Wormy played Empire: Total War

I was playing the Road to Independence campaign, and it was during this game that a little known General earned his place in my game's little history. During this session, the Battle of Maine was fought and won, at great cost by a British Colonial General named George Washington.

A full description of the battle follows:



The British Colonials had recently taken Acadia from the French forces. This critical point was the northern tip of Colonial possessions, and a crucial staging area from which to press the French from Canada. Unfortunately while Acadia fell, a fort, holding a full garrison of French soldiers was still standing, and threatening to undermine the supply routes to all of Maine. This force could not be allowed to stay. And so it was that a little known British Colonial general, by the name of George Washington, set out from Acadia with his army of nearly 900 men, to attempt to dislodge a fortified French force nearly twice his size.



General Washington set his forces up on a hill overlooking the fort, and attempted to lay siege to it, knowing that within 3 months, the French would be forced to surrender without bloodshed. The French were not inclined to sit and wait for starvation to set in, and were more than happy to meet the Colonials with their superior force. Leaving behind their wooden walls, nearly 1600 French troops poured out to break the siege.



The battle that raged was brutal and terrible. A mistake by the French commander, perhaps made through hubris, meant that the French artillery was not deployed properly at the start of the battle. The Colonial artillery however, was able to take pot shots at the massing French. But it was not artillery that would decide this battle, it was the hazy death of skirmishers, and the bloody hand to hand of line infantry.

The forces clashed on either side of the Colonial's hill. Most of the fighting was done on the southern side of the hill, with skirmishes taking place on the north.



Halfway through the battle, hundreds had died, including the French commander, himself the unlucky recipient of a Colonial shell. The Colonials had suffered terrible losses as well, but they extracted a heavy toll against the French, taking enemies to the grave with them at a rate of nearly two to one.



As the battle raged, the northen flank of the Colonials looked to fall, and with no reinforcements, and little regard for his own safety, General Washingtom himself led his cavalry guard into battle and helped to save a line of skirmishers from destruction. This brave act was what turned the tide, and saved what little was left of the Colonials from complete collapse.



And so with nothing left but some artillery half a unit of skirmishers, and what little was left of his own bloodied guard, General George Washington took control of the fort, and sent what was left of the French force into the wilds of northern Maine.



The final cost of the battle was horrendous with nearly two thousand dead. General Washington's veteran army was decimated, and after entering with almost 900 men, it was left with only 300. But those soldiers did not die in vain. They had instead done something amazing. They had successfully defeated an entrenched French army nearly twice their size, and secured Maine in the process.

More importantly, The Battle of Maine was the battle where a previously unremarkable leader made his first impact on world history. For after this battle, every nation on the globe knew to pay attention when General George Washington was leading men.