Was The American Revolution A Success Or A Failure

The British could never have won the war for American Independence. The rebellion could probably have been crushed initially by firm action under a commander-in-chief who was not governed by a policy that varied from year to year based on conciliation and suppression and which imposed upon him the dual role of commanding general and peace commissioner. With the rebellion crushed it might have been possible to make a political settlement short of independence where the colonies could have remained within the British Empire for a period of years that would benefit both sides. But once the government had decided on a war of attrition (which it then tried to run from a distance of 3,000 miles), with its soldiers fighting from conditions that varied from
The ill feelings generated by this decision far overshadowed any military gain. It ended whatever chance King George had for a rapprochement with the Colonies.
Perhaps the biggest failure for the British Army at the outbreak of the Revolution was the failure to have a professional force of officers leading the way (learning their trade for lack of a better term “on the job”). Many officers were able to “buy” their commissions and by doing so restricted the officer corps to men of means (i.e. gentlemen), causing further problems by having leaders that simply could not lead or worse were more concerned about their image.
The failure to have a consisted military strategy throughout the war was another failure by the British to achieve success in the war. Every year there appeared a new general and a new strategy that failed to achieve a knockout of the Continental Army. By failing to do so they gave hope to the rebels that perhaps the revolution would be successful in time (or whenever the French finally showed