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Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Montcalm & Wolfe - The July Offensive

Braddock attacks le Boeuf
Grid Based Wargaming
Peter resolved the battle of Fort Le Boeuf and Bougainville could not hold off Braddock.  The fort falls and Bougainville marches out to Fort Presque Isle.  See Peter's account of the battle at Battle of Le Beouf.

May 1757 sees a large number of British troops arrive from England.  Reinforcements from England include six regiments of Regulars and one regiment of militia is raised.  Two regiments of Regulars go to Fort Cumberland, two Regiments of Regulars go to Fort Edward, two regiments of Regulars travel to Fort Oswego, and the militia marches to Albany.
British Reinforcements
The French receive reinforcements too but not in the quantity that their opponents called up.  The French muster two regiments of Regulars and one regiment of Irregulars.  One Regular travels to Fort Presque Isle to bolster Bougainville's garrison and discourage Braddock.  The second regiment of Regulars and the Irregulars travel to Isle aux Noix.  Dieskau, seeing the build up at Fort Edward, abandons William-Henry and retires to Fort Carillon.
French Reinforcements
June 1757
With Fort William-Henry abandoned by Dieskau, Monckton marches his large force to garrison the fort.  Only one regiment of militia is left behind to garrison Fort Edward.  Johnson successfully recruits the Cayuga to the British cause.  The Cayuga warband immediately sets off toward Lake Ontario.  For the early summer maneuvers, the French are content to ferry one regiment of Regulars from Isle aux Noix to Fort Carillon. 
June 1757
July 1757
With a fresh batch of reinforcements in the right place at the right time, the British go on a July offensive.  In an attempt to hit strength with strength, Loudoun attacks Fort Stanwix while Monckton attacks Fort Carillon.  A reinforcing regiment of Regulars marches out from Fort Cumberland. 
Double British Attack
Battle of Fort Stanwix OB:
British: Loudoun (A0D1), 4 x 5-6 Regulars
French: Drucour (A0D1), 2 x 5-6 Regulars

Battle of Fort Carillon OB:
British: Monckton (A2D1), 5 x 5-6 Regulars
French: Dieskau (A2D2), 3 x 5-6 Regulars, 1 x militia 

Two important battles for the summer '57.  The battle at Carillon is a Major Battle which means the Political Track will shift two in the winner's favor.  These twin battles have the possibility of changing the outcome of the war.  I anxiously await the results.

Over to you, Peter!

24 comments:

  1. Jon - just wanted to say I've been following this campaign with a lot of interest since it began - excellent stuff. My interest was fired up initially because (a) I'm always receptive to learning how I can improve my own campaigns, and (b) I'm toying with the idea of a Montrose campaign in the next year or so - this may seem a non-sequitur, but it strikes me that such a campaign would have some similarities with the Montcalm vs Wolfe thing - specifically smallish forces in a big area.

    So I've been reading since January (or whenever) - have enjoyed it very much - use of the boardgame to structure and underpin everything is fascinating too.

    Just saying.

    Thanks to you and Peter for your efforts.

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    1. Thank you for your encouraging comments, Tony!

      With each campaign year seeing only one or two battles, this format is well-suited for generating battles and playing them out in a reasonable time. This might work just as well for your Montrose campaign.

      What began as a challenge to provide Peter context for his FIW campaign has turned into an interesting narrative as the war rages across the frontier. The speed at which Peter resolves his tabletop battles is astounding. It has been great fun following Peter's battles.

      Glad to see you are enjoying this exercise as well.


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  2. Fantastic campaign narrative.
    A great period and theatre for gaming.

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    1. Thank you! I agree that the FIW war makes for a splendid setting for a campaign game.

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  3. The tension is rising. If the French can survive the July offensive, can they muster and concentrate enough force at one place to thwart British reversals?

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    1. The tension mounts, for sure. The July turn has the potential for setting the tone for the remainder of the war. The loser of each battle will find themselves off of a supply source during attrition. The French have an advantage in that their movement phase precedes Attrition. Therefore, any defeated French will have a chance to get to a supply source before Attrition. The British, having already moved, will not have that luxury if defeated.

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    2. That's another clever bit! Still enjoying following this along as well.

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    3. Glad you are still following along, Ross!

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  4. The games are coming think and fast now. It may be a day or two before the first game is setup, as the tabletop is currently occupied by WW2 models.

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    1. No rush with playing out the games, Peter. These battles are for your enjoyment. Enjoy!

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  5. Seems that the heavy British reinforcements will be hard to offset. Perhaps the beginning of the end?

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    1. The British reinforcements are intimidating, for sure. Only time will tell if this becomes the beginning of the end.

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  6. Nice looking game and campaign, looks interesting!

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  7. Really great narrative Jonathan!

    Christopher

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  8. Moving along nicely,lm glad it's not a rematch of William Henry!
    Best Iain

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    1. No guarantee William-Henry will not feature in another battle before the war is over.

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  9. The 2nd battle of Fort Stanwix has been played out and a game report posted. Planning the next game Fort Carillon.

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    1. And a good one it was too! Even without having to scale the bluff this time, Loudon had a tough time of it.

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  10. At some point is seems like the French would just burn William-Henry to the ground...

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    1. The French want William-Henry as a supply source too.

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  11. Game report for Fort Carillon available.

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