Was American success in achieving independence due more to the strategic skill of George Washington or to the operational and strategic mistakes of the British?
The primary reason the British lost the American Revolution was due to operational and strategic mistakes. Through the course of this paper I will show direct evidence of how over confidence in faulty logic, failed strategies, and logistical miscalculations allowed the colonists to protract and win the war.
The first mistake that the British made was arriving at the misguided conclusion that the war would easily be won. The majority of the British government was consistently under the false assumption that the rebellion in the colonies was an isolated issue comprised of small sects …show more content…
The British were aliens in a strange land. First of all, 3,000 thousand miles lay between the Americas and Britain so sending resources was a hassle. A lot of time passed between getting more supplies from the homeland, supplies were needed immediately. Sometimes the ships carrying the supplies would crash and sink at sea. Because of the long travel time and the crashing and sinking of ships, about eleven percent of the troops sent to America to fight died. The American wilderness was also unfamiliar to the British troops. “…it was an article of faith on the part of many British military man that certain ruin lay in fighting an enemy on any large scale in that savage wilderness.” The Duke of Richmond warned that they should “consult their geographies…” The British lived in fear and hunger while the Americans were able to live off the land and use it to their advantage. The Americans who were fighting could hide in towns, and pretend to be just regular townspeople and so it was hard for the British to distinguish between Loyalists and Patriots. The Americans could also use the geography to use their guerrilla tactics. One more advantage for the Americans and one more disadvantage for the British
The primary reason the British lost the American Revolution was due to operational and strategic mistakes. Through the course of this paper I will show direct evidence of how over confidence in faulty logic, failed strategies, and logistical miscalculations allowed the colonists to protract and win the war.
The first mistake that the British made was arriving at the misguided conclusion that the war would easily be won. The majority of the British government was consistently under the false assumption that the rebellion in the colonies was an isolated issue comprised of small sects …show more content…
The British were aliens in a strange land. First of all, 3,000 thousand miles lay between the Americas and Britain so sending resources was a hassle. A lot of time passed between getting more supplies from the homeland, supplies were needed immediately. Sometimes the ships carrying the supplies would crash and sink at sea. Because of the long travel time and the crashing and sinking of ships, about eleven percent of the troops sent to America to fight died. The American wilderness was also unfamiliar to the British troops. “…it was an article of faith on the part of many British military man that certain ruin lay in fighting an enemy on any large scale in that savage wilderness.” The Duke of Richmond warned that they should “consult their geographies…” The British lived in fear and hunger while the Americans were able to live off the land and use it to their advantage. The Americans who were fighting could hide in towns, and pretend to be just regular townspeople and so it was hard for the British to distinguish between Loyalists and Patriots. The Americans could also use the geography to use their guerrilla tactics. One more advantage for the Americans and one more disadvantage for the British