Alan Snider  - Aug 15, 2005 9:30 am (#10573 Total: 10617)  
On the Playtest Table: Khyber Pass Games' "The Battle of the 
Little Bighorn"; and announcing the "Northern Knights Wargaming 
Group" in Vancouver, Canada with a retail store of it's own at 
http://www.stalag17wargames.com/ 
	 
GAMENIGHT, Aug 12/13: Terence Co and I sat down to give DG's "The '45" a
spin. The object of the exercise was to lay the groundwork for trying
Red Sash Games "Charlie's Year" in our next batch of games... While the
'45 is a much less in depth study of the exploits of Bonnie Prince
Charlie, it does give one the opportunity to see the overall conflicts,
challenges, and path to victory (geographically) that I expect to see in
the more comprehesive treatment in the campaign of the Young Pretender. 

As Terence is so flexable, he was nice enough to let me take on the
challenge of directing the Jacobite forces, while He made the decisions
for the English Goverment side. We chose the first scenario: Sailing to
the Belle-Isle, which has as its' goal for the Jacobite player to lay
siege to Edinburgh. 

The first part of the game for the both sides is somewhat scripted, in
that one is led by certain bonuses for doing things in particular areas,
then moving through others to claim your reinforcements..etc, prior to
heading straight toward the main goals. The English have the tough task
of garrisoning the English territories as the French intervention level
forces them to do so. Should the English player make errors in doing so,
his opponent may pick out of forces in Scotland to send South to fulfill
the garrisoning requirements. As the English get quite a few
reinforcement about mid-game, this can give you the illusion that big
trouble is headed the Jacobites direction. It is still wise to hurry
though, as I found out later... 

I left France with a small feet consisting of a 3 strength Warship and a
Privateer (with the Pretender). I was running a gauntlet of British
naval power as I headed through the Irish Sea, and then the Western
Isles sea areas. The ocean areas are handled with a sea transit box, sea
patrol box, and then a sea battle box. First I moved into the sea
transit area, and was pursued by the English on their turn who went to
sea patrol. They intercepted me easily (only dieroll of 6 would have
helped me there) and that meant we both headed to the sea battle box. At
this point, the Privateer can choose to attempt to evade (and run), I
chose not to, as I still had the warship to take any necessary
losses(and I was not outnumbered by much). The English did poorly on
their attack roll and were forced to retreat to the nearest friendly
port of their choice. 

A similar situation unfolded in the Western Isles, but I chose to
attempt to flee with the Privateer and failed...but again fared well in
the battle and sent the English packing to a friendly port. This allowed
the Jacobite fleet to land at Glennfinnan and begin the attempt to raise
the clans. The clans are split into 2 groups , those that immediately
rally to the cause and undecided clans which must be rolled on the clan
table and if not swayed by the Jacobites will go to the English side
(yeow). The actual presence of Prince Charlie gives a favorable bonus to
these attempts, but as I landed in Glennfinnan; it became obvious that I
could not reach the Outer Hebrides to raise the MacDonald and Mackebnzie
clans with their considerable manpower. I did do an unmodified dieroll
on the MacNeil clan and they joined the cause. 

Terence wisely had a combined English and Dutch force occupy the Western
Isles sea area, due to the fact that when 10+ ships occupy the area,
this prevents the Jacobites from using smaller vessels (abstracted) from
reaching the Outer Hebrides directly ; instead of having to brave the
hazards of the sea transit box and almost certain sea battle that would
follow. On the bright side, the Pretender had arrived safely on the
mainland. 

On about turn 3, I raised the standard at Lochalsh (historically, it was
Glenfinnan), and was then able to call the clans to the standard. This
is a bit of a tough deal, as the clans can only recruit during their
turn if in their home clan box. One other thing to note is that once the
standard is raised, the Jacobite player has 9 turns to rally the balance
of the clans to his side, or lose them forever. The one good thing is
this ups the French intervention level once more, forcing the English to
divert more troops south. This somewhat clears the path to one of the
following cities: Aberdeen, Perth, or Dundee; these being the location
in which on can "declare the King" and recieve a nice assortment of
reinforcements. 

As I stared as the huge lot of English reinforcements arriving during
upcoming midgame turns, I figured that I better get recruiting hardcore.
Although I did not realize it at that moment, I was making some critical
decisions. I had the eye on arriving at Edinburgh with nearly full
strength clan units, after battling it out with some perimeter garrison
units. As I did this, the English took the opportunity to take a run at
the unconcentrated Jacobite forces. What do you mean you are not going
to wait for me?....hahaha. 

English forces led by Argyle and Loudon pounced on the Glenayle
Macgregor clan at Loch Lomond clearly catching them off guard and
dispatching them to their maker...As the Jacobite attempted to form a
barrier to the main part fo Scotland to continue recruiting, the same
English force moved on to Oban to continue to take the battle to the
Highlanders. This ended up being a bit of a shocker, as the English were
engaged in the mandatory 2 rounds of combat and were totally wiped out
during the battle; even Loudon and Argyle fell to the sword. There were
no survivors. 

It was about this time that I realized the clock was my enemy and
dropped the recruiting idea, and drove straight toward Perth. On the
way, at Inverness, Prince Charlie and his forces made short work of
Forbes and his troops wiping them out totally as well. Forbes gave his
left to buy time for the English to garrison the final areas of England
they were required to and now had their eyes on reinforcing Edinburgh. 

Prince Charlie reaches Edinburgh with 1 turn left, declares the King,
and receives a wicked batch of reinforements. This includes Lord Elcho
and a fair bit of cavalry. This leaves the Pretender with one turn to
storm Edinburgh with his forces and attempt to capture the fortress.
problem is, in a fortress there is only one round of combat, and a quick
look at the CRT revealed the best I could do was kill 6 strength points
of English troops and 8 pts worth occupied the fortress, making the task
an impossible one. Drats! Looks like Forbes life was decisive in the
English holding on, so his life was not in vain. 

I, as the Jacobite player, learned a thing or 2 about the hazards of
recruiting, and the wisdom of taking advantage of the effects of the
French intervention level (with fewer worries about English troops in
Scotland proper). And the English learned to never attempt to take on
Ardshiel Macgregor in Oban. 

I believe it is critical to get a feel for the first 10 turns in the
game, particularly as the Jacobite player, as it make a huge difference
in how the fortunes of Prince Charlie will be set from that point
forward in the game. There is a temptation to recruit to be able to get
a large enough differential in attacking/defending forces to get a
result other than equal losses when in battle. 

We really enjoyed the combination of quick play and semi-scripted
historical nature of the early game (first scenario) and are prompted to
do a re-set and play the entire campaign starting next game session for
Terence and myself. This game definitely has shades of Brittania in this
respect, as it is a game of possibilities as much as it is a educational
tool. I will add this game to my list of undiscovered gems to recommend
to others.