Battle of the Little Bighorn - Info/Rules? Salute 2019 demo game

[Golgotha]

Hi

Anyone able to provide info and maybe even the rules for the battle of the little Bighorn game that was run at Salute 2019? https://collectioncalculator.com/come-and-play.

Evidently they can also help you value your collection for insurance purposes https://collectioncalculator.com/about

[miltiades]

I found these rules on the internet: it looked very interesting. I tried a solo game with these rules once. It worked out perfectly!
http://www.juniorgeneral.org/custer/bighorn2.html

[SBRPearce]

Is this sort of like the "Kobiyashi-Maru Scenario" from Star Trek, where you test your generalship and character in the no-win scenario?

(Or, was there any rational way that G.A. Custer's unit could have pulled off anything resembling a win? I realize that I'm monumentally ignorant of the specifics of the Little Bighorn Campaign...)

[johnl5555]

  Custer could have had more men survive the battle if Benteen had not stopped for so long watering his horses. Custer's disposition of his companies at the LBH show he had 2 of them trying to keep the way open for Benteen and the packs. After all, his last communication was from Boston Custer who had passed the Pack train and Benteen on his way to join Custer. Nothing impeded him doing so.

Based on the size of the camp his plan to capture the old men, women and children as hostages was not feasible.

Thanks.

John

[FifteensAway]

Or Custer could have had 8 companies wiped out instead of 5 if Benteen hadn't stopped for water!  I believe that was the conclusion of the inquiries/courts martial after the battle.  As I've posted elsewhere, the better battle to translate to the gaming table is the one a week earlier: Rosebud.  That battle could have gone either way - and might have been a worse defeat for the US if the Shoshone and Crow hadn't shown up to support Crook's forces.

(Did you know the last Crow war chief 'got his feathers' in WWII?)

[Harry Faversham]

Makes me smile when there's talk of 'battles' in the Indian wars.

 

[Cubs]

There's so much disagreement about who is to blame for what happened at Little Big Horn, and it's very hard to find completely neutral books on the subject. The author usually has an angle. Personally I view it much the same as Isandlwana - there were a lot of ways to lose the battle and the various actors found one way of doing it, but the buck stops at the commanding officer, both for the dispositions of the troops on the day and the divisions created in the staff and field officers in the weeks leading up to it.

Of course, relatively people actually credit the Sioux (or Zulus!) for making each action virtually unwinnable for their enemies. As soon as the decision to attack the camp was made, I don't see how Custer could have come out with a successful outcome, although it's perhaps more a case of whether he could successfully withdraw his command largely intact or whether they all would be lost.   

[Harry Faversham]

There's so much disagreement about who is to blame for what happened at Little Big Horn...

I'd agree to blame the Indians!

 

[FifteensAway]

I agree that 'battles' are unusual during the Plains Wars but Little Big Horn and Rosebud probably are the closest.

As to blame - for the Sioux War of 1876, the blame lies squarely on the politicians who decided to impose an entirely unrealistic deadline on the 'hostiles'.  Shared with the generals who supported the action.  And, maybe, ultimately, with the politician general in the oval office.

[johnl5555]

Actually, I would say there was proof from the battle that this seems very unlikely. When Benteen and the rest of the companies from Reno available advanced to weir Point they saw the ending of Custer's command. That Indian force then started moving and attacking their forces as they started to withdraw back to Reno Hill. Exactly 1 Company was set to defend the withdrawal in the face of all those Indians attacking them. It was Godfrey's Company. He lost exactly 1 man (who had been wounded and was left hidden on the field buy was discovered and killed). That displays what a disciplined unit could do. The conclusions after the battle should be viewed with a sceptical eye. The reputation of the Command was at stake. Who would step forward to point out Benteen's mistake after his heroic defense on Reno Hill? The Custer Clan was dead. Truth was not sought in that inquiry. CYA was.

Thanks.

Or Custer could have had 8 companies wiped out instead of 5 if Benteen hadn't stopped for water!  I believe that was the conclusion of the inquiries/courts martial after the battle.  As I've posted elsewhere, the better battle to translate to the gaming table is the one a week earlier: Rosebud.  That battle could have gone either way - and might have been a worse defeat for the US if the Shoshone and Crow hadn't shown up to support Crook's forces.

(Did you know the last Crow war chief 'got his feathers' in WWII?)