User avatar
Field Marshal Hotzendorf
Captain
Posts: 167
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:24 pm

Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:23 pm

I would find it hard to believe that France or Spain would consider joining the war at this point. Sounds like a speedy way of starting the French Revolution to me.

User avatar
loki100
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 2399
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:15 pm
Location: Caithness
Contact: Website Twitter

Mon Feb 22, 2016 12:14 am

its a bit unclear how you actually win this game. I offered to carry on as I was keen to see what happens towards the end of the game and I still have a couple of large armies available and hold a decent block of supply producing cities.

as to the rationale, I think France was out for revenge for the loss of Canada, even if the Americans were less than ideal allies (given how bad my situation is), it is still distracting a lot of the available British army - so as good a chance as any?
AJE The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian
PoN Manufacturing Italy; A clear bright sun
RoP The Mightiest Empires Fall
WIA Burning down the Houses; Wars in America; The Tea Wars

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Mon Feb 22, 2016 2:38 am

I agree with Loki's rationale. While the British had largely snuffed out the rebellion in most of the colonies, New Hampshire, Maine, and upstate New York were still solidly in rebel hands. I'll get around to doing the 1778 update soon, but Horatio Greene managed a nice stand at Albany, not quite on Saratoga level but impressive nonetheless. It became obvious to me (as it did to the French as well, I'm sure :) ) that the days of me pushing the rebels around at whim were coming to an end. So not completely unrealistic, given the burning French desire for revenge after the 7-year war.

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:31 am

Phase 8: 1778... The Tide Turns....

As fate would have it, the British proved to be too quick to declare victory over the upstart rebellion. It was only after the victory parade was held in New York City, and terms of surrender sent off to Washington with no thought of rebuttal, that word arrived of partisan activity in the Deep South by a certain Thomas Sumter, and a defiant taunt sent via the Hudson arrived from Nathaniel Greene station in Albany. It seemed the Continentals (as they have begun presenting themselves) intend to fight on! Bah!

In outrage, Cornwallis set off to crush Greene and his army at Albany... only to run out of food halfway and backtrack to New York City again. He tried a second time... with the same results. Meanwhile, Sir Grey, still flush on his victory at the Siege of Pittsburgh, arrived with hefty supplies in late fall of 1778 at the outskirts of Albany, but met with an ignominious defeat by the well entrenched rebels. It was the first major victory by the colonists, and proved just enough to bring France and Spain into the fray in December 1778, capping off a terrible blow to British hopes of ending the conflict...

General Howe is blamed for this momentous turn of events (rather unfairly), and Sir Henry Clinton takes over in his stead. What looked to be an easy victory only a year before now promised to balloon into a long, arduous war of attrition.

[ATTACH]37755[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37756[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37757[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37758[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37759[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37760[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37761[/ATTACH]
Attachments
T40-004.png
T40-003.png
T40-002.png
T40-001.png
T39-003.png
T39-002.png
T39-001.png

User avatar
Cardinal Ape
General of the Army
Posts: 619
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:59 am

Tue Feb 23, 2016 2:23 am

Sir Charles Grey seems to have received a rude awakening from Henry Knox and his new American artillery. Great to see that the Americans might still have a hope.

How did Grey lose a point of defense? Promotion?

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Tue Feb 23, 2016 2:46 am

I believe Seniority and XP are linked, so if a general loses Seniority, they lose XP, and thus bonuses to values.

As you can see, I have a commanding VP lead right now, but the Americans are higher in morale than I am now. And there's still a little over half of the game to go. I most definitely wouldn't write this off yet either way. Naval superiority will likely be the key.

Stuyvesant
Lieutenant
Posts: 144
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:06 am
Location: Wilmington, NC

Tue Feb 23, 2016 4:57 pm

Interesting... I had not expected much from the Colonials (sorry, the Continentals) after you wiped out all their major holdings. It's nice to see that there's life left in this rebellion. And now the French and Spanish blunder in... Do the Americans still hold any ports where the French can land?

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Tue Feb 23, 2016 5:22 pm

Stuyvesant wrote:Interesting... I had not expected much from the Colonials (sorry, the Continentals) after you wiped out all their major holdings. It's nice to see that there's life left in this rebellion. And now the French and Spanish blunder in... Do the Americans still hold any ports where the French can land?


Oh yeah, Maine and New Hampshire are still solidly in rebel hands. And last turn (April 1779) the French/Spanish landed in force and took Savannah. It's far from over, methinks!

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:21 pm

Quick update. We're up to August 1779. French took Savannah, GA and Wilmington, NC but have not pushed any further inland. Clinton and Burgoyne made a strong stand against Washington and the Continental Army at Boston, and Sir Grey is arriving with reinforcements to chase off Washington's army in New England. A Spanish force landed at St. Augustine but was obliterated by the garrison there (British only lost 24 men to roughly 1500 Spanish). We're almost exactly at the halfway mark of the campaign, and the last few turns have been good for the British. We'll see if our luck holds up through 1780, if so it may prove enough to bring the French and the Continentals to the negotiation table (notice I am calling them Continentals now... the Crown acknowledges some concessions will likely need to be made to bring this conflict to an end now :) ).

Stuyvesant
Lieutenant
Posts: 144
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:06 am
Location: Wilmington, NC

Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:50 pm

Cool! Sounds like an unexpectedly fun situation (unexpected in that I really thought it was all over after Pittsburgh, fun in that the two of you seem to be enjoying these extra innings).

Feel like I should make a comment about my hometown suffering under French occupation, but I can't quite find the right tone. :)

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:00 pm

Oh cool, you're from Wilmington, I'm only about 2 hours from there (live in Florence, SC). If you're into war boardgames, shoot me a message sometime, I can't find anyone in this area who likes them. I really like the hybrid hex map/CCG war games like Paths of Glory (WW1) or We the People (American Revolution) - not entirely historically accurate, but usually at least plausible and playable in a reasonable amount of time.

This game has indeed been quite fun. I think it's a long-shot for the Continentals to come back, but I'm not likely to completely crush them either. He's got to somehow wrest sea superiority from me though, I don't think he can flush out my big armies without being able to blockade big ports like New York or Philadelphia.

User avatar
loki100
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 2399
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:15 pm
Location: Caithness
Contact: Website Twitter

Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:05 pm

Altaris wrote:Quick update. We're up to August 1779. French took Savannah, GA and Wilmington, NC but have not pushed any further inland. Clinton and Burgoyne made a strong stand against Washington and the Continental Army at Boston, and Sir Grey is arriving with reinforcements to chase off Washington's army in New England. A Spanish force landed at St. Augustine but was obliterated by the garrison there (British only lost 24 men to roughly 1500 Spanish). We're almost exactly at the halfway mark of the campaign, and the last few turns have been good for the British. We'll see if our luck holds up through 1780, if so it may prove enough to bring the French and the Continentals to the negotiation table (notice I am calling them Continentals now... the Crown acknowledges some concessions will likely need to be made to bring this conflict to an end now :) ).


in the interests of accuracy for our readers it is probably only fair to note that Montreal is again a place where one can buy elegant patisseries and croissants?

Stuyvesant wrote:Cool! Sounds like an unexpectedly fun situation (unexpected in that I really thought it was all over after Pittsburgh, fun in that the two of you seem to be enjoying these extra innings).

Feel like I should make a comment about my hometown suffering under French occupation, but I can't quite find the right tone. :)


I seem to recall I captured that in the French and Indian Wars too ... can't remember if I opted to burn it down or to force the locals to learn the proper usage of the past subjunctive in French? Or both? Nah I wouldn't have been that cruel?
AJE The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian
PoN Manufacturing Italy; A clear bright sun
RoP The Mightiest Empires Fall
WIA Burning down the Houses; Wars in America; The Tea Wars

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:27 pm

Alas! Montreal has been taken by a sly Continental force! It seems the colonists have set their aims to retaking their French master's former possessions rather than fighting for their own freedom :P

Grey was turned back by Washington, though losses were roughly equal. Still, at this point such close sided affairs do much to erode British support at home :sigh:

Def Zep
Conscript
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2007 4:35 pm

Thu Feb 25, 2016 3:30 pm

Gentlemen,

A very interesting AAR. I am learning a lot watching it proceed.

[J]ust to say, its my idea to carry on. Altaris has 'won' - as in my game with vigabrand the end game screen doesn't seem to trigger.


Could this be because Sudden Death is turned off?

User avatar
Field Marshal Hotzendorf
Captain
Posts: 167
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:24 pm

Sat Feb 27, 2016 3:24 am

This game has really gotten interesting. I like the sneak attack into Canada Loki. I must say I never grow tired of following these AARs, always something different happens it seems. Thank you Altaris and Loki for doing this.

User avatar
loki100
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 2399
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:15 pm
Location: Caithness
Contact: Website Twitter

Mon Feb 29, 2016 9:20 am

Field Marshal Hotzendorf wrote:This game has really gotten interesting. I like the sneak attack into Canada Loki. I must say I never grow tired of following these AARs, always something different happens it seems. Thank you Altaris and Loki for doing this.


One thing that really stands out in WiA is the importance of traits over the raw scores. So you can often tailor a small force to do exactly what you need by using the right leaders. In that case I combined someone with the very fast mover trait with a commander who reduces supply need. Result was I could strike north of Triconderega without taking supply wagons.

Altaris easily turned back my at start raid with the local forces but my gamble was that he had all the secondary Canadian reinforcements on the Atlantic Coast. All I now need to do is to add Quebec and Novelle France will be reborn.
AJE The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian
PoN Manufacturing Italy; A clear bright sun
RoP The Mightiest Empires Fall
WIA Burning down the Houses; Wars in America; The Tea Wars

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Thu Mar 03, 2016 4:51 pm

We took a few days off while Loki was out of town, but we're back in the full swing of things. I need to get a new update (have screenshots just haven't done the AAR entries yet). We're up to late Summer 1780 now, British are still holding strong but the French and Spanish are chipping away at the frontiers. The Spanish took Mobile and Nanchez in the Southwest, while the French have moved up from their Southern holdings to take Baltimore. Rebel militias have been busy taking back smaller towns through the colonies as well. The British still have a commanding 3:1 VP lead, and I'm still out-producing Loki in VP by about 2:1, so its unlikely the Continentals will be able to take the lead away, but the British certainly don't have a commanding military presence outside of the strategic areas anymore. I've made a couple of attempts to intercept the French fleets with the British Grand Fleet, but as of yet no promising clash has taken place. A decisive naval encounter in either of our favors would likely shift the momentum significantly. Until then, I think we're largely settling into a stalemate. My troops are well dug in across key areas on the map, it'll be tough to root them out. The British have also occupied some of these key areas (such as Philadelphia, Richmond, New York) for so long they are very pro-Tory as well, which helps the supply situation considerably.

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:03 am

Phase 9: 1779 - Losing Ground in the Far South and Far North, Stalemate Elsewhere

1779 saw the joint efforts of the Spanish and French throughout the South against the weaker of my strong-points. Charleston was left alone, but the rest of the Southern ports were brought under attack, mostly to the benefit of the enemy. The French Comte de Rochembeau led the spearhead, first landing and taking Savannah, GA, then moving up to do the same at Wilmington, NC. Meanwhile, small partisan Continental forces continued to be kept in check inland throughout GA, SC, and NC. Further south in Florida, we did get an exceptional victory over the Spanish attempting a landing at St. Augustine, wiping out the Spanish landing force nearly to a man while taking only a score of losses ourselves. It was a much needed morale lift to all the other losses in the South.

In New England, Washington's Continental Army launches several attacks in the attempt to take Boston back, but Burgoyne (with Clinton later arriving to assume command) drive them back with heavy losses. Sir Charles Gray lands with further reinforcements in Massachusetts, and attempts to drive home a counterattack against the Continental Army, but is in turn driven back. A stalemate forms between the large British Army outside Boston Harbor and the Continentals in northern Massachusetts.

We did score a nice naval victory while bringing in reinforcements to Boston, as Howe's fleet sunk an entire Continental naval force in a brief but explosive battle. I believe it important to win these naval excursions before the enemy coalition truly coalesces its navies, otherwise, I lose control of the sea, and that would be a terrible blow to a nation priding itself on its naval supremacy.

In the far north, the Continentals launched a surprise attack to take Montreal in the fall, a severe blow to British prestige. Little stands between the Continentals and Quebec, which would effectively strip British control over the former New France territory. Luckily, winter is setting in, so there will likely be time to beef up the small garrison currently stationed at Quebec before the Continentals can bring any substantial forces to bear.

The year ends with the British still in control of key areas, but a worrying trend developing as the enemy coalition grabs a promising base of strategic regions...

[ATTACH]37861[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37862[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37863[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37864[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37865[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37866[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37867[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37868[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37869[/ATTACH]
Attachments
T58-002.png
T58-001.png
T56-001.png
T54-002.png
T54-001.png
T52-001.png
T50-001.png
T53-001.png
T42-001.png

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:59 am

Phase 10: 1780, Losing Ground

The year 1780 would see losses on most fronts by the British, though their prepared defenses kept losses to a minimum. The Spanish found the most success against us, taking both Mobile and Pensacola.

In New England, a stalemate formed between Sir Grey and the Continental Army, with neither side having the strength to drive the other out. French reinforcements briefly tried to flank Grey's forces, only be bloodily repulsed. Afterwards, little movement occurred between the two armed camps in northern Massachusetts.

In the far north, British reinforcements at Quebec stopped the Continental invasion of Canada in force, though Niagra faces an overwhelming onslaught. Meanwhile, Rochembeau landed with a large army in Maryland, taking Baltimore and Alexandria, and threatening to push on to Richmond.

All in all, not a great year for the Crown, but could've been worse... 1781 could prove the decisive year.

[ATTACH]37890[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37889[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37888[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37891[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37892[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]37893[/ATTACH]
Attachments
T72-003.png
T72-002.png
T72-001.png
T70-002.png
T65-001.png
T63-001.png

User avatar
Cardinal Ape
General of the Army
Posts: 619
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:59 am

Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:49 am

The Americans seem to be making a come back, but is it already too late? Only 36 turns remain in that last screenshot. 2 to 1 combat losses.. ouch. Does this game award VP's from battles? Would wiping out an entire British force yield a significant amount?

Has Washington been relieved of a major command in favor of more competent commanders?

I finally got to play the board game Washington's War over the weekend. Some very similar things happened in both games. Quebec, Rochambeau in Savannah... 1781 was a good year for the Americans. In '82 the British accepted defeat. If that doesn't happen for Loki maybe he can flee to the remote bastion of American patriotism; Cuba.

Altaris
Posts: 1551
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm

Wed Mar 09, 2016 1:43 pm

I will post a last AAR update sometime this week, but we just reached the end of 1781 and have reached a peace accord. The British were able to stop the French in Virginia, and hold elsewhere along the line (a bit of a reverse Yorktown) at which point it seemed a good time to bring hostilities to a close. New England was granted its own parliament, while Louisiana and Alabama were granted to the Spanish (who fought well in the South). Canada reverted back to the British, and the French walked away empty-handed (except for war indemnities, which likely lead to the French Revolution in another decade).

It was a fun game, and Loki was a great opponent!

User avatar
loki100
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 2399
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 4:15 pm
Location: Caithness
Contact: Website Twitter

Thu Mar 10, 2016 7:08 pm

just to say I'm really glad that Altaris agreed to carry on. He had a clear win and nothing that happened challenged that. Maybe I needed to use my navy better but as people who have read my earlier AARs may realise - I really don't have a clue about boats. I managed to lose the Austrian navy in RoP.

I had great fun trying out all sorts of implausible schemes to get back into the game but none of the serious ones actually worked. I feel particularly let down by the French :) especially as I went to all that effort to recapture Montreal. But the Spanish were superb ... they are now the best mates of the new American parliament and there are active plans to insist that the new territory is bi-lingual :cool:
AJE The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian
PoN Manufacturing Italy; A clear bright sun
RoP The Mightiest Empires Fall
WIA Burning down the Houses; Wars in America; The Tea Wars

User avatar
Cardinal Ape
General of the Army
Posts: 619
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:59 am

Fri Mar 11, 2016 2:33 am

A great game is when the loser has as much fun as the winner. Thanks for the good show.

Stuyvesant
Lieutenant
Posts: 144
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:06 am
Location: Wilmington, NC

Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:54 pm

It was a fun game to watch and apparently it was a fun game for the two of you to play. Great!

I like that last sketch of the negotiated settlement. Interesting to speculate how North America would develop after that turnout. :)

Return to “BoA2: Wars in America AARs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests