The 1777 Revolutionary War battles widely described as a turning point that brought France into the American cause were the Battles of Saratoga.
The campaign consisted primarily of the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, both fought near Saratoga in New York. American forces were commanded by General Horatio Gates, with Benedict Arnold and other officers playing important battlefield roles. British forces were led by General John Burgoyne.
Burgoyne’s army surrendered on October 17, 1777, after being isolated and defeated in the northern theater. The American victory demonstrated that the Continental forces could defeat a major British army, making foreign support more attractive to France.
The victory helped produce the Franco-American Alliance of 1778. France had already supplied covert assistance before Saratoga, but the result encouraged open military cooperation and brought the wider European conflict directly into the Revolutionary War. Saratoga is sometimes mistakenly treated as one single battle rather than a campaign of connected engagements.