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Battle of Little bighorn + Battle of Wounded Knee - Coggle Diagram
Battle of Little bighorn + Battle of Wounded Knee
Why did Custer lose the battle of Little bighorn?
Custer
He had marched his army though the Wolf mountains instead of going round them as ordered. As a result, his troops were tired and exhausted before the battle began
Ignored his instructions to camp and wait for reinforcements, instead he choose to attack with only 600 cavalrymen
Some historians have suggested that Custer was arrogant and had expected the Sioux to run away, however they were experienced and fearless warriors so didn't retreat
He refused an offer of Gatling Guns (early machine guns) fearing it would slow down his men and claimed that they could face anything without them
Bad Luck
It was an approved army tactic to divide your forces however it left Custer hughly outnumbered as he led only 200 men into the valley
Custer had attacked quickly because he was afraid that his forces had been discovered by Sioux in the area however the Sioux were just returning to their reservations and did not alert the indians to Custer's presence
Custer's Commanders
The information Custer had received was incomplete: he had no idea how many men he would be fighting with or how they were armed
Custer's Subordinates
His subordinates (Major Reno and Captain Benteen) used standard army procedures and failed to consider the indian tactics of stealth and ambush
Plains Indians
The Indians hughly outnumbered Custer's forces
They were better warriors then Custer's men
Possibility that the indian scouts he employed led him directly to the enemy which had happened at the battle of Washita in 1868 where Custer "forgot" his orders and massacred 103 plains indians, mainly women and children
Battle of the Wounded Knee
Ghost Dance
In Nevada a plain indian known as Wovoka told the natives that the end was coming for the whites on their land and their ancestors would return and guide them to good hunting grounds and all of the animals would return in abundance, for thi to happen they had to perform the ghost dance. The US Authorities became alarmed by this dance
Battle/massacre
At Wounded Knee, soldiers tried to disarm a band of sioux, but they were provoked by the indians and fired upon the indians and caused a massacre
Last major battle/massacre of the west
153 men, women and children were killed