How Did The British Win The American War

In the previous 100 years, the British had enjoyed victory after victory in all the wars they had been engaged in. Their superiority was confirmed after defeating great nations like France and Spain which made its military the best in the world. The British had the urge to spread their dominance and so they extended their rule to the American ground. The Americans were on the losing end from the first time the war was declared, but an alliance with France strengthened its position and having the advantage of the war being fought in their backyard, they were able to defeat the British in a costly war for both nations.
In the early years British was regarded as the superpower with a capable military and naval forces. The British army was the largest in the world with well equipped and trained soldiers who were well disciplined, well fed and well paid hence they fought their wars with passion. Another advantage on the British was the availability of funds that would be used in paying for the war. It was much easy to collect funds from an empire
hence funds were always available whenever they were needed. Mercenaries were hired by these funds to fight the Americans. Compared to the British, Americans had hard times to solicit for funds for the military purposes. This placed them at a greater disadvantage as wars are always costly and the lack of funds may predict doom on the side affected. However, this did not deter the Americans who knew they were fighting for their independence which was important on their side (Rhodehamel, 2001).
British were enjoying extensive support from the nations that were afraid of the contrary happening. Super powers are known to enjoy massive support from minor nations due to the fear of the unknown. They rally their support behind these nations hoping that they will be spared and protected from any wrath directed against them. This was the case during the superiority of the British empire. Indian tribes had supported the British fully in its operations in return they were promised that their tribal lands would be protected from adversaries. This had a significant impact on the British army. The Americans were still a growing nation and no nations were willing to rally their support behind them as they seemed weak and the probability of loosing in the war were very high. All these factors placed American at a disadvantage over the British Side (Marshall, 1926).
It was clear among many Americans that going to war with the British was not the best course action. The availability of these concerns brought up mixed reactions on the effects of the war and the damage it can do to the country. It was hence found that Americans were not supporting the war in the hope that the British would not go into war with them. On the side of the British, in parliament not all people were for the war against the Americans. This were referred to as the American sympathizers and they suggested that the Americans should be left alone with their freedom, but other members wholly supported the operations in every means possible. This caused divided views which divided the Americans more than it did the British. As a divided nation which was planning on going to war with a superpower, the odds were against them from every angle (Ludlow, 1876).
The fate of the Americans changed when the France decided to join them in their war front. France had been defeated by the British in a humiliating war and they had been looking for an opportunity to pay back the favor. As much as they did not vision the Americans winning the war against the British, they decided to rally their force behind them in an effort to increases any chances the Americans had against the Britons. The Americans were quite encouraged by the France support since it had a good back up of the military, and it was a great addition to their army that was constantly getting discouraged and threatened by the sheer size of the British army. With the support of the France Army, the Americans employed an offensive against the British army that was positioned in the cities around America and they were able to win some, which strengthened their positions and the support from France who signed an alliance with Americans in February 1778. However, the France did not take any active participation in the war until June. The addition of the French Army intensified the British fears as they knew the capability of the French Army. The French army had great naval force that threatened the British Naval Army (Rhodehamel, 2001).
The fact that Americans fought the war on their backyard increased their chances of winning.
The British army had invaded the American cities and set their camps in all the cities they had conquered. This had paralyzed the Americans at first who felt the humiliation of being defeated at their home ground with all the advantages of familiar terrain and features of the area. However, this did not provide enough advantage to the Americans who had already felt that they had been defeated. During the course of the war, the Americans then started employing these advantages as most of their attacks were militia planned and did not follow the order that was in the British army. The use of militia greatly helped to boost the American soldier’s spirit as they won in some of the major cities that the British had taken hold of. This was a good sign of the results that were involved with using the home ground advantage (Aronson,
2005).
Supply run-out made the British army to be at a disadvantage. The British army were many miles from their home country, and although they were well provided and catered for, this was not the case at all times. By that period, there were no faster means that would have been used to transport supplies to the armies if not by the use of water or road. These forms of transport are among the slowest when one is involved in transporting large quantities of goods. The British army would thus wait for days so they can receive their supplies. This would put the Americans at an advantage as during these times, the British army would have gone hungry for days, run out of firearms and ammunition and they would be helpless in case of any attack. This made the British prone to attacks that would lead to the Americans winning due to their inability to fight off their enemies. Few winnings over the British army provided hope to the American army (Ferling, 2007).
Americans fought with passion as their cause was resonating more with the rest of the nation. During this period, the Americans were fighting for their independence against the British colonists. The war had lasted for some years and the Americans did not seem to give up on their sovereignty. On the other hand, the British reason for war was so that they could expand their dominance over many countries. As much as the British cause was for the good of their country, not all people supported it fully. The Americans knew that if they lost the war, they might as well as bid bye to their independence. This cause greatly motivated leaders who in turn encouraged their citizens to take up part in fighting for their beloved country against the British colonists. As the war continued, the more the Americans intensified their army due to the increased number of people who were enrolling in the army. This was a good sign as soon afterwards the American army had grown into a large force and they felt confident of winning the war against the British (Marshall, 1926).
The geographic vastness of the American region proved a stumbling block to the British army. America was a large nation with its regions spreading far to the north. The vastness of the country made it difficult for the British to plan an assault on the Americans from all angles at once like in some cases in their previously won wars. This proved to be a major hindrance as they had to divide their armies which meant to weaken their force into smaller parts. This was among the factors that largely favored the Americans because if the British army had invaded the country as a single force, they would have had no chance of winning the war. The dividing up of the British army greatly affected their strategy that they had to rethink a new strategy for invasion. Although they managed to occupy the major American cities, the British were still at a greater disadvantage. The Americans on the other hand did not have hard time rallying up their citizens to defend their cities which were under attack from the British. This also provided the Americans with the advantage of attacking each army troop one at a time hence saving them from facing the entire British army (Ludlow, 1876).
The war proved to be costly to the British, which had a negative impact on its economy. When going to was with the Americans, the British had not anticipated much resistance from the country hence they had placed their budget foe the war way below that what it actually caused them. The British had anticipated minor resistance which would have taken them some few soldiers and weapon to eliminate it, hence it was projected to cost quite low. However, when the war began, it proved to be the quite opposite of what the British had planned for. The Americans mounted resistance like never before and they fought tirelessly at all costs and did not seem to be surrendering no matter how many times they were defeated. This was a major setback on the British as they had to spend more and more funds as they stretched their budget to cover for the cost of the war. The stretching of the budget meant fewer supplies over time hence putting the British army at a disadvantage as the American side was growing more stronger compounded by the support from the French army. This had a great impact on the British army which could not resist the American Force hence their defeat (Ferling, 2007).
Some might argue that if the war had continued for a little bit longer, the British would have found their feet and strengthen their army so as to counter the American strikes. To some extent this might be true because as the war progressed, the British army had to re-strategize several times so as to understand how the Americans planned their military offences. If more time had been given for the war, sure enough the British would have learnt the tactics used by the Americans and plan an offensive which was to disintegrate the American army and strategy. However, on the long run, the Americans would have also strategized themselves against the new attacks and form a formidable resistance against the British which might have also led to the winning of the war (Rhodehamel, 2001).
The fact that the British army was well trained, had proper equipments, better strategies and a strong naval support, the defeat of the Americans was far from occurring. This was based on the fact that Americans were not going to surrender no matter how inexperienced their leaders and armies were in relation to matters pertaining to war. The fact that the British thought it was going to be an easy win due to their track record, might have made them to be overconfident and despise their opponents who were taking every opportunity in ensuring that they win the war. The reluctant nature of the British to send more troops to counter the insurgence that had erupted proves just how much they had despised the Americans and their ability to resist. The Americans had to ensure that the British do not win the war because for them, independence was much more important than the reputation of winning the war (Aronson, 2005).
The British army was the world’s greatest army at that time commanding numerous naval forces. The ability to win wars was mainly characterized by their ability to attack a region as a single front and their inability to replicate the same over the Americans might have contributed largely to their defeat. They were overconfident a factor that led to them being defeated as they despised their opponents and employed few forces to tackle them hence being defeated. As much as the British was advantaged on many fronts, the Americans were more advantaged a factor that led them to win the much proclaimed war hence able to gain their independence from the British colonist power.