009 Cowpens (17 January 1781)

Details
Written by: Alessandro Crespi
Category: Southern Theater (1780-1783)
Hits: 5478
Total Plays: 38
Top Army (68%)
Bottom Army (32%)

Historical Background

Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the Continental Army in South Carolina, divided his forces sending Brigadier General Daniel Morgan to attack the British back country fort, Ninety-Six. Cornwallis dispatched Banastre Tarleton to catch the Continental forces. Morgan prepared for the encounter with Tarleton by backing his men up to a river at Cowpens just north of Ninety-Six. As Tarleton’s men attacked, Morgan instructed the militia to skirmish with them, but to leave the front line after firing two rounds. The British mistook the repositioning of the Continental militia as a rout and ran into concentrated fire from Morgan’s third line, on the hill, which was manned by his best troops. This unexpected volley coupled with a cavalry charge proved too much for the British and nearly half of the British and Loyalist infantrymen surrendered. Tarleton escaped, but Morgan’s troops had decimated his attacking force.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history?

Empty Board

Battle Notes

Continental Army

• Commander: Morgan
• 6 Command Cards & 4 Combat Cards
• Move First

British Army

• Commander: Tarleton
• 5 Command Cards & 3 Combat Cards

Victory

7 Victory Banners

Special Rules

• Opening Cannonade rules are in effect. Continental Rifle units will participate in the Opening Cannonade and may fire and retire prior to the start of the battle.
• The Continental player gains 1 Permanent Victory Banner for each Scout Command card he plays.

Additional Explanation: The Scout Command Card victory condition for this scenario is considered a Time Pressure Victory Banner Objective. After playing a Scout Command Card, the Continental player at the end of his turn may either:
(i) draw 1 Command Card and take 1 Permanent Victory Banner or
(ii) draw 2 Command Cards as normal. Taking a Permanent Victory Banner is not allowed if doing so would give the Continental player his final Victory Banner to win the battle. (French and More Expansion, see Page 8)

 

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Posts in discussion: 009 Cowpens (17 January 1781)
SoldatenKoenig1 replied the topic:
#1051
16 hours 42 minutes ago
Thank-you very much for your reply. You have given me many possible directions to go in. To sum up, use the vassal engine to create scenarios along the guideline you've suggested. And playtest, playtest, playtest. Thank you again for your insight. Have a delightful evening.  
Mark-McG replied the topic:
#1050
16 hours 59 minutes ago
taking these points in reverse order
Scenario length - immaterial in the system, the scenario goes for as long as it takes to gain a victory. Some people play fast, other slow, and others glacial..
Victory banners - generally I use a rule of thumb of the Victory level being 1/3 of the number of units and leaders on the weaker side. So 15 units and leaders is approx. 5 banners to win, 21 units & leaders = 7 banners.. that is a guide, and playtesting is the real way to judge. The other component is geographical or time banners, for for example if you want to focus the battle on a historical objective like a farmhouse, make it worth 1 or 2 banners for whomever holds it. If you want to put a time pressure on play, add banners for exiting units (either as escape or breakthrough), or vary the Scout card to allow taking a victory banner instead of drawing 2 Command cards. 
Managing card play - generally this is just setting hand size between 4-6 Command, and an initial draw of Combat cards. Occasionally you might allocate certain cards to the starting hand of a player, but micro managing this is impossible
Creating balance - playtesting. Even solo testing will give you a better idea of balance than initial assessment. 
Force mixture, position on the game board - these are essentially inter-related, but armies of the AWI were largely infantry, some light artillery, and little cavalry. British tend to be small, more elite armies, whereas the Continentals are volume but less quality. Adding leaders can compensate for this. The French are middle ground, and if you delve into native American units, then essentially a light infantry army.
Positioning them on the map is a matter of judgement, but you you generally position opposing units at least 3-4 hexes distant. This gives players a chance to manoeuvre their troops rather than starting with some critical combat situation.
SoldatenKoenig1 replied the topic:
#1049
17 hours 27 minutes ago
Thank-you for your reply I'm grateful for your time. At this particular point: I'm not concerned about accurate OOB's, or historical fidelity. I am interested in creating a balanced scenario using the C & C Tricorne System. I would appreciate any source which discusses force mixture, position on the game board, creating balance, managing card play, victory points, and scenario length. Again, thank-you for your reply.
Mark-McG replied the topic:
#1048
19 hours 24 minutes ago
Splitting your query into 2 parts, the practical and the research

The practical aspect of designing scenarios is setting up the map, positioning terrain and units, writing up the War Council Victory level and Scenario Special rules, and then recording all those things.
For this I have used VASSAL , with the Tricorne module . Provides you with a map, terrain and units without limits, can add notes to record the War Council Victory level and Scenario Special rules, and a file save keeps it ready. You can playtest the scenario online, and the map image can be exported to publishing apps. I've seen people use hex sheets and pencils, so that can be done.

The research is far broader, and C&C is also more fuzzy as a game than other Consims where you might specifically identify units. Generally what you want is a broad outline of the battle (and C&C only really does field battles, situation like storming fortresses and sieges don't play out that well). Typically Wikipedia has good outline, and references to other works. How detailed you want to get is up to you, but my view is that Tricorne units are "regimental" in size, which for the period tends to mean a battalion of 200-400 soldiers. Not infrequently 2 or more low strength units my be combined into one C&C unit, and conversely, where there has been an important unit in a battle, it might be specifically represented (e.g Guards, Rifles) despite being numerically few.
One important consideration in my view when setting up the map is distances and unit ranges. With musket and rifle ranges of 3 & 4 hexes, you are looking at a hex being roughly 50m. This makes Tricorne maps comparitively small by C&C standards. 

One missing battle in the game is Bennington . 

 
SoldatenKoenig1 replied the topic:
#1047
1 day 1 hour ago
Hi:

I'm new to this forum, and I want to make my own C & C Tricorne scenarios. I wanted to ask if you feel generous with your time. How, one might go about beginning this process? Are there any books, or online resources you might recommend to begin this process? Thank you in advance for you time. 
ozzie replied the topic:
#1046
1 week 12 hours ago
Two game, swapping sides.
Game 1 was a 7-4 victory to the British. After the full-strength artillery routed in the opening cannonade, the break in British line slowed things right down and the American long rifles took full advantage, causing a trickle of casualties. Things changed with a Quickstep followed by two bayonet attacks led by generals and the Highlanders and the American line was rolled up with the added loss of 2 generals.

Swapped sides and game 2 was an American 7-0 win. The opening cannonade from the American long rifles caused two units, including the artillery, to retreat and caused two casualties on another. The long rifles and militia formed a line and were blessed with Volley Fire and Line Command cards and shredded several British units, routing a couple. An advance from the British left got into melee but the Americans had all the answers with Hold the Line and Retire and Reform cards for the militia. The Americans formed an arc and eviscerated the three British attackers with musket fire, whittling each to single blocks. A bayonet attack from the supporting regulars finished them off.

I had a good day's gaming!
ozzie replied the topic:
#1016
11 months 4 days ago
Firstly scored a thumping British win 7-3. Tarleton led two units of dragoons to clear the American left flank routing a Provincial regiment, both American dragoon units plus General Washington. Very rare that the dragoons get to show such panache and derring-do in this game!

We then changed sides and I scored a 7-6 win for the Americans. The British Highlanders almost stole the win as both units with generals attached stormed forward and almost cleared the American right wing in a single attack. The Americans had been cruising to a win until this happened.
Craterus replied the topic:
#1011
11 months 2 weeks ago
7 - 2 on the first match for the british, with the Highlanders killing half Continental Army on their own, and 7 - 1 for the continentals in the 2nd match, this time due to a good job done by the rifles.
Hawkmoon replied the topic:
#790
2 years 2 weeks ago
Two victories for the Continental Army : 7-1 / 7-5. Riflemen have done a great job.
Hawkmoon replied the topic:
#789
2 years 2 weeks ago
Two victories for the Continental Army : 7-1 / 7-5. Riflemen have doe a great job.
Riclev replied the topic:
#768
2 years 5 months ago
A 7-3 win for the British. The battle was mainly fought at a distance. The Americans advanced their right flank into the woods but did not withdraw the centre, which got shot up, and the British raced into a 6-0 lead. Eventually the Highlanders with supporting regulars closed with the American right but the Americans had some devastating melee cards in their hand of 12 combat cards and both Highland units and General MacArthur were killed. So the British used Steal a March to close with the American left and the next turn eliminated a cavalry unit for victory.
ozzie replied the topic:
#267
6 years 6 months ago
A 7-3 win to the Americans. The long rifles fired, damaged the British artillery and retired. The British advanced and shot and surprisingly routed a long rifle unit. The Americans retired all the militia and light infantry with a Steal a March card and formed a solid battle line across the hills. The British advanced on the left pushing the highlanders and some regulars forward. An all-out assault saw the Americans lose a couple of units but the British lost both Highlanders, a general carried away in rout and both units standing next to him. The 16th Dragoons tried a mounted charge which caused damage but did not throw the victorious American right back. The Dragoons were fired upon and lost 2 bases. A long shot from a rifle unit caused a retreat and the Dragoons were reduced to 1 base as they retreated and then failed the rout test. 7-3 and the British left was entirely wiped out.
ozzie replied the topic:
#184
7 years 9 months ago
A 7-4 win to the British. The first 2 rounds of British fire saw two American Rifles and a Militia unit each take a hit and then rout from the field. The Americans were taking sustained damage but then played two Rally cards in succession and put most of their damaged units on their right flank back to full strength and the British turn to suffer with 2 Regular units and a Highland unit being shot to pieces and routing. The British right and centre advanced and delivered two Line Volleys which left the American centre and left reeling with a Provincial unit and General Triolett fleeing the field. A bayonet attack from the British Lights and some Regulars decimated the damaged American centre and broke multiple units plus General Picken. Historically, this American army had its back to a river so on this result history was reversed and the Americans would have been destroyed and Tarleton regarded as a hero. A well balanced scenario and the game mechanisms played out very well.
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