 German historians have noted that approximately one third of all the land forces involved were either hired or recruited from German states, or were German immigrants to America; this has led the siege to be known in German historiography as "die Deutsche Schlacht" ("the German battle").The following units and commanders of the British, American, and French forces fought in the Siege of Yorktown, or provided significant local support.The British Army forces present at Yorktown arrived in Virginia in four separate detachments.