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November 1813, America resurgent?

On Lake Ontario, the main American plan was to rush reinforcements to York, see if the momentum could be maintained by taking Fort Eire and blocking any British attempt to bring in fresh reinforcements by ship



In the course of these moves, an English fleet was intercepted and driven off despite the American lack of ammunition ... such is the might of the USN



To try and improve on this position, Rensselaer finally shifted and attacked Eire. Almost everyone was surprised when the English garrison collapsed (probably from shock)



and at Ticonderoga, Dearborn managed to stave off the English, even if the fort had fallen, his troops should now be able to retire safely.



meanwhile in the frozen snows of the West, some lost English tried to attack something that few were even aware existed:



leaving Henri optimistic that the victory that eluded Napoleon could yet be his

 
Bold stuff from Narwhal, with some equally good reactions from loki. Both forces seem very evenly matched at present, interesting turns ahead!
 
sob, my one real success is dismissed as 'no big deal' ... I was sooo proud of it too.
...
As it is that is potentially game winning (actually for either of us, it depends on if I can take advantage of his overextension)
Your 'one real success'? Hm, does that mean it's all downhill for the US from here? If that was a Freudian slip, then the 'game winning' appears to belong to Narwhal's moves...

Either way, whether that was an admission of ignoble American defeat or not, the next few turns should provide plenty of excitement. :)
 
Just read this in all one sitting. I don't have this game but I'm subscribed! :)
 
I somehow missed the last update when I last replied (even though it was right there - perhaps my glasses need adjusting)...

Good job, especially to Rensselaer on taking Erie. I mean, when you only have a 33:1 manpower superiority and you manage to inflict a crushing 15 casualties on your enemies... If it weren't for the unfair Eurocentrism of the Napoleonic Wars, I'm sure Rensselaer would be recognized as a military genius on par with Napoleon himself. :p
 
Bold stuff from Narwhal, with some equally good reactions from loki. Both forces seem very evenly matched at present, interesting turns ahead!

as in my next post, I fended off his sweep down the Champlain, but Dearborn is now awkwardly located to find safe winter quarters which has some bearing on what we do in 1814

Your 'one real success'? Hm, does that mean it's all downhill for the US from here? If that was a Freudian slip, then the 'game winning' appears to belong to Narwhal's moves...

Either way, whether that was an admission of ignoble American defeat or not, the next few turns should provide plenty of excitement. :)

defeat, nah, just for the record, my final move in this game is to bring Montreal under siege ... how can that be a defeat?

Just read this in all one sitting. I don't have this game but I'm subscribed! :)

glad you like it. If you receive the Paradox newsletter you should have a code to get the game free from gamersgate (last autumn some time).

To me, its a real gem. Its relatively simple - no production, no complex command and OOB strucutres, supply is brutal but elegant and relatively small forces involved. Rise of Prussia is utterly engrossing but far more complex and I'd say much the same for Revolution under siege. Pride of Nations is different to all the other AGEOD games just due to the scale (they mostly focus on a single war/campaign). Its certainly a good one to try to see if you like the AGEOD as opposed to Paradox model of game design (I'm biased, I've really come to like both).

I somehow missed the last update when I last replied (even though it was right there - perhaps my glasses need adjusting)...

Good job, especially to Rensselaer on taking Erie. I mean, when you only have a 33:1 manpower superiority and you manage to inflict a crushing 15 casualties on your enemies... If it weren't for the unfair Eurocentrism of the Napoleonic Wars, I'm sure Rensselaer would be recognized as a military genius on par with Napoleon himself. :p

Yep 33:1 and Rensselaer finally delivers, you can see where McCellan got his inspiration from.
 
December 1813, running for cover

Winter settled over the battlefields and inflicted more losses than any encounter with the enemy.

On Ontario, the English held onto Burlington and the scattered American units at York, Eire, Niagara and Buffalo rested after their exertions



In the far west, at the town no one really knew existed, the English cavalry suffered in the snow



Dearborn, outmanouvered by Brock, was trying to reach somewhere nice before all his food ran out, opting in the end to break his army up with the bulk making for Sacketts Harbour. This could be useful for 1814 as it might allow further offensive operations around Ontario using American naval supremacy, but did leave Albany dangerously underprotected.

At least the garrison at St Regis held out, delaying any English reinforcements.



(I changed these orders about 20 times ... I could have gone straight to Albany and evaded Brock if Narwhal had put him in defensive mode (2 forces in defense mode will ignore each other), however if Brock was looking for a fight, even another draw would have dumped me back in the wilderness ... as you can see my supply is *just* good enough). In the end I went for Ontario as i do have another smallish force at Albany (recovering from earlier battles) and managed to slip some smaller units past Brock. The advantage is I have a lot actually on & around Lake Ontario, so may be able to keep York and put some pressure back on Montreal using my naval superiority)
 
On the 2nd of December, 1813

To the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord Liverpool

Your Excellency,

I proudly inform you that, as expected, I won a decisive battle on the Champlain, at Fort Ticonderoga, the same place where the French stopped us half a century ago.

2against1.jpg


The Americans were well-entrenched, but I gave the order to attack in the early morning, as the mist of dawn and of winter hide our movement. Despite their better position, our troops and their troops started firing at the exact same distance. Then our troops charged in a well-coordonated force, and the enemy fell back in disarray. At first, Monsieur Izard was their commander, and while he proved to be efficient at the local level, as a Lieutenant, holding the position wherever he was commanding, he lacked the vision and the capacity to lead the battle as a General, and we broke through everywhere he was not in direct command. Monsieur Dearborn arrived during the battle, and gave, I understand from the prisoners, orders opposite to those of Izard. In the end, most of the enemy troops were left without instructions or in much confusions. When we could bring our guns to Sugar Loaf, like we once did, the battle was over and the Fort surrendered without needing a siege.

Unfortunately, on the Ontario, Fort Erié surrendered. This is not a surprised and most of the garrison was evacuated, except a few fixed guns and the crew to man them :

30vs1.jpg


More worryingly, our landing fleet was intercepted and chased. Sir James Yeo gave the Americans a good fight, sinking a couple boats, but had to retreat back to Kingston, with most of the landing force intact :

Naval.jpg

Pushedback.jpg


In a nutshell, here is what happened :

Whathappened-4.jpg
[/B]

Here is the situation, your Excellency, and you will see it can be seen as both worrying or exalting :

Situation-4.jpg


You might want to compare it with the situation at the beginning of the year :

February1812situation.jpg


Or the one, at the beginning of the war :

June1812situation.jpg


Basically, we and the Americans exchanged our position during 1813 : Montréal is not threatened any more and Albany is within reach, but we lost control of most of the Ontario.

On the Ontario, Sir Georges Prevost has put himself in a real quagmire :

Supplyissue.jpg


He is short on supply (he can still hold half a year, but he will not have anything extra for the wounded or the needy), and is between two forces that can stop him or even, in the case of Erié forces, defeat him once it receives reinforcements.
He also lost his port, and cannot be resupplied by boat.

On the other hand, on the Champlain, I believe I have destroyed all the American forces. Monsieur Dearborn's forces is exhausted, our of supply, and miles away from its closest supply points. I believe it can be written off. Monsieur Izard's forces is still quite in shape, but small. Since Monsieur Izard was leading reinforcement drawed from the Albany garrison, I believe there is nothing left to stop us between where I stand and Albany.

And we need Albany, because if a peace was negotiated today, we would be in a weak position :

Poorsituation.jpg


My plan is simple :

- Take Albany with my force as soon as possible !
- Send Francis de Rottenburg in what will be an ice march to surprise the York garrison and seize the city. The cost in men - and the risks - are tremendous, but it is the only solution we have to save Sir Prevost forces from anniliation, and thus to keep control of the Ontario. If Burlington was to fall, Kingston and then Montréal would be next ! With York in our hands, men and supplies will flow from Montréal and allow us to control the Niagara again !

But again, this requires a two-months march, and might fail.

GrandStrategy.jpg


Here are the forces committed with Francis de Rottenburg (I use the opportunity to ask you to promote him at least at the same rank as Sir Georges Prevost, as he is at least as deserving, and because we need him and not Prevost as a commander there) :

Troops.jpg


Yours respectfully,

Sir Isaac Brock
 
Things are really getting interesting now. loki's seeming near control of Lake Ontario has put Prevot in a hugely uncomfortable position, Brock can certainly crow about how much his rival Prevost is struggling! However with Dearborn put to flight and Narwhal moving to rescure Prevost in an audacious move, everything is certainly still to play for. It seems as if this will remain very close until the end.
 
On the 1st of January, 1814

To the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord Liverpool

Your Excellency,

Not much news to report, but with the icing of Québec I do not know when I will be able to send new informations.

As far as I can tell, Dearborn retreated North, most likely toward Ogdenburg :

Jan1814sit.jpg


As for Francis de Rottenburg march, I understand from the last messenger that many died on the way. I wonder whether I took the right decision, but too lake to back down, now :

Exposure.jpg


York must be taken as soon as possible. Sir Georges Prevost has few qualities, but he knows how to conduct a siege. I believe his skills will be useful in York. Meanwhile, Sir Robert Scheaffe knows a lot about entrenchment. He would be useful to replace Prevost at Burlington.

Officerchange.jpg


It is a good thing you gave the title of "Marshall" to Francis de Rottenburg. It sure beats the "Lieutenant General" title of Sir Prevost [unfortunately, in game terms, de Rottenburg currently has 7 seniority and Prevost 1 in seniority (like Brock), so Prevost outranks de Rottenburg]

Close to Montréal, I ordered some of our youngest and most promising officers to lead a force in the winter to catch Dearborn's force heading toward Ogdenburg, and if they cannot, to siege him inside. It would be better for the American soldiers following him, anyway.

One of these officers is a French canadian, with a French canadian force from what I understand. This will be an opportunity to show where their loyalty lies.

Relentless.jpg


As for me, I will move slightly North for organisational purposes :

Depot.jpg


Yours respectfully,

Sir Isaac Brock

Edit :

Also, I forget this :
SiegeofSaintJohn.jpg


Saint John is sieged with quite a strong force trapped inside.
 
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To try and improve on this position, Rensselaer finally shifted and attacked Eire. Almost everyone was surprised when the English garrison collapsed (probably from shock)
[/quote]

Rensselaer himself obviously had himself an heart attack, when he saw he finally won. I did not know he bit the dust (black ruban on his battle portrait).


Bold stuff from Narwhal, with some equally good reactions from loki. Both forces seem very evenly matched at present, interesting turns ahead!

Indeed, we both have won on one front, lose on the other.


Just read this in all one sitting. I don't have this game but I'm subscribed! :)

Thank you. Trust me, the game is definitely worth it (including against the AI, one of the best of all the RTS I played against - basically it will win against you whichever side you give it at the beginning). It is darn cheap, free if you receive the Newsletter.


(I changed these orders about 20 times ... I could have gone straight to Albany and evaded Brock if Narwhal had put him in defensive mode (2 forces in defense mode will ignore each other), however if Brock was looking for a fight, even another draw would have dumped me back in the wilderness ... as you can see my supply is *just* good enough). In the end I went for Ontario as i do have another smallish force at Albany (recovering from earlier battles) and managed to slip some smaller units past Brock. The advantage is I have a lot actually on & around Lake Ontario, so may be able to keep York and put some pressure back on Montreal using my naval superiority)

Sir Isaac Brock force was exhausted and very short in supply, and I would not have necessarily engaged. I really thought Dearborn was on his last heel by then, but I see he was still quite in good shape. I was also convinced (and was until I read your AAR) that he fled North instead of West...).


Things are really getting interesting now. loki's seeming near control of Lake Ontario has put Prevot in a hugely uncomfortable position, Brock can certainly crow about how much his rival Prevost is struggling! However with Dearborn put to flight and Narwhal moving to rescure Prevost in an audacious move, everything is certainly still to play for. It seems as if this will remain very close until the end.

Decisive victory is still possible for both of us [remember Loki and his "I need those wagons to take Quebec"]. How many games have this situation after half the game has passed, and after so many decisive battles ?
 
Sir Isaac Brock force was exhausted and very short in supply, and I would not have necessarily engaged. I really thought Dearborn was on his last heel by then, but I see he was still quite in good shape. I was also convinced (and was until I read your AAR) that he fled North instead of West...).

its that sort of gamble/decision that makes this game so great PBEM, I came so close to processing the order to fall back to the south and take a chance. Oddly if he'd been in a bigger mess I probably would have gambled (not much to lose) but the idea of losing a pretty strong force made me hesitate ... and locating to the lake for 1814 was also attractive

& I'd utterly missed that Rensselaer had managed to get himself killed. He was so damn useless that it made no real difference if he was alive or dead :cool:
 
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Does Loki have anyone near DC to guard against the Brits attacking there? Narwhal could grab some much needed victory points in 1814.

No!

I took the view that to contest those reinforcements would take me a lot of units that were better deployed up around Lake Ontario and just wrote off Washington. We've since replayed the game (switching sides) and I only got the English force in December 1814 so it is very variable as to how much you can do with it. Narwhal left a fairly large force in New York.

But you're right, its now a VP race, I've got a small lead and at the moment a small monthly gain, so its a case of protecting that as long as I can.
 
January 1814, America is surprisingly active

The start of 1814 offered considerable hope for the Americans around Lake Ontario. In the west, there was the potential to destroy the English force at Burlington. In the east, Dearborn had escaped, St John still held, threatening the English rear and Pike was moving to secure Albany.

In the west, Provost was isolated and suffering from supply shortages, so the American plan was to wait till late winter and bring together the forces in the region. His destruction, combined with naval control on the lake, would secure York.



The only real problem was that the American forces too were plagued by supply problems [1]



On the Champlain, Dearborn escaped with little damage



and Purdy clung on at St John but surrendered at the end of the month [2]



Meanwhile Pike moved to Albany with the intention of joining up with Dearborn's units who had fallen back to Burlington. If a counterattack towards Ticonderoga was impossible, at the least this combined force would screen the vital communication centre of Albany.



At sea, the navy found some more English ships to sink



And Henri's agents set part of London on fire ...



Thus overall, the Americans entered the campaign of 1814 in an optimistic mood. The potential existed for a decisive victory at York, Albany was well protected and Dearborn could strike at Kingston. What on earth could go wrong.


[3]

[1] – if I replayed this scenario as the Americans I'd do a lot of depot building, in truth more use than the supply wagons
[2] – another mistake, I think it was a good idea to leave a garrison as it kept a few more English units pinned down. But this was too much and cost me more in VP for the lost units than I gained for holding St Jean a bit longer.
[3] – as we found in a replay, the arrival of the English forces that attack Washington is highly variable. If I can avoid too many lost units, I think I can eke this out to a draw in my favour.
 
On the 1st of February, 1814

Sir Gordon Drummont, Saint-John


For Sir Isaac Brock's eyes only

Sir, I want to report on the situation near Montréal. The siege of Saint John is a success, and the garrisson surrendered ! It held vaillantly - especially for Americans - and for months, so we gave them full honor and allowed them to keep their battle flags :

FebSiegeresult.jpg


My force is now moving back to Montréal. The siege of Ogdenburg carries on.

As per your request, I have not sent any information to London about this force near Montréal. Maybe it is time to send a short note about this, now we are sure they are not a treat anymore ?

We also have received news from de Rottenburg, and the news are not good. While they reached York, the march was exhausting, and many men died of exposure. There is not much left of his force.

Febsoldiers.jpg


Please find enclosed a map of what I understand of the situation :

Febwhathappened.jpg



I would suggest that you come command the siege of Ogdenburg yourself. Your charisma would do a lot to improve the morale of the men in winter :

Febfeworders.jpg


I hope you are well and we see each other soon,

Your loyal

Gordon





[As a side note :]

Febpoints.jpg
 
On the 3rd of March, 1814

Francis de Rottenburg,

Confidential



Sir,

Situation in York desperate. Men out of food, morale. Half the force has disappeared (exposure, desertion, exhaustion).
Supply level critical. Can hold one month, maybe two.

MarchSoldier.jpg


Plan to build a depot in Burlington, but will only delay. Cannot carry on siege much longer.

MarchMoves.jpg



Commandered supplies from Détroit, mostly supplies captured from Americans.

MarchSupplytrains.jpg


Request new orders, supply, relief force.
 
Wait...I could have this game for free...just for signing up for a newsletter?

Or did that offer pass me by already...??

You should get the paradox newsletter, I *think* its sent to all forum members automatically using whatever email you are have registered with them. It would have been the issue for last June (I know as I bought WiA the day before it was released ... classic timing). That contained an activation code for gamersgate. I must admit I'm not sure if it is still valid but I'd imagine it is (that is if you've kept the email).

It was this that inspired us to put up the AAR on the French & Indian Wars. I hadn't even completed the tutorials but it seemed too much fun to miss out on.