American Revolution Reinvents Guerrilla Warfare

Here is a strategic condition that helped us win the war. The French and the Spanish were fighting the English and helped us with weapons, ships, supplies, and money. The English were constrained by troops and resources available.

The insurgents used long rifles with an effective range of 300 m vs the musket's range of 100 m. They were excellent shots as they hunted for food. Often they would shoot English officers which caused confusion in some of the battles. One American General understood the insurgents would not fight well in a line formation so he asked of them to create a picket line and ordered them to fire two shots and retreat.

Mao said revolutions start with legitimate grievances, elite leaders, insurgents, and ending with a conventional force that can defeat the enemy. This is very much true our Revolutionary War.