Advantages and disadvantages of Great Britain and American colonies during the Revolution

¶ … evidence back thoughts. OPTION #1:Discuss advantages

Great Britain and the fledgling United States each held distinct advantages and disadvantages at the start of the Revolutionary War. Britain, for its part, was advantaged by the fact that it had a plethora of soldiers with extensive experience in warfare. It also had a population of approximately 11 million from which it could use to support its martial effort. Additionally, Britain was aided by the fact that it had roughly 500,00 soldiers already stationed in the colony prior to the war's start. Britain would also go on to add about 30,000 German soldiers to its ranks.

America's advantages were not as formidable as those of Britain when the war initiated. It did have good leadership with generals such as George Washington. Moreover, it was indubitably aided by the fact that it best understood the purpose of the war and it had more to gain from it than Britain did. Other U.S. advantages included the fact that it was able to engage in guerilla warfare tactics due to the war being fought on its home soil -- which resulted in a gradual yet palpable waning of British strength.

Perhaps the most eminent of Britain's disadvantages is the fact that the war was fought on American soil. Thus, Britain had an arduous supply route that was time consuming and costly (across the Atlantic ocean) that increased its difficulty in properly supplying its troops. Another notable disadvantage the British had was the fact that it gravely underestimated the pluck of the upstart Americans and the length of time the latter were willing to wage war against them. U.S. disadvantages pertained to the fact that despite good leadership, the country was extremely inexperienced in general and in warfare in particular. Additionally, the U.S. only had a growing population of approximately 2.5 million to support its war efforts, which was but a fragment of the British population.

The main factor that made it possible for the United States to defeat the British in the Colonial War was the intervention of the French. When the U.S. was able to augment its strength and fighting forces with that of France, it turned out to be the turning point in this martial affair. Specifically, the decisive encounter in which the French helped the U.S. To turn the tide of this conflict was during the battle of Saratoga in 1777. With France's efforts, the U.S. was able to score a surprise victory that led to a renewed sense of dominance for the colonists in this war. Additionally, the U.S. demonstrated that tit really understood this war and that it ultimately had more to both lose and gain than the British did.