What Is Braddock's Biggest Flaw

It was in the French and Indian war that Washington was able to develop certain skills and tools that would grant him success in the Revolution. When Governor Dinwiddie wished to form a military force for the frontier, it was Washington who was made lieutenant colonel. Previously, Washington had been used to carry an ultimatum to French troops at Fort Le Boeuf where he gained knowledge of the terrain. As lieutenant colonel, he attempted to control unruly men while making his way to the Ohio territory. Despite his instructions from Dinwiddie to “act on the Difensive,” Washington and his Indian allies surrounded French troops camped at a nearby glen and ambushed them. This battle resulted in the deaths of thirteen Frenchmen and twenty-one prisoners. Following the battle, the wounded leader of the French troops, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, claimed that Washington attacked men on a diplomatic mission. Regardless of the true intent of the French, the battle of Jumonville Glen angered the French and they desired revenge. This, ultimately, led to the beginning of the French and Indian

As an overview of the book, Fuller does not indulge in reacting all of the battles of the war, that would be too much material. Instead, he sets up some of the battles in aspect of format, which he used to reenact the strategies that were influenced by the men’s personalities. For instance, after the battle of Bull Run General Lee’s inability to communicate effectively will be his downfall. Floyd states, “his [Lee] subordinates were at loggerheads, his personality at once crippled his generalship, for he refused to take command, that is to say-he refused to impose his will upon them and so established unity of direction.”(137)

Moreover, though their Calvary was great it was foolish to send them off against archers though the men wound not be completely harmed by the arrows horses would be put into a panic and their own men would be trampled by their horses. The French had set themselves up for failure as the chaos in battle must have put “pressure of numbers and desperation [which evenly] caused the French to spill from their columns” resulting an unorganized and disastrous attack against the English.

During the Battle, both sides used different tactics and strategies. Burgoyne decided to go with a risky strategy of dividing his army into three columns, two towards Bemis Heights and one to follow the road that paralleled the Hudson. The American forces (led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold) placed expert riflemen (led by Daniel Morgan) in charge of taking out the left flank of the British (led by Simon Frasier). This strategy worked well for the Americans, of course until they ran out of ammunition.

The turning point of the French and Indian war is when the British had turned to William Pitt to be in charge of the war operations. William Pitt was a British secretary and he was the founder of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. And William Pitt refused to loose the war, so he stepped up to the plate and had replaced all the old soldiers, with younger ones. And had also committed more

The English send General Edward Braddock with Colonel Washington to capture the Fort Duquesne. The British troops marched toward the fort in a straight line. The French troops and their native allies fired at them from behind rocks and trees. The British lost. Braddock died in the battle.

As Sir Washington was heading back from delivering the message, he saw a point of land at an intersection of Allegheny and the Monongahela form the Ohio, where he thought would be a brilliant idea to build a fort. Dinwiddie agreed to his suggestion therefore building Fort Prince George, but ended with the French coming and taking over changing the name to Fort Duquesne. Washington ended up moving to the Great Meadows where he and his troops decided in building a fort that would be called, Fort Necessity. Three days within encampment, Washington and 40 men went looking for a group of French that were seen about seven miles away from Chestnut Ridge. When finding the French they were made prisoners, killed the commander Joseph Coulon de Villiers, and several others were killed as well, especially since it was a surprise attack they surrendered. George Washington won that encounter but the French weren’t about to give up yet. Not to long after, French troops were sent out from Fort Duquesne and defeated the British which left the French in charge of the west Allegheny Mountains. In 1755, General Edward Braddock came from Britain to America as commander in chief I order to help Britain gain Fort Duquesne back. Again the British had failed, loosing men as well as General Braddock who passed away four days after the

In addition, France created fortresses in Lake Erie and Ohio River creating a stronger defense along the western side of America that allowed them to claim that territory. An English man named General Edward Braddock disapproved of the sneaky alliances between the French and the Native Americans, so he traveled to America to lead the English in the war that was brewing between Britain and France. Unfortunately for him, the French were prepared with many Natives on their side and they defeated the English, including Braddock who was killed in battle. Therefore, his attack failed because him and his soldiers did not have the necessary support from the Native Americans and could not withstand the intense attack. Because the bond between France and the Natives was so strong, the Seven Years War is also known as the French-Indian war, as it was those two populations who fought together against the

In one of the parties, General Lyon was leading the troops. His army composed of various kinds of divisions. They were small Regular Army, infantry, artillery, and calvary unit. A really interesting fact about it was the troops of Lyon composed of a ninety-day volunteer regiments from three states ; Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa. Lyon’s army was divided in four brigades. During Lyon’s involvement in one of the small battles in Mexico, Lyon had learned many things that he then applied to the battle in Willson’s creek. It fitted better because the war itself was small in Willson’s Creek. It made the same tactics reliable. However, Lyon was not very good at organizing the group for himself. He went with 3 people during the battle. He eventually

General William Hull, an inexperienced and somewhat craven soldier, “waged a timid campaign, retreating more than he attacked” (233). His retreat and abandonment of many forts “left the entire Midwest exposed to the enemy” (233). The first land victory of the Americans was the defense of Fort Harrison in Indiana Territory by Captain Zachary Taylor. The next major victory for the Americans was the “shipbuilding race” between the U.S. and the British. The Americans outbuilt the British and defeated them at the Battle of Put-in-Bay, giving Americans control of Lake Erie.

In his time of fighting in the war, another problem that he faced were the natives. I believe without a doubt that he never liked the natives to the point where he eventually despised their presence. Fighting them made his job only harder in the battles with the british.

The British were smart and got ready for the war but the French were not. The British had found out that their general James Wolfe had found à small cliff. So the British stealthily sneaked downriver to their general. In the morning the British had assembled their entire team and got ready to fight. The French did not think the war all the way through. Their general had made two major mistakes that had cost them the battle. The French troops got all confused and fired very early. This allowed the British to make the counter-attack and then take control of the Quebec. Although the British killed the French general Montcalm, the great British leader James Wolfe had also been tragically killed.

During the French and Indian War, British soldiers didn’t know the terrain as well as the Americans, or the fighting style of the Native Americans. George Washington (even though he failed at Fort Necessity) knew the most about the fighting style, and was desperate to redeem himself. (doc. C) Still, General Braddock neglected to take his advice, and it cost him the battle

“Commanders continuously develop, test, and update their understanding throughout the conduct of operations. They actively collaborate with other commanders, the staff, and unified action partners, to create a shared understanding.” Understanding the mission is a crucial step to start the military decision making process because not understanding the task at hand will create blurred vision of the commander’s intent for any given mission. As Governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison understood that the treaties with the Native Confederacy were extremely fragile. As Tecumseh and his brother’s efforts to demean the treaties’ value continued, Governor Harrison realized that a conflict was inevitable inside his territory. “Harrison suggested, as a means to prevent war, that the calamity might be avoided by marching a considerable force up the Wabash and dispersing the “banditti” the Prophet had collected.” With the idea of preemptive attack firmly planted in his head, he sowed the seeds for the eventual battle that later ensued. Harrison also had received intelligence that the great Native leader Tecumseh was recruiting more warriors to his cause, which furthered the fear that the Natives would grow stronger and eventually raid the settlers to take back some of the lands ceded from them. This intelligence furthered the idea to Harrison that he needed to field an army and quell the Native rebellion before it got too out of hand.

The firing on that fort will inaugurate a civil war greater than any the world has yet seen…you will lose us every friend at the North. You will wantonly strike a hornet’s nest which extends from mountains to ocean. Legions now quiet will swarm out and string us to death. It is unnecessary. It put us in the wrong. It is fatal. –Robert Toombs. (Boerner paragraph 2).