1775 Campaign start month thoughts

[FM WarB]

The "shot heard around the world" at Lexington was on April 19. Yet these 1775 scenarios start in April with a Rebel Militia army already besieging Boston. What is this full month turn of April supposed to simulate? It is not simulating the battle of Lexington/Concord where the minutemen sprung up when the Brits attempted to capture/destroy an ammo/weapons stash at Concord.

The battle of Bunker Hill was on June 17. Why not start the 1775 scenarios in June? The first two turns involve virtually no action that cannot be handled with a June setup. Only British players against the AI will miss a possible stupid Rebel assault on Boston, but they wont have the frustration of the inactive Gage.

[lodilefty]

There are things happening esewhere in New England and such. Do you want to strictly repeat history?
What to do with the force in Hartford? In Portsmouth? Cambridge?
What to do with the forces appearing in Albany? Go north? Go west?
Ticonderoga?

I like choices. I can try to repeat the seige/Breed's Hill, or........

[FM WarB]

Choices? Gage does not have the choice, in these scenarios (He is oft inactive) to send a force to capture that ammo in April, before the Rebel militia rise. Gage is Stuck and besieged for the April turn, and Lexington/Concord was April 19. with no formed militia.

I bring these historical facts up with an ulterior motive. I believe the game supply system does not reflect the Americans' problem with gunpowder supply. They had to import it for most of the war, and only late in the war did they start producing it themselves.

[lodilefty]

I'd have 2 concerns with a March start:

• Any unlocked British will allow AI to go rampant in New England.
• Map scale and turn scale make modeling a raid on Lexington/Concord moot. They'd both be in the same region as Boston.

British side still has options to pursue in Canada while waiting for Gage to dither...

I believe that the 1776 campaign gives player an 'active' campaign at the start, so the 75 campaign gives us a 'slow build up' view with more strategic choices. [Similar to the April 61 vs July 61 starts in AACW]

[FM WarB]

I'm in favor of choices and accept your point. I don't think a March start would be good. Where is the Kennebec to Quebec choice, with Arnold entering in Albany?

At the risk of giving away my preferred Brit strategy, I've been fooling around with a scenario mod that has the Clinton Charleston group arriving outside Boston and Gentleman Johnny landing in Boston. (IF I'm going to conquer New England, why would I choose to send a big force down from Canada?)

[lodilefty]

I'm in favor of choices and accept your point. I don't think a March start would be good. Where is the Kennebec to Quebec choice, with Arnold entering in Albany?

At the risk of giving away my preferred Brit strategy, I've been fooling around with a scenario mod that has the Clinton Charleston group arriving outside Boston and Gentleman Johnny landing in Boston. (IF I'm going to conquer New England, why would I choose to send a big force down from Canada?)

Good point re: Arnold. He should be over in Maine with some militia, arriving same time as Montgomery..... ideas, ideas.....

[orca]

I'd have 2 concerns with a March start:

• Map scale and turn scale make modeling a raid on Lexington/Concord moot. They'd both be in the same region as Boston.

I live a couple of miles from Lexington Green, and I can assure you that you have to go through Cambridge to get from Boston to Lexington, let alone Concord. (I suppose you can go around Cambridge, and if it had been "one if by land" the British might have bypassed Cambridge. I wouldn't do that though - the traffic is much worse. In any event it was "two if by sea" and the British marched right through Harvard Square where Washington's headquarters would be for the siege.) Neither Lexington nor Concord would both be in the same region as Boston, both would be in the adjacent region of Cambridge. Concord is what, 25 km from Boston?

More on topic I would like to see the 1776 disband scaled back. Starting from 1775 the US have to be very lucky with their disband in order to have the OOB they have in the 1776 start. I don't think the Rebel army suffered many departures in the winter of '75-'76 - certainly nothing like what they would have in future years.

As to the game start I think May would make more sense. It can't be before Lexington and Concord - what would happen if Gage didn't move on Concord? What triggers the arrival of all the US forces?

[lodilefty]

I live a couple of miles from Lexington Green, and I can assure you that you have to go through Cambridge to get from Boston to Lexington, let alone Concord.

You're right, of course.

Cambridge is best avoided by flying into Hanscomb Field on your corporate jet and taking a limo to Concord.....