TURN: Washington's Spies | British Empire destroy American rebellion army

[spiritualdilemma]

Marches across open field to meet British in an open field.

‘My god they’re ready for us’

[Strikeromg]

Lol the old guns are so “chill” that their generals just basically sit there on top of their horses watching the scene right before their eyes

[TheGrenadier]

Someone already come with that "haha, look how silly they are, firing in the open" kind of comment?

[aesirgaming]

I wish that a movie would one day accurately depict tactics from the period. For example, a tactic that the British made use of (especially the Scottish regiments) was to advance close to the enemy, fire two crushing volleys and then charge immediately afterwards. The two volleys would disorganize the enemy. The smoke from these volleys would also obscure their charge as it closed the distance. Imagine the terror of getting hit with two volleys of concentrated musketry and then out of the smoke come a bunch of yelling, screaming men with bayonets. It's actually really easy to see how inexperienced militia (and even professional troops) would break and flee in the face of that tactic. This was often used by the Scots because it was an adaptation of the traditional 'highland charge'.

In general, it was fairly uncommon for the British to use volleys to break the Americans. The British issued bayonets across their army while many Americans lacked the bayonet. In an age where a good soldier could only fire 3-4 rounds per minute, the bayonet was a difference maker. As American forces became better at volley fire, the British were forced to engage in longer firefights. In this case, the British often used 'platoon firing', where the battalion or company would fire by platoons, creating a rippling effect that ensured an almost constant stream of fire into the enemy formation. It did require a high level of coordination and training, so it was not universally used by British regiments at the time. It became much more widely used later, I believe, during the Napoleonic wars where the British faced densely packed but small frontage French columns. Delivering a constant stream of fire to the front of the column was a devastating tactic that allowed the British to effectively counter this feared formation.

[The_Honcho]

*”Well worth it to end this war”*
“S-Sir this is only like 50 men?”

[georgecoventry]

The British were masters of that sort of warfare, and it was the standard fighting method of the time for large formations of troops in open terrain. It required great discipline, good timing, and well-trained troops who would stand up under heavy fire....and maintain a steady rate of fire. It was not so good for attacking well dug in positions (as at Bunker Hill) or dealing with guerrilla tactics (as in forest combat). In that case one had to adopt different tactics to avoid suffering very heavy losses. And then there were lengthy sieges....which again required different tactics. The British were generally good at all these things, but in the case of the American Revolution they were simply unable to bring the conflict to a conclusion, so in the long run it became too expensive for them, and they gave up on the 13 colonies....one of the very few times the British Empire ever conceded defeat in a major war.

[carlnico]

I like how the britain says "present" but the americans said "Take aim".

[johnwilletts]

The ‘British’ Army who fought in America:-
50’000 Brits
25’000 Americans
30’000 Hessian Auxiliaries.

[philiphughes]

That battle was over before it even started. Fighting the British army on an open field? Madness.

[lengskeng]

Fun fact: Britain only had 3% of their whole army In the USA at the time of revolution

[lkvideos]

You could see how the continentals wanted to stay and brawl this one out. Love that commitment.

[MCL]

People tend to forget that the reason for line battles was due to how inaccurate muskets were and that they used these tactics to help increase the number of casualties inflected on the enemy

[johnwilletts]

The biggest Battle of the War actually took place in the Mediterranean. Spanish and French Forces had set up a siege around Gibraltar. In 1780 came the great assault. 55’000 French and Spanish troops supported by their combined fleets attacked the well defended fortress consisting of just 5’000 British and Hessians. The assault failed.
This came just a year after the combined fleets had attempted to land an army on the South Coast of England.

[DrumsTheWord]

Another movie depicting the British taking GREAT joy and devilish delight in killing their fellow human. These were soldiers 1000's of miles from home...they just wanted to do their duty and return.

[Clayster]

When you pick small unit sizes in empire total war

[cerberusreaper]

That skirmish was fought twice in that episode. Washington was not far and stopped them from retreating, relieved Gen. Green, and took command of the skirmish which lead to the British to retreat from the field. I remember it because it was the first time that I saw a real British tactical withdrawal for that time period, really graceful. In the episode, it was as if the British said "You know what? I'm bored with you." Made an about face and marched calmly off the field while the American forces continued to fire a volley or two. They didn't run off the field. The just turned their backs and continued to march.

[johnwilletts]

From my research for a little book published by our local Civic Society here in Rotherham England:-

In 1775 the British Army consisted of just 48’000 men.

Later the ‘British’ Army available for service in America consisted of:-

50’000 Brits
30’000 Hessians serving as Auxiliaries
25’000 American Tories.

[mihanich]

Anyone who played Total war: Empire knew that the Americans didn't stand a chance once the british infantry with broader firing lines appeared on their flanks. There wasn't much sense ordering the troops to hold the line.

[Dankdalorde]

Not gonna lie I cry everytime a Red Coat goes down. They’re just doing their jobs.

[sergentwolf]

I love these kind of vids and history keep doing your thing