Continental Fury_a full 1775 campaign AAR

[James D Burns]

With the release of the new manual, I feel I’ve gained some insights into a lot of things I didn’t know before about the game, so I’ve decided to play as the Continentals against the AI and do an in depth AAR of the full 1775 campaign. I’m starting my game under the 1.09e patch I found in the forums.

My opening moves are pretty basic so I skipped a few turns and start with the June 1775 turn. I’ve already sent Arnold and Schuyler leading two militia regiments and a supply wagon to Oswego from Albany to siege that fort in the opening move of a campaign to clear the forts ringing Lake Ontario. This turn I’ve dispatched the newly arrived Montgomery leading two additional militia regiments and another supply wagon from Albany to reinforce Arnold’s army at Oswego. Here’s a screenshot of the area:

Seth Warner and his rangers captured the undefended Fort at Ticonderoga this turn and I’m leaving them there as a garrison. The depleted Vermont militia has been detached and is marching to Albany to draw replacements there and serve as one of its two garrison militias.



Wards Army has been brought up to maximum command levels outside Boston. I debated swapping out the supply unit for another militia regiment, but I wanted to be sure to garrison all the southern and western cities adjacent to the Boston area to dissuade the British Cavalry unit from bypassing my siege and heading towards New York. If they go north and grab Cambridge I won’t be too worried but in past games they’ve caused no end of trouble with my reserves marching up from the New York area.

As you can see the town garrisons are plotted to join Wards army this turn. This is a gamble on my part, Washington shows up about 50/50 in June in my experience, so I wanted him to have as much combat power as possible if he does arrive. I won’t win of course but my units have a better chance of surviving the battle if I have enough numbers present.

If he fails to show I’ll give Ward Passive posture and head for the hills next turn. Provided the British don’t attack this turn that is. Here’s a screenshot:



In the far south I was lucky, Moultrie’s army of two militias showed up this turn and I’ve given him attack orders to march on Augusta. Brown’s Army is seen at Ninety Six so I assume he will be marching on Augusta as well, so battle is expected.

I detached Moultrie’s supply wagon and am sending it to Fort Watson to keep it out of harms way (don’t want to suffer the command penalty by keeping the wagon with him). I don’t want to keep it at Charleston right now since it will be captured if the small garrison there is surprised and defeated. Once the guns show up it’ll head back to hide in Charleston until needed. Here’s a screenshot:



EDIT: Got it working now, thanks Korrigan!

[James D Burns]

I guess a little strategy discussion might shed a little light on my train of thought. I’ve only played the Continentals a few times, but I’ve basically decided that Canada is a bust due to weather and the size of the Canadian forces. Arnold just doesn’t have the forces to take Canada and keep his rear covered too.

Also with the 95% reality that the British will break out of Boston early in 1775, I will probably need Arnold’s forces to return to Albany to hold that strategic town at all costs. I can’t afford to let the British delay Frances entry by capturing all the strategic cities in a single region, so I’ve decided Albany is my last stand city and will be held to the last man if necessary.

Ok I guess if it is absolutely apparent I will lose all my forces defending the place then I will pull out, but I fully intend to not allow that to happen.

In the center I’m up in the air. I’m debating trying to hold New York with as large a force as possible. I suspect if I do, Albany will be spared the full onslaught from the British who break out of Boston and Arnold will then face just the Canadian army with little help from the Boston area.

Another option would be to simply flee in the face of overwhelming forces and send Washington into the rear and attack small isolated units. I’ve generally had my Boston force decimated in the past, so I’ve never contemplated what to do with an intact army before. This go around I’ll only fight the one action at Boston and then withdraw to rebuild and train. I’m not going to stick around and try to contest every city, it simply cost me too much the few times I tried it.

I’ll fight for strategic cities of course, but only with anti-siege forces of about 4 units. The main point being that the British will have to commit a large army to the siege to reduce the place which will then hopefully free up some juicy soft targets for Washington’s main body to swoop down on and kill. This in turn probably forces the big army to lift its siege and I then flee to the hills, rinse and repeat till winter.

In my past few games I’ve found that it is pretty much an even fight in the south until the large British armies show up. I also don’t have a lot of leadership down there and I’m debating sending a two star general down from the north to allow me to create a large militia force that might have a chance to take on the British. I’ll make a final decision by winter, I want to see what my leader casualties in the north are before I decide to dispatch someone.

I have time in the south right now, so I’ll use it. But by the militia levy early in 1776 I’ll need that two star down there if I’m going to send one.

Well these are my thoughts, feel free to lambaste me at will.

I’ll keep the AAR going as long as the new patch remains stable. I want it to be interesting to all so post anything you’d like me to add or change as it goes along.

Jim

[Korrigan]

Nice AAR, I love the strategic comments, it's nice to read how you're reacting.

To embed images, I recommend Imageshack, very easy to use. Just upload the picture and then copy/paste the link into your post.

http://imageshack.us/

[Ayeshteni]

A new AAR. Jolly good. Will read with interest.

Ayeshteni

[Hobbes]

Nice AAR James. Look forward to more.
Cheers, Chris

[James D Burns]

July arrives and we find that at Oswego Arnold’s force made a breach and scored 20 hits on the defending troops there. Montgomery is just 12 days from joining Arnolds force, I’ll schedule an assault next turn after he’s joined up if the fort hasn’t fallen by then. I’m wondering though if a forts supply abilities eat up hits the way supply wagons do. Is the small force inside hurt or have the 20 hits been absorbed somehow by the intrinsic supply produced at depots and forts?

At Boston I got lucky and Washington joined Wards forces this turn. As I predicted the British cavalry unit slipped out of the siege (I really wish this wasn’t possible even when defend orders are given to the besieging force) and headed north to take Cambridge. At this point my New York area reserves are close enough that even if he heads that way now, they’ll crush him has they’ve now combined to form a large group of 4 units.

Washington’s force now consists of 2 regulars, 14 militias, 1 understrength Dragoon (2 squadrons), 1 artillery unit and 4 supply wagons. In Boston Intel shows Gage’s army with 11 units (1 is a supply wagon) and W. Howe’s army with 14 units (composition unknown). I am now faced with a dilemma.



As the screenshot shows Morgan is in Woodbury with his light rifle regiment and 3 militia units. They are 41 days march from Washington’s forces and not likely to link up in time to affect the one battle I’m willing to fight there. I can split the force and send two units each to Springfield and Hartford, or I can try and make the long march to link up with Washington outside of Boston.

If I force march the units it’ll still take 33 days to arrive, so it makes no difference as far as how many turns it’ll take, so it’s not worth the hits they’d suffer. I also noted that it makes no difference if I leave Morgan with the force or not as far as how long the march will take.

So I’ve decided to march for one more turn towards Washington with just the regiments to see if a battle ensues at Boston or not. If not they’ll head in for the link up next turn and reinforce the forces outside Boston, otherwise they should still be able to withdraw into the two strategic cities before the British if they manage to break out this turn.

I’m sending Morgan south to the city of Petersburg (42 day ride) to join up with the middle states and south central militia units that I will be gathering there to attack Norfolk with.

Morgan has the charismatic trait that helps keep my militia units from disbanding, so I want to be sure and get at least one charismatic leader to each region if I can. Joseph Warren (northerner) will be detached from Washington’s army this turn if possible and sent to Albany to cover the Middle states militias there.

If/when Arnold returns from campaigning against the forts around Lake Ontario, I’ll send Warren to Norwich to cover New England, but for now Washington will have to keep as much New England militia from leaving as he can on his own.

In the Deep South I just don’t have a charismatic leader to spare yet. If Washington eventually moves into Albany I’ll probably send Arnold to relieve Morgan and send Morgan into the Deep South.

As expected there was fighting in the deep south, however it was not against Brown’s force. Instead Moultrie met a force of 2 units (1 regular, 1 militia) at Orangeburg.

Moultrie won the battle but losses were minor on both sides. The areas of Colleton and Granville then saw two more engagements between the two forces as Moultrie continued his march but no hits were scored against either army. In both battles Moultrie forced the British to retreat. The Granville battle saw the British units retreat two zones away which allowed Moultrie to occupy the ungarrisoned town of Augusta.

You gotta love the difference the militiaman trait makes in how well militia units fight. I bet my losses would have been crippling against the regular unit had my leader not had that trait.

With the retreated British right next to Brown now and the fact they took very minor losses, I fully expect Brown to counter-attack this turn.

I’ve left the first South Carolina militia in Augusta as garrison and am sending Moultrie and the 1st Georgia militia to Camden. I hope to keep Brown tied up sieging one or the other city long enough for more rebels to appear and help me take out Ninety Six.

[James D Burns]

Montgomery joined Arnold’s force this turn and I’ve ordered an Assault posture for the formation. Arnold scored another breach this turn and caused another 15 hits to the defending troops inside. I debated trying to siege the fort to death but I want the experience for my units that comes from actually killing troops in combat, so damn the losses boys, CHARGE!

Of course this leads me to wonder if attacking troops get experience from siege if they win the siege by starving the defenders out?

Joseph Warren successfully detached from Washington’s force and is now in charge of the militia at Albany.

Another turn passes and no attack from the British at Boston. They must have failed their strategic initiative rolls or something as I fully expected to be attacked by now.

OK this is going way too far. The dang British dragoons are back inside Boston! (at least I think it’s the same unit) Well not technically inside as the entire British force appears to be outside of the city proper now having combined together under Gage’s command. Either way though, no way troops from outside should be allowed into an area under siege, whether or not the defending army is inside or outside of a city.



The fact that the British forces are all combined now under Gage’s command spells a little hope for the Continental cause. Gage is a 2-1-2 and W. Howe is a 3-3-4. That means the 50% chance that Howe had to make his strategic roll and force an attack at Boston is gone and now I only face a 33% chance that they will attack. Also Gage’s attack rating of 1 compared to Washington’s defense of 4 might make a big difference as well I hope.

This gives me the confidence to keep my reserves marching to reinforce Washington instead of having them pull back this turn. Worst case is Washington loses a battle and my reserves run smack into the British in the open and get annihilated.

Best case is no attack occurs and Washington will be on par with British strength (at least as far as numbers go) next turn. As long as Ward remains alive and in Washington’s army the militia will get the 2 TQ bonus from his militiaman trait, so hopefully I’ll have a decent chance to actually win the engagement starting next turn.

I’ve also decided to go ahead and detach Charles Lee (two star general) this turn from Washington’s army and send him to the Deep South (64 day ride to Hillsboro). He’s third in line in the seniority of my two stars in Washington’s army, but he’s a 5-2-2 leader. I can’t see letting a strategic rating of 5 go by under lesser commanders so he’ll head south and see if he can make a difference. He has no special traits but that 5 strategic rating makes him special to me.

Henry Lee appeared at Alexandria this turn and is ordered to go to Petersburg with his militia unit to join up with Morgan and the other militias next turn.

Boy did I get a surprise in the Deep South. Brown arrived in the Colleton area in time to intercept Moultrie. I had assumed the road would allow my troops to easily traverse the distance to Camden from Augusta long before any British could arrive and got caught by surprise there.

The battle was a close one, Moultrie suffered two hits and Brown suffered three. But this made all the difference and Brown lost 3 of his 4 companies while Moultrie lost none.

The first Georgia is a battered shell right now but it still has all four of its companies. Two are completely red, one is ¾ red and the last is ½ red, but all four companies made it through.

The two British units that I had expected to join up with Brown withdrew into Ninety Six, so luckily for Moultrie he only had to fight Browns single militia unit.

[James D Burns]

Arnold’s assault goes in at Oswego and he captures the fort and only suffers 1 hit to his forces. After leaving a militia unit behind as a garrison to try and bring down Tory sentiment in the area, Arnold’s army is given orders to march on the British objective town of Fort Niagara. It’ll take 32 days to arrive (can’t order a forced march for some reason) so Arnold will arrive in November.

I hope the two supply wagons with his army are enough to carry them through an assault on the fort when they arrive. Winter can be brutal so I hope to storm the fort before my army freezes to death. It all depends on how long my supply wagons can last.

Ethan Allen and his rangers appeared at Norwich this turn. I hadn’t noticed before that he is charismatic and have always left him guarding Norwich. I’ve ordered him to meet with and join Arnolds force at Fort Niagara in two months. He’s a northerner so he’ll relieve Arnold and continue campaigning against the forts while Arnold heads to Norfolk so Morgan can head into the Deep South. I ordered Arnold’s move after the screenshot so the image doesn’t show him headed solo towards Albany yet with passive orders.



Not a great turn for the rebellion in New England, but not a totally bad turn either. The British finally attack outside of Boston and Washington loses the battle. What is totally baffling to me is why he lost. Total number of hits was very minor for the size of the armies committed and it appears it was due to Washington choosing to flee.

Here are the modifiers listed in the pop-ups you get when hovering the mouse over each of the little colored boxes at the bottom of the battle Report. (I didn’t list commander mods as they are apparent and expected already)

Continental boxes:
At least one army/fleet had a defensive posture
Your luck rate on the combat dice rolls is 51.
At the start of combat, there were 71 of your sub-units that benefited from favorable ground.
During the battle, your sub-units failed 9 morale checks.
At the start of combat, there were 71 sub-units of your side on the battlefield.
Your units opened fire at an initial range of 5.
You have attempted 1 attempt(s) to retreat.

British boxes:
At least one army/fleet of your opponent had an assault posture.
Your opponents luck rate on the combat dice rolls is 48.
At the start of combat, there were 0 sub-units of your opponent that benefited from favorable ground.
During the battle your opponent’s sub-units failed 13 morale checks.
At the start of combat, there were 4 sub-units of your opponent that were not commanded.
At the start of combat there were 70 sub-units of the opposing side on the battlefield.
Opponent’s units opened fire at an initial range of 5.

The scales:
Global combat value of the units initially committed: your side: 603, the opponent: 640.
Total number of hits suffered: your side 107, the opponent 110.

As I look this over it appears that the continental army had a slight edge in everything except initial combat values. But Washington still chose to roll for a retreat on day 1 hour 1 and succeeded. My question is why? I had the army set to defensive posture, not passive, so why the choice to retreat even before the battle had begun?

If it’s a morale question, the British suffered more failures than the Continentals, so you would think that would have heartened the defense. But for some odd reason my commander in chief decides to turn tail and run and now the British are unleashed!



Washington’s retreat path was the worst of all possible choices as well. The first thing I felt when looking over the screen was very claustrophobic. Were I facing a human opponent I have no doubt I’d soon be trapped there and crushed.

I have ordered him to march to Hartford with a defensive posture. I don’t want to fight the British again, but getting his army between them and the totally exposed middle states is imperative lest the British go on a rampage all the way to Richmond unopposed.

LOL hindsight being 20/20 I should have sent my reserves to Hartford and Springfield. As it is they attacked or rather were attacked by a single British militia unit in the area of Worcester and defeated it after inflicting 3 hits (hearts) on it.

They then proceeded to march through the Boston region (to my utter HORROR), but were (thankfully) unmolested and they joined Washington in New Bedford. So there they now sit with me wishing they were back in the two strategic towns that are now closer to the British than to my continental forces.

After he retreated to New Bedford, Washington ran into a British force there commanded by John Burgoyne. It consisted of the British Dragoons and an Indian unit of all things. The force was wiped out, but to my chagrin Sir, Benjamin Lincoln was killed in the battle. I have overwhelming force but my second in command dies even though we suffered no hits (hearts) and wiped out the British? According to the scales my side suffered 4 hits, the opponents side 33.

Charles Lee who had attempted to detach from Washington’s army at Boston so he could head south was wounded and went to Springfield to recover. Now I lose Sir, Benjamin Lincoln and suddenly Washington’s army’s command ability is down to 30.

With his usage now at 27 he is teetering on the brink of trouble, but I’ve decided to keep Charles Lee heading south for now.

Daniel Morgan and Henry Lee have arrived at Petersburg and I’ve formed their army and given it orders to march on Norfolk with an offensive posture. Intel shows a British leader commanding 1 regular and 1 militia at Norfolk, so the battle is far from certain. Unlike in the north and south there are no leaders with the militiaman trait present to enhance my militia units fighting ability. Morgan is a 4 on offense though so I’m hopeful things will go well.



In the Deep South, William Campbell appeared at Hillsboro this turn and I’ve given him orders to march up the road to Charlotte with an offensive posture. A North Carolina militia appeared at Camden this turn, so I’ve left the battered Georgians on garrison there and ordered Moultrie to march up the road towards Charlotte from the south, also with an offensive posture.

I hope to catch the Tory militia spotted by Intel between the two and wipe it out while keeping Charlotte from changing hands thus preventing any anti-continental loyalty rolls in the area. If I catch the militia and my losses are low, I’ll then combine the two leaders and gather up my other Deep South militia for a drive on Ninety Six.

[James D Burns]

Montgomery’s army (formerly Arnold’s) is just 8 days march from Fort Niagara and detects Hamilton’s army (2 units) inside that fort. I’m hoping the 2 units count includes the leader Hamilton and 1 garrison unit. If it’s 2 units and a leader I probably don’t have a chance at storming the fort. Ethan Allen is just 14 days ride away from the fort so I’ll be set for an assault next turn. I’m really hoping Montgomery gets a breach this turn and causes some hits (not sure if it’s even possible since he doesn’t start the turn already sieging the fort).



New England saw a strange turn. Gage’s main British army remained at Boston apparently due to the fact Gage was replaced By Sir, William Howe as commander in chief. That or they simply remained there to defend against a possible move by Washington from New Bedford to Boston.

Whatever the reason I’m glad for the respite. It allows me to make up for the gaff I committed with my reserves last turn. I’ve created a small detachment from the main army lead by Colonel John Glover and his intrinsic Marblehead regiment. It consists of Morgan’s light rifle regiment and the battered 1st Dragoons regiment.

Basically three formations that do not need the benefit of Washington’s training ability or charisma. They’ll head directly into Springfield to garrison the place and act as a holding force long enough for the main army to come to their relief should it be needed.

The rest of the main army is almost recovered from the battle fought at Boston and will remain in place to train and rebuild until British moves require a response. I contemplated moving against the British 38th Foot regiment sitting in the region of Norwich, but chances are Howe’s army will be moving in there and I’d like to remain behind the river in case there’s a battle.



At New York I’ve managed to get the 3rd New Jersey militia unit into the city already to augment the fixed garrison there. I also have the 1st Maryland militia one area away also set to move into the city on arrival. Finally William Alexander appeared at Morristown this turn and is also set to march into New York, so I’ll have a decent (if temporary) garrison there should Washington suffer any major problems with his blocking mission in the next few turns till severe winter finally sets in.

At Norfolk Morgan’s army arrived and laid siege to the place. Inside the city Intel detects Lord Dunmore’s army (3 units), so again I’m hoping the commander is one of those three units. Morgan will maintain a siege to hopefully cause some hits before attempting to storm the place. Once winter is imminent in his region though, he’ll launch an all out assault whether or not he’s damaged the defenders yet since he has no supply on hand to sustain a winter siege.

The Deep South went very well for the continental cause this turn. William Campbell ran into the Tory unit first at Trading Ford, then at Salisbury. In both battles Campbell suffered no heart hits, but caused hits on the enemy unit. The second battle saw all four enemy companies destroyed and both Campbell and Moultrie met up at Charlotte as planned.

Given the low damage to the militia unit under Campbell’s command, I’ve decided to go ahead with my planned assault on Ninety six. I’ve ordered the combined army under Campbell’s command to march to Colleton this turn with offensive posture. I’ve additionally ordered the two garrison units from Augusta and Camden to that region with defensive posture. All units should arrive there this turn if unmolested by the British.

The 2nd Georgia arrived at Savannah this turn and I’ve given it force march orders to Augusta to enter there as garrison.

If all goes well I should have 4 full strength militia (I’m hoping 1st North Carolina rebuilds at Charlotte before leaving) units ready to head towards Ninety six at the start of next turn and Augusta should be covered against any British moves coming from south of the Savannah River.



Edit: Almost forgot to mention I made a last minute change to my plans with Arnold. It will take him 34 days to ride to Norfolk, so that means he won't be available if an assault is needed next turn, so I Diverted him to head into the deep south. Militia withdrawal occurs in January and I wanted to be sure I have a charismatic leader in charge of my southern troops by then.

So Arnold will go to the Deep South for the winter and swap out with Morgan in spring after the first disbandment period is over. I would love to have his militiaman trait available for the assault on Norfolk, but chances are he won’t make it there in time. So better to be safe than sorry. How bad would it be to be on the verge of taking Ninety six and have all my militia up and go home?

[James D Burns]

Winter arrives and Montgomery gets lucky. Harsh weather is just one area west of Fort Niagara but his local area is still pleasant. No doubt harsh weather will arrive next turn, so I’ve ordered an assault posture and am hoping I don’t lose any commanders. Ethan Allen has joined him and I’d hate to lose a charismatic leader on a risky fortress assault. But I know what’s coming this spring and I doubt I’ll be able to attempt to take this fort again for some time, so in we go.

Keeping my militia unit at Oswego hasn’t made a difference in the loyalty levels, so I’ve ordered it and the garrison from Fort Stanwix to march to Albany. With winter arriving Indian attacks aren’t likely and I’ll probably lose the militia in January anyway if they stay put, so better to risk it for a few months now and possibly keep one or both units for the next season then to see them disappear altogether possibly till late 1776.



At Fort Ticonderoga Henry Knox and the big siege guns finally arrive. This allows me to send Henry Warner to Norwich to assume command of the mountain boys ranger unit garrisoning that city. Warner’s rangers will stay behind with Knox and the siege guns to garrison Ticonderoga until the first levies.

In New England the British are still playing it cautiously. Howe’s army moved to Worcester and sits ominously close to Springfield and Hartford. I’ve decided that since John Glover’s unit and the 1st Dragoons aren’t drawing any replacement companies yet (none available), I’ve probably under garrisoned Springfield given the size of Howe’s main force.

So I’ve taken a gamble and sent John Patterson and my only two continental regular regiments to beef up Springfield in case Howe goes for a direct assault or siege this turn. I’m assuming Patterson outranks Glover so his engineer trait (+1 siege bonus) should help by offsetting the +1 Howe would get in a siege for his artillery, thus requiring a breach first to get a +1 advantage. Winter would then do its work on Howe’s forces while he attempts to breach.

Of course Patterson’s defense rating of 3 is considerably less than Glover’s 6, but I’m at a loss as to whether this is a good or bad move overall. I wish I knew the inner workings of everything better. Is a higher defense rating better overall than offsetting a +1 siege advantage? I have no idea.

The risk of course is that Washington isn’t able to keep many militias on map and both cities then get besieged and I’m no longer strong enough to break one. But hopefully winter will be harsh and the British will stay put.

By the way, I found a contradiction in the new manual. Siege combat says “+1 per leader with the engineer or fort defender ability”, but both traits are listed in the Appendices section that says they only benefit an army if the leader is the commander in chief. I gambled and assumed Patterson had no effect while in Washington’s army, so it was safe to dispatch him to Springfield.



Given the cautious nature of Howe’s moves, I decided it was safe to attempt to get Alexander and his 3 militia units from New York to Hartford to join Washington for the January disbandment rolls. If Alexander makes the force march attempt they will enter Hartford in 28 days otherwise they’ll be left out in the cold next turn and have to finish the march in the snow.

Norfolk saw an inconclusive battle between Morgan’s army of 3 militia and Lord Dunmore’s army of 2 militia. Losses were light with Morgan suffering 1 hit and Dunmore 2. The bad news is Harsh weather struck in the region and has killed any dreams I had of storming Norfolk.

Without supply on hand weather hits are going to brutalize Morgan’s army, so I’ve ordered him to march to Petersburg for the winter. I’ve left him on attack posture in the ever so slight chance that Dunmore might sortie again this turn and give Morgan one final shot at grabbing Norfolk.



Looks like I’ve been outfoxed in the Deep South. 2 British regiments appeared and set siege to Charleston this turn, and Brown and his Georgia Tories grabbed Ramseur’s Mill and are poised to capture the undefended city of Charlotte.

AARGH! In an attempt to save an extra move, I sent everything to Colleton to merge there this turn. Had I marched cross country directly to Ninety Six, I would have intercepted brown. Now he’s poised to go who knows where and I have nothing left between him and Norfolk.

I’ve divided Campbell’s army in two. Campbell with the 1st and 2nd North Carolinians will march to Charlotte via Camden with attack posture, hoping to intercept Brown somewhere along that route. Moultrie with the 1st Georgian and 1st South Carolina will march to Charleston and then counter-march back towards Granville.

It’s a 34 day march total, so Moultrie should end the turn at Colleton again placing him close enough to merge with Campbell and Arnold by the end of December in preparation for the January disbandment rolls.

[James D Burns]

Montgomery’s assault goes in and he captures Fort Niagara. Casualties are high since he faced regular British troops. Montgomery suffers 5 hits and loses 3 militia companies and Henry Hamilton’s 2 regular companies are wiped out.

I’ve left the battered militia units in Fort Niagara with Ethan Allen. Montgomery and Schuyler are going to ice skate across the now frozen lake Ontario and winter for a turn at Oswego. Allen’s charismatic ability only works if he is the commander in chief, so I don’t want to take a chance the die roll mod won’t apply if a higher ranked leader is present in the area Allen’s army is in.



In New England Howe’s army moved south and captured Providence. I’m hoping he stays put and winters there. Sir, Henry Clinton with the slightly depleted 1st Grenadiers captured New London.

I’m tempted to send a couple militias to New Haven, but I’m not going to fall into the trap of trying to defend everything like I’ve done in past games where I played the Continentals. It just eventually leads to my utter destruction, so I’ll stay put and keep the main army together. I’ll only head out of winter quarters with the entire main army if the British make a dash for New York with a force large enough to threaten the small garrison there.

I noticed my command ability is over by 1 in Springfield, so I dispatched John Clark there to bring command ability above usage to prevent combat penalties. I also see the John Glover is still the commander of the Springfield army even though he’s a colonel and John Patterson is a Brigadier General. So, so much for the issue raised about the siege adjustment vs. defense rating last turn, it’s a mute point.



Morgan’s army reached winter quarters at Petersburg after suffering 7 damages from bad weather.

In the Deep South, Moultrie attacked the two British units besieging Charleston and forced them to retreat after causing 1 hit. He then countermarched as ordered and fought another decisive battle at Orangeburg and wiped out the two units suffering only two hits in return.

That wily fox Brown out-smarted me again. In what appears to be a psychic move on his part. Brown marched from Ramseur’s Mill to Augusta to capture that undefended city after my garrison there had moved out towards Camden this turn to link up next turn with Arnold and his charismatic trait.

The loss of Augusta caused some loyalty rolls and I lost support in Norfolk (21%) and Chicasaivo (22%). For those wondering as I did, Chicasaivo is the name of the area around Augusta.

I’ve ordered all militia units into Camden to join with Arnold and all other leaders are heading to Fort Watson so as not to interfere with the disbandment rolls. Man I hope disbandment goes well, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get things organized.

[James D Burns]

Well my efforts regarding the disbandment leaders seem to have made a difference. Ethan Allen keeps 2 out of 3 militias with him at Fort Niagara. Joseph Warren keeps 2 out of 3 as well at Albany. Lucky for me the 1st Connecticut militia which failed to make it to Albany from Oswego in time for the assist in its disbandment roll, converts to regular status at Dayton.

I’ve given it orders to head to Fort Stanwix where it will serve as a permanent garrison for that strategic location.

Ethan Allen will remain at Fort Niagara for the winter. The 4th New York militia is down to 1 company and it is ¾ red, so any move out in bad weather risks losing it. Montgomery and Schuyler will rejoin Allen this turn.



In New England 3 militia units convert to regular status and Washington manages to keep 9 militia units from disbanding. So basically about half the army he had went home.

I’ll have to recombine the entire army as soon as winter lifts, he’s pretty weak now compared to Howe’s army and any day now huge British reinforcements will be landing at Boston.

Henry Clinton with his depleted grenadiers moved to Woodbury this turn. He must have failed his strategic roll as New Haven didn’t change hands as it should have had he had attack posture set.

I’m not too concerned about Clinton moving on New York, I doubt he has the strength to take the place and I should get new troops in the spring down there to eventually drive him out. I need to keep Washington in his blocking position as long as possible to keep Howe in cautious mode if possible.

Nathaniel Greene and 1 Rhode Island militia appeared at Providence this turn. I’ve set him on attack stance and given him orders to join Washington. He’s only 8 days march from New London, so I’m gambling that he’ll make it there before Howe can move to attack him. This should change both cities back to Continental control thus slowing the British down ever so slightly this spring.

Howe took Newport this turn, the only loss of support caused by that loss was at Dinwiddie (70%) (Petersburg). This apparently affected Morgan’s militia units disbandment rolls as they all went home. leure:



Of course this screws Morgan and the South Central region as the British are already moving out of Norfolk and have taken Portsmouth. I’ve ordered Morgan and Lee to flee to Alexandria in the hopes something arrives in time to prevent the loss of all strategic cities in the region.



The Deep South went very well, Arnold kept 4 of 5 militia units active at Camden. 2 are in bad shape from the fighting around Charleston, so I’ll keep Arnold at Camden this turn while the rest of the Deep South leadership moves to rejoin the army there. Next turn they’ll move on Augusta, then Ninety Six.

[James D Burns]

In northern New York Prescott captures Fort Edward from the Continentals and continues marching south to arrive at Hoseck, the area just east of Albany. Intel show’s he has one unit with him but details are sketchy.

The turn report text area states “The soldiers of 5th Continental have been trained with success”, but there is no training officer with them. I guess troops will train on their own as well. The troops did spend a considerable period of time with Washington last year (has training trait level 2), so perhaps it’s simply that training taking effect after a delayed period.

In New England Howe marched to Worcester again retaking Providence right after Greene had taken it. Clinton has marched back to the Middleton area capturing New Haven along his march. It appears he will retake New London next turn.



Greene arrived at Hartford and I have added his militia unit to Washington’s army. Greene will ride to Annapolis this turn to meet up with Morgan and Lee. Greene has the Patriot leader trait and the South Central region desperately needs the 25% boost he’ll give to levies in whatever region he occupies when levies are drawn.

He also has the militiaman trait and is charismatic, so I’ll just leave Arnold in the Deep South for as long as Greene will be operating with Morgan in the South Central region.

Anthony Wayne arrived leading his light regiment at Philadelphia and I’ve given him orders to march to Annapolis as well. His troops will have to hold the line under Green’s command until the spring levies arrive or another historically appearing unit like his pops up. Next turn they’ll march to Alexandria and garrison it if it hasn’t fallen to the British by then.

Lord Dunmore isn’t wasting any time however, both Petersburg and Richmond fell this turn, along with the non-strategic town of Williamsburg. Both Charlottesville and Alexandria could very well fall this coming turn.

I’ve sent the Chesapeake naval transport unit to Philadelphia harbor just in case, I hope the British navy isn’t sailing about near Norfolk or something.



In the Deep South I’ve formed up Charles Lee’s army at Camden and given them attack posture to march on Augusta. They should arrive in two turns. They have a supply wagon with them but I’m hoping the winter clears enough in the region that they won’t need to use it.



Prompted by my thoughts on the naval transport unit at Alexandria, I’ve also ordered all Bateaux units along the coast to dock at the furthest inland ports that I control along their rivers. No sense giving the British easy modes of transport to cut me off with.

The Hudson River is still frozen however, so the New York Bateaux units will have to wait before heading to Albany.

[James D Burns]

As the winter appears to be subsiding in his region, I’ve given Montgomery orders to cross frozen Lake Ontario before it thaws and besiege Fort Toronto. The 4th New York only has one company left, so I won’t be doing any assault postures unless I can get a breach in the fort first.



In New England Prescott set siege to Springfield with his slightly depleted unit of Cameronians 25/34. Additionally Howe marched towards Hartford but failed to cross the river and ended his turn in the area of Norwich which has snow and Harsh Winter weather.

I’m anticipating he will cross the river this turn, but I don’t know if he’ll head to Springfield or Hartford, so I’ve devised a risky plan.

Colonel John Glover and his garrison have attack posture orders and are plotted to march to Hartford and enter the city on arrival. I’ve left Washington in Hartford but changed him to attack posture so he’ll (hopefully) attack Howe if he crosses the river in defense mode in an attempt not to have a battle with the river penalty applied.

What I’d like to happen is this. Glover attacks and defeats Prescott, then arrives and joins Washington before Howe can cross the river, so my Continental army is as strong as possible. Hopefully the winter weather will cause Howe a lot of hits and deplete his supply wagons enough that he’ll be prompted to leave the Hartford area next turn so Washington can withdraw towards Albany.

We’ll see if I get my wish, chances are Howe will cross into Springfield and defeat Glover in detail leaving my main army severely short of regular units. Howe may also beat Glover to Hartford, defeat Washington and then defeat Glover in two separate battles. I’m really growing nervous as I type this.



My naval transport made it to Delaware Bay unmolested, so it appears it’ll make it to Philadelphia ok.

Greene and company all arrived at Annapolis and I’ve formed them into an army of one brave unit. I’ve plotted him to march in a way that he’ll reach Petersburg by the end of the month and hopefully retake all three lost strategic cities this turn. Prince Edward fell to the British this turn, so I assume that is where Lord Dunmore went. The lone Tory should hopefully be no problem since it has no leader present. Of course it may dash in to take Alexandria, but I need as many strategic cities under my control as possible for the Spring levy rolls.



Charles Lee is 6 days march from Augusta which appears empty. I’ve therefore given his army orders to continue marching on Ninety Six after taking Augusta and they should arrive there in 21 days.

[Pocus]

Of course this leads me to wonder if attacking troops get experience from siege if they win the siege by starving the defenders out?

no, a unit gets experience only by killing another unit.

OK this is going way too far. The dang British dragoons are back inside Boston! (at least I think it’s the same unit) Well not technically inside as the entire British force appears to be outside of the city proper now having combined together under Gage’s command. Either way though, no way troops from outside should be allowed into an area under siege, whether or not the defending army is inside or outside of a city.

cavalry and irregulars are supposed to ignore such restrictions but its perhaps a bit too easy then... to be improved (perhaps in the next patch if time allows).

(can’t order a forced march for some reason) so Arnold will arrive in November.

I hope the two supply wagons with his army are enough to carry them through an assault on the fort when they arrive. Winter can be brutal so I hope to storm the fort before my army freezes to death. It all depends on how long my supply wagons can last.

armies with wagons or arties can't force march.

Global combat value of the units initially committed: your side: 603, the opponent: 640.
Total number of hits suffered: your side 107, the opponent 110.

As I look this over it appears that the continental army had a slight edge in everything except initial combat values. But Washington still chose to roll for a retreat on day 1 hour 1 and succeeded. My question is why? I had the army set to defensive posture, not passive, so why the choice to retreat even before the battle had begun?

If it’s a morale question, the British suffered more failures than the Continentals, so you would think that would have heartened the defense. But for some odd reason my commander in chief decides to turn tail and run and now the British are unleashed!

believe me, George mades a wise choice... First he retreated after one hour of battle, not before battle. Second when Washy want to retreats, he often succeed (this has saved the rebellion quite a number of time). Now the why? Because he has a little chance of wanting retreat (as he was slightly weaker, all things accounted) and rolled the right dice.

And you would have lost, things getting more and more ugly as hours passed, if things had dragged on. A slight combat advantage is enough to tip the balance in a kind of snow balling effect in battle (which is a very complex module with hundreds of variables accounted), especially when the British would have closed in melee. The reports indicates that your value is 603 and the British value 640, but what it does'nt says is the average value of your units compared to the ones of the British. And it matters much. Quality is on their side for now.

It consisted of the British Dragoons and an Indian unit of all things. The force was wiped out, but to my chagrin Sir, Benjamin Lincoln was killed in the battle. I have overwhelming force but my second in command dies even though we suffered no hits (hearts) and wiped out the British?

plain bad luck... Each hour your leaders check for casualty. And it can be from friendly fire, this occured more often than it seems. Or just pretends that the indians managed to bypass your line and stumbled on Lincoln staff or something like that.

hoping Montgomery gets a breach this turn and causes some hits (not sure if it’s even possible since he doesn’t start the turn already sieging the fort)

checked on day 1 and only if the troop is not moving

Of course Patterson’s defense rating of 3 is considerably less than Glover’s 6, but I’m at a loss as to whether this is a good or bad move overall. I wish I knew the inner workings of everything better. Is a higher defense rating better overall than offsetting a +1 siege advantage? I have no idea.

Differents things really. The siege bonus applies to the siege roll, if the enemy don't assault... Depending of the result, you can prevent a breach or taking hits from being besieged (and it only applies if the leader is the commander, strange as it seems as I thought it would apply in all case). On the other hand going from 3 to 6 in defence rating means your troops fight 15% better, in case of assault.

I also see the John Glover is still the commander of the Springfield army even though he’s a colonel and John Patterson is a Brigadier Genera

strange yes, perhaps a problem in the DB. We will see that PhilThib and I.
Rank name are given only for flavor and are customized for each leader on the other hand (you even have some ranks in spanish for the spanish leaders...)

That wily fox Brown out-smarted me again. In what appears to be a psychic move on his part. Brown marched from Ramseur’s Mill to Augusta to capture that undefended city after my garrison there had moved out towards Camden this turn to link up next turn with Arnold and his charismatic trait.

sometime the AI is asked to make a suboptimal move with the hope it leads to something unexpected

The turn report text area states “The soldiers of 5th Continental have been trained with success”, but there is no training officer with them. I guess troops will train on their own as well. The troops did spend a considerable period of time with Washington last year (has training trait level 2), so perhaps it’s simply that training taking effect after a delayed period.

would be cool, this delayed effect but no In 76' you get some free continentals conversion, that's all...

[James D Burns]

Montgomery arrives at Fort Toronto and sets siege to the place.

The New York Bateaux’s arrive at Albany harbor.

Clinton and his Grenadiers leave New Haven and capture Peekskill.

At Springfield the British successfully retreat before battle and are seen moving towards Norwich and then are lost sight of.

Glover successfully joins Washington and during the turns replay it appears Howe crosses the river, but no battle ensues and at the turn end he is still in Norwich. Howe’s army also does not appear to be too bad off from winter hits, so battle is expected this turn.

I’ve moved the Continental Army outside of Hartford since winter is gone to guarantee Washington will attack Howe as he crosses the Connecticut River. Hopefully the penalty will give the Continentals the advantage and we can attrition the British pretty well before withdrawing towards Albany or New York.

Washington’s army consists of Glover’s now fully reinforced marine regiment, Morgan’s Light Regiment, 5 Continental Regulars, 10 Militia Regiments, 1 Artillery unit and the 1st Dragoons with 2 squadrons of cavalry. He also has 5 Supply Wagons on hand.

Howe appears to have 17 combat units in his army some being slightly depleted, so the battle should hopefully favor the Continentals due to the river penalty, I hope, I hope, I hope. Looking at the new manual it specifically states major rivers give a bonus, but there is no mention of one for minor rivers.

I’m hoping it’s just an oversight and some bonus applies for the defense in my situation.



Nathaniel Greene and his little army succeeded in taking back all three strategic cities without a fight.

Hillsboro fell this turn however, it appears Lord Dunmore and the Tory unit headed that way instead of towards Alexandria. Brown of all leaders showed up this turn outside of Hillsboro having last been seen in Augusta a few turns ago. He’s in command of a militia unit so I’m guessing it’s the Tory unit seen in Charlottesville last turn.

Greene will march to Norfolk with attack orders and then counter march back to Appomattox to end the turn near the road. Hopefully Norfolk isn’t garrisoned and I can scoop it up real quick as well.

I’m sending Anthony Wayne to Alexandria since he’s a training officer and I don’t want to risk losing him in battle.



In the Deep South Lee took Augusta and then arrived at Ninety Six and set siege. I’ve gone ahead and ordered an assault posture since Lord Dunmore and Brown will possibly be moving on Charlotte and Camden this coming turn and I don’t have time for a lengthy siege. With 4-1 odds and a supply wagon on hand I hope casualties are not too high.

Various supply wagons arrived as reinforcements this turn and have been ordered to join with local armies wherever possible.

[James D Burns]

May 1776

Montgomery fails to achieve anything while sieging Fort Toronto.

In New England I chickened out at the last minute and switched Washington to defensive posture since I wasn’t sure if he would gain a river bonus in combat or not. Well of course there is then a river bonus present when I check the battle report…

The battle fought was indecisive again but this time it went 2 hours and I took far more hits than the British did. I guess the river bonus isn’t as powerful as I thought it was going to be.

You’d think it would be near impossible to launch an assault across a river against a prepared and deployed enemy army in 1776. Perhaps if I was in attack posture and my troops attacked while the enemy was actually crossing in their boats I would have gotten a better bonus? Not sure if that is modeled or not, but there should definitely be a better bonus for defending behind a river.

Washington retreated to Springfield, but I’ve decided not to stick around anymore with large British reinforcements due any day now. I’ve ordered him to move to Albany to train and rebuild.



I had assumed the spring levies would have appeared by now so I checked the manual and was alarmed to learn they are supposed to be levied in February and July each year. Does that mean I failed to levy anything in February? Looks like I’m in real trouble, I had assumed I’d have troops to garrison New York and Philly with but no way will those cities still be mine by July, now that Howe is free to head south.

Greene’s army succeeded in capturing an undefended Norfolk, but then Lord Dunmore snuck in behind him and took Portsmouth. So Norfolk will fall to him this turn. I’ve ordered Greene to repeat last turns attack posture march and counter-march to try and take care of the pesky Lord Dunmore once and for all.



In the Deep South Lee took Ninety Six by storm suffering a single hit. I’ve ordered him to march towards Camden to rest his militia and merge with the new supply wagon that appeared there.

That crafty little bugger Brown has again disappeared, no telling where he’s going to turn up.

[Leibst]

Veeeeeeeery interesting AAR, go on with it! great work

[Pocus]

I had assumed the spring levies would have appeared by now so I checked the manual and was alarmed to learn they are supposed to be levied in February and July each year. Does that mean I failed to levy anything in February? Looks like I’m in real trouble, I had assumed I’d have troops to garrison New York and Philly with but no way will those cities still be mine by July, now that Howe is free to head south.

there is no levies in Feb 76 from the generic levy system, you are reinforced by scripted events. The first levy is the july 76 one. No worries

[James D Burns]

Montgomery’s small band manages to get 5 hits on the garrison inside Fort Toronto. I may send another unit or two to assist him if the British don’t move on Albany right away.

I’ve changed my mind on how to conduct my war. Given the fact rivers are not nearly as good as I thought when defending behind them, Albany no longer looks like a good city to conduct a do or die fight from. So instead I’ll be leaving garrisons of militias only, in both Albany and Fort Stanwix once Washington’s army has rebuilt.

Washington will stay mobile and gather all regular units to his banner that appear in northern New York and New England. I don’t want to lose any regular units to British sieges, so only militias will take on the role of garrison troops once my levies finally start to arrive.

Washington will hide in the wilderness and conduct raids against strategic locations to try and keep any regions in the north from becoming 100% British controlled. Hopefully his army will slowly grow in size until it can one day face a large British army and actually have a chance at winning.

New England is down to 1 strategic location left (Norwich), so once I’ve rebuilt his army Washington will loiter around Norwich to oppose any British moves on that city. He’ll also look for opportunities to grab Boston or Springfield if he can.

So I’ll need an extra charismatic leader for Fort Stanwix now to try and keep the militia garrison I’ll be placing there around from season to season. I’ve dispatched Morgan from the Richmond area to ride to Fort Stanwix this turn.

Colonel Nicholas Herkimer will be going to Dayton to take command of the colonist unit there. His Indian fighting trait should help them survive against any raids the Indians may launch on that fort. I’ll replace them with a full militia unit should the British ever unlock them.

I’m sending John Stark to Norwich to take command of the Mountain Boys ranger unit, his partisan ability enhances irregular troops. Seth Warner is going to Ticonderoga to take command of his ranger unit there once again.

Henry Knox is marching south to join Washington with his siege guns and the supply wagon. His artillerist trait gives a bonus to artillery in any army he’s with whether or not he’s in command, so that should help boost the Continental army’s fighting ability a bit.

W. Howe left the main British army and took Ridgefield just north of New York with 3 units. I expect he’ll besiege New York this turn which unfortunately only has its small fixed garrison present.

Richard Prescott a 1 star general is now in command of the main body of Howe’s army at Hartford. Intel shows it has 12 units, 1 artillery unit and 1 supply unit on hand.

Clinton and his grenadiers are still at Springfield which they took this turn and the 42nd foot is at Worcester. Other than a supply wagon at New Haven, I have no intel on the rest of the units from Howe’s army or any new British arrivals.



Nathaniel Greene won his battle against Lord Dunmore, but only caused 2 hits on Dunmore’s troops without killing any companies. Norfolk is again ours and I’ve plotted Greene to move in such a way this turn as to retake all British positions remaining in is area ending his move at Hillsboro. There is no sign of Dunmore, so he may appear and retake Norfolk once again.



In the Deep South Lord Charles Cornwallis has landed and captured Wilmington. Cross Creek was also taken by what intel shows to be 2 units. Could this be the elusive Brown, or perhaps just a detachment from Cornwallis’ force?

Lee is plotted to arrive at Camden this turn. He’ll stay there until the levies and remain in reaction mode. Being outnumbered right now I’ll leave it up to British moves as to what he’ll do.

Hopefully the levies in July will be good and once I have them gathered under one command, I’ll be able to go on the offensive against Cornwallis’ small (and hopefully divided) force.

[James D Burns]

Montgomery’s army captures Fort Toronto, but he is now in very deep trouble. Intel shows a British Bateaux fleet at the Niagara Mouth with 9 regulars, 1 artillery unit and 2 supply wagons aboard! I guess the AI got tired of me taking their forts.

I’ve ordered Schuyler and the full strength 5th Connecticut militia into garrison at Fort Toronto. Schuyler is a slow mover so if anyone has to stay behind as a sacrifice it’s him. I’ve given the rest of Montgomery’s army passive posture with orders to beat feet outta the area.

I’m hoping the AI is going to land at Fort Toronto and not the British objective town of Fort Niagara. Chances are he’ll land at Fort Niagara though and decimate the retreating Montgomery and his 1 remaining militia company. Yep 1 unit left with only 1 company in it, I'm toast.

I am very impressed with the AI’s move here. It caught me with my pants down.



Levies arrived this turn and I got a little lucky. Numbers were not large, but Norwich saw 2 regulars and 1 militia show up just as Clinton and his grenadiers made a move north, so that city is safe while Washington’s army rebuilds for another turn or two.

In addition to the above 3 units, 1 Regular showed up at Albany and 1 militia at Pittsfield. I’ve ordered the Pittsfield militia to join Washington at Albany.

I’ve also ordered 3 of Washington’s militia units to march to Fort Stanwix and the Fort Stanwix regular to join Washington. I was going to only send 2 militias but with the British move into the Niagara area I think an extra militia is warranted.

In addition to Clinton, Colonel Barry St. Leger showed up at Fort Edward. If he moves on Ticonderoga I’ll have to send a relief column as no levies appeared there as I had hoped.



Prescott with 9 units, 1 artillery and 2 supply wagons has besieged New York.

In the area around Philadelphia, levies were moderate. 1 regular arrived at Philadelphia, 1 militia at Wilmington and 1 militia and 1 regular at Baltimore. All units have been ordered to Philadelphia along with Anthony Wayne and Robert Howe. Not a large force, but perhaps large enough to dissuade a Direct assault by landing.

Parkers Fleet has shown up in the Delaware Estuary with 3 ships and 2 transports, but Intel isn’t showing any land units, so I’m not sure if a landing will take place or not.



At Richmond 1 regular and 1 militia arrived. They’ve been ordered to Petersburg to join the 1 regular that arrived there.

2 militia arrived at the just retaken Hillsboro and they’ve joined Greene with orders to move to Petersburg as well. Once combined at Petersburg Greene’s new and improved army will march on Norfolk again as a British Tory appeared there and retook it.

In the Deep South, 2 militia appeared at Charleston and 1 militia and 1 regular at Savannah. Both groups have been given forced march orders to join Charles Lee at Camden. If they fail their forced marches it’ll take an extra turn for them to combine.

Lee will stay put as Cornwallis didn’t move away from Wilmington this turn. Brown and his single Tory unit however (turns out it was him at Cross Creek) took Charlotte and is probably going to move on Ninety Six this turn.

I could spread out a unit as garrison in each objective city, but I think that will just allow Cornwallis to simply defeat Lee in detail. With the newly arrived troops, Lee’s command will consist of 7 militias, 1 regular and 2 supply wagons for a command usage of 10/10.

Intel shows Cornwallis has 4 foot, 1 marine, 1 artillery and 1 supply wagon. I’m hoping Lee will be able to at least force Cornwallis to keep his army together, thus making his campaign in the south a slow tedious affair, allowing the Continentals to slowly build up strength.

I’ve placed Lee in offensive posture and placed him outside of Camden in the off chance Brown attempts to move through that area this turn.

[James D Burns]

Burgoyne’s force comes ashore at Fort Toronto as I had hoped and set siege to the fort. Montgomery made it to Fort Niagara and will make it to Oswego this turn. I’ve dispatched a full strength militia from Fort Stanwix to Oswego to meet Montgomery and he’ll return to Fort Niagara with it next turn to hold up Burgoyne’s force there until winter if possible.

The depleted militia will join Morgan in Fort Stanwix. I’ve also decided to bring Fort Stanwix’s garrison up to 4 militias, so I’ve detached William Alexander and 1 militia to join Morgan there this turn.

Washington also detached 4 militias along with Joseph Warren (charismatic) and Arthur St. Clair to garrison Albany with. Washington has orders to move on Springfield this turn with an offensive posture since two large British armies were spotted at New York and Philadelphia this turn. I’m hoping there isn’t a large British army lurking at Hartford or something that I don’t see.

Washington should make it in one turn and next turn he’ll retire towards Norwich to merge with the regulars there and set up winter quarters. I’ll leave 1 militia behind in Springfield as a nuisance garrison if things go well.

I’ve sent John Stark and the mountain boys to Ticonderoga via Fort Edward to capture Fort Edward and then join Warner on garrison duty at Ticonderoga for this coming winter.

Butler’s army with 1 irregular unit (unk type) is in Winooski the first area north of Ticonderoga, so he may move south and interfere with Stark. But I don’t want to risk both Stark and Warner as I need at least one for garrison duty, so Stark will have to go it alone should a battle ensue.



New York fell to direct assault by Howe’s army of 7 units this turn and he captured the battery there. Prescott arrived at Philadelphia with 8 units, 1 artillery unit and 2 supply wagons and set siege there before 2 of the intended garrison units could arrive to help the defense. Princeton fell to Delancey and his loyalist Tories.

I’ve decided it is futile to try and defend Philadelphia with just its small garrison units and the 1 militia and 1 regular that made it in, so I’ve had Anthony Wayne, Robert Howe, the 2 units and 1 supply wagon board John Paul Jones’s fleet and given it passive orders to sail to Alexandria.

I have no idea how long embarking will take, but hopefully they’ll get aboard and sail away before Prescott’s inevitable assault comes.

I’ve ordered the two late units that failed to make it to Philadelphia south to Alexandria as well, but chances are they will be caught along the road by the rapidly advancing British forces.



Greene’s army is now formed and consists of 2 regulars, 1 light and 3 militia units. I’ve given him an assault posture and ordered him to march on Norfolk and counter-march to Richmond. This should assure a battle ensues against the 1 Tory unit seen at Norfolk and Greene will then end his turn back at Petersburg.

Greene will then move to join Wayne’s forces at Alexandria next turn if Wayne manages to escape his trap.



In what may be a very lucky occurrence for the cause, my two new levy units from Charleston were caught at Lenud Ferry (the area just northeast of Charleston) by Sir John Vaughan and 1 unit of British regulars. The battle was bloody with the Continentals taking 3 hits and losing 1 company of militias. The British took 2 hits and lost no companies.

What seems to have happened though is Sir Vaughan was possibly killed. As the below screenshot shows, he is not with the regular unit anymore, nor is he listed as part of Cornwallis’ army at Georgetown. I’ve checked all local British controlled towns and cities and Intel shows no sign of a leader inside any of them, so it’s possible I now have better overall command ability in the Deep South than the British do.

I’ve therefore decided it is safe to start Lee moving to intercept Cornwallis’ apparent move on Charleston before the two battered militia units from this turns battle have had a chance to rebuild.

The two militia units will continue on to Camden and enter into garrison where they can rebuild the losses they took. Lee and his 4 militia units will follow the road south to Orangeburg where they will meet the two levies from Savannah and form a larger army. Next turn Lee can move to assault any kind of besieging forces that may take up a siege at Charleston this turn.



Elsewhere in the Deep South, Lord Dunmore appeared in the area of Saluda just northeast of Ninety Six, and it appears he will take the place this turn. I simply haven’t got any units to deal with him as yet, so he’ll have to wait.

Brown moved east from Charlotte and took Ramsey’s Mill just along the road southwest of Hillsboro. Again I just don’t have the ability to deal with him yet. However, I did get two Partisan units this turn along with their leaders appearing at Sycamore, a small town on the western border of the Deep South region.

I’ve ordered Thomas Sumter and his partisans in offensive posture to Charlotte via Ramseur’s Mill to capture those two locations. Sumter and his unit will serve as the garrison for Charlotte from now on as long as it’s not seriously threatened. He has the patriot trait, so I don’t want to risk losing him in battle if at all possible.

The other leader, Francis Marion, is truly impressive. His ratings are 6-5-6 and in addition to the partisan trait, he has the ambush ability. I’ve ordered him to move to Ramsey’s Mill with an offensive posture in the probable likelihood Brown will be gone from that area. I don’t want a battle to occur until Marion can set an ambush first, and since its likely Brown will take Hillsboro this turn, Ramsey’s Mill is a good spot for a possible ambush next turn.

[type7]

Great AAR!!

I've had just about 0 time to get any turns in with BOA lately leure:, but after reading this AAR I'll have to find some

[James D Burns]

At Fort Toronto the British siege fails to breach or score any hits. Burgoyne has left behind a detachment of 4 units to siege the place, so he’s probably marching on Fort Niagara already.

Montgomery reached Oswego and has merged with the fresh militia unit. I’ve given him orders to march to Fort Niagara, but he’s 27 days away, so in all likelihood he’ll meet Burgoyne outside that fort and be crushed in battle.

I’ve left Ethan Allen at Oswego and ordered another militia from Fort Stanwix to meet him there, in case Montgomery fails to get inside Fort Niagara.

With his force now split Burgoyne’s sieges should be slowed considerably. I think reducing Fort Stanwix’s garrison to 3 units is justified as it will slow his advance down to a crawl having to stop and besiege Oswego. New levies can eventually replace the 4th militia garrison unit if I can just keep Burgoyne at bay long enough.

Washington marches on Springfield and captures it. On the way there he met St. Leger in the area of Hoseck, just east of Albany, and crushed him wiping out all 4 of his regular companies (1 unit) at no loss to the Continental army.

I’ve left a garrison of 1 militia unit at Springfield and 1 militia with orders to enter Hartford this turn. Washington also detached two relief columns from Washington’s main force. Washington himself will march to Norwich and lift the siege set by Clinton this turn.

The first column under John Sullivan (fast mover) consists of two continental regulars and will march to Portsmouth (via Hartford first) and attack the two leaderless British units besieging that city. Portsmouth’s naval guns inflicted 15 hits on the bombarding British fleet this turn and I’d like to keep them at it if possible.

The second column consists of John Glover and his intrinsic marines and 1 unit of regulars, they will march to Ticonderoga and lift the siege there being conducted by two British units led by Butler. Glover has to make a forced march attempt to reach Ticonderoga this turn, but he’s a pretty good leader so I’m confident he’ll make the roll.

I feel it’s reasonably safe to detach these two temporary relief columns because Intel spotted the British Northern army under Alexander Leslie at New York this turn. With all the strength we’ve seen around Philadelphia the past few turns, I think it’s safe to assume the British have no real strong armies north of New York this turn, so my detachments should be able to reach their objectives ok. Next turn they will move to recombine with the main army at Norwich.

Butler managed to defeat Stark outside of Ticonderoga and wiped out his ranger unit. Stark went to Albany to recover from his wounds. Although we scored no hits on Butler, Intel shows his Ranger unit to have a strength of 11/17 now, so it was hurt a bit. The other British unit in the area is shown to be a fusilier unit, but no strength data is given.



Philadelphia falls to a British assault, but my trapped forces managed to escape just before the attack came. John Paul Jones’s fleet is now in Chesapeake Bay and will dock at Alexandria and unload his cargo this turn.

Nathaniel Greene’s attack on Norfolk went well and he wiped out the Tory unit defending there. As a bonus Greene ran into Brown when he returned to Petersburg and wiped out Brown’s regular unit while suffering 3 hits in return.

Greene is plotted to reach Alexandria this turn and his new combined army should hopefully be large enough to halt British progress from the north. At least for now anyway. If all goes well Greene should have 4 regulars, 1 light, 5 militia and 3 supply wagons.

His command ability will only be 10 though, so perhaps some more leadership shuffling is in order. Greene really doesn’t need to use supply wagons on defense though, so perhaps I can put off pulling another leader his way till next year. I’ll have to give this some thought.



In the Deep South, both Sumter and Marion are in position to take up permanent garrison duties at Charlotte and Hillsboro. I’m growing weary of the back and forth nature of these two cities, if they can prevent someone like Brown from sneaking in and retaking them over and over, I’ll be far less “busy” in the Deep South. I’ll also have a much easier time keeping Lee’s big army together.

There is a single British regular though that appears to be heading towards one of their strategic cities, so I may need to send a relief column if a larger British force appears behind the single regular which appears to have marched up from Wilmington.



Further South, Lee’s situation is becoming complex. The British continue to confound me when it comes to guessing their moves. Instead of Dunmore capturing Ninety Six, he ends his move at Lenud Ferry just northeast of Charleston, so perhaps he failed his strategic roll and was unable to attack.

Cornwallis divided his forces yet again and sent the 16th Foot to capture Augusta. Cornwallis himself with 1 unit, 1 artillery and 1 supply wagon is in Granville just southeast of Augusta.

The main body of Cornwallis’ force now only consisting of 1 marine and 2 regulars remained in Georgetown under the command of Valentine Jones.

There is also a British fleet sitting in Cape Carteret with 2 units aboard.

So I’ve decided to play things a bit cautious until Cornwallis commits himself somewhere were I can fight a decisive battle at my advantage. Arnold has been detached and will join the two militias garrisoning Camden to provide them good leadership. Lee and his force will march on Augusta to retake that city. It’s a good spot to march to either Savannah or Charleston’s aid, and right now I have no idea which of the two Cornwallis will attack.

[James D Burns]

Montgomery ran into Burgoyne as I had feared and was heavily battered, but he retreated from the battle right away and managed to not lose 100% of his militia unit. I’ve given him orders to march to Fort Stanwix and gone ahead and sent a second militia from Fort Stanwix to Oswego to bring that garrison up to 2 militia units under Ethan Allen’s command.

Burgoyne only has 3 units, 1 artillery and 2 supply wagons under his command right now, so if he marches on Oswego 2 militia will have a good chance of holding out over the winter. Besides disbandment rolls are due soon and if Oswego is besieged when those rolls occur, the 1 militia may leave thus giving yet a second of the three forts I captured up for free. This way I have a good chance at least 1 militia will stay beyond January.

I must have screwed up with John Glover’s forced march button as there was no message this turn he failed the march, but he is 1 area south of Ticonderoga having not made it there. So he’ll have to arrive this turn and fight, I’ve then plotted him to march towards Washington this turn as well, since large British armies are heading north and I want my main army recombined ASAP.

John Sullivan arrived at Portsmouth and was surprised to see the British being led by the British leader Thomas Clark (Intel had shown no leader present). Fortunately Sullivan’s attack rating of 3 faced Clark’s attack rating of 1 (both leaders had offensive posture set) and the Continentals prevailed and captured the British supply wagon as well. Sullivan’s force suffered 2 hit and Clark suffered 4 hits and lost 3 militia companies.

During the turn’s movements, I observed flashes of British troops far northeast from Sullivan moving in a southwest direction. One of the units took Falmouth and the others are not observed anymore. Sullivan is plotted to move towards Washington through the wilderness in hopes of avoiding being caught by the unknown British force to his north.

Though he saved Portsmouth, it appears it is only a temporary reprieve. Unfortunately the garrison there is still locked, or they would leave with Sullivan. On a good note however, the garrison did manage to hit the bombarding British fleet hard this turn, causing 25 hits!

Washington’s move north brought him to battle with Henry Clinton at Norwich. Clinton’s 3 companies of grenadiers were wiped out and Intel spots him in Boston this turn where he apparently went to recover from wounds.

British moves in the area see W. Howe’s army of 6 units arrive at Brattleboro, 2 areas south of Norwich, and Alexander Leslie’s army of 17 units, 2 artillery and 1 supply wagon moved to Woodbury, 1 area south of Hartford.



Prescott’s army of 6 units, 1 artillery unit and 2 supply wagons is seen in New York.

Given the apparent shift north of the main British armies, Nathaniel Greene is plotted to march north up the road towards Philadelphia. It’ll take two turns to arrive, but he’ll probably fight a few engagements against the few British units Intel shows a few areas north of him that are busy grabbing up cities.

Also the 64th Foot grabbed the town of Sunbury this turn, just south of Wyoming (strategic objective city). Should Philadelphia fall easily, Greene will have to dispatch a relief column to Wyoming if he can.



In the Deep South Lee fought a sharp action against Cornwallis at Augusta and won. Lee took 3 hits, Cornwallis 4 but no one lost any companies. Intel does not show where Cornwallis went, but my guess is he retreated to the Cherokee village two areas west of Augusta.

More importantly, it appears the rest of the British leadership has combined into 1 army under the command of Augustine Prevost. This army is one area north of Augusta and consists of 3 units, 1 artillery and 1 supply wagon. It also has a command ability of 10, so I’m leery of leaving Lee’s current 8/8 army to operate alone anymore. Consolidation of force is now my first goal before any more combats if I can help it.

Given that Lee just fought a battle and needs a couple of turns to rebuild, I’ve ordered him to Camden to link up with Arnold in preparation for the disbandment rolls.

Arnold has orders to take his two militia units north to lift the siege of Charlotte this turn and then countermarch back to Camden. I hope his leadership will be enough to allow his 2 militia units to overcome the British regular besieging the place.

I’d like to avoid using the Partisans for combat, as I have no replacement companies for them yet. I guess it’s possible they draw from irregular companies, but I’m not sure, so I’m leery of using them unless I have to, so no sortie is ordered. Besides they probably fight worse than militias do.

[James D Burns]

At Fort Toronto Philip Schuyler and his meager band have done the impossible. They have held out till winter and now the British besiegers have gone. Intel shows nothing of the force that was there, but I’m guessing they’re racing towards Fort Niagara since they had no supply wagons with them.

Montgomery arrived at Fort Stanwix and dropped off his battered militia unit to join that city’s garrison. He has been given passive orders to attempt to march through British units and reach Washington to join his army in winter quarters at Norwich.

Ticonderoga saw the British avoid fighting Glover’s relief column through an odd set of circumstances. John Butler assaulted the fort and lost, thus retreating to an adjacent area. Glover then moved through Ticonderoga’s area and had no battle and upon leaving saw a new British unit arrive behind him to again take up the siege.

Given the obvious determination of the British to take the place, I’ve decided to have Glover and his regular unit join the garrison. So they have offensive posture and will assault their way past the besiegers and enter the fort this turn.

The nuisance militia garrison I left at Springfield is assaulted by William Tryon and 2 regular units and is wiped out, causing 2 hits to the attackers.

The Hartford nuisance garrison did its job and prevented Leslie’s army, who now has Hartford besieged, from taking the place outright. Who knows with winter coming on, Leslie may have to leave it in Continental hands and seek shelter this turn.

Albany is besieged by W. Howe and 1 unit. Prescott has a larger army in Hoseck just to the east, so no sorties will be ordered to try and lift the siege. In a stroke of good luck, winter has struck Albany’s area, so looks like it’ll be a costly siege should the British keep it going.

Thomas Clark intercepts Sullivan’s column in the area of Derry just west of Portsmouth. Sullivan wins the engagement, but it costs him 2 hits and 1 regular company. Clark suffered 3 hits but lost no companies. The battle also cost Sullivan a lot of movement and he is still now 2 turns away from joining Washington at Norwich. Luckily he has a captured British supply wagon on hand to help offset winter hits next turn.



Another large British army appears to have arrived at New York. The Central Army under Sir Charles Grey has 7 units, 2 artillery and 2 supply wagons. It’s anybody’s guess where it’ll go but my money assumes it’s headed south to Philadelphia.

Nathaniel Greene’s march north meets a British regular unit at Baltimore and wipes it out taking only 1 hit in return. Greene ends his march at Wilmington and I’m tempted to send him on to Philadelphia, but with the arrival of that new army and the fact another British unit is at Lancaster, I’ve ordered Greene south to Baltimore to keep any further southerly progress for the British from occurring.

Wyoming fell to direct assault causing 1 hit to Colonel Cortland Skinners army of 1 marine and 1 regular.

Upon further inspection south, I find Norfolk fell to 2 British regular. Could they be the troops I saw off of Charleston a few turns back? Anyway it spells trouble for Greene, so he’ll probably continue to march south throughout the winter.

In the Deep South, Arnolds march fails to engage the British unit that had besieged Charlotte. The town of Salisbury fell to the north of Charlotte, so it appears the British unit is headed towards Hillsboro.

Arnold will remain in Camden this turn to combine will all southern forces in preparation for the disbandment rolls. The rest of the leadership will move to the area of Lynches to avoid interfering with the roll.

It would be nice if someone could confirm whether a superior leader present in an area with a charismatic leader interferes with the disbandment mod even if they are not in the same stack. I know the superior leader will command any battle fought, so I assume he’s in command no matter how the area is stacked up.

On his march to Camden, Lee runs into Haldimand’s Army at Colleton and a battle is fought. The battle is a close one and Lee wins suffering 3 hits while the British suffer 4, no companies were lost.

Given the fact there was just one regular and one Tory unit along with the British Artillery unit, this confirms to me I need to get my southern army consolidated ASAP. Just one more regular would have tipped the balance against Lee even though he had the British outnumbered 3-1 in men.

A unit of British regulars captured Ninety Six.

[Pocus]

It would be nice if someone could confirm whether a superior leader present in an area with a charismatic leader interferes with the disbandment mod even if they are not in the same stack. I know the superior leader will command any battle fought, so I assume he’s in command no matter how the area is stacked up.

this is the one with the highest level in the said ability which is considered in the area, without consideration for seniority.

Partisans use up irregulars replacements.

Supply wagons can still help in defence, by providing +10% to firepower if they are not depleted.

[James D Burns]

this is the one with the highest level in the said ability which is considered in the area, without consideration for seniority.

I'm not clear what you mean here. The manual says the trait only applies if the leader is commander in chief. Are you saying this is not the case and no matter whom the commander in chief is the charismatic ability applies?

In my above AAR, if I leave Lee with Arnold in Camden, will Arnold still help retain my militias? Should Lee leave the area to allow Arnold to benefit the militia?

Partisans use up irregulars replacements.

Good news, thanks. Any idea why the Continentals haven't had any artillery or cavalry companies appear for replacements yet? My Dragoons and artillery units are all at their game start strengths and haven't had any replacements added yet.

Supply wagons can still help in defence, by providing +10% to firepower if they are not depleted.

Yep, I knew that, but I assumed having 10 regiments defending a town is better than 9 regiments and a supply wagon.

Jim

P.S. Thanks for all your clarifications Pocus, they are/have been a huge help.

[James D Burns]

Winter arrives in full force and the colonists are happy to see it. British gains this past year have been relentless and only winter can hope to slow their advance any at this point. At Fort Niagara Intel shows a total of 10 units. Only Burgoyne is named, so I’m not sure how many of the remaining nine units are leaders.

A small detachment of 2 regulars and 1 artillery lead by Baum is in Irondequoit headed east towards Oswego. Intel doesn’t show any supply wagons with the force so I’m hopeful they’ll return to Fort Niagara for the winter.

Ethan Allen’s militia garrison at Oswego is now 2 full strength units, I’m hopeful at least one will remain after the disbandment rolls to keep the place garrisoned.

Fort Stanwix’s militia garrison is now 3 units, however 2 of them are under strength. 1 has 3 companies and the other only 1. I’ll send them to Albany after the winter lifts to flesh out their strength if the stay around after disbandment.



John Glover’s attempt to relieve Ticonderoga failed to arrive in time end the fort fell to direct assault causing only 1 hit to the British attackers. Glover finds himself trapped outside the fort in winter with no supply wagon and has been given orders to enter into winter quarters at Skenesboro, 14 days march southeast of Ticonderoga.

Seth Warner was wounded in the battle and sent to Fort Stanwix to recover where he has joined Morgan’s garrison forces. Prescott’s force of 3 regulars, 1 artillery and 1 supply wagon is 1 area south of Skenesboro. I’m hoping they move on Fort Edward instead of Skenesboro so Glover makes it into the town unmolested.

Sullivan’s small force is only 4 days march from Norwich and should hopefully make it into winter quarters relatively unscathed.

The small force besieging Albany has withdrawn and Grey’s army of 6 regulars, 1 light and 2 artillery moved into the area. They have not set siege to the city however, so perhaps they are simply marching through on their way to winter quarters.

Leslie’s army failed to achieve any hits in their siege of Hartford. Looks like my sacrificial garrison unit will pay off big this turn as the winter causes some grief to Leslie’s troops. I count 16 regulars, 1 light and 2 artillery units in his army, but no supply wagons, so winter is my friend this turn.

I do wish the AI knew better though, as no human player would be crazy enough to leave such a large army out in the snow without supply wagons on hand.



At Baltimore, Nathaniel Greene made it into winter quarters with his force. I plan to divide his army and send some troops south to Petersburg next turn as that area is completely undefended right now. But this turn they’ll stay put so Greene can help them with disbandment rolls.



Not a lot going on in the Deep South this turn. Lee, Campbell and the two supply wagons are sitting in the area of Lynches so as not to mess with Arnold’s disbandment roll mods in Camden.

At Salisbury Intel shows 1 British regular in the town so the unit that disappeared last turn appears not to have marched towards Hillsboro as I had thought it did.

The British didn’t take Augusta last turn, but Haldimand and his force of 2 regulars, 1 artillery and 1 supply wagon are in Amelia one area to the north of that city, so Augusta should fall this turn.

Intel reports Lord Dunmore and 1 militia are at Ninety Six.

[James D Burns]

A new year rolls around and things are looking pretty bleak for the continental cause. Disbandments were a mixed bag this year. Things went well around Lake Ontario with all 3 militia units (1 at Fort Toronto, 2 at Oswego) sticking around for another years fight.

2 out of 3 militias at Fort Stanwix went home. The one that stuck around only has 3 companies, so I’ll need to pray for good levies this spring if I hope to hold this strategic spot for another year.

2 out of the 4 militias at Albany went home. Not a bad situation but not great either.

At Norwich Washington lost 1 militia unit and 1 regular unit. He’s a training officer and had an entire year to train that unit but it still went home, ouch!

Luckily the sacrifice militia at Hartford is still around. Guess those guys are true patriots. Leslie’s army went into winter quarters at New Haven. Intel shows each unit is only down 1 or 2 points from max strength, so the winter hits weren’t too bad for him.

At Baltimore Nathaniel Greene lost 2 militias and 1 regular to disbandments. I’ve left Anthony Wayne and Robert Howe at Baltimore with the 2 remaining regulars and 1 light. Wayne is a training officer and I’d like him to train those units this year so they don’t roll for disbandments next year. I’ll send any other untrained infantry to him that arrive during the levies as well.

Greene, Henry Lee and the 3 remaining militias are heading south to take up the defense of the Richmond area this spring.

I had a nasty surprise in the Deep South, Partisans roll for disbandment as well and Sumter’s Partisan unit went home. Luckily Marion’s Partisans stuck around as it appears there are several British units converging on Hillsboro. Intel only shows Prevost and 1 regular unit at Tar, the area just northeast, but Ramsey’s mill fell this turn, so I suspect there is at least 1 more unit there as well.

Arnold did ok on the disbandment rolls, but he did lose 1 regular and 2 militia, so Continental strength in the Deep South was almost cut in half.

I’ve ordered 1 militia north to meet up with Sumter so he can again act as garrison in Charlotte. It’s winter so it’ll be two moves before I have that city covered again, Sumter is heading south to meet up with the militia.

Augusta fell to the British and the army that took it appears to be moving on Savannah after leaving behind 1 unit at Augusta. Savannah only has it’s small fixed garrison so relieving them is top priority once I get Lee reunited with Arnold and the 4 remaining militia units at Camden.

Not a lot going on this turn, so I opted for no screenshots.