The Saratoga Campaign

Maneuver Warfare, the Continental Army, and the Birth of the American Way of War

The Saratoga Campaign (June-October 1777) was a watershed event for the United States. The American conduct of the campaign is a textbook study in the application of the tenets of maneuver warfare principles at the operational and tactical levels. General Schuyler's brilliant shaping campaign against the British Forces as they advanced from Fort Ticonderoga to Albany forced General Burgoyne to detach elements of his force, which the Americans were able to isolate, mass forces against, and destroy. Ultimately, Schuyler's shaping cased the British campaign to culminate prior to the main engagements, known as the first and second battles of Saratoga. Occupying a prepared Defensive Position North of Saratoga, the Americans, led by General Arnold, conducted a forward oriented Defense that seized the initiative from the British and disrupted their preconceived plans. The American counter-attacks which demonstrated the American Mastery of seeking gaps and avoiding surfaces, attrited the British Force to such an extent that they were forced to surrender. The victory of the makeshift American Force over the Professional British-Led Force demonstrates the superiority of maneuver warfare versus Attritionist Techniques, and is of contemporary interest to the USMC.

Richly illustrated throughout.