""Give me two volleys and fall back."" Topic

I believe the best prepared "army" EVER was Daniel Morgan's band of Merry Men at Cowpens.
Knowing they would run away anyway, he gave his militia permission to run away after two volleys, and gave them orders where to regroup. And they did! Bless their hearts. All this was done the night before. One might say that the battle went almost as planned.
Hannibal would have taken notes.

I am thinking that a better set of rules than TSATF to "simulate" (I hate that word) would be Habitants and Highlanders. If you luck into 3 actions, you can fire two volleys and fall back one action.

I am stealing all the good stuff from everybody for my own Flames of Liberty home made crockpot (crackpot?) rules and will try this as soon as I get a few more skirmish based units painted.
TSATF has great firing rules but with the possibility of receiving two volleys in a turn I may tone them down a factor or two.

Any thoughts on how to do this without forcing an American victory?

Just ramblin' on on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

I want the militia player to KNOW that he gave his two volleys and fell back in good order.
I am also trying to figure how to make Tarleton impetuous within the rules of TSATF.

I would just use a card draw anytime Tarleton has a rebel unit within charge distance. Pick one suit draw a card and if it is a match, charge! Maybe even give them some sort of bonus if it is an ace. A one in four chance makes them suitably impetuous I think.

Rules?? Who cares? As long as your using my "hillbilles" to fight your battles, all is well.

Yeah. They're set for Cowpens.

Well, two volleys and fall back didn't work so well at Guilford Courtjouse. So it had a 50% rate of success.

I just watched a movie about battle. Will you have a figure Xharking with a flag like a Scottich Highlander in blue face paint? :-)

Seriously, i do like the idea of giving a the card suit to activate Tarelton with in a charge range.

Morgan wasn't at Guilford CH and most of the troops,
both sides, were fatigued as all get out.

Cowpens is a very small battlefield – a strong-armed
person can, literally, throw a rock from the British
start position to the American start position.

Guilford CH is very deep and wide and the terrain is
somewhat hilly. I was winded several times during
a walk-over.

And there was a not crossable river in Cowpens behind the place where the militia should regroup.

That was a fact to help the militia to stop, regroup and then even to advance again.

Cowpens has very deceiving terrain. I spent a good part of a day walking it from the British perspective and you need to see it from that view to appreciate the brilliance of Morgan's troop dispositions. Whether it was intentional or not.

My two shillings worth.

Eric

Cowpens was brillants. Morgan read the land and set the battle plan to his advantage. I do not think the British had a chance. Probably the best preserved battlefield.

Grew up near Blackstock in SC, poor Banastre never learned. Meeting engagements against prepared troops, no matter the quality, is always dicey. "A Devil of a Whipping " is one of the best histories I have read.

Well, two volleys and fall back didn't work so well at Guilford Courtjouse.

I have my doubts whether Morgan's plan was as simple as that. However at Guilford Courthouse sources indicate the second militia line engaged in an extensive firefight with the British. By the time the British pushed through, the Virginia militia were probably spent. So unlike at Cowpens where Morgan could use the reforming militia as a reserve, Greene didn't have the additional troops to throw in at the end of the battle.

Morgan's plan worked in part because he went to where the militia had their horses tied up and convinced them to go back again – more than the "two volleys" he'd asked for. At Guilford the first line militia fired a volley or two and went to their horses. No Morgan was there to rally them. They left.

Morgan's plan needed him to make it work.

poor Banastre never learned

It had been working steadily for quite a while. He had a string of victories, all won the same way. Still, after Blackstock you'd think he might have changed it up some.

Back to rules, I'd suggest Guns of Liberty by Eric Burgess for this. Best AWI rules I've encountered in nearly thirty years of gaming.

Light Bobs allows that top happen easily.

Winston;
I'll try to send you pictures off TMP about the terrain I saw. At the height of a six foot (albeit rather fat) man, it's very interesting…

Assuming the scrub is reasonably similar, I think the Crown Forces allowed themselves to be led into a tactical "trap" which they were unable to react properly.

It's almost perfect for a "everyone is a Doodle" scenario when you only have a small turnout in Luzerne County for Game Night…

Eric