What Enabled George Washington’s Victory Over Lord Cornwallis At Yorktown?                 

Two factors enabled General George Washington’s victory over British troops and General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown.

So, the first and most important fact was the participation of French troops. 

French participation made the American revolutionary’s side two times bigger than the British army.

In this battle, combined 17,000 French and American troops fought against 9000 British troops.

The second fact was George Washington’s great character and war skill.

Washington was a well-experienced and morally strong military General, which helped American and French allied power to be further strengthened.

He had combat experience since the time of the French-Indian War (1756-1763).

Begun on 28th September 1781, this armed confrontation was the most significant and the last major battle of the American revolutionary war.

On October 17th, 1781, after being fully defeated, Lord Cornwallis surrendered to the Continental Army General George Washington.

It ended the Revolutionary War of America’s independence.

Via the treaty of Paris (September 3, 1783), Great Britain recognized the United States of America as an independent country.

[Did You Know? Singing The Treaty of Alliance & The Treaty of Treaty of Amity and Commerce, France Directly Entered The American Revolutionary War In 1778. They Recognized The United States On February 6, 1778]

What Enabled French Participation In The Battle of Yorktown?

In the 18th century, the Empire of Great Britain and the Empire of French were the two most powerful imperialist nations.

But the problem was, they hated each other very much.

Due to the struggle for controlling world politics & trade, these two nations always lived in a confrontation.

From 1756 to 1763, the Empire of Great Britain and the Empire of French fought the Seven Years’ War, where the Empire of French had to face heavy defeat.

Before the Seven Years’ War, Along with Great Britain, France also occupied a large landmass of the North American continent.

But after this significant defeat, French Empire entirely lose all of its land areas (Via the Treaty of Paris 1763).

This almost led to Britain’s monopoly over the entire continent of North America.

But whatever happened, the French never forgot the loss. They remembered the defeat as a humiliation of their glorious Empire.

Hence, even after the end of the Seven Years’ War, they were still hostile and finding a way to take revenge on Britain.

Finally, the chance came as the Revolutionary War of America.

On 6th February 1778, the French troops finally jumped into the war from the colonists’ side against the British Royal forces.

This participation almost assured the American colonists’ victory.

[Did You Know? Benjamin Franklin, Arthur Lee, And Silas Deane Were The Three Main Diplomats Who Went To France To Propose Them For Joining The Revolutionary War]

What Did General George Washington Gain Through The Victory of Yorktown’s Battle?

The Battle of Yorktown was a turning point in General George Washington’s career.

The Yorktown conflict proved George Washington’s extraordinary leadership and raised his chance of becoming the first president of the United States of America.

Was Continental Army Capable To Defeat British Troops Alone?

No doubt, George Washington was a great military leader, and the Continental Army was also capable of fighting against British Royal Forces, but defeating them alone was a little hard.

During that time, British Royal forces were the world’s most capable armed force.

Therefore, going face to face in combat alone could have become costly for Americans.

We do not know whether the Continental Army would have been able to defeat the British forces or not, but on one fact, we must agree, the France alliance immensely helped the Americans win the Battle of Yorktown.

[Did You Know? France’s Participation In The American Revolution Was A Huge Disaster To Its Economy. It Ruined Their Economy. Later, It Fueled French Revolution]