AMERICAN ADVANTAGES
AMERICAN ADVANTAGESBy: Joe
American Advantages Why the British Should Not Have Defeated the Americans in the Revolution In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British were faced with rebelling colonies. Finally realizing that they had to fight to keep their colonial possessions, the British sent troops to America. Once the battles began in America, the British were not impressed with the colonial military, but the weak militias soon proved to be effective. With foreign aid from France, American devotion, and the lack of British vigor, the Americans soon discovered the open doors of independence. In my opinion, the American advantages and the British disadvantages proved to be the downfall of the English in the American Revolution. Even though the British army was larger, the American army proved to have talented fighters. The Continental Army and the state militias were essentially the two military organizations of the Americans. Throughout the war, the Americans employed only 231,771 men, which meant that the American forces rarely numbered over 20,000. Compared to the British, the American army was small, but their military tactics and skills were excellent. From a distance of 200 yards, an American rifleman could easily kill a British soldier. Many men observed that the British plainly fired in the general direction of the Americans, while the Americans aimed for the heads of the British. Also, the Americans had many more competent and talented leaders. George Washington and Benedict Arnold were two of the most brilliant American leaders. During this time period, the British firing techniques were not effective. The commanders lined up their troops in lines, one line in front of the other. Then, the British soldiers fired, knelt down, and then reloaded their weapons. While the British were standing in the open, the Americans used guerrilla tactics and fired upon the British while using the trees as protection. When the British retreated, they marched in a single file line. Brilliantly, the Americans ran ahead of the retreating British and picked them off with their rifles. Almost defenseless to this American technique, the British lost many soldiers. The British hired German mercenaries, "Hessians," which proved to be an unreliable source of troops. Overall, the British did not win the war because the Americans knew how to fight effectively with their limited troops. With some foreign aid from France, the Americans found that they held an advantage in supplies. At one point in time, the Americans were using 90% provided French gunpowder. Also, the French provided a strong navy which protected the American coastline. France fought against the British because they wanted revenge, and they also wanted to reclaim some territory that they had lost in the Seven Years War. Fortunately, the Americans were supplied with French money, armies,...
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