Liberty

Mark Kwasny’s Thoughts on
British and American Strategy

Reviewed by Charles Vasey

British Strategy

“I posted the following thoughts on British strategy and advantages over at Columbia Games' forum, and Grant recommended I post it here as well. I was asked what I thought were the British advantages and best play. Some of these thoughts have been discussed here before, but I'll reprint my post from over there. "The South can be overrun pretty quickly, especially if the American elects not to defend it, or is a little slow in seeing the strategy coming. Once sealed off, the South will hold until the French enter. New England can be surrounded, from Canada and NYC and a naval force in the Atlantic. A carefully run campaign, especially with two turns in a row, could lead to the destruction of several American units, or at least force the American to disband several units and lose New England.

"In battle, the British have many more C2's than the American. Even odds tend to favour the British. An aggressive policy, with the main force concentrated, can pound the American and perhaps force an opening.

"The British can pretty quickly get to the mid-20's in points (8 red, and 16 points in 5 cities in the middle). At that point, the British can threaten to win in one move -- especially with a naval force in the Atlantic with a couple ships and 2-3 land units. There are several 2 and 3 points ports along the coast. With 15-17 units to hold 5 cities (assuming 3-4 units in Canada), the other 5-7 can threaten a quick landing in Charleston, Boston, or one of the 2 pointers. A couple of those could win the game. And I have seen this situation accomplished by 1776 and often by 1777 (assuming the French don't enter immediately).

"French entry complicates life greatly, but the same principles apply. A concentrated British army threatens any French or American force near it. A small amphibious force at sea threatens every 3 point port, including the French West Indies. I have seen the French sit at sea uselessly looking for a chance for a quick strike, then land on the last card, then set sail the next year. The British can largely neutralize the French this way. And the American finds himself using most of his actual moves bouncing the French in and out of port.

"Go for surrounds. Go for two turns in a row. Save the Loyalists in the first year or two. Look for a chance to use the Mohawks to help surround someone in NY or New England. Build up the force in Canada (4-5 blocks is enough).

"None of these are foolproof, and all of them require the best use of the cards available. The fact that there are 9 years (45 turns) helps the British mostly. One bad year is no problem. Early French entry means the British must be more patient, more careful, and more cunning looking for a chance to isolate and destroy an American/French force. The fleets become critical at that point, for both sides."

And now the Rebel Scum

I've been considering American strategy, but I find it much more difficult to spell out, since the American must be mostly reactive. Clearly in 1775, if possible (meaning you have 2 or 3 movement cards), building a unit or two in Charleston and Richmond and attacking the Loyalists on the last turn is a good tactic. If successful, 1-2 Loyalists will be eliminated. Indians are also good targets for last turn offensives. The Mohawks are especially good to eliminate, since they can be used effectively by the British to help surround Americans in the more close quarters of NY and New England.

Two Militia units form a nice barrier to British movement, and barring incredible rolls, won't be easy to kill before they can retreat. At best, the British can attack with 3 ships and 3 'B' units (the Militia could retreat before any attacking 'C' units fired). Even faced by that lethal killer pack, the British should only get 5-6 hits. So a 3 and a 4 Militia should survive almost any other kind of attack.

I like to place a screen of two units in front, with Washington and the regulars right behind. Then, if the British go first and attack the screen, the American can advance the regular army with a decent chance of the front line surviving the first round. On the other hand, should the first round prove too costly, the army can retreat with no real danger, at least not from enemy 'C' units. Plus, this kind of deployment will stop British adventuring with 2-3 units.

Ticonderoga is critical, if the British are massing in the North. If the British get Ticonderoga and NYC, they can threaten to surround almost everything north of the Hudson River, especially if they pull off two turns in a row. Thus, I tend to match any British build up in Montreal with the same number of units in Ticonderoga.

A Militia unit in Yorktown can be useful for blocking a British amphibious end run up to Alexandria, which the British like to do if they are marching south from Philadelphia. The bottleneck at Alexandria and Baltimore is a good place for 2-3 units, as long as such flanking moves are prevented.

If the British go South early, there's not much you can do to save Georgia and SC. A build up in Hillsborough can slow the British advance, but often you will have to wait for Virginia when the British have become spread out even thinner. Of course, British landings will leapfrog ahead into Virginia, which is when a unit in Yorktown again is useful.

Overall, I like to contest as much as possible, and offer battle. But I rarely stay for the fight. Just making the British mass to attack buys time, and just when the British are ready for the attack, withdraw and let them swing at air. Time it wrong, however, and you risk massive battles and perhaps even surrounds. The war in the North is much more of a war of nerves, because there is so much less room to manoeuvre. Thus, to defend the North requires most of the American forces. In the South, where there are fewer Supply towns, deep raids can be effective on the last turn or two in a year. If you can just force a British unit to retreat out into the open, it may well die in the Winter, or at least force the British to use a precious move to get it back into a town. For the American, every move used by the British to move a unit backwards is a small American victory. And usually American units can make it into an unoccupied non-supply town for the winter, where they will disband.

The French are a big bonus, but don’t automatically win you the game (at least I don't think so!). Be careful not to waste too many moves shifting them into and out of port each year. A strong French naval force in the Atlantic will force the British to respond, or risk losing a port on the last card of the year. The best targets are those that are not next to another British held port. Victory then might kill the defenders or at least force them out to sea and disband. If the British have abandoned the West Indies, occupy it immediately. A ship in the British port pretty much requires the British to bring two ships to retake it. It is difficult to merge French and American ground troops, due to supply limits, but landing the French on one side of a British port, with Washington on the other, can lead to a fast evacuation by the British, or a chance at a massive attack with fleets to cut off any retreat.

These are all probably pretty obvious ideas for the American. But by keeping the British on guard in his key ports, blocking advances from Canada, and guarding against amphibious landings behind your main army, you can largely prevent the key British tactic: surrounds.

Liberty Review and Analysis

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© Copyright 2004 by Charles and Teresa Vasey.
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