarked: McClellan brought superior force to the battlefield that day, unfortunately, he also brought himself. Had he hurled his army at the south that day the war would have ended. In the peninsula campaign when he had the majority of the union army marching on Richmond, he was fooled into retreating and delaying by a small force that walked around in a circle all day to appear larger than it was. In that campaign he moved so slowly many began calling him the Virginia creeper. There are a lot of stories about McClellan. Lincoln one time remarked, if general McClellan isn’t going to use the army, I would like to borrow it....
Cthulhu'akhbar! 1) It has been said before, but Custer was a LtCol and regimental CO at Little Big Horn. He was not a general in the regular army. 2) Custer's track record during the War of Southern Insurrection was actually pretty decent, his exploits at Gettysburg were quite spectacular. 3) Custer's main fault was his arrogance and contempt with the "savages", who showed him the error of his ways. With respect to rank, it is interesting that at one time, Custer had 3 different ranks all at once, Captain in the regular army, Brevet Major General in the Regular Army and Major General of Volunters.
Custer was a Brigadier General (one star) during the American Civil War as a volunteer, but there was a surplus of Generals and he was one of the many demoted Generals, therefore becoming a Lieutenant Colonel.
