Burning down the Houses: The War of 1812

[loki100]

So, Loki, that 4 depleted units were all that were left from Detroit ? Did you lose any elements ? Could you restore them before the end of the game.

Also, I don't understand why the units earmarked for Fort Stanwix are so exhausted.

Yes, Hull's units are all that is left of the Detroit force. They don't recover (which has consequences later on) & I sent Hull elsewhere where I needed the CPs more.

The Stanwix units got caught in the snow. I had sent them to start the siege in one of the turns when the snow lifted & got caught when winter returns. I decided that despite being in a mess they were good enough to prosecute uncontested sieges.

Actually, retrospectively, I believe my objectives were sensible, but that whole - win on the Champlain, then moves from Oswego made no sense. In any case, in 1813 (contrarly to 1812 and 1814), circumstances more than a general plan prompted my actions.

Given the volume of American new units in 1813, I think its almost inevitable that the British side loses some control and has to react rather than enact a structured plan?

[Narwhal]

On the 2nd of May, 1813


To Our King, George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
From Sir John Prevost, by your grace Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of the English forces in the America,

My King,

The news from your colonies are good, with significant victories.

I chased the enemy from Sackett's harbor. They were well led, and outnumbered me 3 to 1, but as you know our superior fighting skill, and our superior command, was too much for them. A good thousand of them lay dead in front of us, now. The rest fled in direction of Oswego.



I heard there were significant skirmishes near Montréal, that were in our favor.



I wrote down the news I have on a map :



Our navies are the master of the Erié, and soon our forces will be the master of the Champlain again.

An enemy force laid down some sort of siege in front of Kingston. This force is weak, and slow, being mostly composed of militias. They were like a small water leak in a modern house : too small to really find time of ressources to handle, and slowly creeping up to become a significant problem. Now they reached Kingston, I plan to have something done.

Here is my plan for the coming month :



Your army in Montréal is more than 5000 men strong. Lead by Sir Isaac Brock, to whom I leave one last chance to prove himself against a real enemy, they should push the outnumbered, outgunned, outskilled Americans easily and pushed until they reach the enemy depot. Here is the order of battle of that force, so you can prepare the commendations, citations and other medals in advance :



Meanwhile, a small force led by Rottenburg will solve our water leak problem once and for all, and liberate the only hamlet the Americans ever took from us, apart from La Colle.

As for me, I will drive our weakened troops in Sacket's harbor back home to Montréal so they can recover. I will send fresh troops as soon as the American General Dearborn is defeated, which should be anytime soon.

Finally, I have received no news from the Erié. Nothing that makes sense, anyway.



Yours gracefully,

[morningSIDEr]

I chased the enemy from Sackett's harbor. They were well led, and outnumbered me 3 to 1, but as you know our superior fighting skill, and our superior command, was too much for them. A good thousand of them lay dead in front of us, now. The rest fled in direction of Oswego.

Wonderful to see Prevost's gift for language overcomes any need to tell the truth!

Here is the order of battle of that force, so you can prepare the commendations, citations and other medals in advance

I had to smile at this. You need always salute such boundless arrogance! Still, with things looking relatively good for Britain, such arrogance does seem with foundation.

Nonetheless I get the slight feeling that loki's version of events for May will be slightly different!

[loki100]

Wonderful to see Prevost's gift for language overcomes any need to tell the truth!

I had to smile at this. You need always salute such boundless arrogance! Still, with things looking relatively good for Britain, such arrogance does seem with foundation.

Nonetheless I get the slight feeling that loki's version of events for May will be slightly different!

well it may have been with foundation if the underlying assumptions were valid, as we shall see there were a few gaps, oversights, incorrect calcuations and fundamental errors in that otherwise perfectly correct message

[loki100]

As a guide to our readers it has come to our notice that this is not the only history of this momentous war in preparation. We feel it is important that readers understand that we have exclusive access to Henri's archives and thus are the only people who can be relied on to present the events fairly and to make use of conventional arithmetic devices for adding up numbers of troops and assigning victory or defeat in the battles.

The West

Here, it was decided to invest Eire using Rensselaer's force while Harrison's forces landed to the west. For May, Rensselaer was ordered to stay at Niagara and recover from overeating all winter. In the meantime Harrison would land and this would put pressure on Burlington and possibly open up the possibility of capturing the near invulnerable fortress of York. It was unlikely that the campaign would seize such a prize as that would imply the English had made a mistake of monumental proportions.



On Lake Ontario, Perry's squadron moved to protect Niagara nad invest York from the lake, in case the English tried to reinforce the sector



The Mohawk

Here the fresh Army of Canada, reinforced by other units, started to march north to Canada (this after all seemed to make sense) to reinforce Dearborn's units pinning the enemy in Mont Royal.



In the meantime, Wilkinson moved to invest Ft Stanwix and Pike's force moved to besiege Oswego leaving the less important Sackett's Harbour to the English for the moment.




Mont Royal

Here Dearborn remained in defensive posture at St John when he was attacked by the English. Fortunately, the ill-fated Isaac Brock (I mean is he a a man or a badger with a name like that) attacked just before lunchtime. Enraged at the prospect of a delayed lunch the Americans quickly drove the hapless English from the field.

[Bornego]

I guess Narwhal was too confident in his numerical superiority. Understandable. But he probably would have won if he had crossed the river into the province west of Ft. St. Régis and attacked from there. Without the river crossing penalty his superiority in numbers, quality and leadership should have carried the day.

Given the volume of American new units in 1813, I think its almost inevitable that the British side loses some control and has to react rather than enact a structured plan?

The British get a whole lot of new units as well. Moreover these can be brought into action faster. They arrive at Québéc and can reach Montrél within a single turn. US reinforcements on the other hand have to be shipped to Albany, then march through the wilderness to reach Ft. Ticonderoga.

Continue the excellent work. It is no wonder your AARs are the most popular in AGEOD's small corner of the Paradox forum world.

[Stuyvesant]

Maybe the differences in victories/defeats and casualty numbers can be explained by the differences between the true version of the Imperial system of measurements, as used by the British, and the bastardization used by the Americans? Not to mention the difference between American English and the King's English (just try to compare what is known as a 'biscuit' in the UK with what's known as a 'biscuit' in the Southern US - exactly the same word, wholly different meaning).

Massive army Narwhal collected for the assault to relieve Montreal, but clearly it wasn't quite enough. Valiant effort by the Americans, who clearly value their meals dearly.

[now]

As a guide to our readers it has come to our notice that this is not the only history of this momentous war in preparation. We feel it is important that readers understand that we have exclusive access to Henri's archives and thus are the only people who can be relied on to present the events fairly and to make use of conventional arithmetic devices for adding up numbers of troops and assigning victory or defeat in the battles.

Lol. And too bad for Narwhal there, that's got to be a costly defeat.

[morningSIDEr]

As a guide to our readers it has come to our notice that this is not the only history of this momentous war in preparation. We feel it is important that readers understand that we have exclusive access to Henri's archives and thus are the only people who can be relied on to present the events fairly and to make use of conventional arithmetic devices for adding up numbers of troops and assigning victory or defeat in the battles.

You make a persuasive case, Henri does strike me as an eminently trustworthy individual.

An impressive victory for America at St. Regis and how glad I am that they emerged triumphant. Britain showed unbelievably poor form in daring to attack just before the Americans were about to tuck into a good meal.

[Axe27]

Well, it's an American victory so the British stack will eat cohesion losses and the 1000 dead guys, but the Americans will have to retreat or get reinforced. They can't attack the Brits, since the Brits are still larger than the Americans and better-led. A lucky fluke for Loki100, but not a game changer.

[Narwhal]

I guess Narwhal was too confident in his numerical superiority. Understandable. But he probably would have won if he had crossed the river into the province west of Ft. St. Régis and attacked from there. Without the river crossing penalty his superiority in numbers, quality and leadership should have carried the day.

Exactly. I usually take the long way if I need too (see Detroit), but here I thought I was 2 against 1 with a much better commander. Also, if I had to retreat (surprise reinforcement), I prefered to make sure I would retreat in Montréal.
But really that was a VERY nasty surprise, and if someone had given me the raw data of the battle and have me guess the result, I would have been completely wrong and would not have believed that result.

Continue the excellent work. It is no wonder your AARs are the most popular in AGEOD's small corner of the Paradox forum world.

Thank you. I was the first to ever post it, but you refined the AARs to a point I will never reach. Your RUS AAR are outstanding !

Maybe the differences in victories/defeats and casualty numbers can be explained by the differences between the true version of the Imperial system of measurements, as used by the British, and the bastardization used by the Americans? Not to mention the difference between American English and the King's English (just try to compare what is known as a 'biscuit' in the UK with what's known as a 'biscuit' in the Southern US - exactly the same word, wholly different meaning).

LOL. This was fun !

Well, it's an American victory so the British stack will eat cohesion losses and the 1000 dead guys, but the Americans will have to retreat or get reinforced. They can't attack the Brits, since the Brits are still larger than the Americans and better-led. A lucky fluke for Loki100, but not a game changer.

This is true, but only to an extent. Loki100 has set up a level 2 depot in La Colle, enough to recover directly from there.
Moreover, Loki100 has an army twice the size of his own "stuck" in the defense of Montréal. I cannot move them, lest he brings more reinforcements and take Montréal !

[Narwhal]

On the 2nd of June, 1813


To Our King, George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
From Sir John Prevost, by your grace Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of the English forces in the America,

My King,

I bring you definitive proof of Sir Isaac Brock incompetence, or more probably treachery.

I gave him clear orders : attack the enemy forces. I had given him an army, twice as numerous as the enemy force (which, I would like to remind you, is composed of undisciplined and unmotivated Americans, unable to hold a line). I gave him more guns that the USA has in their whole country, but still he managed to lose !



How could that be ? How is that even possible, without major incompetence ? Maybe Sir Isaac Brock wanted to lose ? More probably he is on the enemy payroll !

As soon as I will arrive at Montréal, I will have him arrest and court-martialed. I do not want him to command any British army ever again - but I know the Americans might have some use for him if I leave him free of his movements.

There is no other information, as this catastrophy dwarfs any other even that could happen. It seems, though, that the Americans are attacking in force in the Mohawk region :




I gave order to regroup to your forces near Détroit, but I think the Indians are harder than ever to control - why would they obey me if some other British officer don't, they ask :



I also concentrated the defenses in Oswego :



As for Montréal, I will take personal command, and attack again.

Your gracefully.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the 3th of June, 1813

To the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord Liverpool

Your Excellency,


I feel compelled to explain my actions, lest they be misinterpreted by my treacherous rivals who would stop at NOTHING to discredit me. To be true, I was defeated at the Battle of Fort St Regis, but the orders given to me by Sir John Prevost (who, by the way, spent the entire battle at a coffeehouse in Prescott) left me absolutely no leeway to implement my own strategy and inevitably led to my retreat. In fact, I had concocted an alternative masterplan which I have no doubt would have succeded, if it weren't for that pesky Prevost. Given that I now expect Prevost to use this opportunity to relieve me of my command as soon as he arrives in Montréal, I will now set it in motion without further ado.

This plan involves forgoing to attack Mister Dearborn's army bluntly, for it is well entrenched and more motivated, and instead aiming at his poorly defended sources of supplies in La Colle. Once La Colle in our hands, he will be in a sticky situation (no pun intended), for he will have three choices, for which I am going to prepare in advance. Mister Dearborn could try to replace the supplies I am going to take him by going for Montréal, but I left there a significant force and he has no chance to win such a battle. He could also try to attack me and my fast force in La Colle, but we will receive supplies through the port and my force will be strong enough to repel an assault, thus neither a siege nor a assault from him would succeed. Finally, he could retreat South, in which case Montréal is saved !



I trust you understand the urgency of my actions, and thus understand that I could not defer to the habitual hierarchy,

Yours faithfully,

Long Live the King

Sir Isaac Brock

[morningSIDEr]

I had given him an army, twice as numerous as the enemy force...

I love that it has now got to the stage where whenever Prevost mentions troop numbers I instantly disbelieve him, as was the case here even though he was telling the truth this time!

Thus we have some wonderful infighting within the British command. I hope Brock is able to put his plan into action before Prevost is able to relieve him, as it seems a very sensible strategy, as this AAR has shown thus far that if nothing else American soldiers, especially their officers, like a good meal. Threatening their source of food is thus likely to drive them to rash action!

[Stuyvesant]

Infighting in the British High Command? This can only aid the cause of those upstart colonials (okay, okay, that was last war, but still...).

As always, Narwhal/Brock's plan sounds sensible, but since loki is unlikely to be a passive bystander... Plans never surviving first contact with the enemy and all that.

The usual applies, though: always impressed with Narwhal's aggression, even after the costly defeat in the last turn.

[loki100]

I love that it has now got to the stage where whenever Prevost mentions troop numbers I instantly disbelieve him, as was the case here even though he was telling the truth this time!

Thus we have some wonderful infighting within the British command. I hope Brock is able to put his plan into action before Prevost is able to relieve him, as it seems a very sensible strategy, as this AAR has shown thus far that if nothing else American soldiers, especially their officers, like a good meal. Threatening their source of food is thus likely to drive them to rash action!

of course marching past the mess tent, leaving a few bread rolls as you go, is likely to lead to American inertia ... as we shall see

Infighting in the British High Command? This can only aid the cause of those upstart colonials (okay, okay, that was last war, but still...).

As always, Narwhal/Brock's plan sounds sensible, but since loki is unlikely to be a passive bystander... Plans never surviving first contact with the enemy and all that.

The usual applies, though: always impressed with Narwhal's aggression, even after the costly defeat in the last turn.

Well I partly miscalculated and partly a gamble failed. I thought I was blocking off entry to Isle de Noix and in any case didn't dare split up Dearborn. Forgot that unlike the Americans, the English are fast movers ... especially when they can gain access to American food

[loki100]

In the west, Harrison, despite some supply problems moves forward to invest Burlington and indirectly to isolate Fort Eire. Hopefully both towns will fall this summer, allowing me to move onto York, which is the major objective in this sector.



In the meantime, along the Hudson, Wilkinson is ordered to take Fort Stanwix. Again the real goal here is to clear out the British forces so as to allow an Autumn attack north of Lake Ontario. Hopefully this turn, Stanwix and Oswego will fall. In the event, Wilkinson really just couldn't raise the motivation to attack an isolated fort, preferring instead to have a few naps, some me-time and a couple of leisurely lunches. Well there is always July for the real stuff.



In the meantime at Montreal, Dearborn, peeved at his late lunch last month, was ordered to stay in his defense position at St John as Hampton moved up. It was clear the Americans assumed that there would be no further action on this sector till they were ready.



Unfortunately the unsporting English took advantage of the lull, and a particularly nice lunch, to slip around and seize the depot at Isle de Noix



At sea, Decatur moved back to port to reprovision, having done substantial damage to the English shipping in the Atlantic



And more and more reinforcements arrived, with additional artillery moving to the front.



Really victory is just at hand, if only we could wake up long enough to take advantage.

[Narwhal]

It is a characteristic of thiw campaign that victory is always within sight, for both sides !

[Bornego]

It is a characteristic of thiw campaign that victory is always within sight, for both sides !

And yet, I believe most PBEMs with this campaign will end in stalemates where neither side fullfills all their victory conditions. My wisdom gathered from one PBEM with this scenario.

Nice move outflanking loki. Directly after a British defeat it was certain to be a surprise. Well, at least I wouldn't have expected it in loki's shoes. It will be interesting to see how he reacts.

[loki100]

And yet, I believe most PBEMs with this campaign will end in stalemates where neither side fullfills all their victory conditions. My wisdom gathered from one PBEM with this scenario.

I'd agree with this. Its so difficult to take Montreal, esp in this scenario with the depot so much larger than it is in the French & Indian Wars scenario and the end-game sequence at New Orleans is designed to stalemate ... unless one player tries a very inventive solution ....

[Narwhal]

Well, that "inventive" solution failed by 2 days only. Failed nonetheless, quite spectacularly.

We are speaking of the game we did just after (no AAR), where I play the US and he plays the Redcoats.