Which group was fighting the war on the defensive, the revolutionary settlers or the Englishmen?

American colonists.

Explanation:

This argument can be confirmed by analyzing the battlefield or military tactics. There are many more examples of offensive actions by the English during the war. Several defensive tactics were used during the revolutionary war by the colonists. Thus, historians dealing with military history have cited terms such as traditional defense and depth defense. Conventional defense involves the concentration of soldiers and military resources. That is the most important parameter of such defensive action because the "shooting" of that formation endangers all other troops. The colonists also used the deep defense. It implies the organization of defense deep in the interior, far from the first military line.

d: social contract theory