Why Did
Custer Lead
the
7th Cavalry
Into a
Massacre?

The Rule of Seven:
Every catastrophe has 7 events.
Six Cascade Events leading to the
final event, the Catastrophe. At
least one of the Cascade Events
involves human error. Thus most
catastrophes can be avoided.
Anatomy of Catastrophe

“There are not enough Indians in the world
to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.”
George Armstrong Custer
Little Bighorn: Leadership Failure

On 25 June 1876, 5 of the 12 companies
of the US 7th Cavalry under George
Armstrong Custer’s command were
annihilated by a combined force of
Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and
Arapahoe, Native Americans under the
leadership of Crazy Horse and Gall.
THE FACTS

1861: Custer graduates West Point. Last in his class.
27 November 1868: The Battle of Washita River.
2 August 1874: Custer reports finding gold ‘right from
the grass roots’ in the Black Hills.
THE TIMELINE

25 June 1876; 10:50 am: Custer decides to attack the
Native American encampment on the Little Big Horn
River.
12:12 pm: First divide of Custer’s command as
Benteen’s column splits off.
2:15 pm: Second divide of Custer’s command as Reno’s
column splits off. Reno quickly becomes engaged in
battle.
THE TIMELINE

25 June 1876; 3:33 pm: Reno’s command retreats into
the trees along the Little Big Horn River, hard pressed
by the Native Americans.
3:56 pm: Custer’s companies advance down Medicine
Tail Coulee.
5:00 pm: Last of heavy firing heard from Custer’s
position.
THE TIMELINE

West Point, Civil War, and Indian War records of George
Armstrong Custer foretold a leader big on ego, bravery, and
foolishness.
-Last in his class at West Point.
-Court-martialed at West Point right after graduation.
-Became a general at 23; 7th Cavalry was the smallest unit he
ever commanded.
-His unit in the Civil War had one of the highest % of casualties.
-He went AWOL in 1867 yet he summarily executed soldiers
who went AWOL.
-Split his command in 1868 attacking Black Kettle’s village &
abandoned a lost element of his command to be massacred.
Cascade 1

Lesson: The best predictor of future behavior is past
behavior and ‘good’ luck can have disastrous consequences
down the line. In combat, such luck can make one believe in
their own invulnerability and engender a delusional
mindset.
Custer was more lucky than talented.

Custer’s ego and ambition.
-Custer not only believed himself greater than any
situation he was in, he was always seeking greater
glory and position.
-Custer took actions filtered through the
narcissistic lens of: “How will this benefit me?”
-1876 was the Centennial, with the 4th of July just
weeks away and the Democratic Convention
looming; Custer desired to achieve a significant
victory in time for it.
Cascade 2

LESSON: The human ego can believe it is stronger
than any situation it finds itself in, but nature,
other people, and technology often don’t agree.
Ambition blinds people.
Looking past an immediate crisis to larger, and
more distant, goals can be fatal.

Custer’s troops were poorly trained and
reacted badly under stress.
The US Army in the 1870s was a refuge for
immigrants (many of whom did not speak
English), criminals, and the outcasts of society.
While many of the officers were veterans of the
Civil War, few of the troops were.
Cascade 3

LESSON: Reaction during a catastrophe is
impossible to predict, but training and
preparation can mitigate the effect and get
people to go against their natural instincts.

Custer turned down Gatling guns; disdain for new
technology can have disastrous effect.
General Terry offered Custer several Gatling guns (early
machineguns) to take along, but Custer said no. Custer
wasn’t so much against the guns. He felt they would slow
him down.
The military has always been leery of new technology.
While Custer can be faulted for not taking the Gatlings,
the reality is that fifty years later, generals were still
clueless about the power of the machinegun, leading to
archaic tactics slaughtering millions of soldiers in World
War I.
Cascade 4

LESSON: Technology is a double-edged sword. In our haste
to adopt new technology, we can invite disaster, but we
can also do the same by not embracing the advantages
technology can bring. In both directions, the key is to study
the new technology without prejudice from the past and
look to how it might apply in an evolving future.
It’s an axiom that the military is always prepared to fight
the last war, not the next.

Lack of an Area Study and understanding of the environment,
along with a lack of remembering recent history.
The only glimpse Custer had of the Native Americans
encamped next to the Greasy Grass River was from the Crows
Nest. While his scouts told him the enemy was numerous, all
Custer could make out was a milling mass: the Native
American herd. One of his scouts, Mitch Bouyer warned Custer
that this was the largest village he’d ever encountered. But
Custer was more concerned that the village would disperse
before he had a chance to attack.
The fact his scouts immediately began their death chant
should have been a warning.
Cascade 5

Lack of an Area Study and understanding of the
environment along with a lack of remembering recent
history.
10 years before Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse was part of
the Native American Force that massacred Captain
Fetterman and 69 soldiers at Fort Kearney.
They lured the soldiers out of the fort and then
surrounded them and killed them all.
Cascade 5

While this painting is dramatic, the reality was more
gruesome. At the end, Fetterman and one of his
officers, are reported to have committed mutual
suicide, shooting each other.
I cover the Fetterman Massacre in The Green Beret
Guide to Great Disasters, as well as this event.

Lesson: An Area Study is critical to any situation.
It’s one of the key planning components for Special
Forces and to avoid Catastrophes.
I never really understood what happened in either
battle (Fetterman and Custer) until I went there and
walked the terrain. When your scouts begin their death
chant, you’ve got a problem.

While the Little Big Horn area seems wide open with
great visibility, the reality is that the terrain consists of
many folds, draws and valleys where large forces can
lie hidden.
Also, as in the case of Fetterman, arrows are indirect
fire weapons, while firearms are direct fire.
Native Americans out of sight of the soldiers could
safely use their bows to strike with plunging fire.

Custer divided his command: making tactical decisions
for the wrong reasons.
Custer divided his command into three parts, which
greatly aided his defeat. Most people think the 7th
Cavalry was wiped out at the Little Big Horn, but in
reality, only 5 of the 12 companies were. The rest,
under Reno and Benteen, ended up fighting off assaults
until the Native Americans retired the following day.
Custer’s priority was to entrap the Indians.
He wanted the glory of victory for himself.
He misjudged the tactical field of battle.
Cascade 6

LESSON: One should make decisions based on the real
problem, not in hopes of affecting future, unrelated events.
Personal conflicts can affect organizational outcomes and
produce catastrophe.

All five companies and every man that was under
Custer’s direct command died
Despite the warnings of his scouts, and the
objections of some of his officers, Custer rode into
the valley of the Little Big Horn convinced he was
heading toward glory, part of a cascade of events
that led to his doom and that of 267 other men.
Final Event

LESSON: An organization needs Cascade Stoppers.
People who can step up and put the brakes on when a
leader’s ego is driving everyone into an abyss. One of
the greatest safety devices in an airplane is a co-pilot
who is willing to speak up to the pilot.
Custer needed such a co-pilot.
He had Benteen, who often disagreed with him, so that
was the first command he split off.
He took with him on his last ride several family
members and those commanders who were his
“supporters.”
Final Event

The events of Little Big Horn are part of a book in my
Atlantis series.
Assault on Atlantis

Seven Ways to Prevent Catastrophes
1. Have a Special Ops preparation mindset
2. Focus by utilizing both big picture & detail
thinkers
3. Conduct Special Forces Area Studies
4. Use the Special Forces CARVER formula
5. Have a “10th man”
6. Conduct After Action Reviews
7. Write and USE Standing Operating Procedures
(SOPs)

Are you interested in a presentation about various catastrophes
and how the cascade events could have been prevented?
Events covered range from human-machine interface, to
leadership, to communication, cost-cutting, engineering, group
think, perseverance, systematic failure, and more?
Catastrophes are cascade events culminating in disastrous
chaos. War is chaos. Special Forces is the most elite unit trained
for a variety of combat situations.
What makes Special Forces elite is our mindset and
preparation.
Are you interested in a presentation on how to use Special
Forces tactics, techniques and mental attitude to help your
organization anticipate and prevent potential catastrophes?
Please email bob@bobmayer.com
Summary

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New York Times bestselling author, is a graduate of West Point and
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www.bobmayer.com