The Importance of the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Dr Ryan Shaw’s latest piece for War on the Rocks marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and explores why its significance extends beyond one of America’s most iconic battles.

For Shaw, the enduring lesson is not the failure of one commander, but “the Army-wide inability to recognise that the Indians united under Sitting Bull had reached a cultural-strategic inflection point”. It was “not a failure of information: It was a failure of understanding.”

“Lethality is not enough. The victory that day did not go to the side that was better trained, better armed, or better supplied… The battle went to the side with better cultural understanding — of themselves, their adversary, and the changing character of the conflict.”

This piece serves as a timely reminder that even with unprecedented access to information and technology, the enduring lessons of Little Bighorn remain strikingly relevant today.

Read the full article: The Importance of the Battle of the Little Bighorn