Reasons that Led to Colonists’ Victory against the British Soldiers

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The Revolutionary War was a battle between the British and Americans between 1776 and 1783 (Hodges, 2021). During this time, America was still a colony under British colonial rule, and therefore, when the founding fathers declared War against Britain, many thought the idea was a fool’s errand to go up against the greatest military power in the world. However, after eight years of fighting and negotiating, the thirteen colonies agreed to unite and form the United States of America, a key factor that contributed to the success of America in the Revolutionary War. Apart from the union, various other factors, including logistics, tactics, and military intelligence, can be attributed to America’s success in the Revolutionary War.

One of the major reasons can be attributed to the bungling of relationships and the under-estimation of the American colonies. The British government bungled relations with her American colonies, and as a result, they did not understand the specifics of accelerating social and political changes in the colonies (Schlatter, 2021). Lack of understanding coupled with the ever-increasing American self-confidence, aggravated by the irrational taxation, served as the motivation for America to fight for its independence. The British government was characterized by arrogance, ignorance, corruption, and a distinct lack of empathy with their colonial subjects, and this made America resent the British rule, perceiving it as oppressive. Due to the British ignorance, they did not imagine the colonies uniting, organizing an army, or even supplying their force internally and externally. Based on this, the British made one huge mistake of underrating their opponents, and this contributed to their defeat as all the colonies united to form a formidable force.

The Declaration of independence can also be attributed to the American victory in the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence was pivotal. It provided a cause for the Americans to fight for; it provided the Americans with an opportunity to mobilize support for the American cause at local and international levels (Jefferson, 2019). Through the Declaration of independence, foreign powers were persuaded to use the American Revolution to advance their agendas and also inspired the rebels in their struggle for independence. Based on this, the Declaration of Independence set an example to the world that would soon be followed in other parts of the world, as it happened with the French Revolution.

Another reason for the American victory against the British can be attributed to the American logistics used during the Revolutionary War. During the War, the British forces operated on exterior lines, and this provided the colonials with an opportunity to operate within the interior lines. The British were perceived to have a more experienced military than the colonists as they had huge forces both on land and sea. Despite their large army, the British lacked logical and effective supply management, which contributed to poor logistics. Other problems that hindered effective logistics include redundant bureaucracy, inconsistent and inept politicians and administrators, along with a great deal of corruption from the British officials. On the other hand, the colonists were willing to live off the land and willing to forage and were more resourceful. Besides, the colonists were tougher and more resilient soldiers than the British soldiers, which provided them with a big advantage to win the War despite having inferior weapons.

Strategies, operations, and tactics can also be attributed to the American victory against the British in the Revolutionary War. The British war efforts were not only undermined by poor intelligence, but a great deal of poor administration, including a divided parliament, stubborn and inflexible king, micromanagement by a failed cashiered soldier, and inconsistent Secretary of States for America, Lord Germain, as well as the lack of general staff to oversee the War. The British relied on the colonists’ lack of military education and experience, but the Americans had an advantage of the terrain. Besides, the Declaration of Independence provided the colonists to attract new support as the French, and Swedish supporters sent a significant number of military officers to join the Americans. In addition, the colonists adopted the use of guerrilla tactics, which were crucial to attaining victory against the British. Based on this, the colonists had better strategies, operations, and tactics compared to the British soldiers, and thus, winning the War was imminent.

Military intelligence and counter-intelligence is another major reason that can be attributed to the American victory against the British. Both parties used intelligence-gathering spies to their advantage. Every battle requires knowing how the enemy is prepared and how they are planning to attack so that they can be prepared before the enemy attacks. The large loyalist population, which constituted nearly one-third of the colonials, were well-aware of the terrain and were more than willing to provide information and guide the British forces into attacking the colonists (Branach-Kallas, 2021). While only one-third of the colonists were loyal to the British, two-thirds remained, acted against the loyalist. Washington became highly inept in his use of intelligence to counter the British tactics, and thus, he often paid for the intelligence out of his own pocket. This move acted to provide the colonists with crucial information that was used in the War.

Diseases also played a crucial role in aiding the colonists in winning the War. Diseases of all sorts, including smallpox, affected the British forces as most of them were highly exposed and had not been immunized (Harris, 2018). To counter such diseases, Washington, who led the Revolutionary War, overcame the problem by use of inoculation, and this served to preserve his army while the British army continued to be decimated by diseases. It is estimated that more than 100,000 died from diseases such as smallpox. Besides, the locals were immune to most of the diseases, such as malaria, but this wasn’t the case with the colonial forces. As a result, many colonial soldiers died from diseases as they were not immune, and this was an advantage to the colonists in winning the War.

Foreign aid and military assistance can also be attributed to the American victory against the British army. It was difficult for America to win the War without France, which means that foreign aid was necessary to win the battle in favor of the colonists. Americans had a huge boost in terms of foreign aid. They received cash, loans, uniforms, weapons, gunpowder, tentage, and other military equipment necessary to win the War. Colonists also received aid in the form of the French army under Marshal Jean-Baptiste, Comte de Rochambeau, and the help of French fleets commanded first by Admiral and General Comte d’Estaing in 1778 and Admiral de Grasse in 1780 (Gray, 2018). Based on this, it is evident that the French added a great boost to the colonists’ troops.

Finally, the economic situation in Britain provided the colonists with an advantage to win the War. Economics provides an essential framework for political and military action, and since the British were financially exhausted at the end of the seven-years-War, they were in a poor position to fight another major war. At the time of the Revolutionary War, the British had doubled their debts to dangerous levels, and therefore, they made attempts to recoup their financial losses, rebuild their commerce, and fund their military (Joor, 2021). With the colonists revolting against the British administration, it was difficult to have a reliable revenue through taxes, and this meant a weakening economy for the British. As a result, they could not fund their military, which contributed greatly to their defeat.

References

Branach-Kallas, A. (2021). From Colony to Camp, From Camp to Colony. ANGLICA-An International Journal of English Studies, 30(3), 25-46.

Gray, J. (2018). The American Revolution: A World War. Smithsonian Institution.

Harris, M. (2018). A Cloud of Controversy: George Washington and Smallpox Inoculation During the American Revolution. URJ-UCCS: Undergraduate Research Journal at UCCS, 11(3), 6-12.

Hodges, D. C. (2021). 4. The Revolutionary War. In Argentina’s” Dirty War” (pp. 87-123). University of Texas Press.

Jefferson, T. (2019). The Declaration of independence. Verso Books.

Joor, J. (2021). Revolutionary Wars and Economic Change in the New State of the Netherlands, 1795–1815. In The Crucible of Revolutionary and Napoleonic Warfare and European Transitions to Modern Economic Growth (pp. 114-140). Brill.

Schlatter, E. A. (2021). Patriots and Protests Showdowns at the Not-So-OK Corral. In Aryan Cowboys (pp. 124-158). University of Texas Press.