Britain’s 1776 three-front plan failed in the South and never linked its northern armies

Evidence

Their three-front strategy involved sending 9,000 reinforcements from Europe under General John Burgoyne to relieve the garrison at Quebec. Combined with the troops there, this army would then reclaim the upper St. Lawrence River valley and turn south, via Lake Champlain. Meanwhile, the main army under General Howe would capture New York City and the lower Hudson River Valley before turning north to link with Burgoyne in upstate New York and split New England from the middle states. Also in 1776, a detachment under Henry Clinton would work with loyalists to subdue the southern states. Early that year, patriot militia forces routed loyalists in North Carolina and defeated Clinton at Charleston, foiling this third front in the British strategy for 1776. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 265

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The British invasion force could not subdue America’s vast territory; Declaring independence did not transform the war’s immediate military prospects — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 229

Broader Connections

• The British invasion force could not subdue America’s vast territory #corroborates (0.85)
• Declaring independence did not transform the war’s immediate military prospects #corroborates (0.75) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 229