An operation devised by Burgoyne to isolate New England from the other American colonies during the War of American Independence. He advanced south from Montreal expecting to meet Howe from New York and St Leger from Oswego at Albany and thus secure the line of the Hudson valley. Thanks to bad coordination, however, Howe chose this time to embark on his Philadelphia campaign. Burgoyne captured Ticonderoga but his advance was slowed by unsuitable equipment, lack of supplies, and guerrilla attacks. Defeated at Bennington and Freeman’s Farm, with no help forthcoming from Howe, he was halted, and forced to surrender to Gates. This British defeat encouraged France to enter the war in 1778 and was a vital tonic to the American cause.