Bug Militia 75-83 Campaign??

[Jagger]

Ok, I finally started up a game of the Americans vs British AI in the standard 75-83 campaign after the bug fix. At the end of the first year, American militia disbanded. Great, disbanding is now working. But then Febuary, 76 arrived and only one militia unit was raised by the Americans. And that militia unit showed up in New England. I don't control a single stategic city in New England. That was it. No other militia showed up anywhere. (PS: The one militia that showed up was commanded by Nathaniel Greene-is that a fixed event? If so, then I didn't have any militia raised.) It is now March and I barely have an army left.

Is this result just very, very bad luck or do we have another bug?

[joe]

Jagger, I normally play the 1775 alt scenario, and have not had any problems.

I loaded the regular 1775 scenario and did not receive any militia in Feb 76 but did in Jul 76 and Feb 77 (that's when I stopped my test). I believe the normal allotment of militia does not begin until Jul 76, from what I recall in my previous games.

[Jagger]

Thanks Joe.

[lightsfantastic]

Same here, first militia/continental recruitment occurred in July, 1776, playing 1775 alt. Getting normal recruitment after.

[orca]

It's always been this way (sort of). The first levy always takes place in July 1776 (for both sides). All militia received before that date are scheduled reinforcements that have nothing to do with who owns which cities.

I guess that some of the scheduled American reinforcements in 1776 are not arriving correctly.

[Jagger]

It sounds as if the scenario is playing the same for everyone.

Although I wonder if the lack of militia/continentals recruitment in Feb 76 is a bug or intended?

In reality, large numbers of new troops were raised in Fall 75 and Spring of 1776-both continentals and Militia. Recall Washington's dilemna at the end of 1776 after the battle of Trenton but before the battle of Princeton, when his entire armies one year enlistment was expiring and Washington was concerned he would no longer have an army. Those troops were signed up in Jan of 1776.

I am guessing we have a bug or perhaps, an inaccurate portrayal of the recruitment and deployment of continentals and militia during the Fall 75/Spring 76.

Historically, I see recruitment and deployment of militia/continentals in Feb 76 as accurate. Although in game terms, if militia are disbanded in Jan 76, the American player needs recruitment of militia/continentals in Feb 76 or he is left with very, very few troops. I think I have 5 regiments left along the entire eastern seaboard in my AI game.

Hopefully, we can get a comment from AGEOD on this issue?

[Jagger]

Here is a quote from the US Military history on the ARW. Note that new militia from New Hampshire and Massachuetts were called up to replace departing Connecticut militia at the end of 75. Also note that 8000 continental soldiers were enlisted by 1 Jan 76 with their enlistments expiring in Jan 77. I am assuming most of those new continentals were militia that agree to join the continental army rather than go home as most did.

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/AMH/AMH-03.htm

While establishing discipline in the existing army, Washington had at the same time to form a new one enlisted directly in the Continental service. Out of conferences with a Congressional committee that visited camp in September 1775 emerged a plan for such an army, composed of 26 regiments of infantry of 728 men each, plus one regiment of riflemen and one of artillery, 20,372 men in all, to be uniformly paid, supplied, and administered by the Continental Congress and enlisted to the end of the year 1776. Except for the short term of enlistment, it was an excellent plan on paper, but Washington soon found he could not carry it out. Both officers and men resisted a reorganization that cut across the lines of the locally organized units in which they were accustomed to serve. The men saw as their first obligation their families and farms at home, and they were reluctant to re-enlist for another year's service. On December10, despite pressures and patriotic appeals, most of the Connecticut men went home and militia from New Hampshire and Massachusetts had to be brought in to fill their places in the line. Others, who had jeered and hooted when the Connecticut men left, also went home when their enlistment expired only three weeks later. On January 1, 1776, when the army became "Continental in every respect," Washington found that he had only slightly more than 8,000 enlistments instead of the 20,000 planned. Returns in early March showed only a thousand or so more. "I have often thought how much happier I would have been," wrote a sorely tried commander, "if, instead of accepting a command under such circumstances, I had taken up musket on my shoulder and entered the ranks, or, if I could have justified the measure to posterity and my own conscience, had retired to the back country and lived in a Wigwam."

With enlistments falling short, the only recourse was to continue to use short-term militia to fill the gaps in the lines. A Continental Army had been formed, but it fell far short of the goals Washington and Congress had set for it. This army was enlisted for but a year and the whole troublesome process would have to be repeated at the end of 1776. The short term of enlistmentThe short term of enlistment was, of course, a cardinal error, but in 1775 everyone, including Washington, anticipated only a short campaign.

[Jagger]

Here is a quote from the US Military history on the ARW. Note that new militia was called up to replace departing militia at the end of 75. Also note that 8000 continental soldiers were enlisted by 1 Jan 76 with their enlistments expiring in Jan 77. I am assuming most of those new continentals were militia that agree to join the continental army rather than go home as most did.

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/AMH/AMH-03.htm

While establishing discipline in the existing army, Washington had at the same time to form a new one enlisted directly in the Continental service. Out of conferences with a Congressional committee that visited camp in September 1775 emerged a plan for such an army, composed of 26 regiments of infantry of 728 men each, plus one regiment of riflemen and one of artillery, 20,372 men in all, to be uniformly paid, supplied, and administered by the Continental Congress and enlisted to the end of the year 1776. Except for the short term of enlistment, it was an excellent plan on paper, but Washington soon found he could not carry it out. Both officers and men resisted a reorganization that cut across the lines of the locally organized units in which they were accustomed to serve. The men saw as their first obligation their families and farms at home, and they were reluctant to re-enlist for another year's service. On December10, despite pressures and patriotic appeals, most of the Connecticut men went home and militia from New Hampshire and Massachusetts had to be brought in to fill their places in the line. Others, who had jeered and hooted when the Connecticut men left, also went home when their enlistment expired only three weeks later. On January 1, 1776, when the army became "Continental in every respect," Washington found that he had only slightly more than 8,000 enlistments instead of the 20,000 planned. Returns in early March showed only a thousand or so more. "I have often thought how much happier I would have been," wrote a sorely tried commander, "if, instead of accepting a command under such circumstances, I had taken up musket on my shoulder and entered the ranks, or, if I could have justified the measure to posterity and my own conscience, had retired to the back country and lived in a Wigwam."

With enlistments falling short, the only recourse was to continue to use short-term militia to fill the gaps in the lines. A Continental Army had been formed, but it fell far short of the goals Washington and Congress had set for it. This army was enlisted for but a year and the whole troublesome process would have to be repeated at the end of 1776. The short term of enlistment was, of course, a cardinal error, but in 1775 everyone, including Washington, anticipated only a short campaign.

[Pocus]

this is on purpose, the first militias are scripted and the first 'generic' draft is in july 76.