Osprey Campaign 39 : Little Big Horn 1876 : Custer's Last Stand

The death of George Armstrong Custer, and over half of his now immortal 7th Cavalry Regiment in the valley of the Little Big Horn on 25 July 1876, has become the most celebrated battle of the Indian wars. It was the greatest, and the last, victory of the Native Americans over the United States military. Planned as a combined operation by three different columns of troops commanded by Generals Crook and Terry and Colonel John Gibbon, the campaign went wrong almost from the start. Crook's column was stopped almost immediately and after a severe mauling fell back to its supply base. Custer then disobeyed orders and followed a trail left by a large number of ponies towards the Little Big Horn. He found a large encampment of Indians on the morning of 25 July and without determining the numbers he faced split his command into three groups and attacked. In the resulting chaos Custer and more than half the troops under his command were killed. Custer's luck had finally run out. Peter Panzeri details the whole of the 1876 campaign against the Indians under Sitting Bull, including Gibbon's encounters and Terry's advance, before recounting in detail the last stand of one of history's most controversial figures.

Contents

• The Warpath to 1876
• Plans and Preparations
• The Opposing Leaders
• The Opposing Armies
• Terry and Gibbon
• Terry's Plan
• The Battle of the Little Big Horn
• Custer's Last Stand
• The Aftermath
• The Battlefield Today
• Chronology
• Guide to Further Reading
• Wargaming the Little Big Horn