Introduction
The American Revolution divided the colonies in an inconclusive campaign for over five years. A better-equipped and numerically superior British opponent struggled to control a Continental Army composed of professional soldiers who heavily relied on the aid of militiamen along with international allies. General Washington recognized the dire conditions and fragile morale of his men, and used gallant leadership tactics and mission command repeatedly for inspiration. Although Washington lacked the capability to match his foe conventionally, he understood the importance of intelligence on the battlefield. Washington’s superior use of multiple intelligence techniques leveled the playing field by setting the conditions for a war of attrition the British were ill suited to pursue. Battle Analysis revealed British General Sir Henry Clinton’s faulty mission command, strategy for the colonial …show more content…
The British troop strength complimented their firepower superiority.
Intelligence: Throughout the revolutionary war, General Washington and the Colonists demonstrated superior understanding of leveraging intelligence capabilities to their advantage. Washington’s intelligence apparatus lacked the resources of the superior British platform, but made up for it with effectiveness throughout the war. Americans effectively used a host of intelligence techniques, most notably deception operations, counterintelligence, and propaganda to counter British advantages in firepower and troop strength. General Washington employed deceptive counter intelligence by frequently allowing false accounts and documents to fall into the hands of the enemy. He built hollow military facilities to balloon British perceptions of troop strength aimed at stagnating British action. (Central Intelligence Agency,