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The Battle Of Little Bighorn

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Lt. Col. Custer’s crushing defeat at the hands of tribal Indians during the Battle of Little Bighorn is attributed to his lack of adherence to what we now know as the characteristics of the offense: surprise, concentration, audacity and tempo. By allowing the tribal Indians to observe his movement during the early stages of the battle Custer lost the ability to surprise the enemy with a direct attack and his decision to divide his elements while facing a larger enemy force prevented him from concentrating his fires and effectively massing their effects on the enemy. The Battle of Little Bighorn took place in Montana near the Little Bighorn River during the 25th and 26th of June 1876. It was part of a series of skirmishes and battles …show more content…

The Eastern Sioux remained in the vicinity of what is now known as the Great Lakes and continued to dispute their sacred lands with gold mining settlers while the Western Sioux settled in the fertile hunting grounds near Montana and Wyoming. The Western Sioux remained relatively undisturbed until a supply route that travelled along the Eastern edge of their territory and cut directly through sacred lands and hunting grounds was established. This route known as the “Bozeman Trail” was intended as a supply route connecting Fort Laramie to the gold-rich mountains in Montana . The trail became a nuisance to the Sioux while the white settlers regarded it as key infrastructure necessary for their continued gold mining operations. A Sioux warrior by the name of Red Cloud along with small contingents of warriors began to attack supply convoys travelling along the trail in an attempt to deter white settlers from destroying sacred Sioux lands and hunting grounds. Red Cloud’s campaign against the use of the “Bozeman Trail” was so successful that the U.S. government proposed peace talks to the Western Sioux. The intent of the “peace talk” was to convince the Sioux to allow the miners freedom of maneuver through the trail with the stipulation that they would preserve the Sioux’s sacred lands and hunting grounds. Before an agreement could be reached between both parties; the U.S. military

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