Battle of Brandywine in the American Revolution Essay

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I would select a Battle of Brandywine as it was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. The battle happened on September 11, 1977, in Chadds Ford Township and resulted in 300 killed and 400 captured soldiers of Washington’s army (Harris 368). Though the number of soldiers participating was nearly equal from both of the sides, Washington’s army suffered bigger human losses than the British did (Maynard 47).

I would choose to use the squad in this battle because it became one of the main crucial moments in the American Revolution and resulted in the further Americans’ weakening enabling the British to occupy the American capital of Philadelphia (Savas and Dameron 120). Besides, the outcome of the battle influenced the morale of the troops of Washington negatively. Therefore, using the squad for changing the outcome of this battle would positively influence the success of Washington’s strategy.

The British Center of Gravity was the brilliant tactic used by William Howe: while demonstrating the small part of his army in front of Chadds Ford, he took most troops beyond the Americans’ right flank and attacked the enemy unexpectedly (Grizzard 37). Washington was unable to impact this CoF due to the poor scouting resulting in the low realization of the Security Principle of War (“Nine Principles of War” par.1). Besides, Washington did not enhance such Principles as Surprise, Offensive, and Maneuver. The British, on the contrary, used these Principles successfully and won the battle.

I intend to use the Squad for scouting purposes since the early detection of the relocation of the British troops could change the course of the battle. Since each of the members of the squad has PVS-14 with two spare batteries and AN/PRC-152 Multiband Handheld Radio or AN/PRC-154 “Rifleman Radio”, it can be said that the squad is ready for making a successful scouting mission, which will enable the Americans to prevent the enemy’s unexpected maneuvers. M125A1Signal Star Cluster owned by the Squad Leader can also be used in the mission to give signals to Washington’s army.

The ultimate goal of the mission is to destroy the enemy’s Center of Gravity – the possibility of usage of the tactics giving them a positional advantage. The Squad’s mission is to reconnoiter the location of the enemy during the night before the battle and prevent the possible unexpected attack of the enemy by enhancing the Principles of War.

Since the defeat experienced by American Army in the discussed battle was caused by lack of scouting, it would be logic to suggest that the course of the battle could be changed by enhancing the security of Washington’s army through effective surveillance of the nearest territories. Such tactics will help to enhance one of the Principles of War – Security. Therefore, the main tasks of the Squad include checking the nearest territory for detecting the possible maneuvers of the British and signaling the Americans in case such maneuvers are detected. The advantages of modern equipment, PVS-14 in particular, enable the squad to provide effective surveillance during the dark time (Pushies 109).

The radio sets enable the squad to cover the big territory since the radio helps them to coordinate their actions and provides effective communication. The usage of signal stars can serve as the method of informing the army of Washington about the relocations of the enemy’s troops. When the signals are received, Washington’s troops will start the immediate movement in the identified direction, prevent the possibility of being encircled, and attack the enemy unexpectedly. Such attack will help to enhance two other Principles of War – Offensive and Surprise.

Other equipment can be used during the battle to contribute to the advantageous position of Washington’s army. Using the squad equipped with the modern weapons in the first line of the troops during the battle will help to enhance one more Principle of War – Economy of Force. The modern equipment, including M-9 pistols and M-4 carbine, will help to reduce the force of the enemy from the very beginning and avoid the unnecessary spending of the force of Washington’s army. The use of grenades will also contribute to ensuring the advantageous position of American troops from the very beginning since grenades can be used prior to meeting the enemy face-to-face.

The discussed mission will be able to alter the course of the battle by enhancing the main principle of war – Objective. The prevention of the unexpected attack of the enemy, the identification of its exact location, and signalizing about this location will enable the Squad to contribute to the defeat of the enemy. All of the discussed steps will make the enemy unable to maximize the Principle of Maneuver. The enhancement of this principle was the key to the victory of the British in the battle as it enabled them to gain positional advantage and use it for defeating the Americans.

Besides, the offensive that will follow the scouting operation and the usage of modern weapons owned by the squad will also help to change the course of the battle. Though the number of troops is nearly equal, the advantage of using the state-of-the-art weapons will enable Washington’s army to strike the enemy aggressively and effectively from the very beginning of the battle and ensure the Americans’ superiority. The overall results of using the Squad for completing the discussed mission will not only affect the outcome of the battle but will also reduce the morale of the British Army.

Works Cited

Grizzard, Frank., Charlottesville, Virginia: Mariner Publishing, 2005. Web.

Harris, Michael. , El Dorado Hills, California: Savas Beatie LLC, 2014. Web.

Maynard, Barksdale. , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015. Web.

Nine Principles of War. n.d. Web.

Pushies, Fred. , St Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2005. Web.

Savas, Theodore, and David Dameron., New York: Savas Beatie LCC, 2010. Web.

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