The Thoughts and Opinions of Eugene K.-
The Americans had lots of spirit, motivation, and patriotism. They got help from the French with gold, supplies, and their navy. They had a smart, caring, and inspirational leader, George Washington. They were fighting for their lives, families, and homes, but the British were just following orders. They knew their own land, and used brand new war tactics that were completely unheard of.
BUT, the Americans were short of men and outnumbered, untrained, had few supplies, and little gold.
The British had a much larger army, more often than not professional, with lots of experience. They had enough supplies, better weapons, and more gold, and they recruited German mercenaries.
BUT, the distance between Britain and the colonies was great, and relaying information/soldiers took a long time. The British citizens did not support the war, as it meant more taxes for them. They had bad war tactics and leadership, with Lord George Germain who didn't coordinate the generals well and General Burgoyne with his vanity that caused problems within the ranks. They were accustomed to only open field combat.
Just looking at these facts, both sides have many advantages and disadvantages. They both had a good chance of victory, but Britain's only real advantage was a stronger/bigger/experienced/well-supplied army. Their cons outweighed their pros. Although their large army proved to be formidable at the start of the war, their weaknesses started to make a difference soon.
America's outlook was wobbly in the beginning, but soon their independence didn't seem too far away.
The Americans had the distinct advantage.
The Thoughts and Opinions of Garret F.-
Strengths and Weaknesses of the British and American Armies
The British and American armies both had their strengths and weaknesses, although some weren’t obvious
at a single glance, they all affected the war and how it proceeded. The Americans were mainly farmers and craftsmen, and they weren’t disciplined as soldiers. This caused the Americans to be not accustomed to taking orders. On the other
hand, the British soldiers were so used to the strict regiments of combat that they weren’t prepared and refused to prepare for the tactics that the Americans employed like guerilla warfare and the hit-and-run tactics. The British also needed their supplies to be shipped from Britain and the amount of time it took for supplies to get from there to America was too long. These advantages and disadvantages are really what set the two armies apart.
The American army was made up of untrained, undisciplined farmers who wanted to gain independence. The nice thing is that these men weren’t used to a certain order of war, so they could adapt and improvise when necessary. The modified American muskets that shoot extremely accurately even at long distances is only one example of how the American army was unique in its tactics. The type of combat that the Americans were good at was hit-and-run as opposed to open conflict which the British excelled at. Americans developed guerilla warfare, which at the time was something unheard of. The very idea of sneaking and running in war was rare, and it was even rarer to find people as proficient in this task as the Americans.
The Americans, however had MANY weaknesses. In open conflict, they lacked the discipline of the British and the numbers to win efficiently. The Americans hardly ever went into open conflict, and when they did, they rarely won. The lack of discipline meant that some people decided to leave the army, come back, and cower in battle. This caused many problems for the army, and the lack of supplies didn’t help either. The lack of supplies caused the worth of a fully supplied man to be about three times as valuable as the British. . The lack of supplies made the American army largely inefficient outside of battle, which also helped spread diseases like smallpox.
The British army was the superpower for the 1700’s and rarely ever lost. These men were the most disciplined, trained, and equipped army at the time. They used a modified musket with a bayonet blade attached to it and wore their infamous redcoat uniform. They had extremely great support from their government, and most were experienced. The British army could lay siege to and capture cities fairly easily.
The problem with the British is that they typically pick their battles and fight in open conflict. The Americans use completely unconventional tactics that cause the British to be unsure of what their next course of action will be. Guerrilla warfare was a big head-scratcher at first, because they never had people in the trees picking them off. The British were used to only seeing open conflict in large masses, the complete opposite of guerrilla warfare. The British were trained to take orders and execute them. They relied on their commanding officers' orders in order to do anything. They were unable to adapt in the way the Americans can, and as history shows, adaptation is the greatest asset to any army.
The Americans had lots of spirit, motivation, and patriotism. They got help from the French with gold, supplies, and their navy. They had a smart, caring, and inspirational leader, George Washington. They were fighting for their lives, families, and homes, but the British were just following orders. They knew their own land, and used brand new war tactics that were completely unheard of.
BUT, the Americans were short of men and outnumbered, untrained, had few supplies, and little gold.
The British had a much larger army, more often than not professional, with lots of experience. They had enough supplies, better weapons, and more gold, and they recruited German mercenaries.
BUT, the distance between Britain and the colonies was great, and relaying information/soldiers took a long time. The British citizens did not support the war, as it meant more taxes for them. They had bad war tactics and leadership, with Lord George Germain who didn't coordinate the generals well and General Burgoyne with his vanity that caused problems within the ranks. They were accustomed to only open field combat.
Just looking at these facts, both sides have many advantages and disadvantages. They both had a good chance of victory, but Britain's only real advantage was a stronger/bigger/experienced/well-supplied army. Their cons outweighed their pros. Although their large army proved to be formidable at the start of the war, their weaknesses started to make a difference soon.
America's outlook was wobbly in the beginning, but soon their independence didn't seem too far away.
The Americans had the distinct advantage.
The Thoughts and Opinions of Garret F.-
Strengths and Weaknesses of the British and American Armies
The British and American armies both had their strengths and weaknesses, although some weren’t obvious
at a single glance, they all affected the war and how it proceeded. The Americans were mainly farmers and craftsmen, and they weren’t disciplined as soldiers. This caused the Americans to be not accustomed to taking orders. On the other
hand, the British soldiers were so used to the strict regiments of combat that they weren’t prepared and refused to prepare for the tactics that the Americans employed like guerilla warfare and the hit-and-run tactics. The British also needed their supplies to be shipped from Britain and the amount of time it took for supplies to get from there to America was too long. These advantages and disadvantages are really what set the two armies apart.
The American army was made up of untrained, undisciplined farmers who wanted to gain independence. The nice thing is that these men weren’t used to a certain order of war, so they could adapt and improvise when necessary. The modified American muskets that shoot extremely accurately even at long distances is only one example of how the American army was unique in its tactics. The type of combat that the Americans were good at was hit-and-run as opposed to open conflict which the British excelled at. Americans developed guerilla warfare, which at the time was something unheard of. The very idea of sneaking and running in war was rare, and it was even rarer to find people as proficient in this task as the Americans.
The Americans, however had MANY weaknesses. In open conflict, they lacked the discipline of the British and the numbers to win efficiently. The Americans hardly ever went into open conflict, and when they did, they rarely won. The lack of discipline meant that some people decided to leave the army, come back, and cower in battle. This caused many problems for the army, and the lack of supplies didn’t help either. The lack of supplies caused the worth of a fully supplied man to be about three times as valuable as the British. . The lack of supplies made the American army largely inefficient outside of battle, which also helped spread diseases like smallpox.
The British army was the superpower for the 1700’s and rarely ever lost. These men were the most disciplined, trained, and equipped army at the time. They used a modified musket with a bayonet blade attached to it and wore their infamous redcoat uniform. They had extremely great support from their government, and most were experienced. The British army could lay siege to and capture cities fairly easily.
The problem with the British is that they typically pick their battles and fight in open conflict. The Americans use completely unconventional tactics that cause the British to be unsure of what their next course of action will be. Guerrilla warfare was a big head-scratcher at first, because they never had people in the trees picking them off. The British were used to only seeing open conflict in large masses, the complete opposite of guerrilla warfare. The British were trained to take orders and execute them. They relied on their commanding officers' orders in order to do anything. They were unable to adapt in the way the Americans can, and as history shows, adaptation is the greatest asset to any army.