[June 25, 2015] One of the most successful long-running attributes of the U.S. Army has been their ability to understand their failures. Because of this desire and the military’s study of defeats on the battlefield, there has been much written about one of the most famous defeats of the U.S. Army, the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Well-known in military legend and commonly referred to as Custer’s Last Stand, the battle was the most prominent action of the Great Sioux War of 1876.
Details of the battle have not been easy to obtain given that George Armstrong Custer’s small force of 700 men were all killed and the Indians (a combined force of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes) did not keep statistical records.1 The study of this battle by historians has provided several tactical lessons for leaders. I have found that there is little attention being paid to it by many in the military except for those tactical errors presumably made by Custer. There are, however, lessons that transcend those tactical mistakes.2
What is the major lesson leaders can learned from the defeat? The U.S. government and the U.S. Army had a view of the inferiority of the Indian and the greatness of the U.S. military. Custer seriously underestimated the willingness of the Indians to stand and fight against a better trained and technologically superior military force. In the past, Indians would scatter to avoid a fight and survive. This led Custer to believe that he could attack in three smaller groups that were not mutually supportive of one another and rely on support from nearby units to “ride to the sound of the guns,” if needed and, although they were needed, they did not come to his rescue.
Other U.S. military failures of the 20th Century occurred for the same reason … when the enemy was considered to be “inferior” and thus underestimated. Unfortunately, many more would be killed, wounded, and imprisoned for that error.3 For the Indian tribes, the battle was to be their last tactical success. The fact that all of Custer’s men and himself were killed, it enraged many Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty. Meanwhile, the U.S. government increased its efforts to subdue to tribes and within five years nearly all Indians were confined to reservations.4
Today we have underestimated the Islamic State (the terrorist group ISIS); it continues to grow and gather strength. It was referred to by U.S. President as the “JV Team” – a reference to those who are just not good enough to play with the big boys. Custer made a big mistake with the Indians and there are parallels to today with ISIS. History teaches us lessons but it up to leaders to adhere to them.
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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn
[2] https://6dnz.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/5-leadership-lessons-from-the-battle-of-little-bighorn/
[3] https://www.theleadermaker.com/the-effect-of-racism-on-decisions-in-war/
[4] http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-little-bighorn