"Have a bias towards action..."

I don't remember the exact dates or even how old I was at the time, but our family once took a summer vacation to a number of historic sites, including Mount Vernon, Williamsburg, Monticello, and the Yorktown Battlefield.  It was a great trip, and besides the memory of getting into a long "discussion" with my older sister on whether Thomas Jefferson's home was pronounced with a "Ch" or "S" sound, my favorite memory was the trip to the Yorktown Battlefield.  For those of you who don't know, General George Washington's defeat of the British Army under General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown in October, 1781 was a major turning point in the American Revolutionary War.  While the War didn't formally end until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, for all intents and purposes the war was over after Washington’s victory at Yorktown.

I learned a lot about the Battle of Yorktown during our visit, but one of my most vivid memories involved the attacks on the British Redoubts No.9 and No.10.  Some additional context is required to fully appreciate the story here.  In the summer of 1781, British General Lord Charles Cornwallis had started raiding parts of Virginia in order to reduce the amount of food and supplies that were being provided for Washington's Continental Army.  In addition, General Sir Henry Clinton, who was the overall British commander of all military forces in North America, ordered Cornwallis to capture a coastal area where British naval ships could harbor safely.  Cornwallis chose Yorktown and Gloucester Point, a peninsula that was nearly half a mile across the York River from the town of Yorktown.  The British Army built a series of fortifications to defend the town, including a series of Redoubts (earthen forts), two of which (#9 and #10) were located at the extreme left of the British line.

At the same time, Washington and his French allies saw an opportunity to trap the British Army at Yorktown (take a look at the map above).  He moved the Continental Army in secret towards Yorktown, while the French navy fought a decisive battle against the British navy, thereby taking control of Chesapeake Bay and cutting off any chance that Cornwallis could escape or be reinforced by sea (the Battle of the Chesapeake was absolutely key to Washington's plans and is the subject of an excellent book by the American author Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Hurricane's Eye). 

The main Continental and French army, numbering over 17,000 men arrived in late September to find that the British had abandoned most of their outermost fortifications (except Redoubts #9 and #10) to pull their defenses close to the town of Yorktown.  Washington laid siege to Yorktown and constructed the First Parallel, a trench and series of fortifications approximately 2,000 yards in length to the south of Yorktown to protect his artillery during the bombardment of Yorktown.  As British resistance flagged, Washington began construction of a Second Parallel, within 300 or so yards of the main British line.  However, the Second Parallel could not be completed until Redoubts #9 and #10 were captured from the British.  Washington ordered the French to attack Redoubt #9, while the Americans under Lt. Colonel Alexander Hamilton would attack Redoubt #10 (note that this story didn't make it into the musical!). 

What I distinctly remember from my childhood tour, and what my subsequent research now has confirmed, is that the French attack was more planned and sequenced.  French military engineers first removed some of the defense works and were shortly followed by the main attack numbering about 400 soldiers.  The French captured Redoubt #9, which was defended by about 120 British and Hessian troops, within approximately 30 minutes.  In contrast, the American forces, also numbering about 400 soldiers were led by Alexander Hamilton captured Redoubt #10 in less than 10 minutes.  The American attack was less coordinated than the French, or at least that's what I was told so many years ago.  Once Redoubts #9 and #10 fell, Washington was able to complete the Second Parallel, and the defeat of the British was only a matter of time.  Cornwallis saw the futility in continuing the fight and surrendered his forces.  

I talked several years ago about one of my favorite quotes from General Dwight Eisenhower, who said, "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable" (see my post from August, 2017).  I recently learned that Winston Churchill said something similar - "Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential."  I don't doubt that both the French and Americans planned ahead of time for the attack on Redoubts #9 and #10.  However, I can't help but think that perhaps the American forces better adapted their tactics to the immediate situation, allowing them to be more agile and accomplish in less than 10 minutes what the French accomplished in half an hour.  I am also reminded of an online video that went viral, which was the subject of my post LeeeeeeeRoy Jenkins (the video was spoofed by the television series The Family Guy - see video here)!

Please don't misunderstand me.  I don't think we should dive headfirst into any unknown situation without thinking about it (similar to what LeRoy Jenkins does in the video game).  It's important to have a strategy and an agreed upon a set of tactics ahead of time.  However, it's just as important to have the agility to be able to pivot when those tactics aren't aligned with the particular situation at hand.  Flexibility, adaptability, and agility are the watchwords for today's VUCA world.  As former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi said, "Have a bias towards action - let's see something happen now.  You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away."

I want to end this post, as I frequently do, with a few quotes that I believe help drive home today's message.  John F. Kennedy said, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."  The author J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy) said, "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one."  Finally, American writer Claire Cook said, "If plan A doesn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters..."  In other words, be proactive and plan ahead.  But don't be paralyzed by your plans if you find that they aren't working.  Have a bias for action!  Oh, and by the way, it's Monticello with a "Ch" sound, and I was right!