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A 'what if' scenario based on actual events. Ideally suitable for 3 or 4 players a side. An umpire is desirable. With a CinC for each side and 1 player per brigade or column this scenario can be played in an evening.
Striking south from Montreal in Spring 1777, Major General John Burgoyne began the campaign that he had formulated to end the Rebellion.
The plan depended upon striking at New England from the north, south & west. Burgoyne, striking from the north had initial success subjugating the American forts along the Northern Lakes. He then cut South into the Wilderness towards the Hudson River.
After suffering a reverse at Bennington in August 1777, Burgoyne pushed on to tackle the main American force under General Gates who were encamped on Beamis Heights near the Hudson River.
FREEMANS FARM
18th September 1777
After discovering he was to get no support from How, Burgoyne marched through difficult country in three columns towards Gates' entrenched positions on Beamis Heights.
Gates had been persuaded by Arnold in a heated discussion to advance and outflank the British instead of sitting back and waiting for an attack. The contact happened around 2 pm at Freemans Farm when Hamilton's piquets found riflemen from Morgans' Corps holding the buildings and drove them back into the woods which surrounded the farm.
There then followed a bloody encounter, the British holding the clearing and driving back repeated attacks by the Americans commanded by Arnold. After about 3 hours Burgoyne gave up any hope of reaching his objective or even of being able to continue his advance. Luckily for him Gates refused to commit any more troops to the action despite the pleas from Arnold. Had Gates done so Burgoyne would surely have been defeated. As it was, Riedesel's column arrived on the American right and the Rebel forces melted back through the woods to Bemis Heights.
Burgoyne held the field and so claimed the victory, but it was hollow. His irreplaceable losses weakened him so much that after one further action he was compelled to surrender at Saratoga.
A CHANGE OF SCENARIO
I felt that it would be interesting to change the nature of the battle by drastically altering the terrain and 'cooking up' a scenario that would hopefully 'fox' any AWI diehards who were familiar with the actual battle (and so remove their advantage of 20/20 hindsight). The following OOBs for each of the armies involved are accurate for the historical battle of Freemans Farm.
BRITISH FORCES
C IN C Major General Burgoyne |
| Right Wing - Brigadier Simon Fraser
|
| Converged light infantry battalion | @ 540 men |
| Regular B, 20 figures |
| Converged genadier battalion | @ 540 men |
| Rgular A, 20 figures |
| 24th regiment of foot | @ 380 men |
| Regular B, 20 figures |
| Von Beymans light infantry | @ 200 men |
| Regular C, 10 figures |
| Loyalist regiment | @ 150 - 200 men |
| Militia D, 10 figures |
| Indian scouts | @ 50 - 80 men? |
| Irregular D/E, 5 figures |
| Royal Artillery consisting of: |
| 4 x 6 lbs, 4 x 3 lbs, 2 x 5.5" howitzers |
| Regular A, 1 medium gun with 5 crew, 1 light with 4 crew |
| Center - Brigadier Hamilton
|
| 9th regiment of foot | @ 260 men |
| Regular B, 16 figures |
| 20th regiment of foot | @ 260 men |
| Regular B, 16 figures |
| 21st regiment of foot | @ 260 men |
| Regular C, 16 figures |
| 62nd regiment of foot | @ 260 men |
| Regular C, 16 figures |
| Royal Artillery consisting of: |
| 4 x 6 lbs, 2 x 3 lbs. |
| Regular A, 1 medium gun with 5 crew, 1 light gun with 4 crew |
| Left Wing - Major General Von Riedesel
|
| Brunswick inf. regt. Riedesel | @ 400 men |
| Regular C, 20 figures |
| Brunswick inf. regt. Rhetz | @ 400 men |
| Regular C, 20 figures |
| Brunswick inf. regt. Specht | @ 400 men |
| Regular C, 20 figures |
| Brunswick light inf. detachment | @ 100 men |
| Regular C, 10 figures |
| Indians | ? |
| Irregular D/E, 5 figures? |
| Artillery consisting of: |
| 6 x 6 lbs, 2 x 3 lbs |
| Regular B, 1-2 medium guns, each with 5 crew. |
| Note: At the start of the battle this force is nowhere to be seen. You believe that it is somewhere to you left, hopefully marching to join with you.
|
| Optional
|
| 47th regiment of foot (8 companies) | @ 320 men |
| Regular C, 16 figures |
| During the battle of Freemens Farm this unit was assigned to guard the baggage (luck them). I include it as option to be attacked to any of the three above columns. |
BRITISH BRIEFING
MAJOR GENERAL BURGOYNE
Following intelligence reports from your Indian allies you decide a frontal assault against the enemy fortified camps would be too dangerous. You have slipped across the Hudson, leaving part of your force to demonstrate against Gates. Force marching down the east bank of the river you have outflanked the enemy position & using a bridge of boats are moving to attack it from behind. However, the wilderness that had previously cloaked your movement has now begun to work against you. It has slowed your progress and increased your chance of discovery in increasingly hostile territory. Speed is now of the essence as you need to strike the enemy before they can react to your presence.
In order to speed your movement you have split your force into 3 columns with orders to converge on Beamis village, 3 miles south of the main Rebel encampment on Beamis Heights.
By 11 am on 19 September 1777 the centre column under you and Hamilton and the right hand column under Fraser have reached the rendezvous. The left hand column under Von Riedesel (comprising of Brunswickers, Jagers & Indians) is nowhere to be seen. Time is now of the essence, the closer you have marched towards Beamis village, the more hostile the inhabitants of the area have become. You have started to suffer the occasional casualty from riflemen in the woods and your fears that your position is becoming compromised are growing. Beamis village is almost deserted, the few inhabitants left are in terror of their lives, it seems the reputation of your Indians has preceded you.
Reluctantly you decide to push north up Beamis Heights road without Von Riedesel. You must advance with haste to stand any chance of catching Gates unawares.
OBJECTIVES
Secure the road area marked A-B to the north. Should the enemy be encountered defeat him (aim to inflict at least 1/3 losses).
DEPLOYMENT
In the area marked on the map. Artillery may be deployed unlimbered 6" in front of your position.
AMERICAN FORCES
C INC General Arnold |
| Colonel Morgan
|
| Morgan's rifle corps† | @ 300 - 400 (probably rather less) |
| Irregular B, 18 figures - skirmishers armed with rifles |
| Dearburn's light infantry | @ 300 (?) men |
| Regular B, 15 figures |
| Poor's Brigade | @ 1423 men |
| 1st, 2nd & 3rd New Hampshire |
| Continental Regular B, 18 figures * |
| 2nd & 4th New York |
| Continental Regular C, 18 figures * |
| Cook's Connecticut Militia |
| State Militia D, 16 figures |
| Latimer's Connecticut Militia |
| State Militia D, 16 figures |
| Learned's Brigade | @ 1801 men |
| 2nd Massachusetts |
| Continental Regular B, 20 figures |
| 8th Massachusetts |
| Continental Regular B, 20 figures |
| 9th Massachusetts |
| Continental Regular C, 20 figures |
| 1st Canadian |
| Continental Regular C, 18 figures |
| Cavalry | ? |
| Drew's New York Dragoons |
| State Dragoons C, 6 figures |
| Artillery | ? |
| Continental Regular B, 1 light & 1 medium gun each with 5 crew |
| Note: The dragoons and guns were with Gates. I have assumed that for the purpose of this scenario they were sent with the force sent out to find Burgoyne. |
| † these are 'crack irregulars. In woods they count as B class, in the open as C class. They cannot operate in formed line. They should have some kind of fire bonus. They suffer little or no combat or movement penalty when in woods. |
| * these figures are in total, NOT per regiment! i.e. the 1st, 2nd & 3rd New Hampshire are fielded as ONE SINGLE tabletop unit of 18 figures. |
AMERICAN BRIEFING
GENERAL BENEDICT ARNOLD
It was with a heavy heart that you received the news that Hirohito Gates had been named commanding officer of the Northern Army, not only because it was a command that you aspired to but also because you feared that he was an unimaginative commander. Alas, these fears are proving to be well founded.
For the past month the Northern Army has sat like a toad in the sun behind the entrenchments on Beamis Heights whilst the British roamed the wilderness to the north. No amount of entreaties to Gates would persuade him to allow you hind and engage the British. So, you took matters into your own hands. Under your command are the crack irregulars Organ's riflemen and without orders from above you have been using these to scout out the enemy and determine his intentions. You have discovered that the force in front of Beamis Heights is a decoy and that Burgoyne's main army has slipped away. Using Morgan's men to gather intelligence from the locals you discover that the British have crossed the Hudson and are moving on the rear of the Northern Army. Three British columns are at present closing in on Beamis village, about three miles to the south.
Gates when informed of this was furious. He accused you of rank disobedience and stripped you of your command. He did however take note of your intelligence and dispatched a reconnaissance force south under Brigadier Ebernezer Learned.
Your troops, especially Morgan's, were dismayed to hear of events and have pledged their loyalty to you. With this in mind you have slipped away from the main camp and joined the reconnaissance force. Near Beamis village you are contacted by locals. The news is bad. Burgoyne has reached the village but is delayed there as the Brunswick column to the west has not yet arrived.
You must act quickly! If Burgoyne can advance along the Beamis Heights road (exit off the table to the north) he can catch the Northern Army unawares. If you can prevent this it will give you the opportunity to bring your name before Congress and so restore your reputation.
OBJECTIVES
Delay the enemy and inflict significant losses on them (say around 1/3).
DEPLOYMENT
As marked on map. Artillery may be deployed in the woods provided it is on a road or trail.
Some of your units may start hidden, mark the locations of these clearly on a map.
REINFORCEMENTS
These may become available during the course of the battle.
LEADERSHIP
Arnold is above average (possible charismatic). He should give a higher than normal morale bonus to any American troops (except perhaps any reinforcements).
Morgan is also above average but only gives an increased morale bonus to troops under his command.
| UMPIRES NOTES |
| When I ran this game I kept the Americans in the dark about what reinforcements (if any) were available. I would recommend that you do the same. Feel free to alter the American reinforcements, or indeed not have any at all! |
| 10th Massachusetts | ? |
| Continental Regular B, 20 figures |
| 11th Massachusetts | ? |
| Continental Regular C, 20 figures |
| Coffers New Hampshire Dragoons | ? |
| State Dragoons C, 8 figures |
REINFORCEMENTS
(BOTH SIDES)
ONLY THE UMPIRE SHOULD READ THIS SECTION!
BRITISH
As soon as major firing breaks out on the tabletop Riedesel will begin to march to the sound of the guns. How far away he is is up to you, about 4 to 5 turns seems about right. As soon as he is within about a move of the tabletop roll a D6 each turn to see if he actually arrives. On a 6 then he enters the battle. Gave plusses on this die roll for the amount of firing (a lot of shooting, multiple rolling volleys etc. will give a bonus) and maybe a plus for subsequent attempts after the first.
The umpire should roll this die and not inform the British players of what is going on. They should have no real idea of how close Riedesel is to the battle. For that matter nor should the Americans. If you have a player in command of Riedesel then he may roll the die but only he and the umpire know the results.
Once it has been determined that Riedesel has arrived then roll another D6 to see where he actually appears. 1-2 on the most northerly of the roads on the British left, 3-5 in the middle, 6 the most southerly. Either roll for the entire force, or by unit (I played that each unit's arrival point had to be diced for as the column had become strung out hurrying through the wilderness).
All regular line in this force enter in march column, one unit behind the other along the road (prorate the moves for units behind the leading unit if required).
OPTION
If you have player as Riedesel allow him to abandon his artillery in order to march to the sound of the guns at an increased rate. He should not discuss this with the other British players. Riedesel should also determine his order of march (if allowed to enter from a single point) before the start of the battle.
AMERICAN
Arnold should be assigned a galloper. He may send this messenger to Gates at any time. The problems start once he gets there! How far away Gates is is up to you, but I would suggest no more than 4 moves.
When the galloper arrives he needs to roll a 6 on a D6 to actually see the general. Once he is in the great man's presence he must then convince him that a British attack is underway and that reinforcements are urgently required (say another 6).
Both these die rolls are modified by the amount of noise coming from that battlefield. A few sporadic shots from Morgan's rifles will not modify the die roll but artillery and plenty of rolling volleys will give a plus (say anywhere between +1 & +3 depending on how much of the forces are engaged.)
If the American players are unaware of what reinforcements they will be getting allow the messenger to return to Arnold and tell him (say the messenger returns to Arnold 2 moves before the reinforcements arrive).
American reinforcements enter from the north edge of the table on the Beamis Heights road. Again it's up to you if they enter in march column or deployed.
TERRAIN NOTES
Large Map (slow 152K)
Woods are either heavy or light. Light woods are those indicated on the map or those marked A. B. C.
Streams, hedges, fences effect combat and movements as per the rules you use.
All the hills are steep and will disorder any troops moving up them (and possibly down?)
Paths are the only way of moving artillery through heavy woods. They might possibly allow formed unit movement in march column (?). The British should be unaware of any paths in the woods (mark them on a map for the American side only).
OOB NOTES & SUGGESTED MODIFICATION FOR THE GAME
Some of you may have noticed that there is not an exact ratio between actual unit strength and the suggested number of figures. This is because we use the 'Rebellion in the Colonies' rules which has a suggested figure scale of 1:20. This tends to lead to a wide disparity in unit sizes and makes some of the units very small (especially in Hamilton's & Poor's). Conversely it makes the British converged light & grenadier battalions very powerful. As this is a 'what if' scenario I think it is better to 'spread' the number of troops engaged over the entire force making the units more balanced and the smaller units more of a viable tabletop formation. Also some of the American units have been 'converged' into a single unit for this battle. Morgan's rifles are almost certainly rather overstrength in the above. I have done this as I think it adds to the 'flavour' of the game and makes the British paranoid about a rifleman lurking behind every tree.
For those to whom this is sacrilege I've given the October 1777 strengths (as far as I can ascertain) of the units involved.
Treat the quality rating I have given for the troops as suggestions only.
I did allow the British to field the 47th foot but only gave them a single Indian unit.
If you decide not to allow the Americans any reinforcements you may wish to make the units in Poor’s command all 18 figures & those in Learned's all 24 figures.
In case it is not clear Burgoyne & Arnold are each represented on the tabletop by a suitable leader figure as are the commanders of the British columns & American brigades. Unless noted as otherwise all leaders are considered to be 'average'.
Unless noted otherwise all light infantry may fight formed or in skirmish order.
Indians may only operate in skirmish order. I advise they count as D morale when in woods & E if in the open. You may wish to give them some sort of bonus if they charge any unfortunate routing Americans.
Some of the features of the rules we use is that American units are more prone to breaking than the British but are easier to rally. The Americans may also combine on the battlefield any 2 infantry units which are below 1/2 strength into a single unit (morale etc. as lowest). The British tend to be more effective in melee than the Americans. These differences give a good feel to the game (we find).
My principle aim when designing this scenario was to give a balanced game with some historical validity. You may wish to alter any of the above due to the rules you use or if you wish to present a different sort of game. What you do with the reinforcements can have a big impact, both on the tabletop and on the psychology of the players. Regardless of how you treat the above I hope you have fun.
PLAYING THE GAME
The Americans deployed Dearburne & Morgan in the woods to the south east, the bulk of their infantry behind the hill (in the east) and across the Beamis Heights road and a fairly weak force in the woods covering their right. The medium gun was pretty much in the centre of the table, the light on the edge of the woods sheltering Morgan (on a path). The British plan was for the right column to attack in force along the Beamis Heights road and for the centre to remain in reserve until Riedesel arrived, whereupon it would advance to finish the rebels off.
The British right ignored the hills & woods to their right and swept forward. The were soon taking steady losses from the Americans in these woods. As they continued on the Americans began to feed their line units into the battle against both the front and flank of the attacking British. Under a withering fire from flank and front the British came to a stop and tried to deploy to face these two threats. Constant please to the CinC for support eventually resulted in the despatch of an infantry unit ordered to try and clear the woods from south to north. It was too little, too late. When Fraser was felled by a rifleman the American lines went forward and the British streamed to the rear in confusion.
The British were saved from utter dismay by the arrival of Riedesel who fortunately arrived on the most northern of the roads. This column immediately started to fight its way down the road, in a series of bloody firefights clearing the defending Americans from the woods. The British centre advance somewhat tentatively in support. The Americans now faced a crisis. Unknown to the British they had nothing left on the right to check the Germans. To cover this weakness they assembled everything they had left in the centre (many units had been mauled throwing the first British attack back), added to this the reinforcements that had arrived and with a great show of bravado advanced to meet the British centre. At this the British nerve racked. Assuming that the woods in front of Riedesel were still full of Americans and believing that the Americans in the centre were in rather better shape then they were (they must have been in good shape to dare attack was the reasoning) and fearing further American reinforcements were on the way (there weren't any) orders were given to break off the attack and retreat. The Americans, highly relieved to see them go, let them leave unmolested.
One of the key things about the game was that the British were completely in the dark about how many American units were on the table and where they were. Indeed, the British were paranoid that the scenario was a 'set up' and they were walking into a massive ambush. They were also thrown by encountering a number of good quality American units. I therefore think it essential that you allow American units (within reason) to be hidden.
During the post game discussion (or 'gloating phase') it was agreed that had the British continued their attack they would probably have won a narrow tabletop victory - but due to crippling losses have lost the campaign. All concerned felt that both the tabletop and the probable outcome if the game had continued would have been 'right' and in accordance with the actual campaign.
Notwithstanding what happened when we played this scenario I believe that the British have the edge in this scenario. The challenge for them is to turn this tactical advantage into a strategic win.
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