Terrain influenced surveillance in that the large coverage of a plateau which made the allied troops to easily survey the New York town closely and arrange for an attack. This type of terrain encouraged direct fire since there were no places for hideouts and this caused massive deaths and injuries to both troops.
The solders engaged indirect fire in the battle since some parts of the landscape were forested and this offered strategic bases for redoubt making the fighting forces to be always on lookout of their enemies. Such landscape hindered direct fire hence the soldiers resolved to indirect fire to suppress each other in the war in these places. Direct fire could not be applied on such a terrain because there was no direct confrontation hence it could not be a suitable tactic (Davis and Burke 115). It gave the soldiers time to organize and prepare for an attack while in the redoubt.
The key terrain was generally rugged with some of the low lying areas swampy. In this kind of terrain, each side was at an advantage to approximate the number of soldiers involved in the war and this enabled Washington to realize was marshy and swampy thus the British soldiers had established their redoubts along these lines making it difficult for the allied forces to have easy access to them (Davis and Burke 115).
Key terrain influenced the select command which was used in carrying out the war. They had dug trenches along the swamps and positioned their soldiers strategically armed with a wide range of ammunitions such as artilleries, guns and spikes. This type of terrain also gave the British an added advantage because they were familiar with the landscape hence they were not experiencing numerous difficulties as it was with the American soldiers (Anderson and Dale 203).
The key terrain had major influence in the plans of the people of New York to defend the city against defeat by the British. The battlefield also was not densely populated and some parts were not occupied at all. This gave the British soldiers ample time since they were not struggling with relocating the residents into new lands although they experienced a problem because the majority did not support them.
The British were disadvantaged because of the rugged terrain which limited their capability to monitor the area. On the other hand that this kind of terrain favored the American and French armies since they were large in number thus a confrontation gave them an added advantage.
The key terrain of the New York is rugged and this gave the commanders a hard time to plan and organize their soldiers for an attack. Both forces applied the trench method but British were defeated because they were outnumbered and the allied forces had numerous guns spread all over their trenches. On realizing that he could not withstand the war, Cornwallis the British commander surrendered to the American and French army (Anderson and Dale 203). His soldiers were taken as prisoners of war but they were promised good treatment. This marked the end of revolutionary war in America.
The level of command was based on the layout of the terrain. Basically, the groups were compelled to employ trench method. The type of weapons to be used in the attacks, the number of soldiers required in order carrying out the expeditions successfully and the means to use to ask for immediate assistance especially after suffering an unexpected attack (Alden 138).
The two groups used the landscape to gain steps against each another. For instance, the natives used terrain for their protection against direct attack. On the other hand the British used the terrain for enhance surveillance since they could effectively stage their equipments. The terrain also served as a protection strategy against ambush.
Works cited
Alden, John A History of the American Revolution. New York: Da Capo Press, 1969.
Anderson, Dale. The Battle of Yorktown. Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2004.
Davis, Burke The Campaign that Won America. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
