What slowed General Burgoyne and his army's journey toward Albany?
1 Answer
difficult terrain, lack of supplies, shortage of troops, greater than expected opposition from American troops, and less that expected supported from British loyalist or Tories.
Explanation:
The British did not provide Burgoyne with the number of troops that he had requested. He also did not receive the supplies that were needed. The number of supporting Indians troops were 400 instead of 1000.
Burgoyne's campaign started well. His troops traveled by boat down Lake Champlain. Fort Ticondergoa fell to Burgoyne. However the American troops were able to successfully retreat instead of being captured or destroyed.
Burgoyne then marched his troops through the forest instead of going by boat to reach the Hudson River. Perhaps because of the threat of American forces counter attacking, retaking the fort and cutting off Burgoyne's retreat. The 30 days it took his troops to push through the forest gave the Americans time to regroup and reinforce.
The opposition of the American forces caused Burgoyne to move more cautiously. A force of 900 British troops were lost in an attempt to get more supplies. The expected support of loyalist failed to emerge and the supply column was destroyed.
A second column that was suppose to join Burgoyne at the junction of the Hudson and the Mohawk Rivers was defeated by General Benedict Arnold and was turned back. The lack of the support from the second column further slowed Burgoyne's advance.
Burgoyne then crossed to the west side of the Hudson River at Saratoga. South of Saratoga Burgoyne encounter an American Army of about the same size as his reduced command. The first day of battle the British won and forced the American forces back but at great loses. The second day the a further assault on the American lines was flanked by a counter attack lead by Benedict Arnold. The British then retreated to Saratoga where they were forced to surrender.
The slow advance of the British resulted in loss of the entire force under Burgoyne. The British underestimated the fighting ability of Americans. Burgoyne felt that his army of roughly equal numbers should have been able to drive the Americans from the field.
The slow advance was caused by the terrain, shortage of men and supplies. The British encountered more opposition from the Americans and less support from the loyalist than expected.
