Complex sentence: Lt. Colonel George A. Custer's field strategy was designed to engage noncombatants at the encampments at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, so as to capture women, children, the elderly or disabled to serve as hostages and human shields.
Split into simpler sentences: Lt. Colonel George A. Custer's field strategy was intended to use noncombatants at the encampments at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He intended to capture women, children, the elderly or disabled to serve as hostages and human shields.