Four Decisions That Changed the Course of the American Revolution: A Case Study of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's Northern Campaign of 1777 and Maneuver Warfare

摘要

During summer and fall of 1777, Britian's Lieutenant General John Burgoyne Led a combined joint task force of over 9,000 soldiers from Quebec into New York State with the Mission of Seizing Albany, New York and securing the Lake Champlain-Lake George-Hudson River Waterway. At the operational and tactical level of war, the campaign ended with Burgoyne surrendering his Army near Saratoga, New York, while at the strategic level, the defeat changed the course of the American revolution. This paper examines Burgoyne's Northern Campaign by using maneuver warfare concepts to analyze the four critical decisions Buroyne made during the conduct of the campaign.