MT05 1775-77

Great tournament, it was lots of fun. Thanks Mark for organising, and congratulations for winning! And congratulations to Justin for getting to the Grd Final

2nd final was a tough match, 2.5 hours long, and a lot of concentration to take few chances.

Wow, sounds like a great final! Congrats Mark, and my sympathies, Justin. Thanks again, Mark, for organizing - that was a lot of fun.

Finals
Game 1
Justin (Continentals) - 6 banners; 13 blocks lost
Mark McG (British) - 2 banners; 21 blocks lost

Brits are outnumbered in this scenario almost 2:1, and worse, and facing Continental Regulars lining the woods. My initial efforts with the Hessan Grenadier did some damage, but lost me the Grenadier, Light Inf and a Hessan Reg in the gun duel, and shortly after, the Continentals Rallied back to full strength. At this point the Brits dropped back a pace to avoid the sniping from the trees, and tried to use their artillery to reduce the Continentals down. Despite trying again with a Bayonet charge, the Brits could only manage 2 banners before the weight of the Continental Army overcame it.
 
Game 2
Mark McG (Continentals) - 6 banners; 12 blocks lost
Justin (British) - 1 banner; 30 blocks lost

In the knowledge I had to win this one, and not lose very much at all, I played very conservatively in this game. As a result it was a long game, not helped by my family shorting a fuse (and hence my PC) mid-game. Not sure how plugging a faulty microwave that was shorting the fuses into a different powerpoint was going to produce a different result, or why with a choice of oven, stovetop, toaster, airfryer, gas BBQ or sandwich press that it HAD to be microwaved, but there we have it.

Anyway, the Continental tactics were very conservative, but Justin took a page from the previous match and fell back early, so it was a matter of whittling down the artillery, then approaching from behind the hill to make the attack. I lost 1 unit in breaching the position, and it all looked to be set when two leaders fell and all it needed was for a 4d attack to force an unsupported 2 strength militia off the baseline. However, Morgan fluffed the roll, and it looked like the Hessans might manage at least to gather another 1 or 2 banners, but a series of good rally checks saved my day, and eventually the Hessans failed a rally check of their own. The last 30 minutes of the game were very tense, especially when the power went off.
 

Continental Semifinals

Game 1
Steve (Continentals) - 4 banners; 31 blocks lost
Justin (British) - 7 banners; 26 blocks lost

Each of our left flanks did major damage with not much standing of the opponent's right flank at the end of the game. I lost my grenadier unit fairly early on in the game with a bunch of ranged hits so he was ineffective at best for me. No leaders were lost and I don't believe any full strength units melted away as each had some damage done to them before failing rally checks.

Game 2
Justin (Continentals) - 6 banners; 35 blocks lost
Steve (British) - 7 banners; 22 blocks lost

In this one it was our right flanks that were dominant with mine being at range and Steve's in melee. My fortune started early as a British full strength unit fled the field due to an ineffective Philips who left at the same time. Then as Steve was trying to set up for a bayonet charge he placed a German unit in front of two other units and I rolled an abundance of flags to claim him and foil that attempt. The sharpshooter card claimed Reidesel and the unit he was with was attacked and failed the rally check. My left flank then completely collapsed as the grenadier's acted like tanks and just steamrolled me with two militia units and two regular units folding (nearly a third with the leader). Always fun playing Steve even with his advantage of playing in the future!

Multiple logfiles as this was played over a longer period of time:

Semifinal Game 2 Freeman's Farm

JR (Continentals) - 5 banners won, 33 blocks lost
Mark (British) - 7 banners won, 30 blocks lost

I had hoped to achieve a victory using some manoeuvre around the flanks, and it was a story of two flanks.
On the British right, aside from the Grenadiers, it looked underwhelming with the Provincials in support. Whereas on the left, the Hessans looked a lot better equipped to push past the colonial light troops. So I sat tight on the right, and went in on the left. However, the attack kind of stalled on the left for the lack of Command cards, and whilst the troops did chase off the Light troops out of the trees, they just retired and retired and always rallied. When I finally got them to the back line, Poor's militia and Arnold's regulars saved then, and killed off my flanking force. Throwing good money after bad, I Quick stepped up more trrops, and got shot to pieces.

At this stage it stood 3-5 in JR's favour, and I presumed I had lost. He in turn repeated my assault on the right, and stepped into the same sort of buzzsaw he gave me.. First Strike, Ambush etc.. but I wasn't getting hits, lots of flags, but his full strength units were rallying.

My saving grace was the artillery, which fired from Left flank across the centre into the rear of the right, it sent units scurrying to the rear, a militia simply ran, and a Regular failed a 5d rally check.

Another tough game, everything I expect from JR. Lucky to pull off the win, and the Semi-final by 1 banner.
 

Semifinal Game 1 Freeman's Farm

Mark (Americans) - six banners won, 37 blocks lost
JR (British) - seven banners won, 36 blocks lost 

Mark and I endured a slugfest this morning for the opening leg of our semifinal.  We started off with light musketry that sent off an American full-strength militia unit on a rally roll; I didn't have much time to celebrate before a full-strength unit of British regulars fled the field in turn.  Beyond that, we saw several cards of little impact as Mark stitched together a thirteen-unit line across his left and center.  He assaulted on the flank, hitting my right, unaware of my two Assault Right cards supported by both Ambush and First Strike.  

Given the chainsaw he ran into, Mark got off cheaply, losing only a single unit (along with a few more blocks) before scampering away with At the Quick Step.  Attention shifted to my center and left, where I used Bayonet Attack to close, killing a unit but ultimately losing one of the attackers as well.  Mark attempted to strike back with King and Country but his subsequent complete whiff gives some indication of his dice over the course of the game. 

Hamilton led his regulars into the center of the American line, making bloody work of it before getting surrounded.  His unit died but Hamilton slipped away, and the banner count stood at 5-3.

Mark then pressed on his center-right, chipping away and ultimate evening the banner count at 5-5 when I lost an artillery unit to a Battle Back.  He in turn loses a leader during a Battle Back, and a British one-stepper departs for a 6-6 tie, each of us a banner away from a win.

At this point Mark had two units at 3 and 2 steps each, the former with a leader, facing three British one-steppers, all leader-led.  He played Liberty or Death to activate both, and missed on both shots.  I replied with Line Volley, and also missed.  Continental Rally revived a single step, but Mark missed again!  Finally, I played Inspired Leader, getting a flag on the two-stepper, who decided they had seen enough for one day, failing the rally roll for my final banner.

I had a couple mid-game missteps that should have proven fatal but Mark's dice utterly betrayed him at multiple crucial points.  I also rallied single-steppers twice - both units ultimately died but they absorbed more attention than should have been necessary, giving me breathing room in a couple tight spots.  It was a fun, grueling game; we plan to wrap up with the return match in the next few days.

 

OK, we have sufficient results to determine the semi-finalists. I encourage players to conclude the outstanding heats, but the Semi-Final postings are up.

Something for the semi-finalists. Between the start of the tournament and now, there have need several fan scenarios posted. Freeman's Farm is a good scenario, but oft played.

If players agree, if you want to play
MMcG04 Bunker Hill, Howe's Opening Assault, 17 June 1775
instead, that would be fine. I think I would need to create a VASSAL file.

www.commandsandcolors.net/tricorne/maps/...lt-17-june-1775.html

I'd note that MMcG is not me, but Mike McGee. There are no recorded results, so I can't speak towards balance. Given that it is play twice, any scenario imbalance will be equally shared.

Round 4 101 Pell's Point (18 October 1776)
boredbeyondbelief (Continentals) 5 banners, 9 blocks lost
Gonzo (British) 2 banners, 26 blocks lost

We took a break of a month before finishing up this game. We had paused at 4-0 and the rest must have helped the British made General Reed lose his nerve as both units lost their rally checks immediately after returning. But this was the only thing to go against the continentals. They finally chased down a lone British unit for victory.

sduke and I will be playing our last match tomorrow night which will still be the 31st on the West Coast of the US (and April 1 in Sydney) 

 

Particularly looking for the Round 4 match between Joe and Eric to determine the semifinalists

Round 5
Gonzo (Brits) 4 medals, 12 blocks lost
Mirko (Yanks) 2 medals, 20 blocks lost
Skirmishing on flank, then British assault in center. Mirko put up a stout defense, shooting and killing the Highlanders and a Rifle, but the British cold steel put 4 Territorials running home for the win. Thanks to Mirko for fun match.

Round 2 Long Island (Grant's Attack)

Mirko (Americans) - five banners won, 30 blocks lost
JR (British) - eight banners won, 30 blocks lost 

Wow, what a titanic struggle!  Mirko and I went at it hammer and tongs for turn after turn until I finally pulled out a win.  I opened with a thrust to the right toward Battle Hill, worth two banners to the British.  However, Mirko shifted to interdict my assault from the central hill mass.  I redirected my attack to deal with his artillery and quickly learned the error of my ways.  Mirko’s artillery played Hold the Line to ignore two flags and threw back my lead unit.  I then lost a full Regular unit on a failed Rally roll and the rest of my Battle Hill gambit unravelled from there. 

On the left, I used a steady supply of Line Command, Inspired Leader, and Line Volley to push back the surprisingly tough Militia and Provincial units holding that flank.  Once their resistance was overcome I moved on the Cortelyou House, worth a banner to both of us.  I trundled my artillery forward in support and we began the epic struggle that was the heart of the game. 

Cortelyou House ultimately changed hands five times.  After I took it the first time Mirko used Liberty or Death for a focused assault, retaking it.  I responded with For King or Country to win it back again, and so on.  In the meantime, I lost two more full strength Regulars to failed Rally rolls, while Mirko rallied a single-step Provincial on the board edge (but I’m not bitter).  On the right, I finally got on top of Battle Hill after Mirko diverted center units to the Cortelyou fight. 

Forced out of the house by ranged fire, I reoccupied it with Steal a March, which also got my artillery into position along with additional infantry support.  It left me adjacent to Mirko’s units but I had First Strike in hand.  Perhaps sensing a trap, Mirko stepped back and peppered me with musketry.   In return, I ripped into him with yet another Line Volley, bumping the banner score to 6-5 in my favor.  Mirko had no choice but close for one last push, using At the Quick Step to do so.  His gritty Rifleman failed to bump me, and my battle-back sent them back and ultimately off the board.  At this point we realized my occupation of Battle Hill had already closed the win – gotta say, the definition of ‘Absolute Majority’ always demands a refresher in any scenario in which it applies. 

Great, great game, maybe my favorite of the tournament and I’ve had a couple good ones already.  Our dice were roughly even – Mirko bested me in Rally rolls but I think I had the edge in combat results.  Where I really had an edge, however, was in card flow.  I had consistently good cards and was always in position to use them.  I could’ve used Bayonet Attack more than once but I can’t complain – the Line Commands and Line Volleys were enough.  Our session filled an afternoon, but it was worth every moment.

Round 5
sduke12 defeated gotigerssc 4 banners to 2.

sduke lost 15 blocks, gotigerssc lost 17 blocks.

The game took a few odd but fun twists and the Brits went from planning a sitzkrieg mission and calling a draw, after receiving holy hell in fire attacks from the continentals, to winning on their own hellishly good rolls.

Good game, gotigerssc, enjoyed it.

Round 3
Gonzo (Brits) 8 banners 17 blocks lost
gotigerssc (Yanks) 3 banners 30 blocks lost

Dont know how the Continentals can win this, but Justin put up a good fight.

Round 2
Gonzo (Brits) 8 banners 10 blocks lost, EZPickens (Yanks) 3 banners 22 blocks lost

First rally roll for Brits sees a Reg rout off the board with his leader. 5-0 lead for Yanks. After that, Brit line creeps up with line command, line volley, counter to line volley, routing forward rifle and shooting up the other. Continental Provincial troops take hill. They fall to Highlander led charge and all rout with leader killed. Thanks to John for stiff fight with outmatched troops.

Deadline is coming up, 31 March.. and some players need to get multiple matches played

Round 5

John (Americans) - no banners won, 12 blocks and one leader lost
JR (British) - four banners won, 3 blocks lost

This looks like a handful for the Americans.  John got his Militia and Provincials off the back line and into terrain immediately, while falling back with his forward light troops.  I consolidated in the center and just started plinking away, blessed by useful combat cards and adequate command cards.  Eventually my core group reached his main line and we exchanged ranged fire before I closed with At the Quick Step.  For the second game in a row I was stymied by Provincial courage, this time with a 2-stepper rallying at the board edge with a single die.  That only served to forestall the inevitable, as John went out in a blaze of glory, counterattacking in the hopes of grabbing a banner.  Alas for the rebel cause, he failed to kill a unit, and both attackers died in the attempt to close out the game.  Not sure what the Americans can do to win this given the force disparity - a classic case for playing twice, switching sides.  

 

Rd 6
Gonzo (British) 5 banners 6 blocks lost
gdnuke (Continental) 1 banner 18 blocks lost

British left only action. Quick march close on militia. They shift positions with Regs. Brit line move, volley fire with imp ranged combat card hit both Regs, retreat, miss rally and rout with the leader. George threw the militia back in to maintain the flank so no free banner, but lost both after a couple of turns. George did not make a single rally roll, but took it well. Thanks for game.

Round 3

George (Americans) - three banners won, 26 blocks and one leader lost
JR (British) - eight banners won, 15 blocks lost

This is a tough one on the upstarts but George made a strong showing despite the odds. I only had left flank cards and some scouts, so pressed on that side, but was quickly sent packing. I finally got my big force in the center moving, which eliminated the Provincials and Riflemen defending the center.

My banner count approached victory and I saw an opportunity to close out the game on the far right. Highlanders charged a full provincial unit with a leader attached; the Scots had a stationary unit of regulars in range and ready to support, along with a full unit of light artillery. The Highlanders failed to kill a step but got two flags. The Provincials routed directly adjacent to my unfired artillery, but made their rally roll. My artillery proceeded to miss, and was promptly shredded by triple sabres, and were finished off the next turn. I did finally get my last banner but those provincials salvaged some pride for the cause. Fun session!

Rd 2

Renaud (British) - 8 banners, 9 blocks lost
Eric (Continentals) - 3 banners, 25 blocks lost

There was action in all sectors of the battlefield. On the left, the British advance nabbed the militia and Gist, while the provincials took 3 flags across the Gowanus never to be seen again (but no banner). In the center, there was a lot of firing, and mot much melee, but the little melee there was allowed me to chase the rifles away, which then vanished. One of my regular units took a lot of losses, but between the leader's pointy sword in their back, buddies on the flanks, 2 Reform and 1 good Rally card, they soaked up a lot of hits and flags and never were eliminated. On the right, I took rapid possession of Battle Hill by Calling (The Highlanders) Forward after moving a leader carefully in position, and the flank saw the last action of the game as Eric played a Bayonet Charge to distract me from taking the House and 1 VP from him, but his charge achieved nothing (I had First Strike and, but did not even use it, Ambush) while my Counter-Attack nabbed my last banner.

A tough one for the Continentals to start with. I pretty good cards (although no Line Command, Line Volley, or Bayonet Charge except for that which I counter-attacked), but 2 Quick-Steps, 2 Inspired Leaders, and a number of combat cards that proved useful. Thanks, Eric, for being always such a pleasant opponent.

Rd 1 Bunker Hill Gonzo (Brits) 6, 20 blocks killed Stephent (Cont) 1, 9 blocks killed
Brits run Rifle out of woods on their left, but gunfire killed the Brit Lt.
Rest of action on Brit right as 2 Quick March, 2 Assault Right, 2 Inspired Leader, Line volley and Line move overwhelmed the wing, pushed them to back row and watched them run off board. Stephen did the best he could under the avalanche, damaged several but killing none. Thanks for match

BG 05 Long Island.

Well fought game and lots of unbelievably bad dice rolling by both sides but made us laugh.

SDuke 12 8 banners GDNuke 4 banners
SDuke lost 17 blocks, GDNuke lost 31.

No log file taken, by accident. Cheers! and thanks for a fun matchup.

White Plains
gotigerssc Continentals, 5 banners won, 23 figures lost
jrtracy British, 4 banners won, 26 figures lost

I pulled victory from the jaws of defeat at the very end as JR could have just as easily won the game. We actually started this about a week ago and Vassal stopped working for both of us when it was tied at 3 banners each. Was a tense game with swings in momentum several times and me barely able to keep units on my flanks to prevent a medal from going to the Brits. McDougall proved to be the hero for me by not fleeing the field and rallying his single figure unit, which eventually enabled me to scare off a German unit for the win. Victory could have gone to either one of us and it was a fun one to play.

Adding a couple of logfiles due to the gap in play

  

MT25 Rd 3 Long Island, Briitish Flank March

Steve T Continentals, 5 Banners Taken, 17 Blocks Lost

Steve D British, 2 Banners Taken, 19 Blocks Lost, Conceded

Battle began with the provincials in Bedford pass fleeing the field after ranged fire. The British attacked up the road and then line advancing their flanking force. My Continentals on the ridge to my right of the road took damage but repulsed the British, while those on the other side of the road, (in the centre), fled from the advancing British flanking force to the hills on the other side of Bedford pass. Soon after this, with the score above, the British conceded. Thanks to Steve D for a good game.