Today in 1812.

18th June 1812.

The day after the Senate followed the House of Representatives in voting to declare war against Great Britain, President James Madison signs the declaration into law–and the War of 1812 begins. The American war declaration, opposed by a sizable minority in Congress, had been called in response to the British economic blockade of France, the induction of American seaman into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress known as the “War Hawks” had been advocating war with Britain for several years and had not hidden their hopes that a U.S. invasion of Canada might result in significant territorial land gains for the United States.
In the months after President Madison proclaimed the state of war to be in effect, American forces launched a three-point invasion of Canada, all of which were decisively unsuccessful. In 1814, with Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Empire collapsing, the British were able to allocate more military resources to the American war, and Washington, D.C., fell to the British in August. In Washington, British troops burned the White House, the Capitol, and other buildings in retaliation for the earlier burning of government buildings in Canada by U.S. soldiers.
In September, the tide of the war turned when Thomas Macdonough’s American naval force won a decisive victory at the Battle of Plattsburg Bay on Lake Champlain. The invading British army was forced to retreat back into Canada. The American victory on Lake Champlain led to the conclusion of U.S.-British peace negotiations in Belgium, and on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, formally ending the War of 1812. By the terms of the agreement, all conquered territory was to be returned, and a commission would be established to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.
British forces assailing the Gulf Coast were not informed of the treaty in time, and on January 8, 1815, the U.S. forces under Andrew Jackson achieved the greatest American victory of the war at the Battle of New Orleans. The American public heard of Jackson’s victory and the Treaty of Ghent at approximately the same time, fostering a greater sentiment of self-confidence and shared identity throughout the young republic.
Bligh.

Thanks for posting this. I saw the date on a Google search I was doing late last night and was wondering if anyone else might catch today's anniversary?

Hmmm. I think I will finally open and learn how to play my copy of Mr. Madison's War (GMT). I picked this up during a big sale either on CSI or MM, but have yet to play it. I was looking at it yesterday, but shelved it for sometime this summer. Thus, the War of 1812 juices are flowing.

Some time ago I noticed this game expansion on clearance:

Attachment 15058

This is the base game and a description:

Attachment 15059

The Napoleon's War Series are games that give players the French Army of Napoleon against the foes of France from 1796 -1815. Each game will include battles that have their own custom game boards, plastic figures representing the infantry, artillery, and cavalry with counters representing the special units, leaders, etc. Each battle within the game are playable in 1 to 2 hours. The game uses the Hold the Line command action point (CAP) system.

The first game in the series is Napoleon's War: The 100 Days with custom game boards of Quatre Bras, Ligny, Wavre, and Waterloo. 120 plastic pieces in blue, red, and gray portray the French, British, and Prussian armies.


Contents:

120 Plastic figures

1 Counter sheet

4 Heavy cardstock gameboards

Rulebook (Color)

Dice

Attachment 15060

Attachment 15061

It appears that the base game and expansions have a specific game board for each battle and uses generic figures in different colors for each nationality.

Does anyone own or played this game?

Interesting, Bobby. I just read the rules to the base game. It looks quite fun, pretty basic, but fun. I can hold off on Mr. Madison's War next week, and play this instead. I have two other mini games along this line: War and Peace, and Napoleon in Europe. I picked up War and Peace during the same sale, and recently traded for Napoleon in Europe on BGG.

I was looking at the Moscow expansion and a chit drawing system for solo play was added to the game. I noticed that the base game was out of stock at two of the large on line venders. I am not sure if it is still in print.

I have kicked myself a few times for not picking up the expansions when they were marked down so low. I have so many games to be played, though, that I should not concern myself in any way. This past year, I started collecting games when on deep discount, knowing that summer and winter breaks can afford a decent amount of time to play. When I have waited to purchase, the games usually went out of stock, and the prices shot up on the secondary market. I now trade a decent amount on BGG as well. I figure for $10 shipping, I can swap a game or two with someone. One play through each scenario and the cost per hour of entertainment is pretty cheap, much cheaper and more enjoyable than going to a movie or two. I no longer concern myself with owning the games, as in long-term. Even if I buy a new game, and play through all the scenarios once, I got my money's worth. If I do not want to keep it afterwards, off to the trading pile. It is a shift in how I used to think about game purchases and ownership.

The War of 1812 expansion is only $7 on clearance at Miniature Market. The game does appear to be out of print but can be found on Amazon and eBay at below the original retail price.

Thanks, Bobby.

Let me know if you pick these up.

Must. Have.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 7eat51

Thanks, Bobby.

Let me know if you pick these up.

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I found the rules on line. I want to read through them when I get a chance. I have a Risk game with the Napoleonic figures and also want to explore the possibility of using them in the game for different quality troops.

Let me know if you want the rule sets to the other games in post #5.

I think we discussed this a few weeks back, but I recently acquired War of 1812 - a relatively simple block game. I debated about Academy Game's game on 1812, but went with 1775.

Hi Guys,
Today in 1812!!!!!!!!!! Sorry but today 200 years ago, Napoleon was crushed at Waterloo. I think for the world a little more important than this.
Be safe
Rory

It's hard to tell the extent of the impact of the War of 1812 on U.S. psyche, and the eventual relationship with England; at the least, I am not knowledgeable enough to think it small, though it could be. During the 20th century, and still for many of us today, England was, and is, our strongest ally. This doesn't diminish the importance of Waterloo, but this side of the pond, the War of 1812 was significant, I believe, and with the U.S.'s eventual role in global politics, I think the War could have been more than a marginal skirmish.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Devsdoc

Hi Guys,
Today in 1812!!!!!!!!!! Sorry but today 200 years ago, Napoleon was crushed at Waterloo. I think for the world a little more important than this.
Be safe
Rory

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I did kind of mention it over on Wings, but I think I got away with it.
Rob.

I just read that thread, Rob. Thanks for posting both. :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 7eat51

It's hard to tell the extent of the impact of the War of 1812 on U.S. psyche, and the eventual relationship with England; at the least, I am not knowledgeable enough to think it small, though it could be. During the 20th century, and still for many of us today, England was, and is, our strongest ally. This doesn't diminish the importance of Waterloo, but this side of the pond, the War of 1812 was significant, I believe, and with the U.S.'s eventual role in global politics, I think the War could have been more than a marginal skirmish.

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The main problem is: Between the agitprop on both sides, the Real Reason For The War has been effectively buried: The British were using Canada as a "safe haven" for Tecumseh's bunch, with an eye towards creating a British-friendly Indian "buffer state" along the southern coasts of the Great Lakes west of Pennsylvania, thus closing the USA out of the Lakes; that plan went down the drain when Tecumseh got capped at the Battle of the Thames. The British had the men to keep the fighting going indefinitely (it's worth noting how the British Army in Canada never exceeded ~15,000 troops; that was the practical limit for army size, but the British could lose 15,000 men each year for a decade, and still not run out), but their economy had been trashed by the quarter-century of war with the French (first the Rev, then the Directory, then Nappy), and they realized "even if we 'win', we lose"; so they packed it in rather than risk suffering the same fate as the Bourbons (they'd seen that "Republic" stuff before >:) ).

The British would try one more time to disable the USA, by supporting the Confederacy in the American Civil War; but that didn't work, either (thank god Palmerston was PM, not Gladstone...).

At the time, the later called 1812 Wars were only a little back water skirmish. The power base was in Europe. The out-come of the European wars had a bigger impact on the world history as it is today. America became great in time. Yes I am very happy that we are great friends. But looking at the world today, this day we be remembered for 1815 and not 1812.
Be safe my true friends across the pond
Rory

For those of us who have, or are serving in the U. S. Navy this day is well known and celebrated!! Of course, we're also very much aware of the other historical significance of this date in that far off spot of what was once the Netherlands!! :hatsoff:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 7eat51

Let me know if you want the rule sets to the other games in post #5.

I think we discussed this a few weeks back, but I recently acquired War of 1812 - a relatively simple block game. I debated about Academy Game's game on 1812, but went with 1775.

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1775 is the much better game of the two by Academy Games! The 1812 version is made too gamey with all the cards needed in the game!

Watching Marco's reviews, and reading some players' reviews, led me to 1775 as it appeared to be a notch up. Academy Games produces quality stuff. I am eager for their Conflict of Heroes expansions to be released.