ETW Demo AAR Contest - The Vote

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Empire: Total War Demo AAR Contest

The Vote

Here we are guys, at the dawn of a new age... the Age of Empires: Total War. Let's celebrate this event with this little contest.

Vote for the story you liked the most. Please be fair to the contestants, don't just click on their spoilers, throw a glance at the pictures /texts and vote. If you don't have the time to read all of them, please come back later to make sure you vote for the one you really found the best.

The submissions are anonymous to enhance the fairness of the contest, but the authors will be revealed after the vote's done. I'd like to thank everyone who participated and those who share their thoughtful comments here.

Here are the entries, in the order of date they were submitted.

Submission no. 1. - What Divides Us by Snuggans

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

YouTube Video

What Divides Us

July 27th, 1777

A tenacious mud swallowed the soles of distraught soldiers making their way off the ships at the head of the Elk River; the 34-day venture from New Jersey had wreaked havoc upon both their consciousness and constitution. The ungraceful arrival was being scrutinized by a multitude of curious birds, perched upon their deciduous shelters. On that morning, being grateful for a bird’s inability to laugh would have been considered prudent action.

Of course it would be even wiser to acknowledge the fact that not all that laid eyes on the red-coloured army were just mere feathered creatures; somewhere a dozen miles to the southwest stood an observant General Washington with a force of over twenty thousand to oppose the British’s seventeen. The trees dotting the landscape served as his eyes, and the plentiful tributaries and streams acted as his ears. A simple truth drifted inside Washington’s mind: the only thing standing between Philadelphia and the British was himself and the courageous men in front of him. If there was something that could strengthen his steadfast demeanour even more, this truth would surely be it.

The first move that sparked an advantage was made nearly two weeks before both armies collided in furious contention. Instead of establishing camp, the delay caused by the slothful disembarkation pushed Sir William Howe, the British general, to swiftly move his troops further inland. Because of this, Washington was not able to ascertain the true calibre of the opposing force.

September 11th, 1777

A sombre fog weaved in and out of the Hessian ranks under General Knyphausen as they approached Chadd’s Ford, carrying with them an eerie silence that accentuated the stealthy advance. Farther to the east, General Cornwallis led the British regulars in a flanking move through a neglected Jefferis’ Ford.

This was Howe’s masterpiece.

While the flanking force made its way around to the Americans, the leading light infantry battalion came under fire by skirmishers concealed in the woods adorning the way. The sound of gunfire quickly gave way to a sudden stampeding of horses as both the accompanying dragoons and Hessian hussars flooded the assortment of trees, driving back the rifle men with astounding effectiveness. What little sunlight penetrated the curtain of branches manifested glints on the horsemen’s raised sabres as they cut down all who chose not to flee.

The convenient fog had taken its leave, revealing a sun that had grasped its zenith. Several of the American brigades were now desperately wheeling to their right to meet the advancing British columns which had now both cleared the woods and dispersed their scouts. Distant sounds of explosions and cannon-fire coming from Chadd’s Ford resonated throughout the field as both sides assembled an organized formation. The British light infantry had now moved from the head of the formation to a small grove on the right flank and made initial contact with the advancing rebels, showering their left flank with withering fire. The grenadiers and highlanders formed the right wing of the British line, and subsequently opened up on the continentals as they came into range; their accuracy and timing impressing even the nearby light infantry battalion. As the rest of the line sprouted fire down the field, the British 8-pounders finished settling itself on the descending slope posterior to the infantry line.

The Hessian cavalry had crept up behind the British right flank to grasp the advantage of concealment provided by the shadowy grove of trees. On the other side of the line, the Dragoons positioned themselves behind the line infantry but were instructed not to dismount for the exchange of fire; Cornwallis wanted to unleash all of the available cavalry as soon as the ‘rebellious’ line faltered.

The Continental Army responded, expelling a volley very much like the initial one made by their counterparts. As dozens of bodies fell to the verdant grass, a silence was instilled on the British line, which was quickly broken by a fierce howling coming from the Highland regiment. Many of the young American soldiers interrupted their reloading to witness this spectacle in utter shock.

A rout buds.

The confident Cornwallis smiled.

The red-clothed demons fired once and marched forward several paces, using the lull after a volley’s impact to inch closer to the American lines. Militia light infantry appeared on the Continental Army’s left flank, taking position at the peak of a small hill overlooking the town hall. The grenadiers were ordered to break off the line’s wing and advance towards them, while their own light infantry provided cover fire from the grove. The tallish creatures released a single volley upon them before lighting the fuse on their grenades and hurling them through a high arc at their panicking enemies.

The American lines declined into a disorder as minutes fleeted; fear becoming plentiful as the advancing British lines drew closer. At a certain point the American marksmanship decayed into shaky disarray, giving the British infantry ample time to reload in a collected manner after the order to halt was given. It took one last single volley within short range, the deadliest volley of the day, to send a large portion of the survivors running; the resistant ones slowly stepping backwards in confusion. A nod fell from Cornwallis, triggering the call of the bugle which incited the cavalry to explode into a maddened sprint towards the enemy lines. The British infantry and artillery ceased fire, their silence overwritten by an overwhelming cacophony of hoof beats coming from the fast-moving horde inundating the field and crashing into the opposing lines with much vigour.

Night fast approached. Cornwallis’s forces met up with their Hessian allies who had succeeded in breaking through the drained American lines at Chadd’s Ford. They had taken considerable artillery fire but managed to capture several of the cannons, suffering only a small number of casualties.

After a few petty encounters spanning several miles which repeatedly dissipated into the rebels’ retreat, the British forces marched into Philadelphia unchallenged.

Submission no. 2. - Report from William Howe to the English prime minister Lord North by oggie

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

To the His Majesty’s prime minister of the United Kingdom, Lord North.

The Battle for Brandywine Creek on September 11th 1777 AD.

My Lord,

Today we’ve encountered the American rebels at Brandywine Creek. The rebel general George Washington had over one thousand troops, exceeding the eight-hundred and seventy-five royal troops of His Britannic Majesty’s army. The rebels deployed four batteries of heavy 24 lb cannons and most of their regular line infantry to the nearest ford. With their heavy cannons they were able to cover almost the complete battlefield so I had to order my troops to take cover, but still cover the passages. As my Lord can see in the included drawing made by some very talented loyalists to the English Crown during the battle.



I had our four 6 lb cannons place upon a hill to fire at the two most nearby rebel batteries. Eventually they destroyed seven of the enemies cannons and lost one of our own. I hold the Hessians, highlanders, grenadiers, light infantry and my hussars in cover during this bombardment, but I send two line infantry and two guards regiments alongside with the dragoons to the second ford to flank the enemy. Immediately the rebel general took some of his regulars and cavalry away from the ford to send them as reinforcements to help the minutemen and long rifle men with the defense. When my force crossed the river the rebel ‘long rifle men’ starting firing upon His Majesty’s troops, so I ordered a guard regiment to return fire while the rest of the army marched forward. Weakened by Royal musket fire the ‘long rifle men’ tried to retreat orderly, while the minutemen were ready to take their place. The dragoons fired their muskets at them and then charged with the sword almost destroying the two rebel regiments.

More reinforcements were send to the second ford by the enemy to hold our advance but instead of coming with a large force their regiments came one by one. First their dragoons arrived. So I formed my regiments into a square, when they saw that they got from their horses to fight on foot. I deployed the men into a line again and they shot more than half of the dragoons. In the meantime my dragoons were ready with scaring away the two regiments which they charged at and returned to scare away the remains of the enemy dragoons.

Then came a line infantry and a minutemen regiment. But they were no match for the four Royal regiments firing at them. After scaring them away I was able to continue advancing. But not for long, because the enemy had send more reinforcements and now we were facing two line infantry regiments. It took a while to defeat them, so I just ordered my troops to fire upon them.



In the meantime I deployed two Hessian regiments at the first crossing because their defense was weakened by sending the line infantry to the other ford.

The first Hessians were ordered to fire upon the enemy cannons who were deployed on the hill right of the ford. The second fired at the light infantry still defending the river crossing.

But the cannons were fire at them and one line infantry regiment had returned and they began to lose men, so I reinforced them first with the two hussars regiments and later with the third Hessian regiment, grenadiers and highlanders. When my hussars arrived at the crossing I ordered them to charge trough the line infantry regiment leaving lot’s of rebels dead.

In desperate to turn the tide their general came forward to attack my infantry, but a volley from Hessians ripped half of his men and the coward fled the battlefield leaving his troops behind. That’s when I ordered my infantry to advance and cross the river. My hussars still fighting the last line infantry were ordered to attack the cannons. Now their cannons were gone my infantry had nothing to fear but a small force of light infantry which they scared away soon.

The enemy ordered their last three line infantry along side with ten gunners to attack me but my hussars charged at the gunners and my infantry defeated on line infantry regiment so the other two turned around to make a last stand near the church. Just three regiments they had left. I deployed my first army in one line and I ordered my cannons to reinforce the second army. They arrived while my guards and line infantry fired upon the two rebel regiments.



After a few volleys the enemy ran leaving one regiment occupying the house. I deployed my cannons and fired at the house till it burned and the last regiment fled.




In the end I had lost four-hundred and twenty soldiers and the rebels seven-hundred and thirty-two men. This area is now British ground again.

Long Live the King!

Your servant

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe

Submission no. 3. - Extract from the diary of Viscount William Howe by Rt. Hon. Gentleman

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

EXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF VISCOUNT WILLIAM HOWE

PLEASE NOTE, THIS EXTRACT IS HERE REPRODUCED WITH THE INTENTION OF SHOWING THE CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS OF VISCOUNT HOWE. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE MAY NOT CONCUR WITH THOSE OF THE PUBLISHERS.

September 12th, 1777.

The American War of Independence. Or as I prefer to call it, the “American War of Effrontery”. Why shouldn’t the buggers be taxed? What have they ever done for us? They cost us millions in defending them from the bloody French, and then as soon as we seek a little remuneration, they have (to use the vernacular) a “hissy-fit”. My career has been spent tirelessly trying to teach them otherwise. Blighters.

Anyway, as I have discussed previously in this little chronicle of our struggle, Bunker Hill was a bloody fiasco. Path finding was up the spout (Colonel Bull was to blame for that), and the bloody troops decided that I was a “blathering incompetent” and that my formations were rubbish. After forming up some 15 feet further forward than they were supposed to and then facing the wrong way, they were summarily shot by our benign enemy. I can assure you, I had SEVERE words with Major-General Lusted about this! I still have the scars.

Thus, I was determined that the following battle fought would not be such a debacle. Richard (That’s my brother. He’s supreme commander of the Royal Navy, you know), told me…ahem… “Belt up or you’ll be slaughtered, you lazy <INSERT here expletive the>” Of course, I have every respect for Richard, so I decided that this time, there would be no foul-ups. None.

Regrettably, with his position as commander of the defending army, it was Washington’s prerogative to decide where the confrontation should take place, not mine. This didn’t worry me. I had heard tell that he was a halfwit. 4People used to call him the “Anti-Intelligence” or AI for short. I was confident he would deploy in a place about as strategically important as the moon.

I was wrong. Once again showing the American predilection towards all things alcoholic, Washington deployed his men defending a small river known as the “Brandywine Creek”. He thought I could only cross in one place, bless him. There was a much wider ford mere yards from where he was defending, which I observed as soon as the men were set up. The next thing I observed was 24 pounds of lead falling as many feet in front of me. I needed to get the men moving.

I decided that the main body of my men would take the westerly ford, and fight in two “battles”: Lines of thinly spread infantry. One line would fire, then the next would march beyond them and fire, and so on ad infinitum. As Richard says, “It’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it”. He wasn’t talking about this exactly, but near as makes no difference. Anyway, after my troops were arrayed in this formation (with the cavalry and artillery behind, by the way), I made the decision to tie up Washy’s forces on the right bank, so I decided to form a Hessian detachment. Having spoken to Hessians before, I knew that these Bosch needed to be spoken to slowly and with clear enunciation in order to make progress. “FORM-UP-OVER-THERE!” I said, in a rather patronizing voice. One of them turned round. “We’re not foreign, you know” he said. “Oh”, I replied “I thought you were from Hesse-Kassel?”

He look bemused: “No, we’re from NEW-Kassel.” “Oh, alright.” I said. “So why are you called Hessians?”

Since his reply was to the effect of “Uh-uh-uh” (quite tough to write that onomatopoeically), I decided to let them get on with it. I had bigger problems. 241ber artillery for instance. So, I ordered the light infantry to move to take them snipe them out. “Yerwat, gov?” They replied. “SNIPE THE ARTY!” I said. They didn’t catch on. I think they must have been half-blind, because no matter how much I had them manoeuvre into position, I ordered them to attack the cannons and they started trotting off the other way. Bloody hell. They got it in the end, but not before taking a bit of my sanity with them.

Artillery gone, I launched the attack. The expeditionary dragoons which I had earlier ordered to scout the ford sent a message. “Ford found, Long Rifles guard it. Sincerely, C.T.D”. “CTD, who’s bloody CTD?” My adjutant asked. “Who cares?” I replied, after having written out an order for the dragoons to dismount and engage, while the Hussars, light infantry and Myself hurried to them with all possible dispatch.

We didn’t find a pretty picture. The dragoons were well matched with the cretins Americans, but a unit of mounted enemy dragoons had arrived. Keen to show them a warm welcome, I ordered the Hussars and Light infantry counter them.

I wish I bloody hadn’t. First, the Light Infantry tore into the Hussars with friendly fire. Then, my Hussars decided to rout, despite fighting only one, inferior unit. I have since gathered that their commander had news of his mother’s illness, and deserted to see her. (He was hanged for desertion long before he reached her in Dulwich). Anyway, I decided to charge the enemy myself. Sadly, My light infantry hadn’t quite noticed this and deployed stakes.

I stopped in time. However, despite telling them all to stop, my bodyguard became filled with bloodlust, and charged a bunch of stakes. OUR stakes, dammit! Fools.

The river crossing was comparatively straightforward. A few men drowned, but I suspect that was more to do with being trampled by thoughtless cavalry than anything else. That said, I made an astonishing discovery: horses are incredibly well trained. After remounting the dragoons, I discovered that several horses whose riders hadn’t made it were riding with the unit still in perfect formation! I was flabbergasted!

If I may be allowed to fast-forward the action to some time later, then I will take you to the point when my and Washy’s army collided. I apologise for the time lapse, but I am sure you find lecturing artillery on the innumerable benefits of not unlimbering behind trees, hills or their own transportation horses quite as tedious as I did. My plan of rapidly advancing infantry unloading their weapons was working well, right up until the point when my Hessians attacked the east crossing of the river. At this, the half-witted Anti Intelligence decided that in fact three units of Hessians (well…Geordies) were more of a threat than two units of line infantry, two units of guards, a unit of grenadiers and a highland infantry unit. They broke formation and moved to the other bank. As Richard always says: “Dumbasses!”

The resultant massacre was complete. I completed a circum-ambulation of the entire combat, and found it to be an acceptable whitewash. By the time Georgy Washy was cornered, I decided that I personally would put an end to this buffoon.

My guards and I galloped up to his. “Was it worth it, George?” I sneered. “You can’t win. You were always doomed.”

His reply? Well it’s quite difficult to replicate here as it largely consisted of drools, spits and the odd high pitched squeak, so I decided to just run him through. Better for both of us, really.

And thus, the “revolution” was over. They stated with much pride a few years ago in Congress: “This is a revolution, not an evolution!”. And I say this:

“No revolution without a bloody capable AI.”

Submission no. 4. - Bessus in the Navy by bessus

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Bessus in the Navy

Upon the release of Medieval 2 Total War I can remember reading that the game had been made by CA Australia and not CA England as they were working on some elusive and enigmatic project. Well that product is almost upon us and a wave of enthusiasm is hitting the total war community like a broadside from the HMS Victory! So do I opt for a land battle versus the dastardly General Washington or is it in with the new going to cross some T's with the French Navy? After a couple of seconds of hard cogitation (which I always like to do on a Friday evening after a painful and drawn out night shift!) I felt the pull of the ocean and could smell the brine fill my nostrils. Broadsides it is!

The battle.
“The early morning fog is slowly dissipating as it often does about this time of day at this latitude. The Admiral has informed us the four French ships we had spotted before night fall could only be mile from our position and that we should set extra watches accordingly. The marines have been setting up in their positions for sometime and to me look quite nervous; that is not to say that I am as calm as the waves below me; just that I have more to do”.


After what feels like an age the game loads. Tea has been made and drunk. I really must unpack the game but I haven't had the time to play the demo as much as I would have liked to (i.e. All the time!). Still once the level finally appears you immediately feel drawn into the world in front of you. The lovingly created waves lap against the mighty oak frames of your ship as they cruise towards the French Fleet.


“A call goes up “FOUR SHIPS! Four ships”. A host of telescopes suddenly appear and we gaze off into the distance”.


And off we go!


“Admiral Boscawen signalled to the fleet. “Line astern follow me in”.


After selecting the fleet which is performed in the same way as selecting a land army and clicking on the line astern icon I sent my mighty fleet due north with the aim off catching the wind and getting quickly behind the northern French fleet.


“Captain the French ships are matching our heading! Slowly the fleets came together broadside to broadside and a terrible silence fell over the crew as we awaited the first shots to be fired. Confidently the “Namur” fired first hitting “Souvernain” squarely in the middledrifts. Soon after she answered back though, covering both ships in a thick cloud of smoke. Now we waited our turn. Along side us came the “Guerrier” a third rate ship of dubious heritage. As I stared across the fifty yards that separated us I was temporally blinded by the flash of their guns”.


There seems little point in using any other shot other than the standard cannon ball at this moment in time. Getting into position to effectively use the chain shot is best left to the smaller ships unless you get a lucky shot off with the first or second rate ships as the French ships turning speed far out paces yours capital ships. The grapeshot is best suited to the biggest ships as only they have the fire power to really make this effective. However if your just trying to win having wasted a couple of broadsides on chain or grapeshot seems to place you far behind in the damage stakes. Also the wind doesn't effect you speed as much as I would have liked.


“The fire rips though our ship giving us a few seconds of sheerest horror. The noise is deafening. Large chunks of timber fly though the air impaling people. It feels like you have no chance and you are doomed to die this very moment. Then it stops, and you give the order to return fire”.


The best tactic I have found is to encircle your enemy in a line astern formation. The line of your broadsides overlap creating a deadly kill zone. However the computer knows this and will do anything to avoid this situation even if it means losing formation. If the enemy fleet manages to evade you placing you in the middle simply go though their line (Cross the T!).


“The battle seems to have been on now for the whole day but it cannot be more than quarter of an hour since “Souverain” sank. The battle with “Gurrier” left us with a blazing fire which at one point threatened to place us out of the battle. Now the “Gurrier” is somewhere far behind us locked in deadly close combat with “Culloden”. All we can see of their bitter battle is a plume of smoke and the occasional flash of cannon fire. Then we see three more Frenchies!”


My ships now directly face the northern fleet and opens fire on them. The southern fleet has been taking a pounding and “Souverain” has just sank. The second ship “Gurrier” has become entwined with “Culloden” and a break in the formation is beginning. I deselect her from the formation and continue the rest of the fleet around the back of the French and still circle them.


“The first ship we can recognise is that of the Admiral Clue-Sabran himself! The “Acheron”. Although she is only a ship of the third rate the fire she can lay down cannon fire like the devil and she turns as fast as any ship I have seen. However today Sabran is up against it! The sides are now equal at six ships of the line a piece but ours are far heavier and manned by the stoutest and bravest our nation has to offer! As if to silence my thoughts she opens fire against us”.


It doesn't take long for the battle with “Guerrier” to end as she starts to break and run off! The coward! I send Culloden back to the Fleet but she misses out on catching up until they have completed a lap of the French fleet which now is little more than a ball of sinking ships which I pounded relentlessly until they had all but been wiped out!



“ Today we have seen a great man die. After a great struggle the French fleet has been overcome, and I feel saddened oddly by the sinking of the “Acheron”. They fought bravely and till the last but they where betrayed by cowards such as the captain of the “Gurrier” who sort sanctuary instead of victory!”

I have to say that I hadn't been looking forward to CA including Naval battles in the Total War series. It has been annoying just clicking on “resolve battle” and watching your vastly superior
fleet lose against a fishing boat, but I probably wouldn't have fought the battle anyway even if I had the option. Naval warfare before the age of gunpowder wasn't to dissimilar to land battles with ships aiming to incapacitate each other just so marines could perform boarding actions. This would have been very difficult to replicate in a game. In my opinion CA has been entirely vindicated by waiting until Empires to include this feature.

A note:
It has to be said that after this stunning victory I played another battle and lost after a long and bitter fight after the “Namur” blew up! Poor old Boscawen. You will be avenged!

Thanks to CA!

Submission no. 5. - Battle report from Captain Gunfreak 3rd company 1st Grenadiers by Gunfreak

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Battle report from Captain Gunfreak 3rd company 1st Grenadiers

We were put at the head of a small force consisting of us and three regimetns of Hessain troops.

Our mission to make a faint attack on the right ford, while the bulk of the army takes the flank trying to find another ford. At 2. p.m We began the attack, My company was at the head of the regiment and our regiment was a the head of the force. When we got within a 1000 yards two heavy batteries opend fire on us, they overshot us but tok out sevral Germans from the hessain regiments.
We then got orders to stop, while a company of light troops went forward to chance away some Colonial skirmishers, while we stod there for 20 minutes the guns got us in sight and round shout started taking out our men, One man just 6 feet from me got cut in halv, and everybody with in 10 feet of him got dranched in his blood. A few of the greener troops started to waiver, they had not seen battle before, but our sergants got them in order. We finnaly got orders to move forward, infornt of us were 4 colonial regiments and the two batteries.
As we got closer canister startet to rip though our troops tearing men to pieces, my sergant got riped up something awfoul, his head fell apart and his guts spilled out. We now came with in range of the enemy muskets, but the enemy got nervous and fierd willdly, and did little damige.
When we got within 30 yards with stormed forward with bayonets, the first line of enemy troops ran before we could make contact, but we were met by the second steadier line the were about to fire, but we got the drop on them, from just 20 yards we gave a devestaing volley, dozen enemys droped, this stoped them in thier tracks, and before they could recover we charged home, I cut down four men with my sword before the enemy ran, we now had our blood up, and now charged at the third and final line. and the final regiment, but the Hessian regiment to our right got their before us.
Instead with weeled right and charged the guns, we tok them all and killed most of the crew. Suddenly enemy dragoons apeard and tried to charge the Hessains, but they got in square and repulsed them. At this time we could heard faint musket and artillery sounds from the far flank, indiacting that the main assault had started.
We wanted to march to the sound, but we were badly bloodied. We even lost our Major, so our Colonel orderd us to stay and rest, We had taken out and chaced of two regiments and eight guns, while one of the hessain regimetns had taken out one regiment and repulsed a charge by dragoons.
The two other hessain regiments never got into action and had only lost a few men from round shot earlier in the fight. These two regimetns were sent of to help out the main attack.
Within an hour we saw scouts from the main force, telling us of the victory.

Our total regimental loss was 45 killed incuding 2 officers, and 75 wounded incuding 3 officers.

Submission no. 6. - Two horsemen galloped through the fog... by ColdFire

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Early Morning, September 11, 1777

Two horsemen galloped through the fog, their horses glistened with sweat as they pounded over the dewy grass. They had been riding for several hours, delivering messages and orders too the many parts of Wellington’s army, however, thankfully this would be the final order’s they had to deliver before the battle was expected to begin. Through the fog they could see their destination, a wooded hill on the right flank of the army. Upon the hill eighty riflemen under the command of Captain Jacob West, and Lieutenant David Buckland, had been camped overnight to scout the river for crossing points.

As the horsemen drew near to the wood’s an aggressive shout rang out, “halt!”, there was a pause and then the sentry called for them to proceed. They trotted towards the woods and a rifleman stepped out of a low bush. His uniform was barely visible under a layer of dirt and grass stains, he lowered his rifle, and told them to wait for the Captain, before they could reply he had faded into the foggy woods. Within a minute the rifleman had returned with the two officers, who looked reassuringly smarter than those under their command. “Your report of the area?” inquired one of the horsemen. “The river would be crossable but there are a few fallen trees in the way, I don’t think the British would bother crossing, I assume we are being redeployed to the river banks further downstream” replied Captain West. The two horsemen held a brief conversation before coming to a conclusion, “We think it would be best if you stayed here to cover the ford from British scouts, and to alert us if there are any more significant enemy movements”. The two officers look surprised by remained composer, however one of the riflemen was not so restrained, “That’s ridiculous! We would be far more effective on the river banks, our rifle could fire across the river with impunity!” cried one of the riflemen bitterly. “Those are your orders, if you are attacked by anything larger than a skirmish force you will need to send a runner to alert the rest of the army” replied one of the horsemen, before turning around and back to the main army.

Noon, September 11, 1777

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The roar of cannon fire from the battle upriver was the only disturbance for the riflemen, they had now split into two groups on, the second led by Lieutenant Buckland on the other side of a small valley. The morning fog had burnt off and it was clear there was no British threat approaching, Sergeant Turner was one on the sentries posted on the edges of the woods. Looking out at the ford for the last half an hour there had been a small group of dragoons scouting that area, but he could now see an audition forty dragoon’s moving into position. He quietly alerted the other sentry, and told him to fetch Captain West.

After a few minutes, Sergeant Turner heard a rusting behind him, and turned to see Captain West, in a hushed voice he explained the situation. Captain West ordered him to keep him informed but, not to take action as they were only scouting troops. Suddenly, there was a crackle of rifle fire from across the valley. “Dam that fool!” cried Captain West, about a third of the dragoons lay dead or wounded, but the remaining forty dismounted and started crossing the ford at a quick pace, when they reached the first of the two tree they moved it with surprising ease, taking cover from the spatter of rifle. “I need to return to the rest of the men, they will slaughter us in combat, for god’s sake stay hidden!” ordered Captain West, as he began to head deeper into the woods. “Sir!” called one of the other sentries, “over on that ridge, hussars!”, Captain West turned fearing the worst, on a nearby ridge by the ford around sixty Hussars had appeared ready to charge when the Dragoons had cleared the ford. The Captain cursed, and then ran back to the rest of the riflemen. Sergeant Turner watched in horror as the ford was cleared and the hussars charged over. On the other side of the valley the riflemen men let off one last ragged volley before the hussars crashed into them, throwing men back, and causing lethal wounds with their sabres. A few of the hussars died to hidden stakes in the woods and a few to the riflemen’s fire and sabres, but their loses were minimal compared with the lost of nearly all of the forty riflemen. The hussars spread out around the nearby area killing the remaining riflemen who had fled.

Within quarter of an hour, the main force of the British army was crossing the ford. The riflemen under the command of Captain West, hid silently in the trees, hoping they would not be detected and thus suffer the same fate as their comrades. Captain West despaired knowing he had failed to warn the rest of the army, knowing that once the hussars had crossed the ford, any attempt to send a runner would have been futile.

Early Afternoon, September 11, 1777

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Both armies were now engaged in battle near the small town of Sconneltown, the early British advantage had now been lost, and both sides were engaged in a drawn out series of attacks, and withdrawals. Captain West and his forty riflemen remained hidden behind enemy lines, but now planned to lead an attack on the British artillery, and then run back to the main army, safe they would not be slaughtered by canister shot during their run across the distance.

The riflemen crawled close and close to the enemy battery, aware that surprise was their only advantage. They stopped on the edge of the tree line, the artillery partly obscured by smoke, and they tensed for the signal from Captain West. He waited for the cannons to load one last time, and just before the fuses were lit, he fired once with his pistol. Immediately the riflemen fired at their selected targets, at this range it was hard to miss, and most the gunners fell to the ground in the first volley, the riflemen then drew sabres are charged at the remaining ones, quickly defeating them. Following their orders, the riflemen wheeled the cannons around so they faced the British lines either side of the hill. The British were unable to react to the attack, and attempted to messily wheel the infantry line to face the riflemen. However, the British were to slow and disorganised to prevent the riflemen from extending the fuses, and laying fuses to the ammunition boxes. A few officers tried to lead small groups of men up the hill but the carefully aimed rifle fire that spewed from the top soon deterred them. With the preparations done, and aware the British were organising quickly, Captain West ordered his men to light the fuses and run towards the American lines, making sure their colours were easily visible. As they ran down the hill, they faced increasing amounts of musket fire, but the muskets were soon silenced as the lit cannons on top of the hill spat a volley of roundshot through the ranks. Shortly followed by a huge explosion as the ammunition blew up. Desperate to enact revenge the British general ordered the remaining hussars to chase the riflemen down. However, seeing the explosion the American line was advancing and the hussars were beaten off by overwhelming volley fire.

With the destruction of the British artillery, and in the face of the American advance, the British withdrew from the battle. The remaining riflemen numbered around twenty, and were awarded as heroes.

Based off a real battle, I will explain what really happened and how tomorrow.

Best of luck to everyone!

The Winner

Snuggans has clearly won the competition and earned the MAARC (Monthly AAR Competition) bronze medal by point accumulation. (He earned 4 points in the I. AAR Competitions with his amazing story, The Danubian Watchword.)

Thanks for the submissions and the votes again!

[ColdFire]

I realise my AAR (submission 6) sounds completely made up, but I messed up when deleting the scripting and the rifles were not under A.I until I crossed the main ford, (which was late in the battle), with the new rifle units the A.I did attack the cannons on top of the hill, routing them, and then ran back to their main lines. My infantry was unable to fire at them as I messed up while wheeling them around. It was quite awesome, and begged for an AAR to be made

[crazyofengland]

They look good
No.1 Is the best for me but i cant vote cause i have less than 50 posts?


EDIT: 2nd post

[Maizel]

I liked No1 & No 6 the best.

[snakenakskov]

liked nr 1 the best.

[Rt. Hon. Gentleman]

I wish I'd included bloody pictures for mine now! Still, If people can read it anyway, I hope they like it. Darn it! I forgot we could include pics...

[Legio]

I voted, all of them were fantastic! Great work gents.

[Rt. Hon. Gentleman]

Originally Posted by Legio Caesar

I voted, all of them were fantastic! Great work gents.

Why thank you! <Removes hat>

[Road Warrior]

.detoV

[Gunfreak]

Damn, had I know the quality I was facing I would have taken more time.

They were all great(exept mine, which now seem vert easy and small compeard to the others)
I had a hard time choosing, but I ended up on nr. 1

[Rt. Hon. Gentleman]

When will the results be revealed?

[D|need]

Great work guys! Voted for number six.

[Maizel]

Well, the poll closes in 5 days, so I'd imagine, then.

[KiLLerBoy]

Can't vote, but I liked them all. Great job guys

The first 1 I liked the most, I just love the song in the video. It fascinates me

[snuggans]

i do not know who i will vote for.

3 reeks of personality. there's an attitude you just can't miss, i love it.
4's naval battle is nice
6 confuses me because it states the date of the Battle of Brandywine but describes a totally different battle(?), however it is excellently written.

[ColdFire]

I think my writing style could have been better, but I had a very small amount of time to do it If I had more time I would have added picture and videos, but I suppose it is a writing competition. Thanks for those who have voted for mine, (submission 6).

[ColdFire]

Originally Posted by Snuggans

i do not know who i will vote for.

3 reeks of personality. there's an attitude you just can't miss, i love it.
4's naval battle is nice
6 confuses me because it states the date of the Battle of Brandywine but describes a totally different battle(?), however it is excellently written.

It is the battle in the demo, see my first post, (second post on this thread), for how it occered.

[snuggans]

i missed that somehow, sorry

[Monsieur Poirot]

I liked Submission number 1. Second place for my part would go to Submission number 6.

[GaMMwl]

very nice looking forward to read full-campaign AARs accompanied by in game vids(if the rumours about the campaign battle recorder are true). no. 1 beautiful video and pics