Many Custerologists---who do not "hate Custer"---rightly conclude in my opinion that had Custer even taken the additional cavalry regiment he was offered AND had Benteen AND had the pack train, he still would have been wiped out.
It's one thing to "attack a strong force" that hasn't seen your tactics before; it's quite another to send 260 vs. about 4,000 on broken ground. Fox undisputably shows that no one in either Keough's or Custer's command EVER even formed a skirmish line.
Fox never “undisputably” showed anything. His theory of “lack of resistance” doesn’t stand up to the basics of the battle.
Fox claimed to have found “not enough cartridges on the battlefield” although he knew that thousands of artefacts had been collected since 1876 by relic hunters. I personally know people who picked up hundreds of bullets and cartridges on the hill. So analyzing a “contaminated” field and drawing conclusions on a lack of material is useless - and destroys Fox’s credibility. Moreover, the Indian testimonies clearly don’t back Fox’s theory at all.
Indian forces never numbered 4’000, but 1’000 to 1’500. The “4’000” myth was created by Benteen and Reno to cover their own asses and their betrayal.
Custer attacked 1’000 warriors with 650 soldiers. He lost the battle because of these 650, 400 never supported him because their commanders, Benteen and Reno, refused to do their duty and commited high treason against their superior and their flag.
INDIAN ACCOUNTS ON THE LAST STAND
Crow King: “Riderless mounts scattered across the hills and ran to the river but the soldiers kept in order and fought like brave warriors.”
Moving Robe: “It was a hotly contested battle.”
Eagle Elk: “The shootings [by the soldiers] Eagle Elk had witnessed within the last minutes had been enough to convince him of the good sense in staying away from the front lines.”
Red Horse : “Even tough virtually surrounded, the soldiers put up a stiff resistance, for it was in this charge [chief Lame White Man’s charge] that the Lakotas lost more of their men. Red Horse thought that 136 Indians were killed and 160 were wounded in that phase of the battle.”
Hollow Horn Bear: “In fact, Hollow Horn Bear believed that the troops were in good order at the start of the fight, and kept their organization even while moving from point to point.”
Sitting Bull: “There was so much doubt about the outcome [of the battle] that I told the squaws to break the camp and be ready to leave.”
Red Hawk: “Here the soldiers made a desperate fight.”
Iron Hawk:”The Indians pressed and crowded right in around Custer Hill. But the soldiers weren’t ready to die. We stood there a long time.”
Thunder Hawk’s wife: “It was quite a fight” (on Custer Hill)
Wooden Leg could see “that all the soldiers were killed except for a band that remained hidden behind their dead horses.”
Flying By: “(the stand) was made in the place where Custer would be killed, down at the end of the long ridge.”
Flying Hawk: “Custer made a stand on his hill.”
Gall: Gall neared the end of the ridge where the last soldiers were making a stand. “They were fighting good” he said.
Lights: he could see the soldiers who had fled the Keogh fight joining those making the stand on the hill.
Two Eagles: The most stubborn stand the soldiers made was on Custer Hill. From his position a short way north and west of that point, Two Eagles noticed the hilltop was very level and the soldiers took the spot to continue their defense. (…) “They were killed on top of the ridge” Two Eagles declared.
Red Hawk: The bluecoats were “falling back steadily to Custer Hill where another stand was made”, said Red Hawk. “Here the soldiers made a desperate fight.”
Two Moon: (…) Two Moon turned back to watch the fight. (…) The “grey bunch” was still fighting.
Moving north along the ridge to where he could see better, Standing Bear noticed dismounted soldiers holding their horses by the bridles. “They were ready for us”, he said, and they began to shoot, “the bullets were just raining”. (…) Bear Horn rode up too close (to the last stand) and was himself shot down.
On Last Stand Hill, Iron Hawk saw about twenty men on horseback and about thirty men on foot. “The Indians pressed and crowded right in and around them on Custer Hill” But the soldiers weren’t ready to die. Said Iron Hawk,“We stood there a long time.”
Big Beaver: Big Beaver crawled back down the coulee to put a bit more distance between himself and the deadly soldiers bullets. (…) The Indians were rushing toward the hill where the soldiers were making their desperate fight.
Very true and exactly what I was going to say. I would also add this, Custer had faced the Indians numerous times before and had always been strongly out numbered. However, based on his experience, the Indians had rarely fought back. Instead their tactics were to hit and run, then return later and repeat this. Rarely did they launch a continuous attack as they did at LBH.
LBH represented a change in Indian attack planning, which took Custer by surprise. It was this change that led to his defeat.
One very eerie sight is to stand at the top of the hill and look down towards where the attacks started and to see the serpentine like long line of crosses leading to the crest of the hill. Indeed by the time Custer's last men reached the hill, the outcome of the battle had long been decided.