Re: Роберт Миддлкофф,...
Книжка общедоступна
https://1lib.sk/book/17046833/5796a3/the-glorious-cause-the-american-revolution-17631789.html
Там Лафайет быстро быстро убежал от англичан в "битве" у Barren Hill и сведения о том, что американцы не просто разбежались, как обычно, а сделали это организованно преподносится как большой прогресс в обучении. По факту Лафайет имел достаточную квалификацию, чтобы сначала расставить посты на дорогах, а потом по их донесениям понять, что пора уходить, что и сделал.
Короче обычная агитка на тему того, что американские войска типа были в процессе роста и прогресса. С нулевой базой дело нехитрое подобное доказывать.
Фрагмент ниже
The corollary to this conclusion is that the American soldiers knew what they were fighting for. They had a sense of the “glorious cause.” And these soldiers at Valley Forge were veterans, some of Brandywine and more perhaps of Germantown. Soldiers new to the army can be disciplined, their wills shaped by vigorous exercise on the drill field. Veterans cannot be, in the usual sense. Battle has already taught them the need for both firm leadership and immediate response to orders. Close-order drill and the manual of arms aided them in doing what they must do under fire. In the tactics employed in the eighteenth century, professional armies depended on well-executed movements, and the drill on the parade field actually enabled infantry to move effectively into battle. The veterans at Valley Forge, recognizing this and recognizing too what Steuben could do for them, laughed when he exploded—he shared the pleasure he gave—but they also did as they were ordered.
In May these newly acquired skills were put to a preliminary test. Washington learned from spies in Philadelphia that the British were making preparations to leave, perhaps to return to New York City. The young officers at Valley Forge yearned for action after the dull, confining winter, none more than Marquis de Lafayette, who offered to lead a detachment which was to watch the enemy and if the opportunity arose strike his sources of supply. Washington agreed and sent Lafayette off with 2200 men. On May 20, several large British forces moving quickly from Philadelphia almost trapped Lafayette at Barren Hill, eleven miles to the west of the city. Lafayette escaped the converging forces, which might well have ground him to pieces, through skillful maneuvering and rapid marching—maneuvers and marches which could be accomplished only by troops practiced in moving efficiently in large bodies.
