Question
Explain how logistical issues that the British military encountered in the Revolutionary War contributed to the American victory.
Please list the statement above, and then write your respo se to the statement in your submitted homework assignment for Unit IL
Your response needs to be a minimum of one page.
Using the Moreland and Terrar (2010) assigned reading, address the following statement:
HY 2000, American Militaiy History I
Explain the areas of militia resistance to recruitment into the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
American Revolution
Explain how logistical issues that the British military encountered in the Revolutionary War contributed to the American victory
The Revolutionary War pitted the Great Britain against 13 North American colonies. During the war, the British faced a number of logistical challenges that significantly contributed to their defeat. The first issue involves an ineffective supply chain operation by the British army (McCoy, n.d). Supply chain operations generally involve the mechanisms for moving a product or service from one point to another where they are required. The British army was unable to sufficiently provide critical requirements to soldiers due to the long distances involved. Consequently, the army suffered from lack of basic amenities such as food and munition. Ireland provided much of the food supplies to the British army. Shipment occurred through a port known as (Cork McCoy, n.d). However, a combination of factors such as poor packaging, corruption, and poor quality control limited the amount of supplies arriving from the ships for British army to use.
The second logistical issue was challenges in integrating the tactical, logistics and strategic plans (McCoy, n.d). During the Revolutionary War, logistic operations were decentralized. Much of the British logistical support was based on overseas, making it difficult to address the specific challenges on the ground. When the supplies were low, the British army had to look for supplies, which was tiring and time consuming. Additionally, a large part of the army was involved in looking for supplies, which further reduced the number of forces involved in combat. Soon, the British forces began looting, which further changed the public opinion and led to counterattacks from common citizens. This led to more losses. The last logistical issue experienced by the British forces was the failure to adapt their supply procedures to the changing battlefront (McCoy, n.d). The British failed to correct the logistical issues identified in time, leading to the American Victory.
Explain the areas of militia resistance to recruitment into the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Militia resistance to recruitment in various wars is evident since the early period of the Continental War to more recent period like the Iraq War. Resistance to recruitment is first evident among militia companies that refused to cooperate with others in various areas such as provision of supplies, tactics, and joining the army. Certain beliefs held by the militia provoked their resistance to recruitment in the Continental Army. The beliefs are commonly referred to as the “small-producers creed” (Moreland & Terrar, (n.d), p. 74). The small producers were mainly farmers and produced enough to sustain themselves. The majority of the small-producers was debt averse and did not practice usury. They had inherited the beliefs and practices from Europe during the 17th century. The small-producers only joined the militia for self-protection purposes.
The militias, just like the small-producers, held the belief that there was nothing positive that war could bring forth. The militias’ primary role was to keep the neighborhood safe (Moreland & Terrar, n.d). They were not profit oriented meaning it was difficult to buy them with money or other gifts. On the other hand, the Continental Army comprised of salaried forces whose main role was to kill whenever there was adequate compensation. Merchants whose ambition was to fuel war directly funded the Continental Army. The different perspectives between the merchants and the militias became a major area of resistance and differences between the two (Moreland & Terrar, n.d). This resulted into resistance by the militias to joining the resistance since it did not conform to their ideologies and beliefs on war.
References
McCoy, E. A. (n.d). The impact of logistics on the British defeat in the revolutionary war. Retrieved from http://www.alu.army.mil/alog/issues/SepOct12/The_Impact_Logistics_British_Defeat.ht ml
Moreland, C., & Terrar, T. (n.d). Resisting the professional military during the American Revolution. Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 22: 73-82.
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