AWI 250 project

Next year will see the 250th anniversary of the shot that was heard around the world, and in preparation for a series of anniversary games I have been working on some small, simple scenarios to play with my brother-in-law.

I've initially gone for the One Hour Wargames format to make a short game that we can play a couple of times in an evening and still have some time left over to argue about how it might have gone differently.  Concord is a tough place to start; what kind of result could be counted as a win for the Crown forces?  If they had arrived sooner, without the rebels being tipped off by their network of spies, then they might have recovered some supplies or captured Adams and Hancock, but that depends on factors that would not be played out on the tabletop.  In some ways a search of all the places of interest followed by an orderly withdrawal is as good a result as could be hoped for.

Lexington presents a better scenario for a tabletop battle.  The outnumbered British must keep marching toward Boston, rarely having time to halt and return fire, while the rebels cause as many casualties as possible.  Can the Crown forces reach Charlestown before dark in a state of effectiveness?  Unfortunately the outcome will depend more on lucky or unlucky dice than any cunning plan or wise choices by the commanders.

Instead of these, I started with the first battle that I learned about at school: the incorrectly named Bunker Hill.  The plan was to capture Bunker's Hill, but all the fighting was about Breed's Hill on the way.  Both commanders had choices about the placement of their forces which can significantly affect the outcome.

Opposing forces deployed and ready

I've tried to follow the format of OHW, so that forces could be generated randomly, but also identified the forces that were involved historically (allowing for significant artistic license to fit within a small table and 6 units).  As we tackle more battles the file will grow into a complete scenario book.  The latest version is available [here].

The scenario map

I played the scenario solo a few times to develop it, then Trevor came round and we played twice.  On the first outing Trevor took the rebels and moved his skirmishers back to the North of Charlestown, while placing the artillery and line troops in the redoubt.  My Crown forces advanced within range of the redoubt and halted to fire, clearing the redoubt in a few turns before advancing to complete their mission.

Skirmishers in Charlestown

On the second attempt Trevor put his skirmishers at the South end of Charlestown, with two infantry units in the redoubt and his artillery back on Bunker's Hill.  This time a continuous fire on the Crown forces, focused on a single regiment at a time, saw my regiments break and run one by one without clearing the redoubt.

I'm going to say that this is ready for us to use next June.  I'll keep thinking about how to make a playable game out of Lexington and Concord while I move on to the next campaign.

Until next time, health & happiness to you all.