http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake
No French navy, no crushing of Cornwallis at Yorktown. No Yorktown = no collapse of Lord North's government. There were no major military actions to further things along. Yorktown was the final straw politically for the Brits and negotiations were begun in Paris. British defeat was agreed to in November, 1782 but the terms were contingent on Britain and France making peace as well. For essentially 2 years everyone sat around jerking off while the diplomats jerked off.
But without Yorktown, none of it happens.
Quote:The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves and a French fleet led by Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse. The battle was tactically inconclusive but strategically a major defeat for the British, since it prevented the Royal Navy from reinforcing or evacuating the blockaded forces of Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. When the French were able to achieve temporary control of the sea lanes against the British, the result was the reinforcement of the Continental Army with siege artillery and French troops—all of which proved decisive in the Siege of Yorktown, effectively securing independence for the Thirteen Colonies.[2]
No French navy, no crushing of Cornwallis at Yorktown. No Yorktown = no collapse of Lord North's government. There were no major military actions to further things along. Yorktown was the final straw politically for the Brits and negotiations were begun in Paris. British defeat was agreed to in November, 1782 but the terms were contingent on Britain and France making peace as well. For essentially 2 years everyone sat around jerking off while the diplomats jerked off.
But without Yorktown, none of it happens.
