7th Cavalry Tactics For The Battle Of The Little Bighorn

812 Words4 Pages

The TTPs for the 7th Cavalry Regiment were the standard cavalry tactics that were established in the 1874 manual of United States Army Cavalry Tactics by Emory Upton . They used a platoon as the smallest maneuver element and two platoons comprised a company of approximately 60 mounted soldiers.
Custer divided the regiment into four elements for the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Two battalions consisting of three companies, one led by Major Reno and the other led by Captain Benteen, the third had five companies, led by Custer, and the fourth was the pack (supply) train . The four elements separated at the Rosebud River and Little Bighorn River divide around noon on June 25, 1876 . Custer assumed that the tactic of splitting his regiment …show more content…

Throughout a majority of the day, all four elements were within sight of each other and able to provide mutual support.
Reno’s battalion was ordered to chase about 60 warriors, with support from Custer’s battalion, which had been spotted around 1415 . Shortly after Reno found and charged the camp he realized that it was much larger than he expected and brought his entire battalion on line for the assault. About 400 yards from contact, the battalion was halted when warriors began rushing to counter attack. A skirmish line to fire on the camp was formed and shortly after, Reno feared encirclement and ordered a withdrawal to the nearby wooded area.
Custer had moved his battalion to the north and broke off from it to head for high ground to gain a better vantage point of the valley when Reno gave chase. From the higher vantage point he was able to view the huge camp and Reno’s skirmish. Being of the offensive mindset, Custer sent word to Benteen to hurry up and join him for the …show more content…

Along the way they formed semi-circle skirmish lines and fought for over an hour just to reach an empty village. Custer reformed his battalion just to the north of the camp on a hill called Calhoun Hill located on the bluffs. The wings almost immediately split again to reconnoiter the surrounding areas. Skirmish lines were formed along the ridge line at Custer Hill and Calhoun Hill. Attempts at defenses were made but to no avail based on the warrior’s superior numbers. There was no climax for the end of Custer’s battalion on Custer Hill and it is likely that no soldier was standing when the victorious Sioux and Cheyenne overran their