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  1. #1
    Member Member Rufus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    Nice AAR. I just finished RTI Episode 3. I'm looking forward to starting Episode 4, although I may wait to start any new campaign until the promised gameplay patch comes out.

    I was wondering if George Washington ever becomes president in Episode 4. I know he starts as "Secretary of State," and the guy they have as president actually was president in 1783 under the Articles of Confederation. But presumably, hopefully, Washington would get elected at some point. They should have an in-game event announcing the ratification of the Constitution, followed by Washington's election as president.

    I know the game is just supposed to have a reasonably accurate starting point, and from there anything goes. But it would kill immersion for me if Washington is never President of the United States. It's bad enough that in Episode 3, General Howe's British army goes to Maine instead of New York after evacuating Boston, the American troops say "for Crown and Country," and you sometimes get forts with names like "Fort Prince of Wales." Not only that, but Attorney General John Adams taking a mistress? Not bloody likely, if you've read or watched John Adams!
    Last edited by Rufus; 04-16-2009 at 18:16. Reason: add link, not-so-subtle AAR plug
    An E:TW AAR on the American Revolution: The Long March of Liberty

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    Member Member Didz's Avatar
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    I'm pretty sure Washington's dead already in my game. I'll have to check.
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    Member Member Didz's Avatar
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    1799 Summer: What the hell are the French doing?

    For several months now reports have been filtering in of a French army commanded by General Franck Delancy marching northwards through Cherokee Territory. It slow and tortuious progress has been monitored periodically to see if it posed any threat. There were various theories about what its goals might be, including the possibility that it might make a raid into Georgia, or swing west and try to retake Upper Louisiana. There was even possibility that it might be planning to try and seize one of the Cherokee's territories.

    What was not expected was what actually happened.

    For in the summer of 1799, Delancy's French troops reached the northern border of Cherokee territory and marched boldly north onto Iroquios land. Whether the French were lost, or were betrayed by the Iroquios remains a mystery, but whatever the reason they were immediately set upon by a large Iroquios Warband and routed retreating rapidly south in disorder.

    This event was a source of speculation in itself, but far more interesting was the fact the the large Iroquis warband which had marched south to meet and defeat them had been the same forced that up till then had been blocking the path from Fort Hoo to the Iroquios main settlement at Niagra.

    Suddenly, thanks to the French, the road was clear for General 'Jack' Cowell and his army of indian fighters to make a direct and decisive march and seize the entire territory.

    1799 Winter: The Battle of Niagra

    After a rapid but uneventful march Cowell's army arrived at the main Iroquios settlement of Naigra. Most of the warriors had left weeks before and were chasing the French further south and the settlement was now defended by Chief Menawa and 3,390 men and 6 rather old cannon. Cowell had 5,385 men (including 2,445 horse, 2,400 Foot and 36 guns.)

    The battle opened with Cowell moving his army forward to deploy on a low ridge overlooking the indian settlement. He deployed his the seven regiments of dragoons on the left of his army supported by two batteries of horse artillery, whilst his three regiments of militia deployed in the centre protecting the four batteries of howitzers delpoyed to their rear, The two detachments of scouts were sent forward and deployed their anti-cavalry stakes halfway down the slope of the ridge to prevent he indian lancers charging the militia line directly. Whilst the armies right flank was guarded by a single regiment of militia cavalry.

    The Iroquios were content to watch the deployment of Cowells army and wait for it to come within range of their guns, which were deployed in redoubt tom the south of the settlement. As soon as these guns opened fire two parties of lancers emerged from the settlement and made their way rapidly towards the left and right flanks of Cowell's line.


    [The 12th and 14th Dragoons dealing with the Iroquios lancers.]

    On the left Cowell ordered the 12th and 14th Dragoons to intercept the incoming lancers which they did most successfully, cutting most of them down and drive the rest off in panic.


    [The 29th Provincial Cavalry charge the Iroquios Lancers.]

    On the right the Iroquios Lancers came under fire from the long rifles of the scouts and had to make a wide detour to avoid their fire. When they finally regrouped and approached the American right flank they were met by a charge from the 29th Provincial Cavalry. Although, not being sure of the militiamens fighting ability Cowell also moved one of the militia infantry regiments to screen the right flank of his gun line and ordered two regiments of dragoon to move to the right in support. As it happens his concerns were unfounded and the 29th succeeded in routing the lancers just as the dragoons arrive to assist.


    [The Iroquios guns are silenced]

    In the centre little had changed the Iroquios were managing to inflict a few casualties on the dragoons with their guns, whilst the howitzers and horse artillery on the ridge pounded away at the redoubt until the last gun was silenced.


    [Cowells forward scouts fire and retire before the indian attack]

    As soon as their guns were silenced the remaining indian's in the settlement surged forward and up the slope fo the ridge towards the American centre. The two detachments of scouts defending the picket line fired and then retired behind the militia infantry. Most of them never reached the militia. Blasted by shell fire and shredded by cannister from the horse artillery and musketry from the militia most broke and fled.

    One determined group tried to charge the Horse Artillery positions and was in turn charged by the 13th Dragoons.


    [The charge of the 13th Dragoons]

    And a small group armed with muskets caused problems for the right flank of the militia until the scouts with their long rifles were brought forward to deal with them.

    Cowell lost 720 men out of a force of 5,385, the indian force of 3,390 was wiped out, and America secured the territory.
    Last edited by Didz; 04-17-2009 at 02:45.
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    Member Member Didz's Avatar
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    1800 Summer: Disaster in Algonquin Territory

    Having seized Algonquin Territory in a 'coupe de main' due the the closing months of 1799, Cowell set about trying to prepare his army for the expected counter attack by the Iroquios.

    It was not to be long in coming.

    2nd Battle of Niagra

    From the north a large warparty of 4,875 braves led by Chief Washinguhsahba descended on Cowell's Army.

    Cowell drew his army up on a low ridge overlooking the settlement.

    [Cowells army deployed on the hieghts overlooking Niagra.]

    The centre of the line was held by the three regiments of provincial militia, screened by the scouts and supported by the howtizers deployed to their rear.

    Each flank was secured by a battery of horse artillery (the one in the foreground was deployed on the top of a high bluff which prevented it being attacked from the front) and a brigade of dragoons.

    Washinguhsahba begun the engagement by dispatch one warparty of lancers to attack Cowell's right flank. The lancers were bombarded with shell as they advanced then sniped at by the scouts, who were now safe behind their line of stakes, and finally charged by the 15th and 17th Dragoons.

    [The 15th and 17th charge the Iroquios lancers.]
    Nevertheless they put up a brave fight and kept the dragoons busy for most of the early phase of the battle.

    Having forced Cowell to commit half of his cavalry on the right, Washinguhsahba now launched an all out assault on the American centre. The open ground between the ridge and settlement suddenly fills with Iroquios warriors and the American artillery plays upon them fiercely.

    [Washinguhsahba's assault begins on Cowell's centre.]

    The 1st Continental Horse Artillery begin to suffer heavy casualties from long range bow fire and the 8th and 13th Dragoons are ordered to advance a drive the enemy off.

    [The charge of the 8th and 13th Dragoons]

    Still the Iroquios continue to pick off the American gunners and so the 14th Dragoons are order to move to support them, but before they can assist the American gunners finally panic and abandon their guns leaving the 29th Provincial Militia Regiment to their left unsupported and exposed.

    With the cannister fire of the 1st Horse Artillery silenced the Iroquios warriors let out a whoop and charge the centre of the Amercan line. The 25th Provincial Militia holding its centre are swamped with frenzied indian braves.

    [The 29th under heavy pressure.]

    On the right the 17th and 15th Dragoons finally finish dealing with with the indian lancers and charge down the slope into the indian bowmen supporting the attack on the centre. At the same time Cowell orders the 12th and 9th Dragoons guarding the armies left flank to advance and attack the enemy from the other flank.


    The American militia in the centre panic and break and the 6th Provincial Cavalry which have been held in reserve are ordered to charge to stabilise the centre. All of Cowells cavalry have now been committed to the fight and the slopes of the ridge are full of struggling cavalrymen and warriors.

    Only the 25th Militia hold their ground and some of the men even charge down the slope of the ridge in pursuit of their former attackers. With the centre of the line stabilised by the charge of the 6rh Provincial Cavalry and the stubborn defence of the 25th Militia, the 34th Militia rallies and returns to the line.

    The india's begin to melt away and try to escape but are hunted down ruthlessly by the remaining cavalrymen.

    It had been a bloody and chaotic battle. Made worse by the poor fire control of the American artillery which quite happily shelled and rained death on both friend and foe in the swirling melee that took place in on the plain below the ridge.

    [This is a really annoying shortcoming in the fire at will routine, which never used to be a problem in earlier games. It basically, means you are resticted in what you can do becuase you can't rely on your troops having any intelligence. The other issue I noted in this battle is that artillery in particular suffer badly from 'target fixation'. In other words they will continue to fire at a pointless target even in some cases when it is out of range and ignore a much more dangerous unit standing right in front of them.]

    Cowell was not impressed with their behaviour, nor that of the militia who had proven incapable of handling the shock of close combat against the natives.

    American losses were heavy, 2,795 men our of 4,665 (59%). Washinguhsahba had lost almost his entire force only 20 braves managing to escape.

    However, Worse was about to befall Cowell and his men.

    Cowell's Last Stand

    No sooner had Cowell's army dealt with Washinguhsahba's warband than another 5,330 braves appeared from the south under Chief Hiakatoo. There was no way that Cowell could possibly fight such a force with such a weakened army, but he was not allowed to retire. Therefore, he deployed his men and decided he would try and conduct a fighting withdrawal. That was the last anybody heard of General Jack Cowel or his army. [This is another annoying aspect of the game. For some inexplicable reason under certain conditions you are not allowed to evade an attack, even though its obvious that you should be able to. Not only that but even if you decide the fight the battle and successfully extricate you army from the fight, the progamme arbitarily elminates your army anyway, even though it clearly escaped. This is the land equivalent of the naval problem I came across with the USS Plymouth, and I'm not happy trying to write [AAR's] and promote a game that basically behaves illogically. Hopefully, someone in CA will take note and resolve this in a future patch.]

    The President pays the price.
    The massacre of Cowell's Army could not have come at a worse time for the government, just before an election.

    They managed to retain power, though many of their current ministers lost their seats and President Holbourne who had done wonders for the international standing of the United States was replaced by the lack lustre Hadwin Stapleton (Skill 3+0). The rest of the cabinet were:

    Vice President - Clive Clapperton (Skill 3+0) another dollard,
    Treasury Secretary - Aaron Abbot (Skill 2) an idiot who could barely count let alone manage the nations finances.
    Justice - Kenneth Bestow (Skill 4+) a passable justice minister.
    Secretary of State - Timothy Boscawen (Skill 4+2 Army Research) quite a usefull appointment.
    Secretary of the Navy - Augustus Goodfellow (Skill 5+4 Naval Research) a really nice appointment that would boost the Navy.

    Abbot was immediately kicked out of office and replaced by Zahariah Croucher (Skill 6/+3% Tax/+6% Trade/+6% Town Wealth) a really fortunate appointment. But, the Vice President must also go as soon as possible.
    Last edited by Didz; 04-17-2009 at 13:28.
    Didz
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    1800 Winter: Revenge isn't sweet, its Greene.

    Even before the massacre of Cowell's Army, General Nathan Greene had been marching as fast as he could towards Algonquin Territory. The fact, is he didn't want Cowell stealing all the glory and was determined to get his fair share.

    Cowell had made some scathing comments about Greene's caution when fighting the natives, and whilst Greene would never have wished upon Cowell the disaster that befell his so-called 'Indian Fighting Army', he certainly felt vindicated that his Army and tactic's has secured him a string of victories whilst Cowell's new fangled idea's had cost him his life.

    Greene arrived at Cuyohoga in the late summer of 1800, just in time to hear of the massacre at Niagra, and he marched immediately to avenge Cowell's death, razing the indian settlements at Fort Preque and Allegany en-route.

    He arrived at the Niagra settlement to find that Hiakatoo and his warband of 4,810 braves had settled down for the winter and reconstructed their wooden longhouses on the site of the original settlement.

    He wasted no time in forming his army into the tried and trusted square formation he had used in all his previous indian battles. His men knew the drill and most were veterans of at least two indian fights. As soon as they were in position his artillery began bombarding the indian village and its surrounding woodland with shell. Much of the firing was blind but the indians were so closely packed that most shells hit something.

    Enraged and tormented by the bombardment several war parties tried to charge the American positions but a combination of shell and accurate musketry drove them back with heavy loss. Finally, the entire of Hiakatoo's warband charged the American square. The slaughter amongst them was terrible, but once again Greene was amazed at the resilience of the Iroquios warriors, and it seemed that once they started 'whooping' their battle cry's nothing would stop them except a bullet.

    The 3rd and 4th Continentals on the front left of the square bore the brunt of the assault and fierce hand to hand fighting ensued as the indians tried to break through into the squares centre and get at Greene and the gunnners. However, unlike the militia of Cowell's army the men of the 3rd and 4th were highly expereinced and disciplined veterans. They fought the indian's to a stand-still and then drove them off, finally cutting the last of them down with musketry.

    After this the battle was merely a hunt of the fugitives and the bombardment into obliteration of any last signs of resistance.

    Greene lost 1,080 men out of an army of 6,825. Hiakatoo's warband of 4,810 was wiped out.

    1801 Summer: The State of the Navy.

    Naval Secretary Goodfellow is pleased to report to congress that the current programme of ship building is almost complete and that the final 3rd Rate should be ready for commissioning by the end of the year. The navy will then have a fleet of 14 x third rate ships of the line ready to protect American interests at sea and should be more than sufficient to deal with any immediate threat to American commerce.

    It is not the intention to commission further ships of the line at this time. Though, funds permitting congress may wish to consider increasing the number of frigates available. At present the Navy has a total of 9 x 24pdr Frigates, 1 x Carronade Frigate, 1 x 5th Rate, 1 x 6th Rate and 1 x sloop. It should be noted that the USS Plymouth, which was lost to the British has never been replaced.

    The current number of frigates is more than ample to cope with peace time trade protection, but would be badly overstretched if the nation was put on a war footing.

    On a specifc note reports from traders in Madagascar confirm that the British are making repeated attempts to wrest control of the sea lanes in that region from the Spanish, whilst the USS Yorktown patrolling the East Indies has reported seeing a British Squadron in the area. Given the war with both the British and Spanish is inevitable we will need suffiecient force in every trade zone to protect our commerce, and that may need a force of twenty frigates to achieve.

    In the meantime, research is progressing well, however, all attempts to acquire additional knowledge from friendly nations have been unsucessfull. It will therefore be several years yet before American ships will be able to match the performance of their British counter-parts. The only avenue which has not been explored is espionage, mainly because the risks are unlikely to be justified by the rewards and because the assignment of gentlemen to that activity would actually distract them from their research and so could be counter-productive.
    Last edited by Didz; 04-19-2009 at 01:57.
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rufus View Post
    Nice AAR. I just finished RTI Episode 3. I'm looking forward to starting Episode 4, although I may wait to start any new campaign until the promised gameplay patch comes out.
    I've just had a look at your AAR...awesome, I really love it. I really loved the maps and the merging of actual photo's and orignal paintings with the ETW screenshots. Strangely it was never my intention that this would be an AAR, I was actually intent on it being just to be a blog where I kept notes of my campaign progress, but its sort of become an AAR by accident because it I find it more fun to write it that way.
    [Is there any rule about the images btw. Are we expected to use the 'spoiler' thing to save space or something?]
    Last edited by Didz; 04-18-2009 at 11:50.
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    Member Member Rufus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    Quote Originally Posted by Didz View Post
    I've just had a look at your AAR...awesome, I really love it. I really loved the maps and the merging of actual photo's and orignal paintings with the ETW screenshots. Strangely it was never my intention that this would be an AAR, I was actually intendong it just to be a blog where I kept notes on my campaign progress, but its sort of become an AAR by accident because it I find it more fun to write it that way.
    [Is there any rule about the images btw. Are we expected to use the 'spoiler' thing to save space or something?]
    Thanks!

    I don't know of any rule about using the spoiler tags; it just seems common practice when you have a lot of graphics. Makes it easy to scroll through, I guess.
    An E:TW AAR on the American Revolution: The Long March of Liberty

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    Member Member Didz's Avatar
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    1801 Winter: Greene Marches North

    Having secured Algonquin Territory Greene marched north into the Iroquios homeland, heading for their final large settlement at Cayuga. The march was slow due to the weather and the lack of proper roads and Greene's men were only halfway to their objective when they were attacked by a large Iroquios Warband commanded by Joseph Brandt.

    Brandt was a Mohawk Indian in the pay of the British and had trained his men in the use of firearms as well as the traditional indian skills. He was also well aware of the Greene's reputation and his value to the future plans of the Unites States. Whether Greene had heard of Brandt is less certain by he would never forget him after the battle which followed.

    The battle with Brandt's Warband

    Greene drew his army up in the same square formation which had secured him victory in every indian encounter to date.

    Brante's warriors were drawn up amongst the tree's along an undulating ridge overlooking the American positions. The majority were drawn up overlooking the American left flank. The Indians also had eight cannon deployed on the ridge and these began to lob shot into the left flank of Greene's square to weaken it as the braves began to advance.

    [Iroquios warparties advance on the American left.]

    It was clear that Brandt planned to try and break the left corner of the American square as the main weight of his forced and his artillery were directed to that point. As the Indian attack closed on the American left the 2nd and 3rd Continental Infantry are forced to form square by a well timed cavalry attack on their flank by some indian lancers, substantially reducing the firepower they can bring to bear on the advancing warriors to their front.

    [The 2nd and 3rd are forced into square by indian lancers.]

    The 5th Continental Infantry to their right are charged by 1,000 braves and fierce hand to hand fighting erupts along the entire left of Greenes lines. However, the real threat was not the attack by the axe weilding warriors on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Regiments, these braves were really just masking the advance of another 800 warriors armed with bows and muskets who now emerged from behind them and deploying opposite the American centre began to rain down a deadly and accurate mass of missile on General Greene and his personal staff.

    [Iroquios bowmen attempt to kill General Greene.]

    Suddenly, and probably for the first time in his career, Greene found himself in personal danger. His staff, men he had worked with for years were dying all around him and he panicked and and fled the field. Only 15 men out of his staff of 225 escaped.

    [Greene and his fourteen remaining staff fly the field.]

    Assuming the loss of their leader would panic the rest of the American army Brandt now charged into the already struggling 2nd and 3rd Regiments expecting them to break and run. But both regiments firmly stood their ground and he was forced to pull back and regroup.

    He then charged to 5th to their right which was also still fighting hand to hand but they too stood their ground and refused to break.

    [Joseph Brandt leads a charge against the 5th Continentals, but they stand their ground.]

    The indian attack was now running out of steam. The warriors who had been fighting hand-to-hand with the 2nd and 5th Continental Infantry now broke and fled allowing the Americans to reform and begin firing rank by rank into the bowmen and musketmen opposite them.

    The Iroquios bowmen began to waver under the close range volleys of American musketry, and Brandt his careful plans now is disarrray withrew into the shelter of a small wood close the the American left flank to consider what if any options he now had.

    [A frustrated Brandt pulls back to poner his next move.]

    He made yet another charge out of the wood towards the now terribly thin line of the 2nd Infantry, but they seemed to stand like 'Ramrods' and refused move simply firing shot after shot into the indian's in front of then.

    Brandt once pulled back towards the wood. But as he withdrew a shell from one of the American howitzers landed right beside him and killed him instantly.

    [Brandt killed by a howitzer shell.]

    With their Chief dead what little fight was left in the Indian's faded and they began to disperse and make their way to safety. Of the original 6,015 warriors 4,525 were dead or wounded on the field. Whilst Greene had lost 3,025 men out of his army of 6,870.

    It had been a bloody victory but the discipline of the American Continental Infantry had won through in the end particularly that of the 2nd Regiment who had borne the brunt of the fighting and two cavalry charges but stood firm throughout.

    In honour of their performance in this action the three Continental Infantry Regiments who had borne the brunt of the attack were allowed to choose a nickname to be emblasoned on their battle flags. The 2nd choose (Ramrods), the 3rd (The Old Guard) and the 5th (Bobcats).

    1802 Summer: The aftermath of the battle.

    The battle with Joseph Brandt's warband had been a shocking experience for Nathan Greene. It was the closest he had come to defeat at the hands of the Iroquious and the closest he had ever come to death. The losses sufferred by his army had been huge compared to those of his previous battles against the indian's, and he was deeped humbled by the fact that his men had fought on whilst his courage had failed. He felt as though he had cheated fate, and that by rights he should had stayed and died with his men.

    More to the point his army was a spent force and his confidence in being able to take on another Iroquios warband severely shaken.

    To this end he allowed General Gilpin and his newly formed replacement for Cowell's 'Indian Fightin Army' to take the initiative for the final assault on the Iroquios homeland. Gilpin was a career soldier who had been raised and bought up in the woods so he was familiar with the ways of the Indian. However, he had never faced them in battle before and he was a little to keen to make a name for himself by capturing the final Iroquios territory.

    Throwing caution to the winds he threw forward his dragoons and pushed his army forward to engage the Iroquios before the end of the summer. It was almost a disaster.

    Instead of a controlled battle which favoured the firepower of the American's the final battle for the Cayuga settlement was a meeting engagement where the American units found themselves trying to delpoy whilst under attack by Iroquios warparties.

    The dragoons were unable to stem the tide on incoming natives and were forced to fall back only to find that there was no battle line to their rear becuase the leanding units of Gilpin's army happened to be his artillery.

    For a few desperate moments Gilpin's horse artillery and howitzers were forced to stand alone against the oncoming natives. The situation was chaotic, cannister and shell flew in all directions as gunners tried to meet all the incoming threats.

    At last the first of Gilpins infantry rushed forward. Two regiments managed to form a battle battle line of sorts to screen the bulk of the artillery from direct assault. Gilpins scouts appeared and managed to extend the line to the left providing much needed support against the indian bowmen, and finally the American rear guard appeared to add its dragoons to the fight. Gilpin himself arrived and begun to direct the action using well timed charges by his dragoons to drive off the Indian bowmen. Greene and his surviving staff appeared though took no active part in the battle.

    After a brief but bloody and chaotic battle Gilpin's men gained the upper hand and the last Iroquios settlement fell into American hands. The surviving Iroquios were rounded up and herded into an internment camp whilst America considered its next move.

    [The fact is that with time rapidly running out I'm beginning to realise that I not likely to win this campaign. I only have 3/7 Victory Regions in my possession and only own 12/22 Regions. Not that victory is really that important, the campaign has been fun, but if I want to try and go for it then I need to increase the pace much more. Even then I have doubts, I just left it too late to start my expansion. Also one of my victory regions (New France) is in the possession of major Great Britain, and another Texas has only just been liberated from Spanish control. So, its going to be a bit tricky I think.]
    Last edited by Didz; 04-19-2009 at 13:07.
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    1802 Winter: The Path to Victory

    It was time to review the state of the nation and consider what initiatives must be taken in the remaining time available to stand a chance of victory.

    Victory Regions

    America still only occupies three out of the seven victory regions it needs. Those outstanding are Floirda, New France, Texas and New Mexico.

    Florida - Florida is in the possession of the Cherokee Nation. They have a large number of warriors but unlike the Iroquios they have no allies and they are already at war with both Spain and the Pueblo Nation. Repeated offers have been made to the Cherokee for the purchase of Florida, but all have been rejected. In truth it is probably in America's best interests to cease it by force anyway, as that will justify the seizure of their other region also, which whilst not a victory region is needed to meet the overall target of regions held.

    New France - New France is in the possession of Britain. They must have at least 25,000 troops guarding it and their navy is still a threat despite the predations of the Spanish. However, the only ally they have is the Maratha Confederacy, and they are at war with Spain, Westphalia, The Barbary States and Savoy. Nevertheless, War with Britain could damage American trade and so every diplomatic step is being taken to persuade Britain to part with New France voluntarily. So, far they remain intransigent, but war with Britain can be delayed for a few more years and the situation might change in that time. If nothing else the Treasury will need to reserve considerable funds as a contingency against the loss of our trade routes before war is declared.

    Texas - Until recently Texas was in the possession of Spain, but fortunately for America the Pueblo Nations have recently kicked the Spanish out and so far they have managed to retain possession. The Pueblo Nations have no allies and are at war with both Spain and the Cherokee, Not much else is know of them but it seems that if necessary taking Texas by force could be viable.

    New Mexico - New Mexico is Spanish, which is a major problem for the American's. Spain is currently the dominant naval power off the Africa coast and war with Spain will almost certianly destroy American trade, unless we can challenge their fleet and wrest control of the sea. On a more positive note they are only allied to the Italian States and they are at war with Britain, France, Austria, Wurtemburg, The Barbary States, The Cherokee and the Pueblo Nations. In other words they are badly over stretched both militarily and at sea. However, as with Britain it would be preferable if they could be persuaded to sell New Mexico and avoid the need for hostilities, but so far every approach has been rejected.

    Non-Victory Regions

    Assuming that American can manage to secure all four of the outstanding Victory Regions in the next eight years then that would give her 16/22 of the total regions needed for victory. The additional Cherokee Region would make that 17/22, and if France cannot be persuaded to sell Lower Louisiana then war with France would secure it bringing the total to 18/22.

    Four more regions would be needed for victory.

    War with France might make it feasible to seize their other colonies in the america's namely The Windward Isles and French Guyana. However, this would be reliant upon the American Fleet having control of the Caribbean and the ships to transport an invasion force.

    Likewise, if the war with Britain is successful the she has a number of provnices in North America and Canada which could satisfy the quota for victory. The most accessible being Acadia and Upper Canada.

    Spain also has several possessions in the America's which could be acquired either through force or diplomacy. The main difficulty is the limited time.

    1803 Summer

    Preparations are begun for the final push to victory.

    Greene's Army is ordered to return to Fort de Chartres and then assuming that France has not agreed to part with Lower Lousiana he has order to seize the province by force.

    General Gilpin's Army has been ordered to march to Geogia and from their to march into Florida and subjurgate the Cherokee.

    Admiral John Paul Jones has died peacefully without seeing his fleet go into action Admiral Julian Pitt has assumed command of the main battle fleet in his place.

    1803 Winter

    Barnabe Dautry a suspected agent of France has murdered Cornelius Thurston, a protestant misisonary sent to convert the population of Louisana to the true faith.
    Last edited by Didz; 04-20-2009 at 11:29.
    Didz
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    Summer 1804

    Diplomatic efforts to acquire the new territories needed by America continue. The US Treasury offers 18,000 gold to any nation willing to part with one of these territories. However, not even the destitute Cherokee are willing to sell their land, and so preparation for the use of military force continues.

    General Greene's army continues to march South through Upper Louisiana passing through Fort de Chartres and heading for Little Rock. He is joined by Clifford Townsends Louisiana state militia army which will provide support and garrison troops during the invasion.

    In the East Gilpin's Army has passed through Charlestown and is en-route for Savannah. John Sulivan's Georgian State Militia army will support his attack on the Cherokee Nation when the time comes.

    The navy is also preparing for war.

    Commodore Barry with four frigates has sailed from Lewes bound for the Ivory Coast where he will link up with the USS Ranger to protect America's trading interests in the region.

    Commodore Stark with a similar squadron has been dispatched to join the USS Independence off the coast of Brazil.

    The keels of a further three frigates have been laid in the Yorktown naval yard and these together with either the USS Philadelphia (47) or Maryland (47) will form a third squadron for deployment to Madagascar.

    Meanwhile, Admiral Pitt with the main battle fleet of twelve 3rd rates has sailed from Yorktown bound for the Windward Isles.

    The Army is also on full alert and military depots are recruiting and training men for the Continental army as rapidly as funds and resources will allow.
    Last edited by Didz; 04-20-2009 at 16:05.
    Didz
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    Default Re: Didz's American game blog.

    1804 Winter:

    War with France
    In the West, as General Greene’s Army approaches the Arkansas River and the bridge at the French settlement of "La Petite Roche", a final demand is made to French. ‘Either sell us Lower Louisiana for 18,000 gold, or we shall march in and take it.’ The French remained stubbornly unwilling to part with the territory and so America is now at war with France.

    Greene’s army immediately crosses the Arkansas River and marches into "La Petite Roche" Little Rock closely followed by Townshends militia. The main force then marches on capturing the tobacco plantations at Pine Bluff, whilst detachments are left to hold the Little Rock and secure the Meremec farmlands to the west.

    At sea, the USS Ranger (32 guns) receives reports that a French ship is seizing American merchant men off the Ivory Coast. Captain Montgomery immediately sails to investigate discovering that the French vessel is actually a French Privateer called ‘Actif’ commanded by Bastien Colville. As the 'Ranger' approaches the 'Actif' makes no attempt to escape.

    [USS 'Ranger'(32 guns) bears down on the French Privateer and commerce raider 'Actif' off the Ivory Coast]

    The ‘Ranger’ began the fight to windward of the ‘Actif’ and so had the initiative, and closed the range rapidly running down on the French ship until their bowspits were almost crossing before swinging his ship to port and firing a full broadside into her at close range. The ‘Actif’ replied and turned to starboard attempting to cross the Rangers stern, but Montgomery kept the ‘Ranger’ turning to port and fired his port broadside into her as she passed.

    [The opening shots of the war with France. 'Ranger' fires her first broadside into the 'Actif' at close range.]

    The two ships then began to manouvre around each other, the Frenchman constantly attempting the fire into the Rangers stern, whilst Montgomery carefully timed his turns so that his stern was never exposed when the French privateer had its guns loaded. He surrendered the weather guage to the French effectively preventing them from breaking off the action and escaping downwind without sailing directly past him. Every attempt by Colville to increase the distance between the ‘Actif’ and the ‘Ranger’ merely resulted in the French ship receiving a broadside in its stern.

    Nevertheless, the French fought desperately and their ship was an indiaman, strong if not very well armed. It was some time before their hull eventually became so damaged that they could not continue the fight and were forced to strike. Unfortunately, the 'Actif' was so badly damaged that it could not be saved and eventually sank.

    The Ranger lost 2 guns and 3 men during the fight.

    Barbados seized.

    Admiral Pitt’s main battle fleet arrived at Barbados and finding the port unguarded quickly landed seamen and marines to seize the port and destroy its facilities. Pitt also reports that as far as he can tell the Windward Islands are completely undefended and he calls for the dispatch of troops to take permanent possession of them for the Unites States.

    First US Marine Corps formed.

    Two battalions of infantry and a battery of howitzers were immediately designated for service as marines and these troops under their newly appointed leader General Marcus Carteret marched from Philadelphia to New York where they boarded a hastily commission fleet of six East Indiamen contracted to carry them to Barbados.

    The fleet sailed as soon as they were aboard and rendezvousing with the frigates ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Maryland’ they then sailed to join Pitt’s fleet in Barbados.

    The Cherokee Indian War.

    Meanwhile in the east, last minute demands that the Cherokee nation must sell the United States their territory in Florida for 16,000 gold were treated with scorn by the Indians and so war was declared. Gilpin’s army supported by Sulivan’s Georgia State Militia crossed the St. Mary’s River into Cherokee territory and marched on the main Indian settlement at St. Augustine.

    The two armies marched south intending to cross the St. Johns River at Cowford but found their path blocked by a massive Cherokee Warband of 11,760 braves under Chief Kanuksusy. Gilpin only had 6,870 men but Sulivan’s militia were marching to his aid with a further 8,595.

    Gilpin immediately, drew his army up on the high ground to the west of the settlement of Cowford (probably around the farmstead at Herlong). The top of the hill was intersected by walled enclosures and Gilpin hoped that these would disrupt the movement of the Cherokee lancers. The army’s 20 howitzers formed the centre of the position ranged in a chevron formation to facilitate all round fire support whilst minimising the need to redeploy.

    The infantry were then deployed in a two deep arc to protect the guns from attack and the flanks were protected by a screen of wooden stakes and traps laid by the army’s scouts and back-up up by the armies dragoon regiments. The 6 horse artillery guns were placed at the centre of the infantry position where they could fire canister into any Indians attempting a direct assault on the line.


    [Gilpins Army deployed and awaiting the Cherokee's attack.]

    With everything ready Gilpin sat back and waiting for the Indians to attack.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [Cherokee gunners watch their horsemen move into position.]

    It was a long wait, the Cherokee drawn up amongst the trees and creeks close to the St Johns River had no intention of leaving their hidden positions to attack the American’s. Kanuksusy knew that the American’s needed to cross the river and they could not do so with his warriors breathing down their necks therefore he was content to let them come and try to drive him off. He even had 6 cannon heavily protected by earthen banks ready to hurl death at the American’s as soon as they came close.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [Kanuksusy and his warriors await the white man's attack.]

    And so a long battle of wills commenced with both commanders determined that the other would come to him and neither willing to abandon the advantages of position they felt they had.

    In the end it was Gilpin who decided to act first. He had heard how Greene had used his scouts to bait the Iroquois warriors into rash attacks on his defensive square, and so now he ordered Bart Tevithick's scouts to proceed with stealth across the open ground between the two armies and harass the Indians into attacking.

    Trevithick was less than enthusiastic about this idea as the Indians had a large number of mounted warriors who could easily cut his men down if they spotted and caught in the open. Nevertheless, his 300 scouts crept forward into the shallow valley between the two armies trying to keep an obstacle between themselves and the nearest Cherokee lancers in the hope of getting close enough to use their long rifles.

    However, it was not to be. A sharp eyed Indian scout spotted the Trevithick’s men creeping along the valley and raised the alarm. The scouts immediately abandoned all pretence of stealth, turned tail ran as fast as their legs could carry them back towards the safety of the American positions. Four hundred and fifty Cherokee lancers were close on their heels and were it not for the small creek and wall between them which delayed the warriors they would have been overrun.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [Trevithick's scouts high-tail it back to the American lines leaving their pursuers struggling to cross the creek under shell fire.]

    As it happens the scheme actually worked better than Gilpin could have hoped and as the Cherokee lancers eventually managed to negotiate the creek and wall they were meet by a hail of shells from his howitzers which inflicted eighty casualties amongst them and they immediately gave up their pursuit of the scouts and turned instead to head off across the front of the American positions towards the American right flank.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [The Cherokee break off the pursuit and instead head for the high ground on the right of the American battle line.]

    The Battle of Cowford had begun

    The Battle of Cowford 1804

    The opening assault of the battle seemed to be a spontaneous decision by Chief Kanuksusy to escalate the pursuit of Trevithick's scouts into a full scale attack on the America position by his mounted warriors. Whether he believed that the rapid retreat of the scouts signified a lack of determination amongst the white men on the ridge, or whether he was merely angered at the losses his pursuit party had sufferred from the American artillery will remain a mystery.

    The surviving tribal horsemen of the pursuit disentangled themselves from the walls and undergrowth and galloped off to the left, still under shell fire from the American howitzers on the ridge, but with much less effect now they were moving. Behind them a further 675 Cherokee horsemen now descended from the high ground around Cowford and crossing the low wall at the end of the long pasture headed deliberately for the American left flank and the positions held by the 13th and 8th Continental Infantry. At the same time Chief Kanuksusy and a further 675 horsemen made a wide sweep to the left and moved to join the surviving horsemen of the pursuit party opposite the American right.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [The Cherokee horse warriors assualt the American positions opposite Cowford.]

    At first Gilpin assumed that the indians were planning to try circle around his flanks and get in amongst his howitzers on the hilltop and he hoped his dragoons would be strong enough to fend off the attacks. He only had two dragoon regiments (600 Cavalry) guarding each flank and so it would be a reasonably even fight in terms of numbers. However, as the Cherokee attack developed it was clear that they had no intention of trying to outflank the American positions. Instead they were heading deliberately and directly for the infantry units holding the left and right of the American lines.

    As the Cherokee came within range they were greeted with volley fire from the regiments on each flank of the American line, and by cannister from the horse artillery holding the centre. The Cherokee warriors on the American left whooped their battle cries and surged forward across the long pasture towards the wall protecting the positions of the 13th Continental Infantry. What they didn't notice was that the approach to this wall was also protected by a line of cavalry traps laid earlier by Trevithicks scouts. These traps had been laid as a safety feature to fend off pursuing horsemen during the scouts earlier probing of the Cherokee positions. Now by pure chance they happened to be directly in the path of the Cherokee attack against the left of the American line.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [The Cherokee horsemen gallop into Trevithick's line of traps.]

    The first wave of Cherokee lancers plunged into the line of traps, which tripped and killed their horses throwing them onto the ground to be trampled or killed by the stakes hidden amongst the undergrowth. Over 150 warriors were killed in a few seconds and as the second wave passed through the struggling survivors and tried to leap the wall at the end of the pasture they were met by volley's of musketry from both the 13th and 8th Regiment and a blast of cannister fire from the American horse artillery that literally swept away the warriors on their left.

    Faced with such carnage and confusion the Cherokee horsemen faltered and the American infantry hastily reloaded intent of giving them a final volley before they escaped.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [Kanuksky rushes to rally his warriors on the left of the American line.]

    Seeing that his attack was failing and his warriors on the left of the American line were about to break, Kanuksusy who was directing the attack on the American right made a mad dash right across the front of the American line to rally his men on the left. Many of his warriors were shot as they galloped along the face of the American line but the majority including Kanuksusy made it to the long pasture and leaping the wall, he exhorted his warriors to attack and kill the white men.

    The braves around him began whooping their war cries again and Kanuksusy swung his horse in the direction of the 13th Regiment and led his braces in a desperate charge at the regiments battle line. Fortunately, for the 13th the section of their line the indians charged was deployed in a small copse at the corner of the field and as the indians charged into it their horses instinctively slowed taking much of the impetus out of the attack.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    [The death of Chief Kanuksusy.]

    As Kanuksusy and his warriors pushed their horses forward into the tree's and undergrowth to get at the American infantry, a private of the 13th who had been hiding in a bush suddenly rose up out of his hiding place and struck, sticking his bayonet in Chief Kanuksusy side and physically dragging him off his horse before bayonetting him repeatedly until he stopped moving.

    With the death of their Chief the attack by the indian horsemen collapsed and most scattered seeking safety out of reach of the American guns.
    Last edited by Didz; 04-25-2009 at 12:17.
    Didz
    Fortis balore et armis

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