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Game Start

With the new 1.11 patch freshly installed on my system, I’ve decided to take another crack at the continentals using the alt. setup full campaign game. I never finished my last game as the continentals since a new patch came out when I was only about 2 years into that game. I’ve wanted to try the strategies I was using in that game through to the end game, so I’ll keep playing this game and not patch up if any new patches come out so I can finish what I start this go around.

As this is a Matrix forum AAR, I’m limited to only one screenshot per forum post, so there won’t be nearly as much eye candy to this AAR as my last one had. Be sure to speak up if you want me to take a screenshot of anything in particular, otherwise I’ll simply try and choose the most active area of a turn for each posts screenshot.

All settings are normal with full fog of war options selected. I would have liked to play on the hard setting to give the AI a little combat advantage and extra replacements, but I do not like the increased activation it gives its leaders. I wish the increased leader activation was a separate setting so players could boost the AI’s combat abilities without changing the strategic rating dynamic of the game unless they wanted to.

The lower strategic ratings for British leaders are vital to the rebellions cause and I doubt I would have a prayer of surviving let alone winning if I were to boost the British strategic ratings. So I’ll play on normal and hope the AI does a decent job of keeping its armies intact.

Jim

April 1775

The game begins and the alt. setup has quite a few more militia regiments outside Boston compared to the standard game setup. Of course many are woefully under strength with just about half only having 1or 2 companies assigned to the regiments. I’m not sure if this is good or bad yet, guess the first big battle will tell.

I do note the needed command usage is currently 24 and will go up even higher when the local militias I’ve ordered to join Wards command arrive. I hope Washington arrives in time to bring the command penalty down to zero before any British attacks materialize. Currently my command penalty is 50%, so my units will only fight at half normal effectiveness.

With every possible unit that can move on turn one ordered to join Wards army, there’s nothing else to do so I execute the turn.

Jim

May 1775

May arrives and Ward’s command now contains 36 units with a total combat power of 752. Command usage is now 29 out of a maximum of 14, and next turn is the first possible turn that the British can attack (I think they are fixed for the first 2 turns), so I am hoping Washington arrives to bring down the command penalties this turn.

Gages army in Boston has 15 units and a combat power of about 450. I think British reinforcements are due to arrive this turn so next turn he’ll be considerably stronger and able to toggle an attack if he passes his strategic roll. If Washington fails to arrive I’ll be in a bit of a fix.

The 5th Mass. Militia is formed as the first regular continental regiment of the war this turn.



Arnold and Schuyler appeared at Albany this turn with three militias and a supply wagon. I’ve left the 3rd New York militia at Albany as garrison since it only has 2 companies and needs to rebuild. Arnold and the rest are ordered to march to Oswego with attack posture to begin the siege of the fort there.

Seth Warner appeared at Fort Ticonderoga with 1 militia and 1 mountaineer unit. I’ve ordered the Vermont militia to Albany to enter into garrison there since it too only has 2 companies and needs to rebuild. Warner and the mountaineers will act as garrison at Ticonderoga until stronger units appear.

The 1st Penn. Militia appeared at Philadelphia and I’ve ordered it north to New York to enter garrison there. The 2nd Penn. Militia appeared at Annapolis and it was ordered south to the strategic town of Petersburg and should arrive in two turns.

In the Deep South Intel spots Tory militias appearing at both Ninety-Six and Augusta. I still have nothing to oppose these units with down there, so perhaps I’ll lose the undefended strategic town of Camden this turn to an unopposed Tory strike.


Jim

June 1775

June arrives and the first battle of the war for independence is fought outside Albany. The battle was inconclusive as British Colonel Prescott’s small unit of the 26th Cameronians (2 companies of regulars) engaged my Vermont militia as it tried to enter Albany.

The battle was a stalemate with my militia suffering 4 hits and Prescott’s troops 5 hits. The Vermont militia successfully retreated from battle in the second hour of the fight and retreated west to Dayton.

On a more alarming note, a regiment of Montreal militia appeared at Peekskill and captured the town. The small town of Skenesboro southeast of Ticonderoga is British controlled this turn as well, but I see no British units about.

I’m assuming Prescott’s force and the militia unit must have been east of Lake Champlain somewhere at the start of this turn and they moved south through Skenesboro and 1 unit went to Albany while the other grabbed Peekskill.

In the future when I have more units I’ll need some kind of recon on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain to spot these kinds of deep strikes a turn or two ahead of time.

Arnolds force arrived at Oswego this turn and I’ve ordered him to storm the place. Hopefully his losses won’t be too staggering. With this much British activity in the Albany area already, I need Arnolds force to head back to Albany ASAP in case larger British forces are heading south along the lake as well and are as yet unseen.

Richard Montgomery appeared inside Albany this turn with 1 militia and a supply wagon. I’ve joined the 3rd New York militia to him and given him orders to patrol move south to the area of Kingston and back with attack orders set in an attempt to engage Prescott before he can move away.

The Vermont militia is ordered into Albany again this turn since Montgomery will most likely clear the way through Prescott’s men for it, should Prescott decide to stick around, before it arrives.



At Boston things are identical to last turn. Washington failed to appear and no British reinforcements arrived either. 1 militia unit arrived at New London, so I’ve ordered it to join Wards force. Hopefully Gage failed his strategic roll this turn and won’t attack, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

2 more militia units appeared in New York this turn, so they’ve joined the 1 militia already there and I’ve given the force assault posture and ordered it north to Peekskill and then east 1 area to Woodbury in an attempt to catch the Montreal militia should it head south or stay at Peekskill.

Daniel Morgan and his light rifle regiment appeared at Philadelphia and I’ve given him attack posture and ordered him north to the area of Woodbury as well. Hopefully he or the militias will make short work of the Montreal militia this turn, but if not they’ll be in a good position at Woodbury to react in any direction to pursue the militia should they miss it.

In the Deep South both Tory militias appear to have headed to Charleston. 1 has set siege to the place and the other is 1 area north at Lenud ferry. Luckily for me William Moultrie appeared at Charleston this turn with 2 militia and a supply wagon.

I’ve detached the supply wagon and left it in town. Moultrie as attack posture set and is ordered to march northwest to the area of Colleton and then southwest to Augusta. Hopefully He’ll engage the Tory units one at a time and then pursue them along his march route until they are totally eliminated.

Intel spots 1 unidentified British leader with 1 regular unit at Ninety-six, so Hopefully Moultrie won’t take too many casualties engaging the Tories.

I figure 2 Continental militias equals 1 British regular, so if his casualties are too high he’ll probably lose any engagements against the British regulars if they sortie south from Ninety-six.

Jim

just a note, some reported that the new AI has a bad tendency of too much concentrating forces and is less garrisoning. Can you watch for such behavior and tell me if you see anything too weird against the AI? My mail box is open

support@ageod.com

July 1775

Arnold storms Oswego in 2 separate assaults and takes the fort but losses were heavy. In total Arnolds force suffered 28 hits while causing 32. No companies were lost but both militia units are pretty beat up.

I’ve left the militia that is in best shape at Oswego and ordered Arnolds remaining force back to Albany with a passive posture.

Montgomery caught Prescott’s force outside Albany and destroyed the Cameronians while only suffering 11 hits. It appears Prescott himself went to Skenesboro after the battle to recover from his wounds. The Skenesboro minutemen unit spontaneously appeared outside that town this turn and I’ve ordered it to attack the town and retake it.

A Caughnawagas Warband unit appeared at Norwich this turn and pillaged the surrounding area. I debated having the Skenesboro minuteman unit try to attack it, but assumed it would be long gone from that area before the minutemen could arrive. Besides if any more British are headed south along the east shore of Lake Champlain the Minuteman unit will serve as a good warning unit.



At Peekskill the Montreal militia avoided my units and captured New Haven which is 1 area east of Woodbury where my forces ended their moves. Intel spots Colonel Francis Smith this turn who is leading that Canadian militia unit.

I’ve ordered Daniel Morgan and the 4 units he now commands to the town of New Haven (7 days march), then the town of Hartford, then the area of Norwich and finally the town of Worcester. Morgan has assault orders so he should engage the Canadians if he manages to find himself in the same area as them at any point this turn.

Washington failed to appear again this turn and the British still only have 15 units outside Boston. I’m hoping my luck continues to hold and no attacks occur this turn.

At Morristown the 3rd New Jersey militia became active this turn and I’ve ordered it to march to New York to enter garrison.

The 1st Virginia militia became active at Williamsburg this turn and I’ve ordered it to march to Petersburg to join the other militia already there.

Finally the 1st New York militia became active at Fort Stanwix and I decided to leave it there to act as garrison for that strategic town.

In the Deep South Moultrie destroyed the Tory militia sieging Charleston and marched on to capture Augusta. The second Tory militia unit didn’t move on Charleston as I expected, instead it moved north up the coast and took both Georgetown and Wilmington.

Wilmington is an objective town for both sides but the British only have 6% control there currently, so unless a regular British line unit garrisons the place I don’t think they get the victory points each turn.

I’ve ordered 1 of Moultrie’s militia units to remain in Augusta and Moultrie and the other militia have orders to March to Camden to enter into garrison there.

The British leader and regular unit spotted at Ninety-six last turn are still there and haven’t moved yet.

Jim

August 1775

Arnold arrives at Albany and combines with Montgomery and all units present. I then detach 2 militia and Schuyler (slow mover) and leave them behind as garrison, while Arnold’s force with 2 militias and 2 supply wagons heads north to Ticonderoga to relieve Seth Warner and his mountain boys of garrison duties there.

Daniel Morgan caught Francis Smith and the Canadian militia unit at New Haven and fought 2 engagements there. Morgan was soundly stomped in the first engagement taking 42 hits and losing 1 company while only inflicting 28 hits on the Canadians. The second fight saw the destruction of the Canadians however and Morgan suffered an additional 3 hits.

The Majority of the battles damage was suffered by the 5th New York militia, so it has been detached and ordered to Springfield to recover. The remaining 3 regiments are ordered to join Washington (he arrived this turn) outside Boston even though each unit as suffered some damage, they’re still in pretty good shape.

Morgan himself has been detached and ordered to ride south to Petersburg to act as the charismatic leader in that region. I also detached Lee from Washington’s army this turn and ordered him to Petersburg as well to act as the commanding general in that region.



At Alexandria Henry Lee and the 1st Delaware militia appeared and has orders to march to Petersburg. I’ve given him attack posture since the Tory militia at Wilmington took the strategic town of Hillsboro this turn and may be moving on the cluster of strategic towns around Richmond next.

On a side note, it feels like the AI is far more active this go around than my last game. I realize the British haven’t got a lot to work with yet, but what they do have has been really active up to this point. It’s both good and bad though in my opinion. While the heightened activity can lead to some surprises for me, so far it’s ultimately just allowed me to destroy most of the tiny units it’s sent venturing into my territory.

In the Deep South Moultrie was attacked by Thomas Brown and the Georgia Tories at Colleton. The small skirmish was an American victory with Moultrie suffering 4 hits and Brown 13. Moultrie continued on to Camden and Brown went to Charleston and set siege to the city there.

On route to Charleston Brown captured Orangeburg. The Orangeburg minuteman unit appeared this turn and retook Orangeburg. I’ve ordered it to Charleston with assault posture since Browns unit is shown as only having 18/30 strength.

I’ve attached the supply wagon to Moultrie and his militia unit at Camden and ordered him north through Charlotte to Salisbury and then back to Charlotte. I’ve given him assault posture. If the Tory unit at Hillsboro decides to head to Charlotte instead of the Richmond area, this move will hopefully intercept him.

Jim

September 1775

The first great battle of the revolution is fought over 2 full days outside Boston and is a very bloody affair indeed (too bloody to be historically feasible perhaps). On the first day the battle is a decisive American defeat with Washington’s army suffering 601 hits and losing 50 militia companies and 4 regular companies. Sir Thomas Gage’s now heavily reinforced British army only suffered 347 hits and lost 7 regular companies and 1 grenadier company.

Amazingly day 2 of the battle sees an American victory, but it was a mere skirmish compared to day 1. Washington’s army suffered 2 hits and lost 1 militia company while Gage’s army suffered 15 hits and lost 2 irregular companies. There was no text message about a retreat or anything, so I have no idea why day 2 was so minor compared to the carnage of the first days fighting.

Washington’s army lost well over 70% of its combat power in this single battle and Gage’s perhaps 40%, though it’s much harder for me to determine that percentage. I personally don’t think such high casualty percentages are historically accurate. Had the battle been an outright route then perhaps you could make the case a large percentage of the losses were men who fled, but Washington’s army still holds the field.

I think casualties need to be tweaked way down for large engagements like this. 20%-30% should be the upper limit ever seen for battles with very heavy casualties, and most battles should probably see figures of less than 10% total.

After the battle I note Colonel John Glover went to Battleboro to recover from wounds, so I’ve ordered him south to Springfield. I’ve detached Joseph Warren (Charismatic) and 2 relatively strong militia units from Washington’s main army and ordered them to Springfield as well under passive orders. Washington’s remaining force is also given passive orders and ordered to Hartford for rebuilding.



On a chalk it up to luck note, I managed to capture the fort of Saint John just southeast of Montréal this turn. I had ordered the Skenesboro minuteman unit there assuming he’d engage some unseen British troops along the coast of Lake Champlain before he disbanded.

But he didn’t disband and managed to actually capture the fort. I’ve since given him assault posture and ordered him to Montréal as Intel doesn’t spot any defenders there yet. I’d send Arnold to Montréal if he had another unit of militia or two but he simply doesn’t have the strength to hold the place with only 2 militias so he’ll stay at Ticonderoga for now.

Ethan Allen arrives at Norwich with his mountain boys. I’ve detached his mountain boys unit and ordered it to Ticonderoga to join with Warner and his mountaineer unit, together they’ll act as my anti-indian force and begin a campaign to burn all the hostile villages I can identify. Allen has orders to ride to Albany where he will act as the charismatic leader there to try and keep militias around each January.

A militia unit appeared at Philadelphia this turn and will remain there as garrison.

Henry Lee arrived at Petersburg this turn and I’ve attached a second militia unit to him and given him orders to patrol march to the area of Roanoke and back under assault posture. The Tory from Hillsboro took the town of Warrenton this turn so it looks like it is headed for the Richmond area, hopefully Lee will intercept it on his patrol route.

An unidentified British leader appeared at Norfolk this turn with 2 units under his command. I expect he will probably head to Petersburg, so Lee should engage him at the end of his patrol, if not there is still 1 militia unit acting as garrison in Petersburg to prevent its capture.

At Hillsboro William Campbell and 1 militia unit appeared and retook that town for the continental cause. I’ve ordered Campbell to march to Charlotte and then towards Camden under attack posture to try and engage the Tory unit that appeared at Salisbury this turn.

Moultrie and his militia at Charlotte have orders to march to Salisbury and then south back to Camden under assault posture. Between him and Campbell that new Tory militia at Salisbury should get pounced this turn.

The Orangeburg minutemen engaged brown outside Charleston but only managed to inflict 2 hits on Browns force while suffering 6. The unit then disbanded and cannot be used again, so Moultrie and Campbell will have to lift the siege in a turn or two once they can combine their strength at Camden.

Jim

I agree with you on the high loss ratio. Something should be done, but we will discuss that in the beta forum.

Strange that you say the AI is spreading too much, as others have reported the contrary. I guess it is very contextual to a given game [:)]

October 1775

At Ticonderoga Seth Warner combines with the two irregular mountaineer units and is given orders to march to the Caughnawagas village south of Montréal. I observed its mobile Indian unit pillaging Norwich a few turns ago so the village is already active and will be burned to the ground.

The Skenesboro minutemen unit captured Montréal and has still not disbanded so they’ve entered into garrison there. British Colonel Prescott recaptured Fort St. John this turn, so I suspect he’ll assault Montréal next.

I’ve ordered the 2 militia units from Oswego and Fort Stanwix to march to Albany to join Ethan Allen for the upcoming disbandment rolls. Winter is right around the corner and I haven’t seen any Indian activity in the area so I think it’s safe to leave those two locations empty for a few turns.

Joseph Warren successfully detached from Washington’s army and entered Springfield without incident. Washington’s army successfully left the Boston area without being attacked, but then met James Grant and a small British contingent at Worcester where a small battle was fought.

Washington won the engagement as Grant fled after 1 hours fighting. Washington suffered 30 hits and lost 2 militia and 1 regular company. Grant suffered 51 hits and lost 3 regular, 1 grenadier and 1 irregular company.

Because Washington had passive orders Worcester remains British controlled and Grant retreated to Boston.

At Boston Intel spots a large 15 unit British army under William Howe. Most units are reported to be at about half strength, so perhaps it will remain there for rebuilding for a few more turns. Grant’s army of 4 units is also reported there, but no details are given. I assume he’s pretty beaten up after this turns battle.

Washington’s force made it to Hartford and will remain there for rebuilding for the next few turns at least.

At Petersburg Charles Lee has formed his army with Daniel Morgan and Henry Lee. It consists of 3 militia units and has orders to patrol march to Norfolk and back. Intel reports a British leader is commanding a single militia unit at Norfolk so 3-1 odds should suffice to take the place by storm. Winter is approaching soon and he has no supply wagons with him so I want to capture Norfolk right away.



At Hillsboro a Tory militia captured the place and another is along the road 1 area northeast in the area of Tar.

At Salisbury Moultrie caught the Tory militia unit and fought a 6 day battle with it forcing it to retreat. Casualties were very minor though and Moultrie suffered 6 hits and the Tory unit 18. No companies were lost on either side and Intel lost track of the Tory unit.

Moultrie arrived at Camden this turn, so I’ve joined the garrison militia from Camden with his force and detached the supply wagon. Moultrie has attack posture set and is ordered to march to Colleton and then Charleston to relieve the siege there this turn.

William Campbell and his single militia unit are 1 area north of Camden in the Kingstown area and have been ordered to Camden to enter into garrison there.

The small town of Georgetown northeast of Charleston had its Minutemen unit appear this turn and retake the small town. I’ve given it assault posture and ordered it to march up the road northeast to Wilmington to try and retake that objective city if possible.

Jim

November 1775

Boy did I make a mistake attacking the indian village near Montréal. I assumed since its native unit was already active that it was ok to attack it, but since I attacked it this turn, all northern tribes were instantly released.

I’ve ordered the militia unit near Dayton back to Oswego with attack posture to try and save the fort from an indian raid. I’ve also ordered Warner and his irregulars south to Fort Stanwix (with orders to burn the Caughnawagas village as they leave it) with attack posture as well to try and save that fort. Both moves should arrive this turn, I hope the indians can’t burn the forts before they arrive.

At Montréal A British regular unit of two companies appeared and assaulted the place destroying the minuteman unit while suffering 8 hits in return.

At Ticonderoga British Colonel Richard Prescott made a bonehead move and appeared outside the fort leading only a supply wagon. It appears he detached his Tory unit and left it behind at fort St. John. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I’ve ordered Arnold to patrol move south one area and back with attack posture in an attempt to capture the supply. With winter having arrived I see no sense allowing Prescott to deliver supply to the main British army.

The British left Boston this turn with two different armies. One consisting of 3 units under Sir William Howe marched south and captured Providence and the strategic town of Newport. The other consisting of 9 regulars, 1 dragoon, 2 artillery and 2 supply units lead by Sir Henry Clinton arrived outside Hartford and set siege to the place.

With Harsh winter outside I’m confident Washington can withstand an assault. Especially since most of the British units are at half strength or less.

This is one weakness of the AI I wish could be addressed. The British should have stayed inside a town until totally rebuilt before heading out on a campaign. And even if they were at 100% strength the AI should stay inside winter quarters whenever winter arrives.

If Howe starts taking winter damage I’ll avoid piling on by attacking them since it would be unfair given the AI’s inability to recognize winter. Hopefully the AI will pull back and allow that army to rebuild before spring arrives.

Lee’s army fought two battles at Norfolk. The first was a defeat with Lee taking 29 hits and his opponent Francis Smith taking 20. The second battle saw the destruction of the Tory unit and Lee suffered an additional 8 hits and captured Norfolk.

I’ve detached Lee from his army at Petersburg and ordered him to an adjacent city. This puts Daniel Morgan in command of the force so his charismatic ability will help with disbandment rolls.

At Charleston Moultrie fought two battles with Brown’s force there. Brown’s force was destroyed and Moultrie suffered a total of 2 hits (1 in each fight).

I’ve ordered all forces from Camden, Charleston, Savannah and Augusta to march to Ninety-six with attack posture set. In total I’ll have 5 militia, 1 supply wagon present when everything arrives and should easily be able to storm the place next turn.

Jim

December 1775

The lone militia unit headed to Oswego fought a battle with an indian unit outside Fort Stanwix and won saving that fort from being burned down. The militia suffered 2 hits and the indian unit 3, no companies were lost.

The militia then moved on to Oswego where it has entered into garrison.

Seth Warner must have needed some extra time to burn down the indian village since he failed to reach Fort Stanwix even though his move plot said it was only a 28 day march. He’s one area northwest at Osceola and should reach Stanwix in time to prevent any new indian raids again this turn.

Arnold captured the supply wagon outside Ticonderoga and is again in garrison mode there.

Sir Henry Clinton attempted to storm Hartford this turn to my surprise. At first the battle meter showed it to be a dead even fight and I was a bit alarmed that I might lose the entire army under Washington. Soon however the meters arrow swung to the left in my favor and Washington won the 3 hour battle handedly.

Washington suffered 66 hits and lost 2 militia companies. Howe suffered 144 hits and lost 3 Tory, 3 regular and 2 grenadier companies. Howe’s battered army then retreated northeast to the area of Norwich.

A lone indian unit then appeared outside Hartford, but I’ve opted not to set Washington into attack posture this turn. Most of his units are severely depleted and I don’t want to lose more companies to an ill-advised attack if an unexpected British force arrives.

Of course were I playing a human opponent I’d pursue Howe and try to defeat him in detail, but I feel that would be taking advantage of the AI’s weakness, since no human would have arrived and attacked me at half strength in the middle of harsh winter in the first place. Hopefully the AI will head for a city now and rebuild given how weak Howe’s force is now.

It appears I’m going to lose the strategic town of Norwich this turn. A British leader leading 1 unit appeared in the area directly south this turn and should have no trouble reaching Norwich this turn even though its winter weather.

Near Boston both Cambridge and New Bedford fell to the British this turn.



Nothing happened in the Richmond area this turn.

At Wilmington Lord Dunmore and 1 unit appeared and took the place for the British again this turn.

At Ninety-six I’ve created an army lead by William Campbell consisting of 4 militias and a supply wagon and given it assault orders. Winter is close by so there isn’t time to try and reduce the place a bit first.

I’ve given the 1 militia unit that failed to reach the area orders to march to Camden and enter garrison.

The Deep South is the one area I don’t have a charismatic leader yet, so I’m a bit fearful of the upcoming disbandment rolls.

Jim

January 1776

The British didn’t take Norwich this turn and there is no sign of the force I saw near there last turn. There is a British regular and a supply wagon reported south of Ticonderoga, so perhaps that’s them and Intel is just miss-reporting the details.

Nathanael Greene and the first Rhode Island militia appeared this turn outside Providence. With lots of British troops in the area, I’ve detached the militia and given it passive orders to move southwest to new Haven. Greene has passive orders to ride to Camden in the Deep South where he will assume overall command of the region and also act as the charismatic leader that region needs.



The assault at ninety-six went in and took the place with Campbell’s army taking just 7 hits.

Disbandment rolls arrive and I only lost a total of 8 units to disbandment. Of course given the horrendous losses to my militia units outside Boston, I guess there simply weren’t as many units to lose as I’m used to.

Arnold managed to keep both his militia and Ethan Allen kept 2 of his 3. The militia at Oswego stuck around which will be a big help given the bonehead move I made in releasing all the northern tribes.

2 of Washington’s militias converted to regulars (for a total of 3 regulars in his army now) and he kept a total of 6 militia units. At Springfield Joseph Warren managed to keep all three of his militias.

Both militias at New York and Philadelphia disbanded leaving those cities with just their intrinsic garrisons.

At Petersburg Daniel Morgan only kept 1 of his 3 militias so I’m in trouble in that area now.

In the Deep South 3 of the 5 militias stuck around. 2 at Ninety-six and the 1 at Camden.

Jim

February 1776

Ft. Edward the small town just south of Ticonderoga fell to the British and a small British force is observed southeast of Ft. Edward in the area of Tajacook. Intel reports it consists of 2 regulars and 1 supply wagon.

Greene and the Rhode Island militia are chased and engaged by Howe in 2 different engagements. Losses are 11-1 and 8-2 in the two battles and the Rhode island militia is on the verge of total destruction.

Combined with the 4 winter damage(s) it took at the start of this turn it only has 3 companies left and they are all totally red. I doubt it’ll survive the winter damage it takes as the area around New London is suffering Snow and Harsh Weather, but I’ve given it passive orders north and west to Springfield in an attempt to avoid another attack by Howe.

Too bad it was set to passive orders, otherwise it would have probably captured New London and would be able to enter there as garrison this turn, but alas it’s still British controlled and Howe is probably going to chase them again, so I decided to try and flee once more.

Washington’s army is now up to 421 total combat power, but still has quite a bit of rebuilding left to do. I haven’t had a single replacement company appear yet, so several militias still don’t have their full compliment of companies. The companies for two of the militia units are also still quite red.

Washington’s army totals 3 regular units, 1 light infantry unit, 6 militia units, 1 Dragoon unit, 1 artillery unit and 3 supply wagons. Not huge but respectable given the pasting he took a while back.



William Alexander and a militia unit appeared at Morristown last turn and I had given him orders to march to New York. Unfortunately due to winter he failed to make it and is one area northwest of New York. He’ll take some damage as he’s in the midst of Snow and Harsh Weather.

Anthony Wayne and his light rifle unit are garrisoning Philadelphia.

Charles Lee’s army of 1 militia remains at Petersburg.

William Campbell’s army of 2 militia and 1 supply will remain at Ninety-six since the winter weather prevents him from reaching any shelter in one move.

I’ve decided to march the militia unit at Camden to Charleston. Of the two cities I prefer to hold Charleston if possible and combined with the intrinsic garrison there the force should be tough to beat behind a fort.

Jim

March 1776

As expected the Rhode Island militia is destroyed due to winter damage. Greene however manages to slip through the British lines and is finally on his way to the Deep South.

The British force south of Ticonderoga headed south and is 1 area north of Peekskill.

Alexander and his 1 militia unit take 4 winter hits and arrive in New York to serve as garrison.

Thomas Brown and 1 unit of Tory militia arrive at Petersburg and set siege to the place. I’ve decided not to try and sortie as I’m better off behind the city walls should Brown assault the place. Also Charles Lee is a 5-2-2. so his rating is the same whether attacking or defending. Intel does not show me Brown’s rating, hopefully it’s not too much higher than Lee’s.



The Wilmington Minutemen appeared this turn and recaptured the city. I’ve ordered them northwest up the road to Cross Creek to retake that town if possible.

The 2nd Georgia militia arrived at Charleston unmolested and entered into garrison.

I’m leaving William Campbell’s army at Ninety-six until Greene arrives in two turns to take command.

Jim

April 1776

April arrives and winter weather still hangs on in many areas in New England, Middle States and South Central regions.

The Fort Edward minutemen appear just south of Ticonderoga and retake that town. I’ve decided to leave them in garrison there as I observed many British armies move towards Battleboro this turn (the town fell).

Seth Warner and his irregulars attempt to set an ambush in the area of Oriskany (the area around Fort Stanwix) in anticipation of indian raids.

Nicholas Herkimer appeared this turn at Albany and I’ve ordered him to Dayton to lead the colonist unit there. His indian fighting ability should help the small two company unit against any indian raids at that fort.

With the new companies raised Washington’s army is now up to 513 combat power as all units (except the dragoons) now have 4 companies. Next turn all but ¼ of 1 Dragoon company will be out of the red as well and I can consider where to send him on his spring campaign. There is simply too much winter surrounding him this turn to start him moving as he can’t really reach more than 1 or 2 areas away right now.

It appears all the British in the Rhode Island area moved northwest this turn towards Battleboro. If they continue northwest this turn Washington should have no trouble liberating Boston this spring. Unless of course more British troops arrive.

The British army of 2 units and a supply wagon around Peekskill moved southwest to the area of Maidenhead just north of Princeton. Looks like they are headed to Philadelphia or perhaps even further south.

Brown’s force managed to inflict 5 hits on my defenders inside Petersburg this turn. I still have no units that can lift the siege in the region yet, so Lee will continue to stay hunkered down behind the city walls.

Lord Charles Cornwallis appeared with an army at Wilmington this turn. His army consists of 5 regular units, 1 marine unit, 1 artillery unit and one supply unit.

The only unit even close to him is the Wilmington Minutemen unit which took cross creek for me this turn. I’ll leave them there in hopes they get to fight some of Cornwallis’ troops before they disband.

Nathanael Greene is just 20 days ride from Ninety-six, so he’ll be in position to start cobbling an army together in the Deep South next turn.

Jim

May 1776

Although Warner failed to set an ambush at Oriskany, he did destroy an indian unit which entered the area suffering 4 hits himself in the battle.

The British 17th Light Dragoons appeared and captured the undefended city of Norwich this turn.

With Henry Clinton’s battered army sitting in Battleboro, both Arnold at Ticonderoga and Schuyler at Albany have their small forces pinned in place in garrison mode. Otherwise I’d probably dispatch a unit from one of them to retake Norwich.

Although winter still persists in some of the wilder areas of New England, the weather has cleared enough for Washington to begin his spring campaign. I’ve given him assault posture and ordered him along a path that will recapture New London and Providence this turn.

Next turn, he’ll be in a good position to recon both Boston and Newport and may possibly be able to recapture both next turn depending on what kind of resistance is spotted.

I’m just hoping he doesn’t run into a large British army coming from Boston or Newport this turn along his march route. If he does whatever survives will simply head for the hills.

I’ve detached Colonel Glover and 1 militia unit from the Springfield garrison and sent them south to take up garrison duties at Hartford.



At Philadelphia the leaderless army of 2 British regulars and 1 supply wagon set siege to the place. Anthony Wayne and his light rifle company are inside the city along with the intrinsic garrison. Hopefully they can hold out till July when more troops should appear in the region during the levies.

Brown lifted his siege at Petersburg and went into the city of Norfolk. It was winter in the area around Petersburg last turn so perhaps that’s what prompted the move by the AI as Brown had no supply wagons with him.

Intel also detects Lord Dunmore’s force in Norfolk, so I am still outnumbered in this region. Lee and his single militia shall remain inside Petersburg awaiting more help from the July levies.

The Warrenton minutemen appeared this turn and retook that town. I’ve ordered them southwest to retake Hillsboro.

Greene arrived at Ninety-six and he’s taken command of the small force there. I’ve given him attack posture and ordered him to march to Camden.

Lord Charles Cornwallis divided his force at Wilmington. Cornwallis and 1 regular unit moved southwest and captured Georgetown. A single regular unit moved west and is now in the area of Little Peedee just southeast of the small town of Cheraw. The bulk of Cornwallis’ force is in the Green Swamp, 1 area west of Wilmington.

Jim

June 1776

Washington’s army fights two small skirmishes (destroying 1 indian and 1 regular unit) along his route and he fails to reach Providence due to the delays. Luckily for me he didn’t reach Providence as a large British army appeared at Boston this turn.

Led by Alexander Leslie, the force consists of both British and Hessian troops with about 20 units total. Washington is given defensive orders and ordered back to Hartford. Glover and his militia are given orders to head back to Springfield to bring that garrison up to 4 units (3 militias and Glover’s unit).

Sir Henry Clinton’s battered little British army headed south towards Peekskill and appears to be heading to New York possibly. I debated sending Washington to New York and leaving just a few militias at Harford, but next turn should see new unit levies and until I see where they appear I don’t want to commit Washington to any more battles just yet.



The small army outside Philadelphia lifted its siege and headed northeast (capturing Princeton along its way) ending its move in the area of Newark just west of New York. I assume it is going to join Clinton’s force around New York this turn.

Lord Dunmore and 1 Tory unit left Norfolk and set siege to Petersburg. Brown is still observed at Norfolk with his Tory unit.

The Warrenton Minutemen captured Hillsboro, but it turns out it wasn’t needed. Both Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion appeared at Hillsboro with their respective partisan units this turn. I’ve joined the two partisan units with Marion and ordered them to Charlotte to act as garrison. The Minutemen will remain at Hillsboro until they disband.

I’ve dispatched Sumter to ride north to the small town of Lynchburg in the South Central region. He and Greene are both Patriots, and since Greene is already in the Deep South, I’m sending Sumter to a different region. I have no idea of the patriot ability stacks with other patriots, so I’m separating the two to be sure I don’t lose Sumter’s 25% boost to militia levies.

At Camden Greene’s force engaged a single British regular and won the battle. Greene suffered 6 hits and the regular 12. No companies were lost. Greene will remain there as garrison for this turn.

Cornwallis’ force has moved deeper into the Deep South. 1 regular unit is at Granville just east of Augusta. Cornwallis and 2 regulars captured Orangeburg and are now in the area of Berkeley just north of Orangeburg. Valentine Jones leading 2 regulars, 1 artillery and 1 supply unit is at Lenud Ferry just north of Charleston.

Jim

July 1776

The first levies of my game arrive and the continentals raise a total of 23 units. Some of the areas where militias appeared were off the beaten track a bit and I’ll need a couple of turns to get everything into play.

In the region of New England 2 militia units were raised in the far northeast. 1 at Fort Western and the other at Concord. The Fort Western militia is ordered through the wilderness to Ticonderoga and should arrive in 70 days to bolster Arnold’s small force. The Concord militia is ordered to Springfield and should arrive there in 21 days, but has to pass through a busy traffic corridor between Battleboro and Worcester.

1 unit of militia arrived at Ticonderoga and I’ve left it there with Arnold’s small force as garrison. Arnold’s force now consists of 3 militias, 1 siege artillery and 3 supply wagons.

At Fort Stanwix 1 unit of regulars appeared freeing up Warner from his garrison duties there. Warner will begin a campaign to burn the native villages in the Mohawk valley and is given attack posture and ordered to move to attack the Seneca Village first.

At Albany 1 unit of regulars appeared and has joined Schuyler’s small army of 2 militias and 1 supply wagon. Schuyler has been given patrol march orders to Dayton and back with attack posture set. A single British regular has set siege to Dayton and Schuyler’s force should be able to do it some harm.

At Springfield 2 regular units appeared and I’ve attached them to Colonel Glover and his marines and ordered them south to join Washington’s army at Hartford.

At Hartford 2 regulars and 1 militia appeared. I’ve detached Israel Putnam and ordered him north to join the garrison at Springfield and replace Glover’s command abilities for that garrison.

When these two moves are completed Springfield will have 3 militias (4 if the Concord militia makes it in unscathed) in garrison lead by Joseph Warren and Israel Putnam (both 1 star generals). Washington’s force will consist of 1 light unit, 7 regular units, 7 militia units, 1 Dragoon unit, 1 artillery unit and 4 supply wagons.

Minutemen appeared at both Worcester and New Bedford and recaptured those towns. As they are deep in British territory they’ll simply remain in their respective towns as garrison until they disband.

Intel spots a small army lead by Karl Emil Ulrich von Donop just east of Hartford in the area of Norwich that appears to be moving into Hartford. Von Donop’s force consists of a total of 5 units including his personal von Donop rgt.

Alexander Leslie and his large army are observed at Providence. His force consists of approximately 980 combat power (I added up the strength numbers Intel observed for his units). After Glover joins Washington’s force in 6 days Washington will have approximately 861 combat power, so I assume/hope he’ll be safe behind Hartford’s walls till winter.

Henry Clinton and his battered little British army set siege to New York this turn. Inside is William Alexander leading 1 militia and 1 supply wagon. Also the intrinsic fixed garrison is present.



The small town of Ridgefield just north of New York was captured by the British 17th Light Dragoons.

The small leaderless British force of 2 regulars and 1 supply wagon entered Princeton instead of joining Clinton as I thought it was going to do.

1 indian irregular unit appeared outside Philadelphia this turn. I decided not to give Wayne’s small force offensive posture since Clinton could easily end up there during this turns moves and would soundly trash Wayne if that occurred.

At Alexandria 3 regulars appeared and have joined with Robert Howe and the supply wagon there.

At Charlottesville 1 militia and 1 regular appeared. I’ve ordered the regular to Alexandria and left the militia behind as garrison.

Thomas Sumter is ordered to ride from Lynchburg to Alexandria to help meet command needs of the new army forming up there.

Brown appeared with his unit of Tory militia and captured Richmond. Lord Dunmore is still besieging Petersburg where he caused 10 hits this turn.

Intel spots 2 British regulars at Norfolk this turn. I’ll need that small army I’m forming up at Alexandria to head south as soon as it forms if I hope to save the unit inside Petersburg.

3 militias appeared at Hillsboro this turn. I’ve left one behind as garrison and ordered the other two to Charlotte to join with a large army I’m forming there this turn.

At Camden I’ve joined all new levies to Greene and his force now consists of 1 regular, 5 militias and 1 supply wagon. I’ve given him attack posture and ordered him to march north to Salisbury and then back to Charlotte to try and clear any/all British activity in that area.

Currently there is 1 British regular sieging Marion and his 2 partisans inside Charlotte, and Intel spots another British regular and an unidentified leader to the east in the area of New Hannover. I’m assuming this new regular is headed to either Charlotte or Salisbury, hence Greene’s move/counter-move plot.

The British captured both Augusta and Ninety-six this turn and set siege to both Savannah and Charleston with small forces.

I’m hoping Greene’s new army will have time to lift the siege at Charleston, but we’ll see. British activity is intense right now in the Deep South and I may simply have to give up on holding any of the big ports for now.

Jim

August 1776

Seth Warner succeeds in destroying the Seneca indian unit but suffers 13 hits and loses 1 irregular company. The unit that lost the company has 1 remaining company left and it is ¾ red. Warner is ordered to burn the village and given passive ordered and ordered back to Albany for rebuilding.

One thing I’ve noticed since the patch is losses seem to usually be suffered by just a few units instead of being divided among all units involved now. I’ll have to keep a closer eye on this as right now it’s just a hunch/feeling.

Schuyler’s patrol move pays off and he engages 2 indian units outside Albany and wins suffering 10 hits and inflicting 17. Two of the four indian companies were destroyed. Schuyler then engaged the British regular unit outside Dayton and won that battle as well suffering 10 hits and inflicting 8. I was very lucky in this second battle as my Intel had been wrong.

Instead of just a single British regular, Schuyler engaged 1 regular, 1 artillery and 1 supply wagon. Luckily there were only 3 companies of regulars and 1 company of artillery present. Had the units been full strength I think Schuyler would have gotten trounced.

Arthur St. Clair and 1 supply wagon appeared at Albany this turn, so I’ve detached Schuyler and sent him to Fort Stanwix to take charge of the regular unit there. Ethan Allen now commands in Albany and is a much more capable leader.

Simon Fraser and 4 regulars appeared and set siege to Ticonderoga this turn. On a more alarming note, a large army of 7 regulars, 1 artillery and 2 supply wagons is observed just north of Ticonderoga in the area of Winooski.

Arnold will have to hold on with what he has on hand as there isn’t enough strength in the upper New York area to form an army large enough to deal with this new threat. I’ve ordered the lone militia that was marching through the wilderness towards Ticonderoga south to Albany where it should arrive in 46 days.

William Tryon and 1 regular unit assaulted New Bedford and destroyed my minuteman unit while suffering only 8 hits.

The Concord militia on route to Springfield met a British regular unit of 3 companies in the area of Westminster and lost the battle. The militia suffered 13 hits while inflicting 5 on the British unit. After the battle the militia retreated to Springfield which worked out perfectly since it lost no companies and will be full strength again after two turns of rebuilding losses.

Alexander Leslie and his large army set siege to Hartford. I’ve ordered Washington to burn two of his four supply wagons and build a depot. No sense giving the British more supply than I have to if I lose this siege. I contemplated burning my lone artillery and building a fort but decided against it. I might need the extra strength should Leslie try a direct assault instead of waiting for my army to starve.

Von Donop’s British army captured New Haven this turn.

The leaderless British force from Princeton moved northeast and is in the area of Woodbury now, just south of Hartford.

Clinton is still besieging New York. Parkers Fleet appeared and bombarded New York this turn causing 17 hits to the defenders and suffered 41 in return. Keep it up New York batteries!

I’ve detached Wayne’s light rifle unit and left it in Philadelphia as garrison. Wayne and the remaining militia have defensive posture and are ordered north to retake Princeton. Hopefully he’ll start training that militia and turn it into a regular before the disbandment rolls.

I was surprised to see John Paul Jones’ Fleet was forced out of port at Yorktown this turn when the British captured the town. I’ve ordered the fleet to Alexandria under passive posture.

I had ordered Jones’ Fleet to Alexandria several turns ago when it had appeared. I guess the Chesapeake Bay had been frozen or something and he docked at Yorktown and I missed the message telling me. Thankfully the fleet wasn’t captured or anything as it was simply an oversight on my part that I missed the fact he wasn’t where I thought he was.

At Alexandria I’ve formed an army of 4 regulars and 1 supply wagon under Robert Howe. He has orders to march to Fredericksburg, then Richmond, then Williamsburg and then Petersburg with assault posture set.

Howe is only a 4-1-2 leader compared to Sumter’s 6-2-3 rating but he has seniority and I doubt Sumter could win the assaults all alone leading only 2 regular units. Hopefully Howe’s attack rating of 1 won’t be too detrimental to the battles ahead.



The Halifax minutemen unit appeared and recaptured that town. I’ve ordered it to Warrenton to enter garrison there to try and block movement along the road running between Richmond and Hillsboro.

At Hillsboro Valentine Jones and 1 regular set siege to the place. Inside are 1 militia and the Warrenton minutemen unit which hasn’t disbanded yet.

At Charlotte Greene engaged the lone regular unit there and destroyed it suffering 9 hits in return. Greene’s army is now formed up and consists of 1 regular, 2 partisans, 7 militia and 1 supply wagon. I’ve ordered Greene to Charleston with attack posture set. Greene will move through Camden then the area of Colleton and should arrive at Charleston in 33 days.

I thought about attempting a forced march but the British are pretty strong in the Deep South right now and I don’t want to damage Greene’s troops in a march until I’ve managed to inflict some pain on the British first.

The Orangeburg minuteman unit I sent to Camden didn’t disband so its acting as garrison against the single British regular that set siege there this turn. Greene’s march route will steamroll that unit if it sticks around.

Jim