Call to Arms

[Raindem]

And the southern colonies...

[Raindem]

February 1779

Starting to plan this year’s campaign activity. Rochambeau’s ground forces in the West Indies currently amount to only 2 Foot Regiments and a large 8 pounder battery. Not enough to make a difference in anything we undertake. At sea we are even worse off. d’Estaing has but 3 French naval squadrons in addition to the 2 Frigate squadrons of the “Continental Navy”. That’s not enough to challenge the British anywhere in the theater. Of course, the new House Rule will prevent any ship-to-ship combat so it's a moot point.

So for the Patriots, 1779 will be a defensive year. The plan is to keep the Tories contained in their current strongholds and wait for additional French reinforcements. As for the AAR, it probably won’t make for great reading.

[John B.]

Oh, I think it's interesting to read about campaigns on here that are not 1941-1945 in Russia.

[Raindem]

March 1779

Without any heavy engagements planned for the year, we can afford to do a little exploring out west. Brodhead is assembling a small force at Lynchburg, VA (1 continental rgt, 1 militia btn, Oneida and Tuscarora Indian scouts). He will cross the Appalacian Mountains and capture Boonesboro and Blue Licks. If his party is still in decent shape at that time, he can continue westward to Vicennes.

Our overall army strength flows in cycles. As a general rule, we are very strong in the Spring, when new militia units are mobilized. Throughout the summer our strength dwindles as fighting invariably causes losses beyond the replacement rate. In the Winter we hit rock botton as enlistments expire and desertions increase (desertions reflected by a higher pestilence value). Starting in March the cycle repeats.

Here’s a shot of the Colonial Militias that are still available for activation. Since I’m not planning any major offensive activity this year, the only reason I would need to call one up is if the British make a major push somewhere. I do anticipate using them in 1780, but more on that later.

[John B.]

If you don't call up a militia in a particular year do more troops turn out the next time you call them up?

[Raindem]

The manual call-up options are for the entire game. So the ones you see listed have to last me until the end. In the first half of the war, militias tend to get called up to meet a new British threat. In the latter half of the war, they get called up to strength an American expedition somewhere. Since each colony can only be called up once per game, the American player has to be judicious in their use.

[rhinobones]

ORIGINAL: Raindem

I have identified the scenario settings that need to be adjusted in order for ship vs ship combat to play out correctly in T4.

Please identify these settings. I'm sure other designers would find this information very useful.

Regards, RhinoBones

[John B.]

Oh, I see, thanks!

[Raindem]

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

Please identify these settings. I'm sure other designers would find this information very useful.

Regards, RhinoBones

Naval Attrition Divider and Critical Hit Scalar for starters. I'm also going to experiment with reducing the range to lessen the chances of accidental ship vs ship interdiction combat.

[Raindem]

April 1779

The fourth anniversary of the war sees a lot of British naval movement but little ground combat. Several different American held ports were probed. Either the Tories are looking for another place to invade, or they are scouting for any buildup of Patriot forces. Or maybe they just wanted to bombard. It’s a cheap way for Britain to flex their muscle without risking casualties. In any event, it was a quiet turn.

[Raindem]

May 1779

Things are still slow on the battlefield so I’ll use the down time to talk about American Indian forces in this scenario.

In the Revolutionary War, the vast majority of native American Indians were allied with the British. A few with the Americans. The rest managed to stay neutral. But all had a stake in the outcome. Indians were pragmatic. They didn’t care about patriot freedoms or the greatness of the Crown. They chose the side that 1) they thought was going to win, and 2) stood to benefit them the most if victorious. With those criteria it was a no-brainer. A victorious Britain was much better for the Indian situation. And a British victory certainly seemed more likely at the time most of the tribes were choosing up sides. Another reason was that Britain made a greater effort, in both diplomacy and material support, to bring the Indians over to their side.

In the scenario, Indian tribes are aligned as follows:

British: Cherokee, Chicksaw, Choctaw, Creek, Delaware, Huron, Iroquois, Miami, Mohawk, Ottawa, Seminole, Seneca, and Shawnee.

Americans: Stockbridge, Passmaquoddy, St. John’s, Penobscot, Oneida, Tuscarora, Catawba.

Not only were the British allied nations more numerous, they were much more populous. Most of the indian units (a single unit is between 10 and 50 “warparties”. A warparty being roughly equivalent to a squad) start out in garrison mode. Indians allied with the Patriots all activate on a given turn. Around half of the British Indian allies will activate on a specific turn, and the rest will activate when an American unit moves next to one of them (which is what the Americans always run into when they invade Canada).

As the Americans, I like to use the Indians as scouts. But when playing the British, there are enough of them that they can ambush a militia unit who wanders too far into the hinterland. In the current game, British allied Indians captured an undefended foundry in Pennsylvania and permanently reduced American replacements. So as surprise raiders, they can be very effective.

Here is a map of all the Indian nations who took up the war path in the north.

[Raindem]

In the middle and southern colonies, the Americans had not one friendly Indian nation to count on.

[Raindem]

The southern most British Indian allies don't get involved in the war unless the Gulf coast is invaded.

[Raindem]

June 1779

I’ve had to pull back some of my forces that are too near to the coast. The combination of British warships, cannon, and foot regiments attacking in unison is too destructive. It only took me four years to figure this out. I’m not going to worry about Redcoats turning an open flank. Their invisible supply tether keeps me safe.

[cathar1244]

An interesting look at the Indians from a scenario design perspective. I wonder if the 'warparty' idea could be used to make up Indian units for the post-Civil War campaigns out west. IMO, this scenario displays a lot of ingenuity in making the TOAW system represent a conflict like the Revolutionary War. There must be a large amount of research behind the scenario.

Cheers

[Raindem]

Thanks. Yes, there was a good deal of research. My interest in including Indians in this scenario actually stemmed from some reading I did about pre-revolutionary America (i.e. the "7 Years War" and "King Phillip's War").

[Raindem]

July 1779

My forecast of a quiet year has been on the mark so far. Despite the absence of large battles, my replacement situation is slightly worse than the same time last year. The lack of militia replacements is particularly troublesome. As you can see, militia don’t receive a regular stipend like the musket squads of the Continental Army. Their replacements come from the dispersal of militia units whose periods of enlistment had expired. And since I had not called up any large groups of militia this year, there is not much to recycle.

What this means for the long term is that my army is slowly evolving into a permanent continental force. Still fragile, but with greater staying power than the unpredictable militia.

[Raindem]

August 1779

With things so quiet on the Atlantic seaboard it’s a good time to update my western campaign.

Brodhead (7th Virginia, 9th Virginia, VA Guards State Regiment) left Lynchburg back in March. He crossed the Appalachians and is about half way to his first objective, Boonesboro. Tuscarora Indian scouts assigned to his force reported only a single garrison in the town.

General Hand is mustering up a force (10th Pennsylvania, PA Militia Artillery, PA Washington Co Militia, Washington’s Dragoons, and Passamaquoddy Indian scourts) at Ft. Pitt to march on Detroit. He will likely provoke the Six Nations to retaliate. But if Detroit falls, the British lose their supply base for some of their Great Lakes Indian allies.

A French militia unit has appeared in the Illinois Territory and is marching south towards Vicennes. They will team up with Brodhead to assault when the time comes.

We still have General Green and a sizable army at Albany. If the western campaign goes well, those forces can eventually be turned back east, along the shores of the Great Lakes. Green can put is army in motion from the south, and at the very least push Burgoyne back into Canada. Ticonderoga is a worthy enough objective to warrant such an effort.

[John B.]

Very interesting stuff.

[Raindem]

September 1779

Nothing to report except some very minor skirmishes around Boston. Looks like everyone is retiring early this year to Winter quarters.