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Us Independence Without France?

US Independence Without France?

I was just thinking about how the US gained their Independence after someone mentioned it in another Thread and so it led me to start this one. The French helped the Colonists to defeat the British by bombarding the English Ships and Fortresses with their powerful ships and military might since at the time France and the British were enemies and it was in France's mutual interest to help the Colonists. However, here is the question... What if France did not help, would the Colonists still have won?

France Independence Us

It definitely would have been much closer. However, French support did not arrive until they started to see a bit of the tide turning. The French were actually delighted that England was stuck in a fight with the little country of America. It allowed them to attack in other places while the British were tied up with this problem. When they actually saw the tide turning a bit, they then lent support.

The entire war would have surely been lost if it had not been for a daring move of a General who turned into a Admiral...Benedict Arnold. While his name is famous for turning to the otherside later, it was his daring escape from being pinned on a island by turning his army into a navy that would have surely spelled the end for the new country.

Us Independence Without France? History & Civil Business Politics

Sometimes one battle or a bit of help here or there from allied support can make or brake an entire war. The Colonialists definitely did not have the material support that the British had, and I am sure their harder hitting stuff was kept at bay either directly or indirectly through France's threat.

France Independence Us

As I said, the war would have been harder to win for sure, but at the time France truly gave support...the tide had already turned. Was it written in stone that the Americans would have won...no...but England was on the defensive when France really joined up with force. Until then, they did grant loans (for sure) and I believe equipment to the Americans to help pay for the war. It was in their interest to do so, because it kept the British busy while they took other lands. Their joining after the turn in the war has been thought to be more of a way to share with what was a very large and unsettled land of America (Spanish, French, Indian and British controlled).

France had a plan to basically create France2.0 in Southern America. This falls apart later when Napolean needs cash for his war and sells the Louisana Territory.

There were several interesting things about the fighting strategies during this war that made it more difficult for the British. First off, America did not have as disciplined army as that of England. This is good and bad... You have all seen the re-enactments of how they used to line up in a line across from each other...march towards each other and basically it was a strange war of attrition and equipment superiority. However, the militias of the US were not too keen on just standing in a line and getting shot at...they would surely lose. So they took to the wilderness (basically a guerilla style warfare) and fought what would be considered at the time a rather undignified style...but it worked. Later, after we got dignity, we started lining up to shoot at each other (I will never understand this).

We also did not have the really cool uniforms that the British Army had...with their nice bright white sashes across their chest. More than one American Soldier mentioned just aiming for the white cross on a British uniform...later the British removed these from their apparel. At the time, a bullet to the gut was nearly always fatal...it just took a long time to die.