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The Battle Of Trenton Was Pivotal To The Outcome Of The American Revolution

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The Battle of Trenton was pivotal to the outcome of the American Revolution. Without certain intelligence assets, General Washington would have failed at Trenton, changing the course of the war. This paper will provide a detailed analysis of the Battle of Trenton and discuss in detail human intelligence (HUMINT) and offensive counterintelligence (OFCO); both of which were critical to Washinton’s success.
The Battle of Trenton Defined
The Battle of Trenton was a substantial turning point early in the Revolutionary war. Though this was a relatively small battle, the significance cannot be overlooked as it was an extremely important victory for the fight for independence. The battle took place in the winter of 1776 after a series of defeats for the Continental Army. It was in fact the first major victory for the Continental Army. This battle changed the momentum of the war by increasing morale and giving the Continental Army new purpose.
The American Perspective America was just starting out. Tensions had been building with the British for the last few years. …show more content…

At the start of the attack, Rall was quickly woken up from his sleep, but Washington had already taken the key intersections in the town. Rall quickly formed a hasty play to take the “V” intersection of King and Queen street which was the main intersection of the town. Rall would attack King street while the Lossberg regiment would simultaneously go up Queen street. The Continental Army had already set up cannons at the intersection and taken defensive positions in the houses lining the street (US Army, n.d.). The Hessians formed up and began to attack the Continental Army, but were no match for the cannons and well defended positions of the Continental Army. Rall tried to use his own cannons, but they were quickly overrun after getting off only a few shots. (Hickman,

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