<P> French participation in North America was initially maritime in nature and marked by some indecision on the part of its military leaders . In 1778, American and French planners organized an attempt to capture Newport, Rhode Island, then under British occupation . The attempt failed, in part because Admiral d'Estaing did not land French troops prior to sailing out of Narragansett Bay to meet the British fleet . He then sailed to Boston after his fleet was damaged in a storm . In 1779, d'Estaing again led his fleet to North America for joint operations, this time against British - held Savannah, Georgia . About 3,000 French joined with 2,000 Americans in the Siege of Savannah, in which a naval bombardment was unsuccessful . An attempted assault of the entrenched British position was repulsed with heavy losses . </P> <P> Support became more notable when, in 1780, 6,000 soldiers led by Rochambeau landed at Newport, itself abandoned in 1779 by the British, and then established a naval base there . These forces were largely inactive since the fleet was closely watched by the British fleet from its bases in New York and eastern Long Island . By early 1781, with the war dragging on, French military planners were finally convinced that more significant operations would be required in North America to bring a decisive end to the war . That year's West Indies fleet was commanded by the comte de Grasse, and specific arrangements were made to coordinate operations with him . De Grasse asked to be supplied with North American pilots and to be informed of possible operations in North America to which he might contribute . Rochambeau and Washington met in Wethersfield, Connecticut in May 1781 to discuss their options . Washington wanted to drive the British from both New York City and Virginia (the latter led first by Benedict Arnold, then by Brigadier William Phillips and eventually by Charles Cornwallis). Virginia was also seen as a potent threat that could be fought with naval assistance . These two options were dispatched to the Caribbean along with the requested pilots . Rochambeau, in a separate letter, urged de Grasse to come to the Chesapeake Bay for operations in Virginia . Following the Wethersfield conference, Rochambeau moved his army to White Plains, New York and placed his command under Washington . </P> <P> De Grasse received these letters in July at roughly the same time Cornwallis was preparing to occupy Yorktown, Virginia . De Grasse concurred with Rochambeau and subsequently sent a dispatch indicating that he would reach the Chesapeake at the end of August but that agreements with the Spanish meant he could only stay until mid-October . The arrival of his dispatches prompted the Franco - American army to begin a march for Virginia . De Grasse reached the Chesapeake as planned and his troops were sent to assist Lafayette's army in the blockade of Cornwallis's army . A British fleet sent to confront de Grasse's control of the Chesapeake was defeated by the French on September 5 at the Battle of the Chesapeake and the Newport fleet delivered the French siege train to complete the allied military arrival . The Siege of Yorktown and following surrender by Cornwallis on October 19 were decisive in ending major hostilities in North America . </P> <P> Other important battles between the French and the British were spaced out around the world, from the West Indies to India . France's navy at first dominated in the West Indies, capturing Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Montserrat, Tobago, and St. Kitts, but losing St. Lucia at the beginning of the war . A planned Franco - Spanish invasion of Jamaica was aborted after the decisive Battle of the Saintes in 1782 . At the end of the war . the French captured the Turks and Caicos Islands . In European waters, France and Spain joined forces with the entry of Spain into the war in 1779 . An attempted invasion of Britain failed due to a variety of factors . French and Spanish forces besieged Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783, but were unsuccessful in either storming the site, or preventing repeated British relief of its garrison . They were more successful in capturing Minorca in Europe and Demerara and Essequibo in South America in February 1782 . </P>

Name two reasons the french were willing to side with the american revolutionaries against england