Map and Counters

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: 1775-1783 is a grand-tactical level simulation of the campaigns waged between the Continentals and the British in North America during the War for Independence, 1775-1783. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was designed by James F. Dunnigan, and published in 1972 by Simulations Publications, Incorporated (SPI).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

General Lord Howe

In June, 1777, the British embarked on an audacious plan of campaign intended to bring the war against the rebellious American Colonies to a successful end. Three separate columns: one under Major General John Burgoyne; one under Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger; and a third under Lord Howe would advance against Continental forces and ultimately converge on Albany. Lord Howe, for reasons that are still unclear, abandoned the plan at the outset and launched an invasion into Pennsylvania instead of marching from his base at New York towards Albany. St. Leger, who had started his expedition from Fort Oswego with a force of 1,700 men, initially held to the plan of campaign. However, the cautious Lt. Colonel, after being repulsed in an attempt to capture Fort Stanwix from the rebels, abandoned his drive and began a retreat back to his starting point on Lake Ontario.

General John Burgoyne

Only General Johnnie Burgoyne continued with his offensive, but poor planning and bad luck plagued the British commander from the very beginning. Slowed down by too many heavy cannon and insufficient transport for his large baggage train, Burgoyne’s force of 7,200 men was both road-bound and slow. When the British general castigated his Indian Allies for their savage depredations against the local colonists, they responded to his eccentric demand that they observe the European “rules of war” by deserting en mass. To add to Burgoyne’s problems, local militiamen and Continentals destroyed bridges and felled trees across his route of march. Moreover, all of the livestock in his path was driven off, and the settlers’ crops and food stores were either carried away or burned so as to deny his army supplies. Even worse, large numbers of militiamen from New Hampshire and Vermont, already incensed at the cruelty of Burgoyne’s former Indian allies, also joined the local militias in harassing and attacking any British detachments that ventured too far away from the main column. Nonetheless, despite these ongoing reversals, the British general stubbornly held to his original plan.

Major General Horatio Gates

In September, the English army crossed the Hudson and slowly advanced south of Saratoga. There Burgoyne’s force, now reduced to 6,000 effectives, encountered its first serious resistance. A Continental army of some 7,000 men, under the command of Major General Horatio Gates, was entrenched on the elevated ground of Bemis Heights directly in Burgoyne’s path. On 17 September, the British attacked the American left in an effort to force Gates to retire. This clash, known as the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, ended in a costly but indecisive victory for Burgoyne. Although Gates’ conduct of the battle was so bad as to border on incompetence, the Americans managed to hold their main positions throughout the engagement. Getting ever shorter on supplies, and apprised of the steady influx of Continental regulars and militiamen arriving daily in the American camp, the British attacked again on 7 October, 1777. This second battle, known as the Battle of Bemis Heights, was a desperate "throw of the dice" for Burgoyne, and he knew it. His army, now numbering barely 5,000 men, attacked Gates’ force, which by the time of this second battle, had swelled to over 11,000.

The Battle of Freeman's Farm

Fortunately for the future of the American Revolution, even a general as lethargic and ungifted as Gates, given the excellence of his defensive ground, and his greater than two-to-one advantage in manpower, would have been hard-pressed to lose such an uneven contest, and he didn’t. On the night after the battle, Burgoyne retreated the remnants of his army back to Saratoga. There, without supplies or hope of relief, the British general finally surrendered on 17 October, 1777.

Saratoga was a turning point in the American Revolution. This Continental victory, uneven though it was, was decisive in finally bringing France into the war against England. Four years later, at Yorktown, the alliance between the colonials and France would prove decisive. On 19 October 1781, General Lord Cornwallis, with no hope either of reinforcements or of evacuation, surrendered his surrounded and out-numbered army to a combined force of French and Continental troops.

DESCRIPTION

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: 1775-1783 is a two-player simulation of the American Colonies’ armed struggle against England for independence from the Crown. Although it is predominately a land-based game, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION also uses fleet units to represent the fluctuating capabilities of the British and French Navies.

Each seasonal game turn of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION is symmetrical (the American and British player turns are identical) and is divided into four parts: the Movement Phase, the Overseas Reinforcement Phase; the Combat Phase; and the Fortification Phase. In addition, at the end of each game turn, there is a Continental Levy Interphase, and, during winter game turns only, an Attrition Interphase. One interesting — or frustrating, if you are playing the English — aspect of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION is that the British player is required to roll a die on every turn for each detachment that he wishes to move. This can be maddening for the British player as he watches his carefully crafted strategy unravel because of a (simulated) lack of initiative and misdirected movement orders. As the game progresses, a player cannot help but develop a certain amount of sympathy for General Johnnie Burgoyne, and for the hapless Lord Cornwallis. The game has a maximum length of thirty-two game turns, but will rarely continue that long as either side can achieve an early victory and end the contest immediately, based on their relative fortunes on the battlefield.

Besides the historical scenario, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, also offers a number of plausible (what-if?) scenarios that, had they occurred, might have directly influenced the outcome of the Revolutionary War. There are twelve different optional scenarios, each of which either help or hurt the Continentals’ Cause. For purposes of play-balance, whenever any of these scenarios is incorporated into the game, a formula is provided for an equalizing adjustment of victory points. These hypothetical scenarios not only create more options for the players, but they also provide an excellent method for adjusting play-balance between unequal opponents.

A PERSONAL OBSERVATION

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown

After almost thirty-seven years, I still have an odd love/hate relationship with Dunnigan’s simulation of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. There are many elements in the game that I like, and on the whole, I think that it has an ingenious, easy to play game system. My major complaint with the game’s rules is that the British player has a very tough time of it if he does not at least receive average results on his movement die-rolls. I can remember one game in which, having cunningly landed an expeditionary force in the South and having completely surprised my Continental opponent, I watched as that and every other English detachment remained paralyzed for three consecutive game turns before the irrelevant army in New York, and only that army, finally got orders on my fourth attempt at movement.

During my college days, I actually played this title quite a bit, but, after a time, my regular opponents tumbled to the fact that I tended to suffer terrible luck in rolling for movement when I took the British; the next thing I knew, I was consistently getting stuck with the hapless “Redcoats” and my interest in the game quickly waned. On the other hand, I did develop a great amount of sympathy for the British field commanders who — stuck in a thankless, frustrating war — seemed to suffer as much at the hands of their own leaders, both political and military, as they did at the hands of the rebels.

Design Characteristics:

• Time Scale: 1 Season (3 months) per game turn
• Map Scale: Indeterminate (area movement)
• Unit Size: abstract Strength Points
• Unit Types: infantry, militia, fortifications, fleets, and information counters
• Number of Players: two
• Complexity: average
• Solitaire Suitability: high
• Average Playing Time: 2-6 hours

Game Components:

• One 17½” x 22” area movement Map Sheet (with Game Charts, Terrain Effects Chart, Game Turn/Reinforcement Track, and Combat Results Table incorporated)
• 255 ½” cardboard Counters
• One 9” x 11½” book style Set of Rules (with Scenario Instructions)
• One 8½” x 11” combined Errata Sheet (as of 30 June 1973)
• One small six-sided Die
• One SPI 12” x 15” x 1” flat 24 compartment plastic Game Box (with clear compartment tray covers) and clear plastic game cover with Title Sheet

Recommended Reading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Artwork

These prints come in various sizes and make excellent wall decorations for an American Revolutionary war themed game room.

George Washington and His Generals, A... 12x16 Giclee Print Buy From Art.com

The Battle of Trenton, General George... 9x12 Giclee Print Buy From Art.com