A Barbarous Ground: The Battle of Germantown, 1777

Description

For shame, for shame, light infantry. I never saw you retreat before. Form! Form! It’s only a scouting probe!” --General Howe, a little before 7:00 AM upon seeing, out of the fog, the headlong retreat of the 2nd Light Infantry pickets. Moments later he and his staff came under sustained American artillery fire. A Barbarous Ground is a simulation of the battle fought on October 4th, 1777, at the crossroads village of Germantown between the Continental Army under General George Washington and the British Army under Lord Cornwallis. The British had split their Army after occupying Philadelphia, and Washington believed he was presented with an excellent opportunity with defeating the invaders in detail. While the initial American attack succeeded splendidly, the morning fog, smoke, a determined stand by the British 40th Regiment at Chew House, and greater British experience in battle allowed the defending forces time to regroup and counter-attack; snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Can you do better? A Barbarous Ground uses an interactive sequence of play that activates formations, and their subordinate units, by the types of orders (Attack, Advance, Stand, Reserve) they have been issued. Combat is of two types, fire and melee, and both individual unit and larger formation morale figure prominently in the game’s outcome. Rules include ones for leaders and variable reinforcements. Scenarios cover the morning’s “opening round” in which both sides were surprised to discover a fight would occur here, the afternoon’s bloody, climatic slugfest in which the American offensive was spent, and the British managed to snatch a degree of victory from the jaws of defeat. Terrain scale is about 200 yards per hex Infantry units and cavalry units are mostly regiments, artillery units are battalions. Each strength point represents 250 men. Each turn is about 30 minutes. Playing time is about 2.5 to 3 hours for the AM and PM scenarios, about 6+ hours for the day-long battle scenario. Although designed for two players, A Barbarous Ground can easily be played solitaire.