‘The Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 was a victory for the Plains Indians’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. (16) (Jan 2010)

The Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 was a victory for the Plains Indians as they one this battle, I agree very much so with this. Although they win in the short term they loose inz the long term.

Short term victory details were key in the victory. A phrase called ‘stand’ explains this. Their strategy was poor as the commanders made many mistakes; Custer’s tactics were appalling as he decided to split his men up. He sent them off to try and circle the Indians but only ended up making his forces weak. General Custer and 201 men under his command attacked the encampment from the north, only to be trapped and surrounded in a nearby ridge and killed to the last man. Accounts of the last moments of Custer's forces vary, but all agree that Crazy Horse personally led one of the large groups of Sioux who overwhelmed the cavalrymen. Custer was one of the last to be killed. Custer’s men had no Gatling guns which didn’t help their attack. By the time Custer and his men had reached the Indians they had surrounded them and had their own weaponry. Indians had 2,500 men to fight with and Custer had a measly 250, the odds were never going to be in his favor. And the Indians had a much bigger determination due to an early vision of Sitting Bull who had had a vision of them gaining a victory.

The victory infuriated the US government as it was