The British planned to isolate the New England colonies. In order to do this General John Burgoyne was sent from the Lake Champlain to the Hudson river. While this was going on Colonel Barry St. Leger would attack from the west and General Howe would would send troops North from New York City. Howe however decided to attack Philadelphia and end the war with a victory over Washington's army. Leading to the defeat of Burgoyne's army. Making it to the Hudson river they were stalled at Saratoga, and raided Bennington, Vermont. They were then attacked my American militiamen. The troops that were supposed to be sent to New York were sent to Philidelphia leaving Burgoyne's army helples, forced to surrender.
This victory led to the French joining the colonists in their battle for independence eventually helping them to win the war. If General Howe had not made his decision to go to Philadelphia instead of to New York would the war have turned out the same way? Was this war won because of British military mistakes?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
I think that the mistakes that the British made definitely helped us win this war. The British made a huge mistake by bringing along women, children, food, wine, and clothes. Their old-fashioned fighting techniques did not help them either. In a way, they kind of set themselves up for failure.
By taking advantage of the British nieve attitudes, Americans successfully gained the alliance of the French. Although the French truly hated Britain, they werent entirely sure that they wanted to join the war. The Saratoga victory pursuaded them, and without this victory who knows when the French would have come to our aide.
British military mistakes were definitely helpful in America’s victory in the revolutionary war. Without them the colonists might not have been as successful, however there were many other components that aided in the victory. The assistance from the French in the war greatly assisted in the colonist’s success as well as the leaders they had which included Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. However the mistakes the British made in underestimating the colonists, not preparing for a different type of warfare, and not motivating their troops were of great assistance to the colonists victory.
It would be definintely true that the British made many mistakes, although I dont believe that is the only reason they lost. You have to remember that Patriot colonials made just as many mistakes if not more. I think it comes down to the fact that colonist knew the land better and took better advantage of British mistakes.
They were lucky that the British made the mistakes. I think it definitely played a big role in winning, but the fact that the Americans knew how to work with British mistakes and use them against them helped a great deal.
I think that the outcome of the war could have been a lot different if the British had no made mistakes and thought the the colonists were going to be easy to defeat. The colonists took advantage of the British's weaknesses and ended up winning. I also believe that fighting on their own land made it easier for the colonists because they knew the land better. If the British had no come into the war with such big heads, who knows what could have happened.
Yes, I think that the mistakes made by the British did help us win. Had they not brought so many uneccessary people (children and women) and other belongs and had they had better fighting techniques they would have had a better chance to win.
The british mistakes in the war were definitely helpful, but I beleive that the Americans could have still persuaded the French to fight alongside them even without the crucial victory at Saratoga. It is rather hard to imagine how Burgoyne's army was so senseless as to bring nearly all of their personal belongings along. Though Saratoga was a major turning point, do much to the British mistakes, I beleive the colonies would still have sucessfully gained french support and still would have wonthe war.
I personally found it hilarious that the British thought if they repealed the taxes and gave the American's their way, the Americans would not separate from Britain. With that said if the battle at Saratoga was not one, the French would have not joined the fight and the Americans would have ultimately lost the war.Also the strenuous trip to Saratoga should get some of the credit for the British loss at Saratoga
I think that much of the reason the British lost the war was because of their egos. The British fatally underestimated the Americans. The British thought that because they were veteran trained militiamen, it would be easy to conquer the amateur Americans, but they didn't count on the colonists not fighting the war their way. Also, they totally overestimated how many Americans were on their side, the ambush of the Hessians shows this point. Plus, they brought along way too many unnecessary supplies, i.e women, children, entire wardrobes,etc. This shows how little they knew of the landscape. They used up many crucial supplies on the long journeys and lost many soldiers due to disease. General Howe's mistake in thinking he could easily conquer Philadelphia and end the war, which left Burgoyne out to dry was another example of the British overstimating themselves and underestimating the colonists. I think their big heads are big reason they made so many mistakes and lost the war, but there were also many other things that helped the colonists, i.e. the French, hometown advantage, better leaders, motivation, etc.
Post a Comment