Which 1781 siege led directly to the British surrender in the American Revolutionary War?

The Siege of Yorktown led directly to the British surrender in the American Revolutionary War.

American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in September and October 1781. George Washington commanded the allied army, while French naval forces helped prevent a British relief fleet from rescuing Cornwallis.

The allies captured key defensive positions and completed a line of trenches close to the British works. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, giving up roughly 8,000 troops. Fighting continued elsewhere after Yorktown, but the defeat made a negotiated British settlement increasingly likely.

Yorktown is often described as the war’s final major battle, although it was technically a siege and campaign rather than a single conventional battlefield clash. The conflict formally ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.