French Support to the American Revolution: A Case Study in Unconventional Warfare

Abstract

Convinced of the inevitability of another Franco-British war, concerned with the potential of British encroachment upon France's remaining colonial holdings, eager to avert a Spanish war against Portugal, and desperate to buy time to build military strength, France launched a covert intervention in the American Revolution between 1776 and 1778. In contemporary U.S. military doctrine, French actions could be considered unconventional warfare (UW), or external state support to insurgency. Despite the intervening two and a half centuries, the French experience can inform contemporary practitioners of UW. France's intervention in the American Revolution illustrates the importance of a deliberate decision to transition from limited to overt war and the centrality of diplomacy throughout the planning and execution of UW.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 14, 2019
Accession Number
AD1109725

Entities

People

  • Gordon T. Richmond

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • American Revolution
  • Case Studies
  • Civil War
  • Congress
  • European Communities
  • Foreign Relations
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • National Politics
  • New England
  • North America
  • Political Science
  • Political Systems
  • Revolutions
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies