British Southern Campaign 1778-1781: The Impact of Strategic Level Assessments and Assumptions on British Decision Making

摘要

The British effort in the American Southern Colonies (1778-1781) failed due to poor strategic decisions based on faulty assumptions and incorrect assessments. The British government pinned their hopes on utilizing Loyalist supporters which they believed existed in great numbers in the Southern colonies. By using the Loyalists the British would be able to fight the campaign without a large number of British regulars which were required to fight in other parts of the war against the colonies as well as against the French and Spanish around the world. As it turned out the Loyalists did not exist in great numbers and the lack of British regulars precluded the British from organizing and securing the Southern colonies thus allowing Loyalists to risk their lives and come forward. The result was a quasi civil war between the minority Loyalists and an ever growing rebel movement which overwhelmed the British and drove them out of the Southern colonies.