The Grand Strategy, the imaginative plan to divide the rebellious
American colonies, ended in disaster. On October 17, 1777, General
Sir John Burgoyne, alone, unaided and stranded in the American
wilderness, capitulated with his army at Saratoga in upper New York
State. It was the 'turning point' of the Revolution, which
culminated four years later in the British surrender at Yorktown.
Creasy wrote of Saratoga: 'Nor can any military event be said to
have exercised more important influence upon the future fortunes of
mankind...' Who blundered? For nearly two centuries, Lord George
Germain, the 'maladroit' minister, has been blamed, together with
the Commander-in-Chief, Sir William Howe; but Burgoyne, 'Gentleman
Johnny' as his affectionate troops called him, has largely escaped
criticism. Only in the late 1960s had a full assessment become
possible, by the publication of all the correspondence that passed
between these men. Originally published in 1971, from his study of
these letters, and by his visit to the campaign area, author Rupert
Furneaux questions this long accepted view. The British disaster
resulted, he says, not because anyone particularly blundered, or
from any 'pigeon-holed' despatch, but rather because no one
bargained that thousands of ordinary American citizens would rally
to bar Burgoyne's path. Experienced frontier-fighters and skilled
marksmen, they mowed down the closely-ranked Redcoats and the
German mercenaries, who had all been trained for European battles.
Saratoga heralded a new age of warfare, which Europeans took
another hundred years to learn. It was also far more than a British
defeat; it was an American victory, the decisive battle whereby
they won the right to run their own lives without interference from
Europe - and with incalculable consequences.
General
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