Call to Arms

[Raindem]

March 1777

Reinforced, the British have started pushing out in the Boston area. They re-captured Lexington (much quicker than it took me, BTW) and Concord. I believe the British are aware that if they push out too far, then swarms of militia will fall upon their flanks. But I’m not going to rely on gravity to keep the British in check, so we’ll be calling up the New Hampshire Militia to lend a hand. Also, General Heath has appeared in Providence. He will share command with Gates (who has been busy organizing supplies in Hartford).

[Raindem]

April 1777

Redcoats have landed a large force at New Bedford and nearly captured Newport. I was expecting something from the excess units guarding New York. I just didn’t know where the blow would land. Now I know. My first instinct was to pull back my right wing from Boston and anchor it on the coast. But the newly activated New Hampshire Militia allowed me to stand up a blocking force without disturbing my positions around Boston. So we’ll try that first and see what happens.

The British have also resumed offensive operations on the northern front. Engineers assisted the Hessians in crossing Lake George and outflanking Patriot positions south of Ticonderoga, forcing a retreat. Indian war parties and British dragoons swept into the Mohawk Valley from the west and captured Fort Stanwix. They continued their eastern drive until checked by a sortie sent out from Albany by Greene. So, for the moment, the northern frontier is holding.

Finally, the British have started probing inland in North Carolina. A dragoon and foot regiment sallied forth from New Bern and routed a militia battalion in Halifax, and are now headed towards Hillsboro. To meet this new threat, Lee and his Virginia Continentals will head down from the north while while South Carolina and Georgia will send some troops from the south.

Meanwhile, Washington waits in Philadelphia.

[Raindem]

Summary of maneuvers in upstate New York…

[Raindem]

May 1777

Redcoats made some slight gains in Rhode Island and are now threatening Providence. They also continued to poke and prod their way down from Ticonderoga.

Gates was sent down to Charleston to take command of the South Carolina and Georgia forces that are preparing to enter North Carolina. Lee, meanwhile, continued to try and hunt down the Loyalist troops that sacked Tarboro a couple months ago. He was not having much success.

Edit: Notice how far Gates has to move inland from Charleston before he can swing back around to advance on Wilmington. There's no direct route from Charleston to Wilmington. The path is hindered with forests and swamps. If it were the British making this move they would simply jump on some ships. But we don't have that luxury. This type of terrain and movement is a feature of war in the south. It is what gave Cornwallis such trouble in real life.

[Raindem]

June 1777

This was a turn of numerous British assaults on several fronts. The redcoats continued pushing down towards Ft. George and are just a few miles away. Extreme pressure was put on our right wing at Boston. Providence held, but the line is starting to falter. A small expeditionary force sailed to Virginia and unsuccessfully tried to find its way ashore. It was assisted by the 16th Dragoons which suddenly appeared on the coast. From whence it came I haven’t a clue. Finally, the redcoats at New Bern started pushing me back with the help of some newly arrived reinforcements (the aborted Virginia group I believe).

To all these thrusts I made minor defensive adjustments, except in the south. There, we are going to pull all the way back to our bases at Hillsboro, Charleston, and Savannah. Lee will return to Virginia. My southern advance was predicated on the British leaving their coastal forts and wearing themselves out chasing me through the swamps and forests of North Carolina. Now that they have returned to their supply base and received reinforcements, it’s back to garrison duty for our southern army.

It is the start of the campaigning season, the British have a lot of punch, and I can tell they are getting restless. My goal for the rest of this year is to simply avoid any major defeats. The Patriots are holding their own in this war and the French are on the verge of recognizing our independence. We just need to make it through the next few months.

[Cfant]

How is the scenario won or lost? Running out of troops?

[Raindem]

In game terms, victory is determined by VPs of controlled objectives.

In strategic terms, destroying enemy forces is more valuable. The objectives can be captured at leisure once the enemy army is destroyed.

[Raindem]

July 1777

More of the same from last month. The redcoats finally captured Providence after a good defensive stand by a mixed bag of continentals and militia.

The developments this year in New England are starting to concern me. The front has turned into that type of open field meat grinder that the British are so good at. We are holding, but barely. I feel like the redcoats could, anytime they wished, just pop my line wide open and drive all the way to New York. I guess I’m starting to doubt my decision to field a large army at Boston.

[John B.]

Excellent AAR!

[Raindem]

Thanks.

[Raindem]

August 1777

My assessment of the previous turn may have been too hasty. Even though it feels like I’m getting pummeled at Boston, the casualties are starting to wear on the British. For most of the conflict the British loss penalty had been half of the Americans’. A few months ago it started creeping up. Now it is almost equal. I believe that is a direct result of the fighting in New England. So I’m going to continue my strategy of fielding a large army there and rolling with the punches.

To help out, the newly comissioned Major General Lafayette will be sent to serve under Heath. The young Frenchman is the first high ranking representative of that nation to serve in the Continental Army. International negotiations are going well and we expect, before the year is over, official recognition by France.

[Raindem]

September 1777

The British took advantage of my North Carolina distraction (which weakened my coastal defenses) and landed an expeditionary force at Savannah. The assault was supported by several naval squadrons and the Patriot forces were quickly pushed out of the port. With winter only a couple months away this gives them the option of continuing offensive action for several more months. The southern campaign has begun.

The redcoats have pulled back in the northern theater. They cannot succeed here with the current balance of forces and I think they know it now. In the replay I saw an HQ darting around disengaging British units. Ian will not repeat Burgoyne’s mistake of letting his army get surrounded and forced into surrender at Saratoga. We need help at Boston so I’ll start stripping off excess units to transfer from Gates to Heath. Layfayette has arrived in New England and taken command of the American left wing.

[Raindem]

October 1777

France has recognized American independence! This is a major milestone. Within a few months arms and supplies will start streaming into American held ports. Shortly after that the first French ground and naval units should arrive. And at some point after that (it could be up to a year), Spain will start to contibute forces.

This does not guarantee American victory. Indeed, in most games the French do intervene at some point. It’s just a matter of timing. In our case, French intervention seems to be on a roughly historical timeline. The danger for the American player is being impatient and going over to the offensive too early. That’s what I did in our first match and it cost me the game. Even with French help, the Americans have to be judicious in their application of force.

[Raindem]

November 1777

The British continue to inflict heavy casualties at Boston, and we keep throwing fresh militia into the fray. But I don’t know what else to do. If I pull back they’ll capture all of New England. I’m not yet ready to give up the soul of the Revolution.

Washington has been idle at Philadelphia for over a year. I think the time has come for the good general to get his feet dirty. Leaving a large detachment behind in Philadelphia, Washington will lead his army up to New England and go over to the offensive in the Spring. Let it be written, let it be done.

[Raindem]

December 1777

Winter brings a welcome respite from the fighting. Time to replace casualties.

[Raindem]

January 1778

Situation map for Canada, New England, and the middle colonies

[Raindem]

Situation map for Virginia and the southern colonies

[Raindem]

February 1778

I’ve got some initial plans sketched out for Washington’s counteroffensive in New England. I’d like to capture Salem by sea assault and land a large force behind British lines, but I’m sure the weak American navy could not pull off something like that so near to a British base of power. And I think we are still a few months away from seeing a French naval squadron in colonial waters. The next best thing would be to ford the Merrimack River and turn the British right flank. Perhaps a quick strike by some light cavalry might even surprise Boston. Meanwhile the main line, reinforced with newly enlisted Connecticut Militia, would apply pressure from the front. It’s the most daring thing I’ve tried in this game so far. If it fails I could lose New England. If it succeeds, I may not actually capture Boston, but the British will suffer irreplaceable casualties defending it.

As I was about to move the militia into position, I saw that the British had broke ranks and split up into 3 groups - a large group around Boston, a smaller group around Providence, and an even smaller one at Newport. This move could have been because the British felt they were too far inland and thus exposed to attack (which in fact is what I was planning). Or it could be that the British were gathering up strength for a new campaign in 1778. I shall have to ponder how this affects my plans.

AAR note: I am delaying these AAR updates by several turns so as to not give my worthy opponent too much valuable intel. By the time this report is posted, whatever action was to occur would have already taken place.

[sapper32]

I had to pull back my forces, the supply situation away from the roads is virtually nil so my troops really need to winter in good supply then come out for the next year's campaign with good readiness and supply, Your rapid advance after I pulled back caused some alarm at various HQ's prompting me to act sooner rather than later

[Raindem]

Many of the militia that swept forward were supposed to be with the Merrimack crossing. I was impulsive, and it cost me.