November/December '65. A bit late in the year for troop movements, but Bouquet and Ecuyer are still struggling toward fort Pitt.
Ecuyer has been forced to abandon his bateaux as the Ohio ices up. Quite a distance to travel, but he has a light force so some may survive.
"Natives destroyed Fort Vincennes in region Shanous".
This is a description that is often given by the game when the scorched earth rule is used by a scenario.
A better description would be that a structure in the region of Shanous has been destroyed. In some cases it may be that a structure has
been destroyed by a retreating force, but in many cases it just represents destruction of certain areas of the region through battle.
This particular case is even more complex as it shows the control of a region that has been ceded by an already surrendered French
force to the British. I will have to change the scenario to add an event to replace these French settlements with a British controlled
settlement once it has fallen into British hands. At the moment Trent faces a very long winter in the open.
So far I am pleased with how the scenario has held up through its first PBEM. I have thought about a few small changes that can be made while
playing the game and Carnium has come up with some very good ideas. Nothing major though. I will post a patch when we have finished the PBEM
with around ten small changes and a few clarifications.
There are three possible routes to victory for the British.
The first is for a collapse in Indian morale which can lead to several Indian tribes abandoning the cause and a British peace delegation event option ending the game early.
Even though the Indians can lose some of their will to fight in the winter I can't see this having much effect in their current position.
I haven't looked at Carnium's turn, but with Detroit in his hands I don't see this as a possibility.
The second is a VP victory, but with almost a hundred VP to make up in a few months this seems unlikely.
The third is to keep possession of the currently controlled strategic and objective regions, while taking back control of Detroit and destroying the Indian village of Chalahgawtha.
I think Carnium may well earn a hard fought victory, but I wonder how strong his braves will be after a third harsh winter.
I'm certainly not sure of the outcome myself, but I fear I may be beaten at my own game!