What would you have done if your scouts had come in and reported “huge herds of horse”?
What would you have done if one of your chief Indian scouts reported, “I’ve been with these Indians for 30 years and this is the largest village I’ve ever seen.”?
Would you have at least taken a pause and eyeball’d the battle space?
If you were advancing on an enemy’s position and you started hearing a firefight to your flank and BEHIND you.
Wouldn’t you at least try to figure out what going on?
Because Custer didn’t do any of that.
Custer underestimated his enemy and overestimated his abilities. The Gods of War will punish you every time for that.
Your analysis is spot on.
All good points.
Right after he split off and from seeing Reno’s men engaged he marched his men behind the bluffs so they couldn’t see the village from where they were galloping.
He knew that Reno retreated. Boston Custer had told him because Boston came galloping up after Martini left. By that time Custer’s fate had been sealed no matter what he did.
He just kept pushing on hoping that he could ‘hold out’ for the reinforcements that never came.
I’m very skeptical of Godfrey’s timeline in his account.