The Battle of Germantown was fought on 4 October 1777 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, which is now a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia. The battle occurred when George Washington led an army of 11,000 Continental Army troops to attack William Howe's divided army of 9,000 British and Hessian troops as it split into multiple units to attack the United States capital of Philadelphia. The Americans succeeded in their surprise attack, but Washington made the poor decision of launching repeated attacks against British troops in the Chew House, taking heavy losses and wasting the Continentals' ammunition. When the British began to approach the American rear, the Americans began a confused retreat, leading to Adam Stephen and Anthony Wayne's troops accidentally firing upon each other under the fog and smoke. The American attack at Germantown was nearly a victory, earning the respect of the Kingdom of France, and the Americans defeated Howe's attempt to bring Washington to battle at the Battle of White Marsh before the Americans and British settled into their winter quarters of Valley Forge and Philadelphia, respectively.
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