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The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 10:43:49 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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The American Revolution Campaign game played as the Americans (myself) vs. Alfred the AI in the red corner as the Imperial Oppressors, the British.

Analysis of the Initial Force Composition
Let�s see the lay of the land at the commencement of the Full Campaign. A quick glance at the map below shows that Boston is, quite rightly, the centre of attention.

Holed up inside the city is General Thomas Gage with 13 regular regiments of redcoats, a couple each of elite Light Infantry and Grenadiers, half a dozen artillery batteries and 3 additional Heavy artillery batteries. The entire army is experienced (av. 69%), in good spirits (morale av. 68%) and ready for action (readiness av. 76%). All in all a formidable force.

On the other hand General Gage is a typical spiteful, well connected British toff with no particular expertise other than that which he learned in Siege school. Boston, luckily, isn�t fortified.

Surrounding Boston are three American armies, all solidly entrenched. To the west is the infamous New Englander, General Artemas Ward, a rolled-gold military dud, with almost 5,000 men, mostly Continental infantry with a sprinkling of militia and several artillery batteries. To the south is General Charles Lee, barely competent, and leading 4,000 men, all northern Continental infantry from Connecticut or Massachusetts plus another couple of artillery batteries.

Finally to the east is General Israel Putnam, a man capable at defending but liable to go AWOL if asked to attack. He has a further 3,200 men, mainly Continentals from New Hampshire and Rhode Island plus the obligatory two artillery batteries.

Lurking nearby at Providence is General George Washington, a shining beacon of military prowess (perhaps not historically justified but nice to have anyway), with 2 batteries of heavy artillery and a single regiment of well trained Continental Riflemen. Unfortunately all three American armies encircling Boston are full to the brim with poorly trained (av. Experience 49%) troops that have yet to be blooded.

All three of the commanders around Boston are politically connected and difficult to replace (Influential trait). To add to the joy General Lee can�t stand being in the same tent as the other two (Jealous trait) and is showing every sign of doing things his way in his own time, thank you very much. Overall it�s not a good look for the Americans.

Somewhat further south at Norwich is Benedict Arnold with one regiment of militia and one of well trained riflemen. Typically both of our best Generals � Washington and Arnold � have been given command of small, largely irrelevant forces while the politically appointed duds have been given the bulk of the Continental forces.

Additionally convoys are en-route and Boston is due to be reinforced on turn two (2nd week) by 2,000 additional redcoats, 300 Dragoons and significant amounts of artillery. Even worse another convoy is expected to make Boston harbour by turn five with a further 1,400 redcoats (a mix of bog standard infantry and elite troops) and a little extra artillery. Both convoys are shipping experienced troops from Mother England. Troops that are buoyed up and ready to fight from the get go.

So within a month and half Boston will be bulging at the gills with over 10,000 professional, well trained troops supported by almost 100 artillery pieces. Not good.

Some difficult initial decisions clearly have to be made for the New England theatre of operations but let�s leave them for the moment and look at the rest of the colonies.

We have three separate armies, all tiny, holding down the approaches from Canada that lead through the upper Hudson.

Fort Triconderoga is garrisoned by Colonel Ethan Allen with a sole regiment of New York Militia and enough artillery batteries to take over the known world. Even the Canadian Geese put a kink in their migration path to avoid overflying �cannonball central�.

Fortified on the other bank of the Hudson is Brigadier Seth Warner and his Green Mountain Boys (1 x regiment of riflemen), arguably the best American troops currently in the field.

Further south, at Albany on the junction of the Hudson and the Mohawk rivers is General Richard Montgomery with two regiments of militia and one of riflemen (Whitecombs Rangers).

Sixty miles to the West, fortified overlooking the Mohawk river is Colonel Peter Gansevoort with a single regiment of New York militia and one heavy artillery battery.

There is significant military talent and expertise here in the upper Hudson region. Most of the above mentioned commanders and troops are ideal guerrilla �hit-and-run� operators and I�ll be looking for a way to unlock their potential as quickly as possible.

In a rough arc to the north west are various British outposts, none of which pose any immediate threat. Comfortably ensconced in Quebec is Colonel John Small with a regiment of Canadian militia backed up by one regiment of professional redcoats and supported by a sprinkling of heavy artillery.

General Guy Carelton similarly sips wine and Madeira in Montreal with a like force. Neither gentleman has displayed any inclination to co-operate on anything other than an tendency towards expensive mistresses and are not expected to leave the comforts of their well feathered nests.

Out in the wilds of the woods is the dismal and depressing Colonel Guy Johnson at Fort Niagra with a regiment of redcoats and several batteries of artillery. Bottled up at the northern end of Lake Champlain at Fort St John is Colonel Alured Clarke, a one man military dynamo, with a similar outpost garrison.

Lying doggo at Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario is Colonel William Buttler, another dangerous man in a fight. Dangerous only when leading an army and not the understrength single regiment of Canadian Militia he has to play with.

Colonel Samuel Bayard at Fort Frontenac, where the Saint Lawerence river enters Lake Ontario is a further competent commander with only a handful of Canuk Militia to his name.

In summary the upper Hudson frontier region is a stalemate with neither side currently strong enough to undertake offensive operations. This could easily change, however, if the British activate their Indian allies as a total of 8 separate tribes, including the Huron, Mohawk, Iroquois and the fearsome Seneca are within striking distance.

The Southern Colonies are barely involved. The British have 500 men (including the East Florida Rangers) garrisoned at St. Augustine under the extremely capable Brigadier Augustine (aptly named and placed!) Prevost.

Our nearest force is at Charlestown where there are three South Carolina Regiments of Continentals under the leadership of the Psychotic Colonel Thomas Sumter. Whatever they�ve been up to recently it hasn�t been in any military manual as their readiness is down around 30%. Probably all raving drunk after a hanging party.

Way out in the boondogs is Colonel David Brodhead and some Pennsylvannia Militia at Fort Pitt on the junction of the Ohio and Allegheny rivers. About the only thing they can expect to see out there are bears, bats and Indians. Have fun boys.

Another man who drew the short straw is Brigadier John Thomas at Fort Western on the upper reaches of the Kennebec River in the back blocks of Maine. Apparently his political connections went sour as his only company in this lonely outpost are a couple of rusty cannons, Cecil and Cyril. Boom boom. Too much of that can send a man mad.

Cheers,
Lancer

Post #: 1

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 10:51:03 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Strategic Overview

Due to smuggling and surreptitious French assistance, significant stockpiles of weapons, cannons and horses exist. Gold is another story. 5,000 men await the call to arms. While we have a temporary abundance of Influence, befitting a budding revolution, our zeal is somewhat lacking.

As a result of our overreaching control of almost the entire 13 colonies we have ample amounts of all requirements filling our coffers on a monthly basis. We also have sufficient cash flow to effectively double our military forces.

Off particular note are cannons. Only three towns provide cannons � Springfield in the north and Lancaster and Fredricksburg in the middle colonies. We will have to be careful to conserve our existing stock of artillery in light of the colonies inability to produce them in any number.

Weapons are a similar story. We have enough (and this is before the British start their inevitable offensive) to supply only one regiment of infantry per turn and to additionally cover any battle losses.

The one thing we have no shortage of is eager volunteers. Hopefully they�ll stay eager until we call upon their services.

We aren�t planning any amphibious assaults or strategic repositioning for a very good reason. One the other hand the British have significant strategic mobility up and down the coast and major river systems for some time to come. This is a concern.

If this was a game of English cricket we�d be two wickets up before the game started. Unfortunately it�s not cricket (what the hell is?) and our initial advantage is bound to be short lived.

The Plan

I�ll break it down into three components.

1. The Boston / New England theatre where major conflict looms
2. Fortifying the frontier with militia
3. Raising new armies for the future

2.Fortifying the frontier with Milita

With eighty influence points we can afford to raise 13 militia regiments spread throughout the colonies. As we can expect significant Indian activity along the frontier the primary focus is to position our militia in key towns so as to slow the onslaught.

My preferred method is for dual regiment militia groups led by a random colonel. Single regiment armies tend to be too brittle. So that brings our militia armies down to a total of six. Where do we put them?

Starting with the south both Savannah and Augusta need to be garrisoned immediately as there are three separate Indian tribes within easy reach (Cherokee, Creek & Seminol). While crazy Colonel Sumter lurks nearby in Charlestown with his three regiments of hungover Continentals he cannot be relied on.

Moving northwards both Salisbury and Roanake are vulnerable frontier towns. With the Shawnee Indians located due west of Roanoke it�s a given that we need militia there. Salisbury is a question mark. It is located far away from any Indian tribes and would only be vulnerable to an extremely long range raiding party which is unlikely. More possible would be royalist militia recruited in a nearby town but at this stage the British have captured nothing. We�ll leave Salisbury undefended for the moment.

Winchester is similarly positioned, although a lot depends on which way the Shawnee and Huron raiding parties decided to go. We�ll err on the side of safety and garrison Winchester now.

The Carlisle / York / Lancaster hub is definitely vulnerable. Lancaster is a key cannon producing town. The problem we have here is that all three towns are close together so any militia garrison in one of them could be easily bypassed leaving the other two wide open. Perhaps we�ll garrison Carlisle as it is the frontier town of the three (and an ideal sentry post) and think about having some fast response dragoons within reach.

We have, to date, Savannah, Augusta, Roanake, Winchester and Carlisle leaving us two unallocated militia garrisons. Kingston, on the Hudson, is a must as it secures the road network leading to Albany and the entire upper Hudson area. In fact for Kingston we�ll make an exception and place a three militia garrison.

Our last militia garrison will be put in Baltimore at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. We aren�t worried about Indian raiding parties here but amphibious assaults by the British. Baltimore is an important centre and to loose it to a surprise seaborne assault would be embarrassing all-round.

3.Raising new armies for the Future

Here we have a quandary. We have a vast area to defend but limited resources. Do we focus on one large army or do we spread ourselves thin? As mentioned above a mobile force of dragoons (several regiments) would provide us with a quick reaction capability to any untoward Indian movements on the frontier.

Two regiments of Dragoons won�t be cheap and will burn up over a thousand horses (half our stock) and two thousand weapons (over one third of our stock). We�ll accept the hit on our supplies and place them in Philadelphia.

New York needs an army. Of course it does, it�s New York. We also need to secure a safe location for our northern forces to retreat too if things turn pear shape at Boston. We�ll max out the infantry with what�s left of our stockpile. A priority will be to change out the random commander with a General possessing the �trainer� trait as soon as we can. Fingers crossed that our random commander doesn�t prove to be �influential�.

1.The Boston / New England theatre

I�ve deliberately left this to last. While we have options here none of them are particularly appetising. We could

1. Abandon New England and retreat in an organised and orderly manner towards New York
2. Launch an all-or-nothing assault in the hope of securing Boston before reinforcements arrive
3. Maintain our entrenched position and let the British impale themselves on our fortifications a-la-Bunker Hill

All three options suffer from our dismal bevy of commanders. Aretmas Ward in particular is a concern. With his initiative rating (see note below on �home rules�. Basically initiative rating is a commander�s attack + defense ratings that need to be rolled on 2D6 each turn in order for him to move both strategically or tactically) of 5 the odds of him being able to safely retreat in a general withdrawal are long. An all-out assault would most likely see him declining to fight and even if he did any troops under his command would have all the manoeuvrability of a drunken sailor.

Unfortunately any assault launched without his 5000 men and artillery support would be bound to fail. One possible option would be to immediately fire good �ole Artemas and replace him with a fire-spitting general who eats Jack Tar�s for breakfast. This will cost us a mighty 12 influence points as he is �connected�, damn him. That would mean reducing our militia garrisons by one full army.

Winchester isn�t under any immediate threat and could survive on it�s own for a while but if we did this it could be a while before we could garrison it as our priority would be to replace the colonel in our newly recruited New York army. By the time we had enough influence saved up to garrison Winchester it could be too late.

An all-out assault would have to be conducted on turn 1 as British reinforcements would make it impractical after that. While we would have numerical superiority we would have a significant qualitive deficiency to the professional troops fielded by the British.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 2

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 10:56:16 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Important Note
The game has is played with the Realistic rule set and at the �General' (highest) difficulty level.

In addition I have self-imposed a range of home-made rules upon myself which basically makes the game a lot harder for me while increasing the depth of the �people management� aspects which I find personally very interesting. In short Commanders take on even greater importance with good commanders being worth their weight in gold and poor commanders a serious headache.

The big difference is that any army recruited is given a truly random commander (I roll a few dice. Most will get a colonel but an occasional brigadier and general are thrown in as well. My system is weighted towards providing the lower quality commanders.) rather than the standard game practice of cherry picking only the best and most appropriate commander for the occasion. This reflects the political whims and fancies of the day. I have the option of firing and hiring after the random commander is on the field but this is at a significant cost (particularly if they possess the 'Influential' trait) of influence points which can � and does � handicap me in other areas.

The other aspect that bears note is that each commander must pass an �activation� roll (similar to BoA) in order to move (they can always retreat) or take any offensive action. I roll a couple of dice and if the result is less than or equal to their Offensive + Defensive ratings combined then they are O.K. George Washington, for instance, will automatically activate (unless I roll 12 on 2D6) each turn with his high ratings but the majority of American Commanders will be a toss up. I tweak it a bit further to simulate a rough chain of command in that with multiple armies together the senior commander rolls first so a G.Washington or Benedict Arnold can help lift the performance of subordinates both on the strategic and tactical maps.

Commanders with the Jealous attribute throw an additional spanner into the works and can make life very difficult if stacked with another.

Why have I deliberately made the game harder? Well it�s not because I�m super smart and need a challenge. A couple of reasons. I play out most battles tactically and having to worry about commanders receiving and acting on their orders tends to even up things a little as the AI, while very good, is still a computer AI with all the limitations that this entails.

The other reason is it adds another dimension of decision making to my thinking as having the right commander in the right place is now terribly important. While my approach might not suit others I find it makes the game more enjoyable. This is no slight on the developers as they have produced a great game as it stands, it is simply my particular preference.

You can read this AAR without any recourse to the above house rules and still (hopefully) enjoy it. Just remember to filter out my comments about commanders activating or not (Curses. Hang that man and flog his children!)

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 12/29/2006 5:15:27 AM >

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 3

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 10:59:41 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Week 1 June 1775

Pirates raided the deep south. Mothers locked up their daughters. Wolves howled at the moon. A normal day in the New World.

I�ve had second thoughts with the militia. I put one regiment each into Savannah, Salisbury, Winchester and Roanake. The idea being I�ll see what develops on the frontier first before committing myself. Two regiments went to Carlisle under the command of Brigadier Ebernezar Learned the 2nd (as opposed to Ebernezar Learned the 1st who�ll hopefully stay locked in his cage for the duration � PS: he appears to have disappeared with the 1.75 patch). Another couple in Augusta (a key city) under the competent Colonel Jetro Sumner. A slip of the mouse put three regiments into Kingston (I only intended two but couldn�t figure out how to cancel the third. No worries, maybe I�ll send the surplus off to invade Canada�). Unluckily I scored Colonel William Washington (a distant cousin of the great man) who is a dab hand with a horse but somebody who is unlikely to frighten the Canuks into an early surrender.

I stuck to the plan with my Continentals and got lucky with my 2 regiments of Dragoons in Philadelphia as Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, an experienced Cavalry officer, stepped forward to take charge. I did well with my new army in New York to. I raised six regiments of fine, upstanding Connecticut Infantry under the command of a real, live General! Not a particularly flash one � Arthur St. Clair who suffers from an unfortunate disposition and a vicious jealous streak � but a General nevertheless. Thinking about it Arthur will have to go soon as he couldn�t train a bird to fly and it�s going to cost me more influence to replace a General than I would have had to use to swap out some nameless Colonel. Oh well.

New England. Big decisions here. I opt for the chicken strategy. I�ve tried before concentrating all my armies into one fortified redoubt and duking it out with the British. Despite my collection of dud generals I can, barely, manage to hold the line. The problem being that my whole force is knackered afterwards and with the new Realistic Rule set your readiness recovery rate is halved making follow-up assaults by the British lethal.

General Ward (jealous git that he is) has been ordered to take his army cross country to Springfield. Off course he dithered (didn�t activate) and barely managed to march over the horizon in the fullness of a week. With luck some wild animal will gobble him up during a nature stop as he crosses the mountains.

Generals Lee and Putnam both withdrew in smart order to Providence where George Washington assumed his rightful command of the Continental Army (sans Ward). With Washington in charge I�ve got almost guaranteed manoeuvrability. A big asset given the fancy footwork I�m going to have to do.

I�ve opted to keep Benedict Arnold in Norwich as, from past experience, the British are liable to swing some cavalry into my rear and take any undefended town. Hartford, behind a river and off the road network is safely out of cavalry range initially.

In the upper Hudson valley I�ve moved Seth Warner and his Green mountain boys into Fort Triconderoga in order to pick up the majority of the artillery stash the British left us when the fort was captured. He has orders to march them south to Albany, at which point I�ll reassess. These 78 guns form the siege train of the revolution and should be conserved at all costs.

Colonel Gansevoort with his artillery has been told to abandon his redoubt in the Mohawk Valley and pull back to Albany as well. They are seriously exposed out there on his own in the event of any sizeable Indian incursion. Unfortunately the courier carrying the orders was captured by an Indian scouting party and Colonel Gansevoort spent the week clicking his fingers in frustration, anxiously waiting for news.

I�ve left myself 14 influence points as a reserve. Previously I�ve used them all up with militia but I�ve decided it�s better to wait until fully committing myself.

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 1/24/2007 8:32:23 AM >

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 4

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 11:05:00 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Week 2 June 1775

The British fleet moves inshore and bombards Washington�s Continentals in Providence. The British army remains couped up in Boston despite my total withdrawal.

General Artemas Ward manages, god knows how, to find a house of ill-repute high up in the Berkshire (?) mountains and proceeds to get himself and his army totally rat-faced on moonshine. Not only does their readiness drop to precipitous levels but General Ward, once again, manages to cover less ground in a week than a dog with two legs.

The only reason I sent him cross country to Springfield was that he is so bloody useless that if I asked him to rendezvous at Providence with everybody else he would have been surrounded and wiped out before he was half way there (his activation roll is a 5 or less on 2D6).

Colonel Gansevoort finally receives orders and promptly marches along the banks of the Mohawk River to Albany. This is a relief as he is an excellent commander and I don�t want to loose him.

I gain three influence points for a total of 17 and decide to spend 6 of them on a Training General for my infantry army in New York. I choose General Robert Howe who is additionally a fort specialist and politically connected (influential). I give Arthur St. Clair a pat on the back as he walks out the door. Arthur managed to hold it all together even if it was only for a week. Well done Arthur. Don�t call us, we�ll call you.

Congress authorises Washington to raise the pay of his armies to 120%. I make a note to correspondingly drop the pay of my new armies in New York and Philadelphia. I�d like to consolidate the three armies I have in Providence into a more formalised structure with Washington holding the bulk of the forces but as all three generals (Washington, Lee & Putnam) are politically connected and loathe to break up their individual power bases it�ll cost me more influence points than it�s worth.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 5

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 6:05:24 PM

CptHowdy

Posts: 132
Joined: 12/12/2006
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good stuff

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 6

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/28/2006 6:51:42 PM

robpost3

Posts: 465
Joined: 8/18/2006
From: the backwoods of Mass.
Status: offline

Bravo!
Great read thanks...
I love the self imposed rules, going to try them myself.
Keep it up.

Cheers

RP

_____________________________

The Yankee Motto:
Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make do,
Or do without.
"God Help us, and God, come yourself.
Don't send Jesus, this is no place for children."

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 7

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/29/2006 2:52:04 AM

cbird

Posts: 7
Joined: 12/14/2006
Status: offline

(in reply to robpost3)

Post #: 8

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/29/2006 5:45:11 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Week 3 June 1775

The British finally come bounding out of Boston. A Cavalry strike force under Colonel Francis Rawdon (8-6-gifted) makes a lightening assault on the undefended Newport. A sizeable combined army taskforce takes Plymouth.

General Ward continues to bumble and stumble his way through the wilderness to Springfield. The weather has turned foul and his collection of 5,000 moonshine-skulling troops are starting to run short of supplies (not sure, I�ll have to check on that), readiness, backbone and morale fibre. Serves �em right. It might sober the sorry sons of guns up.

Washington lurks in Providence.

All the action however was in the upper Hudson valley where Ethan Allen, commander of Fort Ticonderoga, a key bailiwick against a Canadian incursion, throws duty to the four winds and elopes with the wife(?) of Colonel Seth Warner, he of the artillery escort. Confusion and chaos reign as Fort Ticonderoga comes to a complete stop, as does Colonel Warners column heading to Albany (failed to activate). Given that both Allen and Warner hail from Vermont (�New Hampshire Gardens� prior to statehood) and are close friends I can only assume it�ll be pistols at dawn. This is what happens when you leave grown men (and a solitary pretty girl) out in the boon dogs for too long.

What can I say? The armies of the revolution are in a sad and sorry state.

From this point on I�ll use blue arrows for American movements and Red for the British. Why didn�t I think of this earlier?

Week 4 June 1775

The Royal Navy continues to hammer the Continental army in Providence. I�m suffering a slow but steady attrition in cannons.

Israel Putnam hits the whore houses of Providence and declares it�s free drinks for every man under his command. Jeez!! Morale shoots sky-high but readiness slumps.

The British march to the outskirts of Providence (attracted by the sounds of merriment I wonder?). I see both Clinton and Leslie there with over 5000 troops and 60+ cannons. Rawdon gallops out of Newport to join them. While I still have numerical superiority I don�t have enough to overcome the qualitive difference. Without hesitation I order the entire Continental contingent to fall back to Norwich and rendezvous with Benedict Arnold�s small detachment.

Following a burnt earth strategy Lee puts Providence to the torch as he retreats. I�ll take a -2 hit to my zeal �cause the good burghers of Providence, who, while supportive of my cause, don�t take kindly to my act of rampart vandalism. In an attempt to appease them I�ve promised them all a taxpayer sponsored holiday to Paris once the revolution succeeds. And a tent.

Worried that the British might land troops in New Haven, cutting off my retreat path, I raise two regiments of militia under the command of Colonel Lamb, an artillery specialist. Their only job is to scare off any amphibious move by General Gage, who must, by a process of elimination, be still holed up in Boston with a decent number of troops.

In the Upper Hudson things are livening up. Seth Warner and his artillery train are almost (1 hex, but yet to cross the Mohawk River) at Albany. So are roughly one thousand Mohicans under Chief Thayendaga (6-6-Manoeuvre). Thayendaga is a particularly dangerous Indian Commander as, apart from his obvious military abilities, his Manoeuvre special trait means the hordes of braves under his command are able to quickly close in to melee range (where they are lethal). Hopefully he�ll attack Albany and not Seth Warners detachment. As a precaution I�ve asked Warner to stop marching and assume a defensive posture.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to cbird)

Post #: 9

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/30/2006 10:18:02 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Week 1 July 1775

Chief Thayendaga (aka-Captain Joseph Brandt) opts to assault Seth Warner instead of Albany. Damn. I choose to play this battle out tactically.

I�m confronted with a difficult situation. I expect Thayendaga to field four, possibility five Indian �regiments�. Typical Indian tactics are to race straight in and overwhelm the defenders with their fearsome hand to hand combat.

I have seven batteries to defend with only Seth�s handpicked Green Mountain Boys (riflemen). The problem is how to discourage the Indians from swarming me. Under the latest patch (1.75) artillery will automatically rout when assaulted. My force is strong at a distance but extremely brittle when the fighting becomes up close and personal.

I choose to form a cluster around a small hill to the south. It�s not ideal as there is a larger hill across the creek which will enable the Indians to close under reasonable cover before racing across the open ground. My plan is to blast the bejesus out of them as they wade through the creek and hope that they fail their morale checks before getting too close. Otherwise I�m toast.

Chief Thayendaga sends his scouts forward (sunny weather) to peak out behind the trees on the central hill top. They clearly don�t like what they see because, lo and behold, that�s the end of it. He retreats and it�s +1 zeal for me for winning my first engagement.

In other news I notice the British raising Tory militia in Boston and sending some south to Providence to join with Leslie and Clinton. They make no attempt to advance on Norwich and I get the distinct impression that torching Providence has been a good move as I�ve effectively decapitated their supply line. The further south they head the worse it�ll get. Of course it won�t last as Providence will recover but it may buy me some much needed time in order e to train up my new troops.

Speaking of which I replace the Dragoon commander in Philadelphia with Brigadier William Smallwood who is a training specialist at a cost of 2 influence points. A brigadier can train two units per turn and which is exactly what I have.

Artemas Ward finally staggers into Springfield. Colonel Thomas Sumter in Charleston has himself yet another drunken hanging party. Yep, ole� psycho Sumter�s at it again. Jolly times for all.

A convoy full of redcoats sails into Boston harbour.

Week 2 July 1775

The Royal Navy continues to dog Washington�s Continental Army down the coast and thumps into them in Norwich. The British armies in Providence sit tight as expected. Providence normally produces 400 supply per week but being pillaged it�ll produce zip for three months. Will the British under General Thomas Gage wait that long before pushing on southwards?

General Artemas Ward � my favourite commander - having finally made Springfield last turn, now proceeds to get himself totally legless. Clearly his alcohol-infused stomp through the wilderness was a bridge too far and he has taken recourse to wallowing in tubs of pale ale. His (and his entire armies) readiness drops to 6 (that�s a six!!!) Has the man no shame? I�m trying to love him, I really am but if the sorry son-of-a-b� doesn�t get with our revolutionary program quick bloody smart then I�ll drop kick him into space orbit as soon as I�ve got enough influence points to do it. What a waster.

Chief Thayendaga retreats back up the Mohawk valley but a second war party is sighted heading for Albany. Seth Warner finally manages to bring his artillery train safely into town where I�ll rest them up for a few weeks. There is no other sign of Indian activity anywhere else on the frontier.

My Zeal is 59 and I have 9 Influence points. All-in-all things are going pretty well. I�ve managed to avoid any major engagements while �repositioning�. Americans don�t retreat, they �reposition�.

Week 3 July 1775

Colonel Rawdon of the British army, a typical all-balls-and-no-brains light cavalry commander, races out of Providence and captures Hartford. Newport, ungarrisoned by Rawdon last turn, immediately goes into revolt and switches allegiance back to me. From memory Newport is 500 Victory points so this good news indeed. I also notice Rawdon has only 156 cavalry with him. A juicy target but one that is going to be hard to catch.

Week 4 July 1775

It�s all quiet on the Western front. The Royal Navy gets in it�s fortnightly target practice session at Norwich and that�s about the extent of the festivities.

Spies in Providence report Clinton�s army at 55% Readiness, 88% Morale and 100% Supply. All that frantic marching around has worn them out. Perhaps they are pausing to rest and recover in which case I have only a couple of turns grace left.

I�ve clocked up 25 influence points so it�s off to Congress to lobby for a replacement for the alcoholic General Artemas Ward. While sympathetic to my tale of woe they point out that, despite his dubious character he is an excellent trainer. I had overlooked this trait in my dislike for the man. Seeing as though he is in a temporary backwater it would probably serve the Revolution better to keep him in the harness for a while longer. I�ve made it clear to him, however, that he�s definitely on notice. One more boozy bender and that�s it, trainer or not.

Instead I raise a couple of militia under Brigadier Isaac Huger (2-3-Influential/Cavalry) in Providence, just north of Boston, in to keep the militia there in check. I don�t expect much from Brigadier Huger, (which is just as well as rumour has it he�s so fat he can�t stay atop a horse without sliding off like some soggy pudding), as he�s only there as a delaying action.

Two more militia muster for work in Albany under the excellent Colonel Andrew Pickens (4-4 Manoeuvre). I�m planning an expedition up the Mohawk valley before winter sets in.

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 10

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/30/2006 9:14:13 PM

shoak1

Posts: 3
Joined: 12/16/2006
Status: offline

The house rules are interesting, but i like to play on medium difficulty with no tactical battles - that reduces the thinkwork of the AI (making it better) and speeds the game. I've got all the way to the end of 1782 and I'm in a dogfight w/the Brits.

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 11

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/30/2006 9:14:25 PM

shoak1

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Joined: 12/16/2006
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Post #: 12

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/31/2006 1:16:38 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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Week 1 August 1775

My spies in Providence have been busy again and tell me Leslie�s army has a readiness of 71%, Morale of 84% and 100% supply. It looks like Clinton and Leslie are only a fortnight away from full readiness. Mmmm.

I�ve also lost sight of the fast moving Colonel Rawdon and his cavalry detachment. Last seen in Hartford. I�m tempted to order Colonel Lamb and his two militia regiments in nearby New Haven up to see what�s going on (and recapture Hartford if Rawdon has moved on and before the inevitable Tory militia pop up). Tempted but not convinced. If Rawdon is still there he�ll simply swing past and take New Haven while Lamb and his militia flat foot around the countryside.

General Ward remains uppermost in my thoughts. For all the wrong reasons. Springfield, his current location, is a dead end. If Alfred had a mind to he could march up the river into town and trap Ward and his substantial army of continentals with their backs to the wilderness. Given Artemas Ward�s proven snail-like ability to move � if at all - whence off the road well travelled, I fear it would be curtains for him and his army if they were forced to retreat into the bush as their only viable option would be cross country to Albany to the west.

As their readiness is currently still in single digits I have no choice but to leave them in Springfield to recover. My only option, if the British moved on Ward, would be to threaten a counter-thrust north with Washington�s forces.

In the meantime I have what passes for a Continental general staff undertaking a major reorganisation in Albany. Seth Warner transfers all but two artillery regiments to Gansevoort who has been tasked with holding the fort while the expedition is away.

General Richard Montgomery, who is to be the senior commander of the Mohawk expedition picks up Gansevoort's militia. In total he will have 5 militia regiments, 2 of rangers (Whitcomb�s & the Green Mountain boys) and 2 artillery regiments. He�ll be assisted by Colonel�s Seth Warner and Andrew Pickens. All three commanders have the Manoeuvre trait which will provide me with a fast moving force. I debated whether to take the artillery but I may have to lay siege to Fort Oswego so along they come. My plan, shown below is to head along the Mohawk valley, via the abandoned redoubt, lay waste to the Mohawk village and then capture Fort Oswego before the really bad weather shuts down wilderness operations.

Checking my notes I see Ft. Oswego is under the command of Buttler (dangerous) but with only a solitary regiment of understrength Canadian Militia. I doubt if the British have the ability to recruit here either so it�ll be difficult for them to reinforce Oswego before I arrive. The fort is level 4 with a minimum of six guns defending. I should have enough troops on hand for the job. My only concern is having sufficient time before winter hits.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to shoak1)

Post #: 13

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 12/31/2006 1:33:48 AM

lancer

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Week 2 August 1775

Bad weather (rain) blankets the middle weather zone which includes the New England and Mohawk valley theatres. A stalemate of sorts is emerging in New England with no movement on either side. This suits me admirably.

I check General Ward�s army in Springfield and see that their readiness has climbed out of the red and into the yellow at 34%.

Montgomery�s advance along the Mohawk river is slowed by the weather and the fail to make the abandoned fort/redoubt this turn. Unless the sun starts to shine soon I may have a problem here.

Chief Thayendaga pops up one the other side of the Mohawk with 3000 braves!!! Clearly the British have been warned of my expedition and every Indian this side of the Rocky Mountains has turned up to defend the Mohawk Nation. Perhaps I should have bought more artillery with me.

Week 3 August 1775

Paris donates another 10,000 gold to the cause bringing my kitty up to the sizeable sum of 150,000. This is not to be sneezed at and I can probably raise the pay of my armies in training back to normal levels.

New England remains static. I check Ward and see his armies readiness has climbed to 41%, a gain of 7% this last week. I�m going to take a chance and alter his armies stance to �rest� in order to speed up the readiness recovery rate. I�ll suffer badly if attacked but that looks unlikely given the current lack of activity.

Luckily for me the sun breaks through the clouds and Montgomery is able to advance right up to the Mohawk village, ready for an assault next turn. Chief Thayendaga and his 3000 braves retreat to behind the village and yet another group of Indians appears in the village itself � how many I don�t know.

Supply is becoming an issue. The three small armies under Montgomery are using up roughly 60 supply a turn. Given the necessity of rapid movement up through the valley and a possible battle next turn this figure can be expected to jump dramatically.

Montgomery is drawing supplies from Albany which has a sizeable stockpile of almost 2,000 supply (another 1,000 added per week). His supply line stretches the further up the valley he moves and on the map below I�ve marked the point where it cuts out altogether (supply will only extend out from a source a total of 75 movement points. I�m not sure if bad weather affects this. I suspect I�m about to find out.)

If Montgomery can manage to capture the Mohawk village then it�ll provide a weekly 200 units which will extend his supply line almost to Fort Oswego. The only hiccup with this is that a captured town/village will produce at only 25% it�s normal rate and won�t be back up to full supply production for another fortnight after that.

There are really no great penalties for low supply unless you drop below 30% at which point life becomes very grim indeed. There is a small hit to morale at below 80% and my self imposed rules give a DM+1 (harder) on the activation roll when your supply drops under 50%.

As a fallback in event of everything turning pear shaped Montgomery can retreat to the security of the abandoned fort and draw 200 supply a turn which should be enough to allow him to rest and recover. Hopefully this won�t be needed but with a zillion Indians turning up for the fight it would be foolish not to have a plan B.

Week 4 August 1775

Crazed Colonel Sumter has another whiskey fuelled hanging party in Charlestown. Apparently he hung so many people in real life that the many bodies swinging off branches around the countryside were nicknamed �Sumter�s fruit�. If it wasn�t for the entire southern theatre being a non-event I�d replace him. It�s important to uphold a certain moral standard.

General Ward in Springfield remains miraculously sober and ever more alert with his army now at 51% readiness, a +10 improvement due to his �resting� stance. With luck I�ll he�ll have his troops at 100% before I�ll be forced to use them.

The Royal Navy hits Norwich once more. A screenshot shows that I�ve lost over 70 troops and 5 precious artillery pieces to British naval superiority.

The New England theatre remains static, as does everywhere else except the Mohawk valley which has turned into a churning cauldron of activity.

Chief Thayendaga and his 3000 braves wisely (does Montgomery�s reputation precede him?) retreats back to the safety of Ft. Oswego. Chief Halfking (6-7-Quick Reactions) turns up in the Mohawk village with over 500 braves. Another group (unknown number) infiltrate past Montgomery from the south and join him. Without a doubt there a whole lot of Indians running around the woods.

It�s becoming increasingly apparent that I�ve made a misjudgement. I assumed (correctly I think) that Alfred wouldn�t be able to reinforce Ft. Oswego before I arrived. What I overlooked is his ability to spam Indians out of the Mohawk and other nearby villages in great numbers. He must have used up his entire Influence point quota in order to do so. I estimate roughly 4,000 braves in the area which is more than I can handle.

Fortunately with Chief Thayendaga retreating to protect Oswego with the largest war party I should be able to defeat Chief Halfking at the Mohawk village.

From memory the Mohawk were part of the Iroquois Seven Nations which did unite (at least six of them did) to fight the land grabbing Americans so perhaps Alfred�s behaviour isn�t that far from historical reality.

Montgomery was unable to attack across the river so he�s advanced another hex forward with a view to attacking next week. He has been out of supply now for a fortnight and I find that, of the three small armies under his command, the lowest supply rating is now 87%.

I�ve raised two new militia regiments in Albany (the limit of the middle theatre manpower pool and my influence points) under the command of Brigadier John Armstrong (3-4 Infantry Off & Quick Reactions). With the need to quickly march the length of the Mohawk valley to help Montgomery I�ve delegated Brigadier Armstrong to hold the fort at Albany and put Colonel Peter Gansevoort (5-9-Fort) in charge of the militia instead. Armstrong has an activation roll of 3+4=7 on 2D6 (see home rules) so I could expect him to move only every second week whereas Gansevoort (5+9=14) is almost (unless I roll double 6�s) guaranteed to quickly cover the distance.

The trade-off is that my two new militia regiments take a -5% hit on both morale and experience for changing commanders.

As all the Indians are at the other end of the valley I order Gansevoort to assume a march formation so he can cover the ground as quickly as possible.

On a slightly unrelated matter I looked up a reference book from the local library and found the abandoned fort halfway up the valley (see pic above) is/was called �Fort Dayton�. I�ll refer to it as such from here on as it sounds a lot better than �the abandoned fort�.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 14

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/1/2007 8:12:18 PM

Herrbear

Posts: 883
Joined: 7/26/2004
From: Glendora, CA
Status: offline

Great job. Enjoy reading the AAR.

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Post #: 15

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/1/2007 9:41:13 PM

Erik Rutins

Posts: 37503
Joined: 3/28/2000
From: Vermont, USA
Status: offline

Great AAR, Lancer!

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(in reply to Herrbear)

Post #: 16

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/3/2007 8:01:43 PM

Redan

Posts: 129
Joined: 4/8/2006
From: a Quonset hut in Shangri-la
Status: offline

This is excellent! Thank you so much. Have been reading a nifty volume I've had for years called Geo. Washington's Opponents.

_____________________________

"You can't stack units in this game. This is Tactics II, hexes haven't been invented yet..."

(in reply to Erik Rutins)

Post #: 17

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/5/2007 12:06:31 PM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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Week 1 September 1775

Chief Thayendaga and his 3,000 braves rush back from Oswego to the Mohawk village. Thundering tomahawks!!! One moment he�s here, the next he is there� I�m being outsmarted by a bloke decked out in a feather head dress and leather g-string. Doesn�t the man know the rules of war? Hasn�t he read Hoyle?

There are now 3k+ Indians in the Mohawk village and I�m in a pickle. There are two options. The first, A on the screenshot above, involves moving into the swamp between the village and Oswego. I�ll be able to interdict any movement from one to the other and, hopefully, march over and capture Fort Oswego without it being reinforced.

It�s a great plan as it gives me the initiative and I get to stay on the offence. For these two reasons alone I�m tempted to immediately order Montgomery to wade out into the murk. On the other hand it suffers from a couple of obvious limitations. Montgomery has been out of supply for three weeks already and it�ll take that long again before he�s in a position to launch an assault on Fort Oswego. And there is the small matter of there being no safe escape route if the gods of war are unkind.

I�m reminded of General gentleman Johnny Burgyone, who when faced with a not dissimilar situation decided to gamble and doubled his bets rather than take the sensible option of folding his hand and retreating back to Canada. History tells us that doubling up led to Saratoga and a total British surrender.

Which leaves me with option B, retreat to Fort Dayton and await the arrival of Colonel Gansevoort and his two regiments of militia. Reluctantly I choose B.

Week 2 September 1775

Nobody told me about the autumn harvest. Six entire militia regiments melt away into the countryside. How am I supposed to win the revolution with an army of chocolate soldiers?

The South Carolina regiments are a particular disappointment. Roanoke, Salisbury and Camden are now undefended. What kind of soldier abandons defenceless women and children just because their pumpkins are ripe?

Worse, the two regiments of Connecticut militia under Colonel Gansevoort decide they have more important matters to deal with and evaporate into the morning mist. Colonel Gansevoort, he of the short fuse, fires both pistols in an attempt to restore order. Nobody pays him any attention and he was last heard off taking a swipe at a militiaman with his sabre.

If I was in a pickle last week I�m now in a real mess, verging on a catastrophe. Montgomery heads for the temporary security of Fort Dayton with his tail between his legs. My small expedition to clean the swamp of Mohicans and lay waste to the insignificant Fort Oswego has turned into a major withdrawal with thousands of rampant savages baying for my blood. All I need now is a dump of snow and I�ll be re-enacting (actually pre-empting) Napoleon�s retreat from Moscow. What a debacle.

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 1/6/2007 1:34:35 AM >

(in reply to Redan)

Post #: 18

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/5/2007 7:34:46 PM

Redan

Posts: 129
Joined: 4/8/2006
From: a Quonset hut in Shangri-la
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Remember the Indians are as squirrel-y as the patriots. But it sounds like you're in the same pickel as the Duke of Wellington when he saw his Spanish troops the first time....They may not scare Napoleon but by G- they sure scare me.

_____________________________

"You can't stack units in this game. This is Tactics II, hexes haven't been invented yet..."

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 19

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/9/2007 12:54:52 PM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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Week 3 September 1775

Somebody pulled strings. Perhaps General Washington kissed a fair maiden or maybe Benedict Arnold rode up and mooned the British, inspiring all and sundry. Whatever, I�ve gained a bonus +10 influence points bringing me up to a total of 20. Good news indeed.

Montgomery pulls back as fast as prudence will allow down the Mohawk valley. Nothing happens in New England.

I decide to take advantage of the lull by raising a new batch of continentals. I recruit two regiments of Dragoons and a couple of New Jersey Infantry, all in New Brunswick (just south of New York). Unfortunately General Horatio Gates, Adjutant General to Washington, raises his right hand and pushes his way to the head of the queue. This causes me some heartache as although the good General knows how to deploy for battle (5-7 Inf Off) he is burdened with unbridled jealously and influential friends. More importantly he knows bugger all about training.

I considered raising the extra regiments in New York instead of New Brunswick and immediately merging them with Howe�s army that is already there and busily learning the art of war. However a general will only train up 3 units (randomly selected) per turn and by adding in a bunch more I�m diluting his effect past the point of benefit.

So Horatio has to go. I burn up almost all my new found influence points in order to boot him out the door and replace him with General Thomas Mifflin who has the �Trainer� trait. Here is a screenshot of my three new Continental armies busily getting ready for war.

Week 4 September 1775

The French donate another 10,000 gold to the treasury. I�ll be buying villa�s on the Riviera if this keeps up.

Montgomery dashes for the safety of Albany with the Mohicans in hot pursuit. The only thing that has kept him one step ahead of an arrow up the bum is the fact that both groups are on opposing sides of the river.

Everybody in the New England theatre have either gone to sleep or are busy polishing up their muskets. Why haven�t the British attacked?

Enquiries with our spies in London tell me that a smallish convoy of troops will arrive early December and that work is afoot for a massive invasion fleet but that it won�t grace our shores until at least March next year. Time is on our side.

I raise everybody�s pay up to 100% with a special bonus for Washington�s front line forces. General Artemas Ward and his gang of drunken reprobates holed up in Sprinfield unfortunately miss out on my benevolence. How could this have happened? I must have been remiss. Better luck next time boys.

Week 1 October 1775

Montgomery, tired and emotional, staggers into Albany where every man, dog and child is mustered at the palisades, awaiting the arrival of Chief Thayendaga and his Mohawk rapid reaction force. How do they move so fast? Maybe they have rocket-propelled canoes.

I read up on Thayendaga and found he was an actual British Army officer and the adopted son of William Johnston who had eight children by his sister. I�m not sure what William thought of that.

With little else to do I raise a couple of flaky regiments of Militia in Roanake.

Week 2 October 1775

Chief Thayendaga hesistates at the gates of Albany. Who�ll blink first? Over eighty cannons says it won�t be the good folk of Albany.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to Redan)

Post #: 20

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/11/2007 7:28:31 PM

robpost3

Posts: 465
Joined: 8/18/2006
From: the backwoods of Mass.
Status: offline

_____________________________

The Yankee Motto:
Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make do,
Or do without.
"God Help us, and God, come yourself.
Don't send Jesus, this is no place for children."

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 21

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/12/2007 12:10:15 PM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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Week 3 October 1775 to Week 1 December 1775

Seven weeks of inactivity stack up on top of each other in quick succession. Chief Thayendaga retreats back to the safety of his village, confident that he has shown those white fellows a thing or two.

The New England theatre ossifies. Spies tell me that, in addition to the substantial regular army forces the British have an army of 4000 militia, plus cannon, in Providence under General Robertson and another similar army in Boston under General Grant. I�m now officially well and truly outnumbered.

Despite the numerical and qualitative advantages enjoyed by the British they have made no attempt to widen their bridgehead beyond Boston, Providence, Plymouth and Hartford. Even Newport, which is ungarrisoned and right next to Providence, remains American. I�m a little perplexed as to why this is so and I can only assume that they are awaiting the big reinforcement convoys that are due early next year.

Storms lash the coast and bad weather blankets the northern and middle theatres for the entire period until winter arrives in force in the first week of December.

My only actions have been to raise a few more militia regiments in Salisbury in order to plug a gaping hole in my frontier defences. American Privateers ravage the English supply ships and several New England towns under my control benefit greatly from their actions.

Providence, with its three English armies, suffers a drop, in already short supplies, as a result of privateers as well. Perhaps this is what has caused Alfred to assume his inert, semi-comatose state. Whatever the reason I�m quite pleased to have made winter with most of the eastern seaboard still under my control and my armies intact.

With Valley Forge uppermost in my mind I check the supply situation of Washington. The three armies in Norwich, where he is, are drawing over 190 supply a week (that�s with them all knitting socks and sleeping till noon). It�s a squeeze as Norwich is only generating 200 units of new supply a turn. Just enough. If the British decide on a winter campaign I�ll have no choice but to retreat back to the nearest decent source which is New York.

Of course Artemas Ward and his reprobates in Springfield have ample quantities of food, wine and women to keep them going throughout a long cold winter. Boozing and whoring appear to be the secret of success in the New World.

I�ve sent a lone horseman to Springfield. If he makes it through the snow drifts and the British patrols (unlikely) he�ll deliver a message to the sozzled General Ward saying that he�s been demoted to Brigadier, effective immediately. Of course I haven�t done such a thing (I�m chronically short of influence points) but I don�t want the dodgy bugger to enjoy himself to much while he is snowed in.

Cheers,
Lancer

(in reply to robpost3)

Post #: 22

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/14/2007 12:59:49 PM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Week 2 December 1775 to Week 2 January 1776

It�s the middle of winter and guess who pops up out of nowhere? Chief Thayendaga. Yep, my favourite Indian has come back to haunt me. He, along with his partner in crime, Chief Halfking, are camped outside Albany. Nobody is answering the phone at Fort Dayton so I can only assume they razed it to the ground on their way down the Mohawk Valley. It�s become increasingly apparent that the Iroquois confederation of tribes regard my presence as a slur on their manhood.

If I was in their shoes I probably wouldn�t react well either to a bunch of smelly white folk marching up into their homeland with extermination uppermost in their thoughts. But I�m trying to win a revolution here and as much as I�d like to extend the hand of friendship I don�t have any means of doing so. [Note from the author: It�s pretty hard to write this, make it politically correct and still entertaining so I�m not going to try. However no offence is intended to anyone. Take it for granted that I�ll insult everybody.]

A small party of Green Mountain Boys round me up a couple of lazy braves who, with a little light encouragement, inform me that Chief Halfking�s braves are at 52% readiness & 90% supply. I�m tempted to sortie out of the safety of Albany. Looking at the map there is no way the Indians can be in supply while adjacent to Albany so instead I�ll wait them out until their supply runs short.

As one snowfall blurs into another (It�s pretty bad in Canada, luckily I�m not there) I contemplate the overall strategic plan. I figure that there won�t be any plan to play with if I can�t get some reasonably trained up troops before the British reinforcement convoys arrive in the coming spring.

I already have quite a few regiments being prepped at present. All have training qualified commanders to accelerate the process. By late December I�ve accumulated 30 influence points. Checking I find that I can boost training across the board at ten influence points a turn.

In order to get the most bang for my buck I raise a fourth army in Richmond. I thought long and hard where to place them and Richmond eventually won the guernsey. It�s more to the south of my three other new armies and better positioned to react to any British incursion into Chesapeake Bay. It�s a 300 Victory point city and produces 20 horses a month (one of my best stud towns). This gave it the edge over Yorktown which is nearby but coastal and vulnerable to naval bombardment.

I maxed out my middle theatre manpower allowance by raising six regiments of New Jersey and Maryland infantry and 4 artillery batteries.

I scored a General (randomly allocated � refer to home rules above) which was a pleasant surprise. A rather ephemeral one as it turned out. Who should step forward to lead this mighty army? None other than Arthur St. Clair. Arthur, come on down! Having already fired him once after a sole week of active duty I�m now in a bind. I have no other training Generals, Brigadiers or even Colonels available in the pool.

Arthur, when I broached the delicate subject of �alternative careers� cursed and started muttering mutinous threats. Reluctantly, I may have to live with him, warts and all. Never-the-less I check Arthur�s resume and find that he�s a Scotsman of dubious ancestry and somebody who, in real life, abandoned Fort Triconderoga for no good reason.

I decide that, unfortunately, when it comes to Arthur the rivers aren�t running in the right direction. Sadly he�ll have to go.

I spend ten influence points on �effective training� for each of the next three turns giving each unit under training a net +3 XP gain. I�m making Arthur look good is what I'm doing.

A lackey taps me on the shoulder and reminds me that there is a certain Colonel Elbert (who?) commanding the militia detachment in Salisbury. He has the trainer trait. Great news! I immediately send a messenger with a replacement and orders for him to report to Richmond at the earliest opportunity. This burns up a couple of influence points.

With Colonel Elbert on hand, I march into Arthur�s office and ask him, man to man, face to face, to name his price. Eight influence points, says he (Arthur has lots of friends in all the wrong places). Damn him! I don�t have that much. Swearing, I kick the door shut behind me and stomp off into the snow in order to cool down.

It doesn�t add up. It�ll cost 8 Influence to give Arthur the flick and in return I�ll have Colonel Elbert who�ll train one unit +1 XP per turn versus spending 10 influence points on �Effective Training� and having every new unit gain +1 XP. I grudgingly tell Colonel Elbert that his services won�t be required.

The New Year starts with another hilarious hanging party by psycho Colonel Sumter down in Charlestown. Where do they get their supply of people to hang? Slaves? Best not to ask.

Chief Thayendaga is still encamped on the outskirts of Albany. I send the Green Mountain Boys out for another boys only adventure and they come back with the news that supply levels have dropped from 90 to 74%. I need it down below 50 before I think of attacking.

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 1/16/2007 4:28:52 AM >

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 23

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/15/2007 2:26:16 AM

jeffreysutro@jeffreysutro.com

Posts: 137
Joined: 2/27/2004
Status: offline

Lancer:

Thank you for an interesting and informative AAR. I'm enjoying it very much and look forward with anticipation to future installments.

I think though, that you may be overestimating the danger from Thayendaga and Halfking. If I count correctly, you have almost 1900 trrops under three good leaders, and they are either Militia (who have an atvantage against Indians) or Rangers (who are very high quality troops). Also you have two batteries of field artillery. While I don't know how historically accurate it is, in this game the Indians are relatively easy to defeat since they seem to be prone to becoming demoralized once a few regiments start to break. Even 3,000 of them should not be too much of a problem for the force you have at hand.

In addition, now that have retreated to Albany you have access to a dozen batteries of heavy artillery which should make the battle quite one sided, provided you play it out manually. Autobattle, of course, is rather unpredictable so I don't know what sort of results that would give you, and I'm also not sure how your system of initiative dice rolls would affect which commanders participate. Overall though, I think you might find that boldness will be well rewarded.

_____________________________

All My Best,

Jeff Sutro

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 24

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/15/2007 8:10:34 AM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
Status: offline

Goodaye Jeff,

You may be right. I'm following a conservative, force preservation strategy.

Indians, in my experience, can be tricky at times though. They, as you mention, are relatively easy to rout at a distance with ranged fire.

Alfred tends to 'swarm' them in close which is probably the correct approach given their feeble firepower rating of 30. Their melee rating is 70 (same as the British Grenadiers) which is more than twice that of militia (30). Even Rifleman (eg. Green Mountain Boys) only have a melee rating of 55. So Indians in hand to hand combat have a big edge.

The other factor that works in their favour is that there is usually a lot of them in small sized units. With a 'Maneuver' (+20% mvt pts) rated Chief such as Thayendaga they have the ability to run through your ranged fire kill zone quickly and get up close and personal before you can break them. At close range they have enough (with Thayendaga) movement points to close assault twice each per turn. You can easily find your crack riflemen regiment having to dodge flying tomahawks up to five or six times a go which is a big ask.

On the tactical map in bad weather your firepower is halved from memory which would negate to an extent my masses of artillery.

I've also got my fighting units split between three or four commanders which means when I attack there is no guarentee that they'll all turn up on the day. This is bad management on my part.

Still, I'm deliberately playing it pretty tight with a view to all the reinforcements the British will get in Quebec mid-year. A bolder man than I would likely do better.

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 1/16/2007 4:29:54 AM >

(in reply to jeffreysutro@jeffreysutro.com)

Post #: 25

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/18/2007 12:56:30 PM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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Week 2 January 1776 to Week 3 February 1776

Five more weeks tick over in the dead of winter. Snow, snow and more snow. Cabin fever strikes hard as the revolution lurches out of control.

General George Washington, reputedly the most upstanding man this side of the Atlantic, a virtual paragon of virtue, loses it completely and takes to the bottle. What on earth is going on where a man of such stature and devotion to the cause appears before his troops a slobbering, drooling mess? (Aren't there rules against this? Does Martha know?)

Montgomery, due to launch an attack on the 3000 Indians encamped before him at Albany, takes heed from Washington�s example and whiskies himself into oblivion while up at Fort Ticonderoga some drunken idiot lights up the powder supply and blows himself and a quarter of the fort into the next dimension.

If the winter doesn�t end soon there won�t be anyone left who is sober enough to fight. And here I was thinking this was a noble cause.

Away from the pressures of the front line, however, it�s all business. Training business. I spend a further ten influence points on �specialised training� and recruit another army of Connecticut Infantry (2), some riflemen (Knowlton�s Rangers) and three artillery regiments. They are raised in New York under a nameless Colonel whereupon I immediately transfer them to General Robert Howe�s command (training general), at the same time reverse transferring three fully trained (60% Exp) regiments back to the Colonel. Unfortunately General Howe took umbrage at losing his best troops and I take a 3 influence point hit as a result.

Oh, and a British Tory Militia army marched out of Boston and retook Newport. Which wasn�t a particularly notable military triumph as there was no defending garrison but it did go to show that somebody is still awake in the red corner.

Awake and prepared to undertake winter operations. I can only hope that the British remain ignorant of the inebriated state of my front line.

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 1/18/2007 10:30:48 PM >

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 26

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 1/25/2007 12:31:45 PM

lancer

Posts: 2963
Joined: 10/18/2005
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Week 4 February 1776 to Week 2 April 1776

Winter waxes on with regular outbreaks of drunkenness the only punctuation marks in the gloom and cold. If Alcoholics Anonymous doesn�t get invented soon I could be in trouble. Why do they have to drink so much? What�s wrong with comics and cards?

Colonel Seth Warner manages to topple of his horse (and what the hell was he doing riding a horse in a snow storm?) and put himself into the infirmary for the next four months. One General Nathaniel Greene short stops and I�m pleasantly surprised to find him equally competent, if not more so.

I�m pleased to report that, despite poor examples all around, the Green Mountain Boys stayed alert and sober. Once more they slinked out of the gates of Albany in the dead of the night to round up a stray Indian or two. Chief Thayendaga�s supply level has fallen to 47%.

Now is the time to strike! I order a dry fort and a double issue of ammunition to all men for the coming week. And what happens? It snows. Attacking across a river in a blizzard isn�t recommended.

Still, I�m itching to do something. Anything. I�ve yet to fight a battle.

Wiser heads prevail. My subordinate staff officer points out that in order for 3000+ Indians to be camped outside off Albany, there can�t be any more left in the British force pool. �Would it not be better to have them close at hand where we can keep an eye on them?�, he points out with a hint of a smirk.

Mmmm. Even if we did attack it would be foolish to rush up the Mohawk valley after them in the snow. Even so�

And I really don�t like smarmy subordinates. A hefty boot to the bum of the offending staffer simultaneously restore discipline and morale. My morale, that is.

I busy myself with training. I scrounge up enough influence points for another two global �effective training� sessions. There is muttering at Staff HQ that my focus on training, training and more training is becoming an obsession. Damn right it is.

As an afterthought I order General Lee to fortify Norwich. As he has the �Engineer� trait this�ll only take 3 weeks.

Chief Thayendaga, mind reader that he is, removes himself from my thoughts and heads for home.

And then, glory be, March brings forth the sun! Hallelujah!

Canada is still six feet under but the middle theatre is back in business. General Lee puts the finishing touches on �Fort Norwich� and I�m ready for the spring campaigning season.

Just in case I�d forgotten about him, Chief Thayendaga reappears next to Albany with his foot sore collection of braves. The good thing about this � as I�ve already been informed � is that by him being here (Albany) I�m virtually guaranteed an Indian free zone along the rest of the frontier. If Thayendaga wants to feel all hoarse and hairy-chested by staring me down from across the river then who am I to stop him?

Cheers,
Lancer

< Message edited by lancer -- 1/25/2007 12:44:37 PM >

(in reply to lancer)

Post #: 27

RE: The Flower of Freedom AAR - 7/8/2007 5:54:19 PM

CEDeaton