Read the excerpt from "george washington." he realized early that the best strategy was to harass the british. he reported to congress, "we should on all occasions avoid a general action, or put anything to the risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn." ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. finally in 1781 with the aid of french allies—he forced the surrender of cornwallis at yorktown. which is the central idea in this excerpt?
a. french allies the continental army, led by george washington, in their fight against the british.
b. as an army commander, washington reported on his battle strategies to congress.
c. washington’s battle strategies during the war led to the surrender of cornwallis in 1781.
d. washington was the leader of the continental army during the war against the british.

I would say that the central idea in this excerpt from George Washington is C: "Washington’s battle strategies during the war led to the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781."

Explanation:

George Washington reported his strategies to the Congress, according to these strategies, they had to try and stay away from any action that would risk their safety, by doing this, they would only react to their actions and sometimes they would "fall back" and others "strike unexpectedly", but, at the end, with the help of French allies, they reached to the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781. These strategies Washington had led to the surrender of Cornwallis.

The right answer is the C) Washington’s battle strategies during the war led to the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can also be added that the reference to the help that the French allies provided to Washington's army is only mentioned in passing, so option A should be easily discarded. In addition, the excerpt is not elaborating on the idea that Washington was the leader of the Continental Army; in fact, this role is not mentioned in the text, so option D can also be discarded. Finally, although part of the excerpt records how he reported his military strategies to Congress, this is not the main idea of the excerpt, so option B can be safely discarded as well. In this excerpt, therefore, the author is elaborating on Washington's strategies to defeat the British army during the Revolutionary War, which eventually led to the surrender of the British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown in October of 1781.