For A Few Acres of Snow - A French & Indian War Modification AAR

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="5"][color="RoyalBlue"]For A Few Acres of Snow[/color][/size]




[SIZE="2"][font="Book Antiqua"]King Louis XV of France was in conversation with Voltaire when he received the dreadful news that Canada was no longer French, but British. Aware of his sovereign's anguish, Voltaire spoke to him consolingly:
"After all Sire, what have we lost - a few acres of snow?"[/font][/size]

[SIZE="2"]A French & Indian War Modification AAR by Lightsfantastic.[/size][/CENTER]

My thanks to the team at AGEOD for making such a wonderful game.
Thanks to Primaspirit for his patient and complete way of teaching us how to mod these games on the forum.

Growing up here in the United States the French and Indian War is not well known. It's the war before the Revolution...which will always overshadow it.
The first in depth reading I ever did on the F&IW was YEARS ago after an article was published in the Avalon Hill magazine, The General, for a 1776 variant covering it. There wasn't a lot available on the subject at the local bookstores, and being the pre-internet and pre-Amazon.com era, that was the extent of my education on the subject. Fast forward to 2006. I am 36 and bored with my seemingly endless modifying of HOI and HOI2. In researching a new game to satisfy my Operational Warfare jones, I stumble across Birth of America. After a week of reading the AAR's, seeing the activity on the forums, and the developers support for their game I bought it and have been hooked ever since. My interest in modifying it came and went, but the tools seemed so much more difficult from what I was used to with HOI. With patience I have slowly mastered them. Now what to modifiy?
Jagger has two really excellent modifications that I have used since he posted them: the Region Fix and Terrain Mod. They are wonderful and I am using them in this Modifcation.
I picked the French and Indian War Campaign because I knew so little about it. The stock campaign is perfectly fine and gives one a great introduction to a neglected period of American, British, and French History. But as I read more and more about the war, I noticed several historical inconsistencies in set up and personalities. No William Shirley, Oswego being a trading post not a true fort, Bradstreet's Corps of Armed 'Battoemen', the 4 battalions of the 60th Royal Americans, the multiple battalions of the Virginia & New York Regiments, how the Provincials were handled versus Militia, the brothers Vaudreuil, etc. This is my effort to correct that.

RESEARCH
Without these books (and Amazon.com - as well as Half Price Bookstores here in Dallas, TX) I could not have done this.
Montcalm and Wolfe; The French and Indian War by Francis Parkman
First published in 1884, a wealth of information. Am currently rereading this a second time and still finding new things in it.
The French and Indian War; Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman
An excellent introductory volume to the war, its causes and the personalities behind the scenes. Covers all the bases in a short work.
The War That Made America; A Short History of the French and Indian War by Fred Anderson
The one I started with. Good, short, and concise. Made me want to learn more...and read his other book on the subject...
Crucible of War; The Seven Years War and the Fate of Empire in North America, 1754-1766 by Fred Anderson
A Monster work covering everything, Indian Policies and negotiations, Inter-colonial rivalries, Politics both here and in Europe, the Carribean...etc. I would compare this to David Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon due to the depth involved.
Redcoats; The British Soldier and War in the Americas, 1755-1763 by Stephen Brumwell
More of an 'Ambrose style' than the others. Tells the story of the regular soldier in war.
Empires Collide; The French and Indian War 1754-63 edited by Ruth Sheppard.
Seems to be a conglomeration of the Osprey Campaign books on the War. Gives some OoB's and is also a good visual introduction to the individual campaigns of the war.
Louisbourg 1758 & Ticonderoga 1758 Osprey/Praeger books by Rene Chartland
Quebec 1759 Osprey/ Praeger book by Stuart Reid
All three give excellent coverage of their campaigns and excellent OoB's.

Next Post: the British Setup.

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[CENTER][SIZE="4"]British Setup[/size][/CENTER]

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First up is Major General Edward Braddock's command.



As you can see Braddock is a two-star Major General now. Washington has the Charismatic trait since the Virginia Regiment, NY Independent Companies, and Maryland Provincials are no longer Militia Regiments, they are a new Unit and Model, The Provincials. Based on the Continentals of the Revolutionary War Scenarios, they are raised during the autoraise turns and have a very high chance of disbanding yearly unless trained into Royal American Regiments. Historically the Provincial Regiments served only for a year and had to be reorganized every year after the Provincials Legislatures voted funds for their creation. I allowed them to be trained to give the player some say in keeping some of them and building their stats up through battle experience. In combat they are no better than the Militia they were drawn from.
Braddock also has a battery of naval siege guns and a troop of light dragoons dismounted as he did on his fateful march.
Why two supply...I have disabled CountrySide provides supply in the General.opt file so supply lines to Depots are going to be required of the player...It's my game mod. I have found it to work well in hotseat type games. Doing this will kill the AI as it is not optimized for it.

Next we have the Provincial forces massing at Albany

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Massachusetts Governor William Shirley's command consisting of the 50th and 51st Regiments of Foote, trained Provincial Regiments, and the New Jersey Blues Regiment of Provincials. Lt. Colonel James Mercer (2-1-1) is included as he commanded at Oswego after Johnson returned to Albany at the end of 1755.

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Sir William Johnson's command of Provincials and Mohawk Indians.



Lots of Provincials but they are poor quality troops. Both Shirley and Johnson are locked for for three months to simulate their units filling out.
Oh yeah...The Mohican's have moved.

New York Provincials

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Governor Delancy makes his appearance with two Battalions of the New York Regiment. His model is unchanged from his Revolutionary war one as his seniority is so low that he will never command anything but a small independent force with his 6 Strategic rating.

To Boston

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John Winslow's two Battalion New England Regiment ready to sail to Nova Scotia. Of course a human player can use them elsewhere. It is a game right?

Onto Nova Scotia

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Robert Monckton makes his appearance, as does Fort Lawerence. Note: St Jean has moved to it's proper location at the mouth of the St Jean River and seems to have a fort?

Miscellaneous Viewing

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Maine area. With the Mohican's now along the Mohawk River Valley, the Pennobscot Indians take up their rightful place in Maine. Note Forts Western and Halifax are both just level one cities, denoting their inability to withstand cannon fire; ie they are wooden palisades or blockhouses.

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Oswego. A trading post on Lake Ontario consisting of a blockhouse and shacks/sheds. Not a city, not a fort. Still the British must utilize it if they are going to take Frontenac or Niagara. Events are planned for this location when/if the British seize it.

Next post: the French Setup.

[runyan99]

Wow, looks like you've made some interesting changes. I'm playing my second PBEM of the F&IW now, and I find it an interesting game.

Are you being consistent with battalions/regiments? I notice you are sometimes representing a single regiment with two full 4 element units, which I thought were originally designed to be regiments themselves. At the same time some of the redcoat regiments (40th, 45th etc) are still shown with only one 4 element units.

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="4"]French Setup[/size][/CENTER]

From East to West starting at
Louisbourg

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Gouvernour Chevalier De Drucour commands at Louisbourg. The original BOA files all use Drucourt, but I think it's typo. The independent Detachment is the Marines stationed there.

Next Acadia

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Acadia showing Boishebert and his Irregulars at St.Jean now by the River which actually runs through it. I thought long and hard about putting it one region further south, but maps from the time show it mostly along the eastern bank of the St. John River.

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Garrison at St Jean inside Fort Latour.[/CENTER]

Onto the Acadia Indians

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This took a long time to research (thanks Google), I have moved the Mi'kimaq further east along the coast and added two tribes that were in the area at the time, the Maliseet and Passamaquoddy Indians. There is also a wild, Track path along the rivers across the Acadian Wilderness to the St Lawerence. Regulars will need ALOT of supply to get across without losses, but with the right leader it can be done quite quickly and safely.

Montreal

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The biggest change is that most of the French Army arrives via events. A new leader Vicomte Rigauld de Vaudreuil, brother of the Gouvernour, the Marquis de Vaudreuil is in command of the meager French forces at Montreal.

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Niagara

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Really no change. De Beaujeu can reach Fort Duquesne, where he was killed in the opening exchange of gunfire at the Monongahela, in plenty of time if wanting to play historically.

And the cause of it all...the Ohio Forks.

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De Contrecoeur commands there with a host of other leaders. Note Dumas with the Anglo-Indian Ability.

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de Langlade at Venango. Look at his abilities.

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Finally some changes to the Ohio Indians

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Delaware Cheif's Shingas and Captain Jacobs make their appearance, along with the Eastern Delaware settlement of Kittaning, where Captain Jacobs was killed during a raid by Colonel Armstrong and Pennsylvania Troops in August of 1756.

Finally


The biggest change and the one that caused me no end of headaches. Do I adjust supply and ammo usage and values for each and every model, or do I leave them alone. I tried both and found that leaving them alone was the best outcome. The game does handle this very well. Movement is slower, Depot construction is a two turn process. Siege resolution is better...but let us just see how things progress.

[lightsfantastic]

Are you being consistent with battalions/regiments? I notice you are sometimes representing a single regiment with two full 4 element units, which I thought were originally designed to be regiments themselves. At the same time some of the redcoat regiments (40th, 45th etc) are still shown with only one 4 element units.

Yes the French 'Regiments' were actually the 2nd Battalions of the Regiments (2nd and 3rd in Bearns' ? case) so basically the BATTALIONS would equal the other regiments; ie I. B, 1st New York Provincials would roughly equal the New Jersey Blues regiment size wise. The biggest British regular formation will be the 60th Royal Americans. In 1758 two battalions were at Ticonderoga while two were at Louisbourg.

[Rafiki]

Impressive work, lightsfantastic

For someone not too familiar with the original scenario, what are the main impacts on gameplay of the changes you are making (if it's feasible to summarize abit)?

[lightsfantastic]

Impressive work, lightsfantastic

For someone not too familiar with the original scenario, what are the main impacts on gameplay of the changes you are making (if it's feasible to summarize abit)?

Biggest change is the increase in turns from 12 per year to 24. Winters are PAINFUL to sit through, but the extra summer turns really shine. It might seem that the British get an ungodly amount of Provincials, but one must take into account their quality. Troop Quality is important, especially with the changes that Jagger's Terrain mod introduced into the game. I also increased the number of militia the French will receive. It's estimated that they had 16,000 Militia called up every year, mostly used as backwater garrisons and in the movement of supplies to the front. They have a VERY, VERY high chance of disbanding yearly, but can be trained unlike the British militia units.
Also the Indians really do very well against regulars in ambush. In 3 games I wiped out Braddock's force in running battles back to Virginia after ambushing them at Duquesne... just wait and see.
Supply is now a much bigger deal. You really must watch the supply level of the units every turn and plan accordingly. Running supply wagons back and forth to depots really works and lends a more historical feel, I think.

[lightsfantastic]

[SIZE="3"][CENTER]Early April, 1755 English Turn[/CENTER][/size]

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With Muddy regions from Ft. Cumberland to Alexandria, Braddock will sit and wait for a change in the weather. Washington will take the I. B, Virginia Regiment under command and try to drill them into something resembling real soldiers.

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In Boston John Winslow leads the two battalions of the New England Regiment on board the New England merchant ships bound for Halifax to assist in the capture of Acadia. It should take about 25 days to reach port.


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In a frozen Nova Scotia, Brigadier General Robert Monckton leads his regulars north to Fort Lawrence, leaving the Nova Scotia Militia behind with the garrison.

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New York is frozen too, which is alright since the Provincials forming under Johnson and Shirley, and Delancy's New York Regiment in Manhattan are locked for 6 turns or three months.
Another change I have made concerns the Iroquois. I have made them unable to be activated by moving troops into their cities. Only an attack, the British capture of Frontenac and Niagara, or the French capture of Albany will release them.

Slow turn for the the beginning thanks to the weather.

[Jagger]

This looks good, Lightfantastic!

Are you playing against the AI or as PBEM?

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[SIZE="3"][CENTER]Early April, 1755 French Turn[/CENTER][/size]

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Old Man Winter sure has some fight left in him. Consequently I will not be doing much movement. The Mississaugua Indians are to join with de Beaujeu who is commanded to head south towards Fort Duquesne which should take 31 days.

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De Langlade will move from Fort Venango to Fort Duquesne in 12 days. One other move involves the Plains Indians who will move to Duquesne. That is it for this turn due to poor winter conditions.

[lightsfantastic]

This looks good, Lightfantastic!

Are you playing against the AI or as PBEM?

Hot-seat as both sides for this contest. AI cannot handle the no Supply available from the countryside.
I try to be fair and play each side to their strengths.

[runyan99]

Hmm, I bet you'll win.

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[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Late April, 1755 British Turn[/size][/CENTER]

Mud still from Fort Cumberland to Alexandria. We will wait another turn before Braddock begins to move. On a positive note the I. B, Virginia Regiment has inducted new recruits and now has it's full compliment of soldiers.

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I. B, Virginia Regiment stats.


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The NY Independents and Maryland Provincials also received drafts of troops to bring them up to 3/4 strength. Braddock's 44th R. Foote gains a draft of regulars and is at it's full compliment.

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44th R. Foote stats for comparison.


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Winslow and the New Englanders were delayed 2 days for the right winds to blow before they could leave Boston. They made good time and now have only 11 days left to reach Halifax. Monckton took advantage of the frozen ground conditions and is now at Fort Lawrence mired in mud. He will wait for better weather and see if Winslow's New Englanders can reach him before moving to envelop Fort Beausejour. No other movements are planned.

[lightsfantastic]

Hmm, I bet you'll win.

I bet I lose.

[lightsfantastic]

[SIZE="3"][CENTER]Late April, 1775 French Turn[/CENTER][/size]

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Capitaine Dumas is ordered to form a force of Canadian Irregulars and Indian warriors. De Beaujeu's command is due to arrive in 15 days and the Plains Indian force in 33 days. De Contrecoeur retires with his garrison of Troupes de Marine into the fort.

Up north the Hurons will move to join the Abenaki's. One militia regiment is formed in Montreal, Trois-Rivieries , and Quebec.

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Boishebert's irregulars and the Mi'kmaq Indians are going to join outside Fort Beausejour and hope to setup a welcoming party for Monckton.

[runyan99]

Supply is now a much bigger deal. You really must watch the supply level of the units every turn and plan accordingly. Running supply wagons back and forth to depots really works and lends a more historical feel, I think.

I dunno, I have found the supply situation to be pretty challenging as is with 1.12a. Tightening it even more might be too much.

[lightsfantastic]

[SIZE="3"][CENTER]Early May, 1755 British Turn[/CENTER][/size]

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With the return of good weather, General Braddock issues orders to move out towards Ft. Cumberland. He anticipates arriving in the middle of next month.

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Winslow's New Englanders move north to join Monckton, who is still mired in mud. He will again wait at Ft. Lawrence.


HMS Neptune & Sutherland call in Boston. They will move to patrol off of Louisbourg.[/CENTER]

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[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Early May, 1755 French Turn[/size]


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At Duquesne Capitaine Beaujeu assumes command of the mixed irregulars and Indian force. Six more tribes of warriors are due within the next 40 days from the Plains and the Northwest.

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Rigauld de Vaudreuil is available this turn for orders. He was the Commandant of Trois-Rivieries so his hometown militia will be sent to join him at Fort St Frederic where he is headed very slowly through the mud. Rigauld has some very good abilities and should do well with his mixed force against the British. de Lery remains in Montreal with the Montreal Militia and I am sending the Quebec Militia south to join him. The Huron's will join the Abenakis this turn and head south to scout around the southern end of Lake Champlain.
In Acadia Boishebert and the Mi'kmaq will arrive in Grandpre next turn.

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[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Late May, 1755 British Turn[/size]


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Winslow's New Englanders will arrive in one day so I am taking advantage of Monckton being activated this turn to switch to Offensive mode and move against Grandpre even though conditions there are muddy after the late thaw there.

In the South, Braddock continues his movement to Ft. Cumberland.

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Late May, 1755 French Turn[/size][/CENTER]

Nothing major to report as units are moving to complete their previous orders. Boishebert sets up his ambush in Grandpre for Monckton, but with his small force he can only hope to delay the British forces. Beaujeu has another tribe join him at Duquesne. French forces continue their movements up Lake Champlain.

[lightsfantastic]

[SIZE="3"][CENTER]Early June, 1755 British Turn[/CENTER][/size]

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Braddock's force will arrive at Ft. Cumberland this turn. I switch him to Attack Posture and give orders to continue their movement towards the Forks of the Ohio and force the French out.

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In Grandpre Monckton sees Boishebert's irregulars but disregards them as nothing more than a nuisance. The North American Squadron reports that French ships slipped through their blockade and arrived in Louisbourg.

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[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Early June, 1755 French Turn[/size][/CENTER]

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Rigauld has been mired in mud and inactivity and continues to move south to Fort St. Frederic. The Abenaki/Huron force has arrived in Otter and will move to Saint Sacrament to set up a blocking position should the British decide to move north.

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Beaujeu splits his force into three commands to cover the likely approaches to the Fort while staying in support of each other. (In game turns I have increased my odds that any British force will be ambushed.) He awaits the arrival of the Northwestern Indians as well.

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Reinforcements arrive in Louisbourg, the 2nd Battalions of the Regiments Artois and Bourgogne.[/CENTER]

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[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Late June, 1755 British Turn[/size]

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As predicted Monckton's force brushes aside the French and Indians after minor skirmishing, and he settles into a siege of Fort Beausejour. His forces for the siege;



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Braddock's command will arrive in 2 weeks and hopefully begin the siege of Fort Duquesne.[/CENTER]

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Late June, 1755 French Turn[/size][/CENTER]

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Boishebert takes some hits as his ambush didn't go as expected. He will move south to St. Jean.



Rigauld's continued inactivity is really slowing him down. Indian scouts are settling in at Saint Sacrement.



Dumas is joined by 600 Plains Indians.


De Langlade's forces.


De Beaujeu's command.[/CENTER]

We are awaiting the arrival of the British.

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Early July, 1755 British Turn[/size][/CENTER]

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Battle of the Forks[/CENTER]



Pretty stiff fight for both sides. The loss of the light infantry from the dismounted dragoons will hurt as they were useful in the wilderness. Braddock should have parity in numbers now, but with the Regulars and Provincials somewhat lacking in fighting in the wilderness, especially on the attack, he will go onto the defensive in the hopes of forcing the French & Indians to attack him. Supply wise they are in good shape though by the end of this month they will have to send one of their supply trains back to Fort Cumberland for replenishment.

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The North American Squadron outside off Louisbourg has 2 months of food supplies left.


Monckton's force has inflicted 5 hits to the French defending Fort Beausejour. His force and current supply level.

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Joy of Joys! The wheels of bureaucracy & patronage have been served and our Provincial forces in New York are somewhat ready to move. Governor Shirley will take his command to Oswego, with the ultimate goal of moving on Fort Niagara. His strategic rating of three can be a problem as it slows him down.

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William Johnson is active this turn, but he faces a command penalty of 10%. He will take his command north to Tajacook and the southern end of the Great Carrying Place.


Finally New York Governor Delancey will move the New York Regiment north to Albany via Batauex.[/CENTER]

[Rafiki]

There's something familiar about those two guys, James Mercer and Phineas Lyman

Thanks for showcasing your mod and game for us, lightsfantastic

[lightsfantastic]

There's something familiar about those two guys, James Mercer and Phineas Lyman

Thanks for showcasing your mod and game for us, lightsfantastic

I tried using pictures that were close to what few pictures I found of the added leaders, but for Lyman and Mercer I had to use some of the extras. I'm clueless as to how to do all but the most simple of graphical changes.

I'm still finding typos, but so far it has been stable, although some of the event images I tried to add will not show up.

[Rafiki]

I tried using pictures that were close to what few pictures I found of the added leaders, but for Lyman and Mercer I had to use some of the extras.

That explains it

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Early July, 1755 French Turn[/size][/CENTER]

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Wouldn't you know, only de Langlade's command succeeds its ambush setup and suffers massive loss. The British opened up at a range of 4 while Langlade opened fire at a range of 3. 22 of our units benefited from favorable terrain, while 0 British units benefited from terrain. Total hits were 36 for the French and 42 for the British. In hindsight it probably would have been better to keep all the Indians and Irregulars together. Langlade will retire to Fort Venango to recover.

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De Beaujeu and Dumas will combine their commands and join with a sortie of the Troupes de Marine from Duquesne in a bold attempt to drive off or destroy the British.

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Reinforcements have arrived! Baron Dieskau, Gouverneur the Maquis de Vaudreuil, and the 2nd battalions of the regiments Bearn, Languedoc, La Reine, and Guyenne arrive in Quebec along with two supply trains. They will move south to Montreal. Vaudreuil, two regiments and one supply train will travel via Batauex and arrive in 20 days, while Dieskau and the rest will travel via road and arrive in 22 days. Which is exactly how many days Rigauld has left before he reaches Fort St. Frederic. My Indian scouts at Saint Sacrement have 1&1/2 months of rations remaining, so they will stay and observe British movements in the area.

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In Acadia Boishebert reaches St. Jean but can do nothing to help the garrison at Fort Beausejour. He will move west to the Indians of Acadia to try to gain their support. The garrison at Fort Beausejour still has plenty of supplies, but the British artillery is beginning to cause losses.


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Finally I will try to slip two regiments of French regulars from Louisbourg using the small sloops and schooners based there. With luck they will be at Quebec within 2 months.

[lightsfantastic]

[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Late July, 1755 British Turn[/size][/CENTER]

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Battle of the Monongahela[/CENTER]

Braddock's switch to the defensive most likely saved his command. He takes some hits but retreats intact to Monongahela. With supply becoming an issue he will retire to Fort Cumberland and dig in.

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In Tajacook, General Johnson has the 1st and 3rd Mass. Provincial Regiments combine and sends the Rhode Island Provincials back to Fort George to get under his command limit. He will then advance on Saint Sacrament to drive off the French Indian scouts. Governor Shirley is active and his arrival at Oswego is now only 27 days away. Governor Delancey and his New Yorkers are due in 12 days at Albany.

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Monckton sends one of his supply trains back to Halifax for replenishment. The Nova Scotia Militia will meet them and escort them back. His siege will continue.