During the 18th century, Britain was being in a very strong time. Their industry and technology developed rapidly, which helped their military to expand. Especially the navy, at that time, the advanced technology helps the British navy became the most powerful army in the whole world. As well as they also have a lot of colonies separate in the whole world, the support from outside source helped Britain develop. During that time American just a one of the British colony. their army cannot compare with the British army, and in most time they were protected by redcoat.
And because they were the colony, their policy and social and economy trade were controlled by Britain. Therefore, the American actually didn't have power to against with British. However, the result of the American Revolution was beyond expectation. Even American without the help of France, between the British leaders, lacked unity and the right strategy, which reduced their military power. During that time the British force power was also influenced by chaos within the military. Plus they haven't enough support in the colonies. Those facts also lead the British fail in the American revolutionary war.
First, British believe that their forces can defeat any force in the world, and they have the right to believe that, but during the war, it makes their commanders often over-relax and leads their leader lacked unity and the right strategy, and make them belittle the enemy. John M. Taylor mentioned that " University of Virginia historian Andrew O'Shaughnessy, after examining the factors that led to Britain's defeat, he comes up with no single scapegoat. Britain's defeat was a team effort"(1..).
The bad attitudes lead British commanders lost their victory. The battle of Yorktown is the best example to show British poor solidarity. Rachel McBrayer' article record that during the battle of Yorktown "Cornwallis lost a quarter of his army in the battle, leading him to abandon the backcountry of the Carolinas and move his army to Wilmington on the North Carolina coast to resupply and rest his troops. Cornwallis's unsanctioned decision to then march his army to Yorktown, Virginia, effectively hastened the end of the British Southern Strategy" (2..). This battle during the American Revolution was important and it can directly influence the result of the American Revolutionary War. But from this battles, it obviously shows that the British did not skillfully change their plans. The leader also didn't have a good communication to design proper strategies.
Cornwallis should communicate with other British generals when he made a plan. If they didn't have a comprehensive strategy, everything will be messed up. So, even their equipment and army are better than American force, but the fail group effort produced the bad strategies and ultimately lead British fail in the revolutionary war. Second, the power of British force was influenced by chaos within the military. During that time, Even the British has the most powerful military in the world, but their soldiers are chaotic and leader has corruption. So, during the war, the British army always with a terrible morale.
First, The vulgarity of British soldiers came from that British allowed the informal soldier to join the army. Berkshire told a government minister that he held men condemned for highway robbery and horse stealing, but who were "exceedingly proper fellows for either the Land or the Sea Service"(3..). Then the bad moral of official corruption, for example, officers were not entitled to free rations while in garrison, but many made arrangements with the commissary agents to provide them, their families, and their friends with free food.(4..). There has recorded that "Americans had been scandalized by the vulgarity of British soldiers, and they came to believe that 'success in the war depended on their individual moral character and that of their new nation' " (5..).
The information proved that informal soldiers and corrupt officers had always existed and they had led to poor morale in the British army. Moreover, informal soldiers are less loyal than formal soldiers, and corrupt officials may make British soldiers uneasy, which lead a decline in soldiers' loyalty to officers. If a state's armed forces do not have a good morale, their military quality will decline, also the teamwork will be affected. According to the American thought ( the British soldiers did not have a good morality)at that time, if Britain continued to develop in this way, Britain could not succeed in the war.
During the American Revolution, the British haven't enough support from the colonies. First is the British refuse the support from royalists in colonies. And British military leader did not trust the royalists and preferred to rely on its own army. O'Shaughnessy indicates that the politicians and generals refused to make Loyalists equal participants in the war, insisting that American officers be subordinate to Britons of the same rank. (6..). Second is the tax policy has reduced American support for Britain, for example, the stamp tax, it has impacted all Americans, but in particular, it was taken as an offense by the merchants and lawyers; it angered everyone.
Thereafter, riots broke out in several states(7..). The stamp tax dissatisfied the American. Those people who were oppressed by British unfair policy will not support the British anymore. British failed to utilize the Royalists of the whole colony because British did not fully trust them and they preferred to rely on their own troops. This reduces pressure of Royalist for Patriots. Then, due to British army lost their support in American, they will have more difficulty during the war. And the colonies were so vast. If the British did not have enough support from Royalists and American colonists, they will haven't enough manpower to allow them to control the expansion of the Patriots and win any battle In conclusion, the British military surely has some problem during the American revolutionary war, and those problems affect the British force power.
It is also clear that their leaders have not good unity and they didn't devise the tactics to suit them during the battle. Informal soldiers and corrupt officers led to moral chaos in the British army. The British also failed to utilize the Royalists of the whole colony and they have less support in America. According to those facts, the lack of solidarity, lack of moral and lack of support all impact the victory of Britain.
How Other Facts Lead British. (2019, Apr 26).
Retrieved December 8, 2024 , from
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