The Battle of the Little Big Horn, commonly known as Custer’s Last Stand, took place on June 25-26, 1876 and has ever since been idealised in popular culture as one of the most iconic and heroic military actions in American history. As part of a campaign to force Sioux and Cheyenne Indian tribes back to reservations during the so-called Sioux Wars, Custer’s US 7th Cavalry Battalion (US7C) with its twelve companies of troopers numbering around 700 men was sent out as part of a larger force to subdue the non-reservation ‘hostiles’ of the Lakota and Dakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall. Custer, unaware of the size of the enemy and reportedly replying that the 7th Cavalry ‘could handle anything’ when refusing reinforcements, divided his twelve companies into three battalions under the command of Custer himself, Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen, and prepared to attack.
Myself and my gaming buddies recently played a series of games based on the beautiful and brilliant Waddington’s board game Battle of the Little Big Horn, produced in 1964. Its simple play, colourful board and hand-coloured figures attracted many youngsters, including me, into the world of wargaming. So, I unashamedly decided to revisit it - a visit long overdue - for a bit of fun, rather than a serious historical recreation. The key difference this time, however, was the scale I adopted - a 6ft by 4ft gaming mat reproduced from the original game board was used, with the glorious Timpo 1:32 scale injectionmoulded figures plus a few Britains (at least for the distinctive figure of Custer with his two weapons) - you could of course, use smaller scale miniatures.