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DUDLEY KNOX LIBRARY NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA 9394^-5101 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS REVISITING THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN by Matthew Bums J. December2000 Thesis Co-Advisor: GordonH. McCormick ThesisCo-Advisor: BardMansager Approved forpublic release; distribution is unlimited. 8 REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE FormApproved 0MBNo. 0704- 0188 Public reporting burden for this collection ofinformation is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) WashingtonDC 20503. AGENCY USE ONLY REPORT DATE REPORTTYPE AND DATES COVERED 1. 2. December2000 Master'sThesis 4. TITLEAND SUBTITLE: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Revisiting theBattle ofthe Little Big Horn 6.AUTHOR(S) Bums, MathewJ. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S)ANDADDRESS(ES) PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 7. i. Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING/MONITORINGAGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/ MONITORING AGENCY REPORTNUMBER IL SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Theviewsexpressed inthisthesisarethoseoftheauthoranddo not reflecttheofficial policyorposition oftheDepartment ofDefense orthe U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION /AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved forpublic release; distribution is unlimited. ABSTRACT 13. The Battleofthe Little BigHornhas captured the interestofhistorians, scholars, andmilitaryenthusiasts since the daythat over200 United States soldiers underGeneral GeorgeArmstrong Custer's commandwere decimatedbyCrazyHorse and 2000 Indianwarriors. Competing theories regarding the details ofthebattle have arisen, mostlydue to conflicting firsthand accounts. The purpose ofthis thesis istwofold. The firstpurpose is toperformanhistorical analysis ofthe Battle ofthe Little Big Hom, using war-gaming. A series ofcontrolled, comparative simulations ofthe battle willbe carriedoutusing the SynchronizationMatrix, a war-gaming tool obtained fromU.S. ArmyField Manual(FM) 101-5. This analysis will evaluate three competing theories and interpretations ofthebattle, with the objective of categorizing the theories bydegree ofplausibility. The secondpurpose is to examine the impact ofalternative notional leadership decisions onthe outcome ofthebattle, e.g. what ifCusterhadnot splithis force? The result is a confirmationthatwar-gaming can indeedbe utilizedforthe studyofhistorical combat, as well as for ftiture planning. SUBJECTTERMS ; NUMBEROF 14. 15. War-gaming, CourseofAction Analysis PAGES 159 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OFTHIS CLASSIFICATION OF OFABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 StandardForm298(Rev. 2-89) PrescribedbyANSIStd.239-1 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 11 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. REVISITING THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN Matthew Bums, J. Lieutenant, Unitea States Navy B.S., Naval Postgraduate School, 2000 Submitted in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DEFENSE ANALYSIS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 2000