An example of this in the early days of the American Revolution might be the battle of Dorchester Heights. George Washington snuck his armies onto this strategically positioned hill in the middle of the night and built fortifications there under conditions that were unusually mild for the troops and with a haze at sea level that obscured their actions to the British forces in Boston. (Source: 1776 by David McCullough)18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
Once the British realized what had happened, they immediately knew they needed to either attack or retreat. They planned to attack, but a terrible storm rolled in at the time of the planned attack, making it impossible to continue. British General William Howe wrote in his journal about the attack:
They retreated instead.The contrary winds of the afternoon of March 5th, the storm that followed that night, and the weather continuing boisterous the next day and night, were the deciding factors in that they gave the enemy still more time to improve their defenses of the heights. I could promise myself little success by attacking them under all the disadvantages I had to encounter. Wherefore, I judged it most advisable to prepare for the evacuation of the town [Boston].
