How the British won the war...

Rev. 2.0

Playing as the British in Liberty or Death can be quite tough. After playing as the Americans and winning the war I sat down and thought through a basic strategy for playing as the British. In the end my battle plan worked but things got pretty crazy before it was all said and done. I will now reveal my battle plan for winning as the British in Liberty or Death.

The Overview

The plan involves two main areas of operation which are the upper northern and lower southern areas of the colonies. Basically the majority of the British forces (mercenary and new units) will invade the lower southern colonies and push north through the weak militia units while the existing northern forces will consolidate their position in Boston and tie up the bulk of the American army to keep them in the north. Eventually the southern forces will work their way north and be able to coordinate attacks with the northern forces and defeat the American army.

The Details

The game begins with your first government phase. It is critical to handle this phase correctly otherwise you could lose the game in a very short time.

Begin with requesting additional regiments to be deployed in the southern area of the colonies. Request the navy to have a fleet ready to transport troops out of district 8. Pay the officers their standard default pay and do not give any money to the navy for new ships for now. Be sure to select the maximum (8) mercenaries as they will be deployed in the south along with the additional regiments that were requested. Have all the remaining money available for the districts.

After the government phase ends and the game starts your first priority is to evacuate your forces in Canada (districts 7, 8, & 9) and transport them to Boston (district 5). The American army will be attacking there soon and Gen. Gage's forces in Boston need the experienced and skilled generals from Canada to help them fight off the American army and keep them tied up in the north.

When Boston's turn comes up for the first time it is important to recruit enough men to fill all units and buy enough arms to max out every unit. Once the reinforcements from Canada arrive be sure to max out their men and arms as well. It would be helpful to possibly create a cannon or two for units that would use them well in battle. Do not spend any money on boats since you will not be needing them for now. If a generals body rating is not too low (40 or below) consider a little training if possible before the big battle. Once all this is done you will be able to defend Boston and inflict significant damage on the American army. In addition naval fleet which transported the troops from Canada will stay in Boston and take part in the battle.

Once the battle begins make sure to place as many of your units near the coast and keep them there to take advantage of the naval support and fortifications. Once the American army works their way up to your forces they will be in range of any cannon you have along with the massive damage from the naval bombardment in addition to your regular attacks.

As the battle goes on and the American armies begin to surrender or retreat there may be a chance to capture Gen. Washington! Washington normally stays behind the main body of his army but once in a while he may venture out and attack the front lines. If he does and if you have sufficient forces to out flank him, you may be able to beat his forces down and capture him. There is no way to guarantee him coming forward and attacking so you just have to keep an eye on what is happening on the battlefield and see if you can pull this off. I personally have captured Washington once this way and I must say it is quite a morale boost to capture the C-in-C of the American army this early in the game! Don't go out of your way to get him otherwise you will be abandoning your defensive positions on the coast.

After winning the battle you will have to decide what to do with the prisoners. I never accept a ransom for a prisoner. It is always better to send them to jail and never release them. Over time during the war you may capture many skilled American generals while executing your plan to keep the American forces in the north. If you utilize Boston's effective defense you will loose little if any defending yourself. The remaining American generals will be inferior to the ones you captured and make the final fight for all of the colonies that much more easier.

After this first major battle just maintain your northern forces in Boston and recruit, rearm, and retrain as much as you can. The American army will keep a large force around Boston to match yours and attack from time to time. They may try to pull out and start attacking the lower districts but you can get them to come back by invading another district if needed.

During the war send all your mercenaries and all your new units to the south to keep that large army moving through all those districts. When it comes to delegating authority to the generals, I normally let all the southern units manage themselves while I manage all the units in the north directly.

The navy can be slowly built up since Britain already has a large navy. Be sure to always request a fleet be sent to Boston for transport duty. Do not use the "joint attack" option because this is used for a direct attack into a new district. With the joint attack option, if you are attacked the fleet will not be there to help you. With the transport option the fleet will stay in Boston and will help you if attacked there.

During the game you will have several chances to bribe an American officer to join your side. In the beginning of the game there are 2 officers in Springfield (District 6) that can be somewhat easy to get. They are Gen. Horatio Gates & Gen. Charles Lee. Lee is easier to get since his loyalty is lower at the start of the game but I would recommend first bribing Gen. Gates. Gates starts out with a loyalty rating that is a little higher than Lee's but his stats are excellent making him one of the best Generals in the game.

The final consideration is the political side of the game. If a Governors trust level gets too low he will call for a vote of confidence. If you fail to pass this vote you will be replaced as C-in-C and the game will be over. Governors get unhappy and loose their trust in you when their areas are empty of British troops. They start to get really upset when the American army is in control of their areas. As you can imagine the Governors of the northern districts will get unhappy with the lack of British control in their areas.  Eventually you will have to deal with a vote of confidence sooner or later. In fact you may have to put up with a number of them before the war is over. These votes are nervous affairs since you have no control over the outcome. You can just hope that enough representatives in the government are happy with your efforts and will vote to keep you as C-in-C. There have been times when I have passed these votes with just barely enough to get by. Eventually as the British southern force conquers and occupies it way up to the north, the Governors of these areas will begin to trust you more and vote in favor of you when the time comes for a vote of confidence. When the British southern force reaches the outskirts of the northern districts, a few northern governors may be very mad at you over the neglect their districts have received but these northern Governors will represent the minority in the government. The majority of the Governors will be from the south and middle colonies who will be satisfied and happy with your efforts. Also, the more the Governors trust you, the more units will be given to you each time you request reinforcements during the government phases for a maximum of six units.

That's about it. These are the major and minor details of my plan. If I recall any other details I will add them in and update the revision number shown at the top of this document.