[This is my first AltHistory thread, so I hope you all enjoy it.]
Humble, in fact, is a word too simple and plain. Washington was going to be tested as a leader in his first battle leading the Revolutionary Patriot troops. His past military career stared him in the face as 27,000-30,000 troops landed on the beaches of Long Island from Staten Island. Generally seen as a--to be honest--piss-poor commander, this was the time for Washington to prove to the world what he was made of; that Washington was the greatest general this world had ever seen!
...Or not.
[SCENARIO]
As the British make their advance, Washington decides to break the first cardinal rule of war; never split your forces when outnumbered. He breaks off his battalion of about 20,000 minutemen and militiamen in half; one follows up the east river and one moves into manhattan. Washington moves up with the regiment going up the east river in order to take the high ground and position themselves in front of the Brooklyn Heights. The British, under the command of Lord Cornwallis, are fresh off the boats, 30,000 strong, experienced regulars alight from the ships to hunt and kill the revolutionaries. They easily corner Washington at the base of the Brooklyn Heights and engage in the first firefight of the war. The battle is bloody, Washginton's cannons positioned further up on the hillside fire round after iron round at the British forces positioned on the shallow valley at the tip of the hills of the heights. Cornwallis's men break the Americans after a short time, and Washington's men rout to the Brooklyn Heights and set up a defensive position there. With the water to their backs, Washington faces a deadly situation; his men are tired and over 1,800 of them are dead, he lacks supplies and ammunition, and his ablest commander, Charles Lee, is too sick to command the soldiers or advise Washington. Merciless, the British continue on, blockading the Americans onto the Heights and the infantry do their worst, quartering the last survivors of the previous battle and slaughtering all of them for their defiance against the crown. Washington lies dead on the floor of his tent where he wrote his last goodbyes to the Continental Congress, and the British have singlehandedly annihilated half of the Patriot force in the Americas. By August 10th, 1776, the Congress sends a peace treaty to King George, begging for surrender, and the first War for American Independence has utterly failed.
Now, of course, this did not happen. The wind was too strong for the British to make a blockade against the Americans and the conservative general Lord Cornwallis didn't even want to chase the americans after the Battle of New York, stating that he "didn't want to lose any more men than he had to". However, should the Americans had not been so lucky, you can picture this scenario as how our history would have really been written.
Humble, in fact, is a word too simple and plain. Washington was going to be tested as a leader in his first battle leading the Revolutionary Patriot troops. His past military career stared him in the face as 27,000-30,000 troops landed on the beaches of Long Island from Staten Island. Generally seen as a--to be honest--piss-poor commander, this was the time for Washington to prove to the world what he was made of; that Washington was the greatest general this world had ever seen!
...Or not.
[SCENARIO]
As the British make their advance, Washington decides to break the first cardinal rule of war; never split your forces when outnumbered. He breaks off his battalion of about 20,000 minutemen and militiamen in half; one follows up the east river and one moves into manhattan. Washington moves up with the regiment going up the east river in order to take the high ground and position themselves in front of the Brooklyn Heights. The British, under the command of Lord Cornwallis, are fresh off the boats, 30,000 strong, experienced regulars alight from the ships to hunt and kill the revolutionaries. They easily corner Washington at the base of the Brooklyn Heights and engage in the first firefight of the war. The battle is bloody, Washginton's cannons positioned further up on the hillside fire round after iron round at the British forces positioned on the shallow valley at the tip of the hills of the heights. Cornwallis's men break the Americans after a short time, and Washington's men rout to the Brooklyn Heights and set up a defensive position there. With the water to their backs, Washington faces a deadly situation; his men are tired and over 1,800 of them are dead, he lacks supplies and ammunition, and his ablest commander, Charles Lee, is too sick to command the soldiers or advise Washington. Merciless, the British continue on, blockading the Americans onto the Heights and the infantry do their worst, quartering the last survivors of the previous battle and slaughtering all of them for their defiance against the crown. Washington lies dead on the floor of his tent where he wrote his last goodbyes to the Continental Congress, and the British have singlehandedly annihilated half of the Patriot force in the Americas. By August 10th, 1776, the Congress sends a peace treaty to King George, begging for surrender, and the first War for American Independence has utterly failed.
Now, of course, this did not happen. The wind was too strong for the British to make a blockade against the Americans and the conservative general Lord Cornwallis didn't even want to chase the americans after the Battle of New York, stating that he "didn't want to lose any more men than he had to". However, should the Americans had not been so lucky, you can picture this scenario as how our history would have really been written.