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Analysis Of George Armstrong Custer

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In June of 1876, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) George Armstrong Custer led the United States (US) 7th Cavalry Regiment into battle against a major Native American force. The US 7th Cavalry Regiment suffered a major defeat near the Little Bighorn River in the eastern Montana Territory (Wagner III, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to examine the prominent elements of the battle and to provide an alternate outcome. In theory, LTC Custer could have gained a decisive victory at Little Bighorn by utilizing surveillance and additional intelligence assets available at the time. On June 22nd, 1876, LTC Custer received orders from Brigadier General (BG) Alfred H. Terry to pursue roaming Native Americans in the eastern Montana Territory (Wagner III, …show more content…

Little did they know, this would soon lead to their demise. LTC Custer and his staff erroneously assumed the Native American tribes would observe the approaching soldiers and disperse. A subordinate officer, Major Reno, reported the Native American warriors were moving to meet his column in force (Wagner III, 2014). This column maneuvered through a forested area and towards the Little Bighorn where Major Reno commenced to form a skirmish line. The Native American forces quickly maneuvered to surround the line and Major Reno’s column retreated from the valley into the forested area (Harper, 2014). This denotes the beginning of the ensuing events of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the catastrophic defeat of the US 7th …show more content…

Human intelligence collectors recruit and task sources to identify elements, intentions, composition, strength, dispositions, tactics, equipment, and capabilities of the opposition (ADPR 2-0, 2012). Surveillance operations is the act of continuously viewing the enemy and collecting relevant information. Surveillance enables the commander, in this case LTC Custer, to make decisions based on reportable intelligence. Surveillance is also essential in enabling the commander to allocate assets to counter the adversary’s military deception (JP 2-01,

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