The Improbable Victory: The Campaigns, Battles and Soldiers of the American Revolution, 1775-83: In Association with The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

by Bloomsbury Publishing

Overview

A lavishly illustrated volume marking the defining point in American history.

The American Revolution reshaped the political map of the world, and led to the birth of the United States of America. Yet these outcomes could have scarcely been predicted when the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. American rebel forces were at first largely a poorly trained, inexperienced and disorganized militia, pitted against one of the most formidable imperial armies in the world.

Yet following a succession of defeats against the British, the rebels slowly rebounded in strength under the legendary leadership of George Washington. The fortunes of war ebbed and flowed, from the humid southern states of America to the frozen landscapes of wintry Canada, but eventually led to the catastrophic British defeat at Yorktown in 1781 and the establishment of an independent United States of America.

The Improbable Victory is a revealing and comprehensive guide to this seminal conflict, from the opening skirmishes, through the major pitched battles, up to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Impressively illustrated with photographs and artwork, it provides an invaluable insight into this conflict from the major command decisions down to the eye level of the front-line soldier.

Published to coincide with the official opening of the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472823168
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	09/21/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	166 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Daniel Marston BA MA (McGill) DPhil (Oxon.) FRHistS holds a Professorship in Military Studies and is also the Principal of the Military and Defence Studies Program at the Australian Command&Staff College in Canberra. He previously held the Ike Skelton Distinguished Chair of the Art of War at the US Army Command and General Staff College and was a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he has been working with the USA, USMC, and British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2006.

Dr Chris McNab is an author and editor. He has published over 40 books, including America's Elite: US Special Forces from the Revolution to the Present Day (2013), Twentieth Century Small Arms (2001), Gunfighters –The Outlaws and their weapons (2005, contributing editor), and The Illustrated History of the Vietnam War (2000). He is the co-author of Tools of Violence (2008) and has recently completed Deadly Force (2009), both for Osprey. Chris has also contributed to The Times on the war in Iraq.
Chris McNab is an author and editor specializing in military history and military technology. To date he has published more than 40 books, including A History of the World in 100 Weapons (2011), Deadly Force (2009) and Tools of Violence (2008). He is the contributing editor of Hitler's Armies: A History of the German War Machine 1939–45 (2011) and Armies of the Napoleonic Wars (2009). Chris has also written extensively for major encyclopedia series, magazines and newspapers, and he lives in South Wales, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction

PART 1 BIRTH OF A NATION

Chapter 1 Sparks of Revolution
Explanation of the root causes of the American Revolution, and the outbreak of hostilities in battles such as Concord, Bunker Hill and Lexington.

Chapter 2 Washington Takes Over, 1775–77
George Washington takes charge of the Continental Army in June 1775. The rebels are driven back under brutal British offensives against New York and Philadelphia, but the British also suffer in Canada under Burgoyne.

Chapter 3 International War, 1778–80
The war goes international as France and Spain side with the Americans; others soon come on board the revolutionary cause. The war intensifies into a major conventional conflict on land and at sea, with both sides experiencing victory and defeat.

Chapter 4 The British Defeat, 1781–83
The British capacity to prosecute a war so far from home is steadily ground down by major battles and by the growing American expertise in irregular warfare. At Yorktown in the autumn of 1781, the British suffer a final defeat­ that forces them to the treaty table.

PART 2 ARMIES AND NAVIES

Chapter 5 American land forces
A detailed study of the diverse American land forces, from regular cavalry and line infantry to irregular scouts and light infantry, looking at how they evolved from militia to war-winning army.

Chapter 6 British land forces
This chapter explores the life of the great British 'redcoat', plus the many other regular and specialist elements of the British Army, and looks at how they coped with the experience of combat and survival in the North American theatre.

Chapter 7 The French, Spanish and American-allied forces
Foreign forces made a critical contribution to the campaigns of the American Revolution. This chapter looks at the other major forces in the war, and the types of soldier they deployed.

Chapter 8 Rival navies
This chapter assesses the warships and crews of the British, French and American navies, examining how they operated in both coastal waters and in blue-water contexts.

Bibliography and Further Reading
Index