What was Gen. Buford's ultimate objective at the Battle of Gettysburg?

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It was his plan all along. The line of hills south of town were the obvious defensive position for an army, but Buford didn't have enough men to defend the entire line so he placed his defensive line north of town. If he could hold the Confederate infantry off long enough, it would give the Union infantry time to come up behind him and begin occupying the hills, which is ultimately what happened. Having said that, and borrowing a quote from Moltke: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." Buford was certainly improvising as the situation changed, but he had clearly meant to protect the Cemetery Hill position, so it was inevitable that he would withdraw to it at some point.

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