What factor contributed to Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown?

• A. British unity of command
• B. Poor unity of command among British forces
• C. French betrayal
• D. American lack of supply

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is how command structure and coordination affect battlefield outcomes. Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown happened mainly because there was poor unity of command among British forces in the theater. London’s orders and the way land and sea forces were directed were not integrated into a single, coherent plan. Cornwallis faced a tight siege from American and French forces and, crucially, could not rely on timely reinforcements or relief from Britain because the chain of command didn’t align the army and the navy under a unified strategy. The French fleet controlled the sea, preventing any potential British relief, while Washington and Rochambeau pressed the land siege, knowing British relief was unlikely to arrive in time due to this lack of coordinated command.

This isn’t about French betrayal or American supply problems. The French alliance was effectively coordinated with the Americans, and supplies were not the decisive bottleneck. The decisive factor was the inability of the British to present a single, coordinated effort to relieve or reinforce Cornwallis, which left him isolated and compelled to surrender.