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Revolutionary Warfare

Revolutionary Warfare
The American Revolution and the French Revolution were a turning point in creating the modern nation state as well as molding the modern army.   Both have many similarities and differences ranging from the people fighting in these wars to the tactics and strategy these countries used to effectively win their freedom.   Both countries had an idea of freedom and independence, but took different paths in achieving their goals.   It is hard to say which side took the best path or not but we can compare some of the facts and get a closer look into what was happening in both of these Revolutions.  
In the 18th century one of the biggest problems facing any army was recruiting enough men to fill the ranks.   For almost the entire 18th century they answer to this problem was conscripting the poor and worse off members of society.   However, in the late 18th century the idea of the “Revolutionary soldier” came about because of two wars.   The American Revolution and the French Revolution were different from the other wars in the 18th century because they were fighting against their own countries instead of others.   The idea of the “Revolutionary soldier” was independence and liberty.   The “Revolutionary soldier” wasn’t conscripted into service or in it for the pay, in theory; they were fighting for their own rights and their own land.   Because of their vested interest in the outcome of the wars, “Revolutionary soldiers” were very motivated to fight and believed they could defeat any paid regular army.   The idea of the “Revolutionary soldier” was a very important thing that would ultimately help shape the modern nation states as we know it.
With the introduction of the “Revolutionary soldier” one would think that both the American and French Revolutionary armies consisted almost entirely of eager volunteers ready to risk their life to protect this idea of freedom, but that wasn’t always the case.   A huge difference to start out with between the American...