by Paul LaFontaine, 1 February 2026
Five players participated in this Battle Decisions Kriegsspiel of a battle from the American Revolutionary War. British commanders AaTaWe and Infermy tried to use redoubts and superior artillery to offset the more numerous Continental forces under American commanders Nick, Julian and FlyingVee.
Four players and the umpire had physical sets at their locations, one player used Tabletop Simulator as their battle boards. The umpire reports were images with only numbers and shapes indicating scenes of the action and the players kept their own maps to develop their picture of the situation. The map used was the Battlefield Decisions Base map.
This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.
The British plan was to offset a numerical disadvantage by luring the enemy into the redoubts then strike them on the flanks forcing them to fight in two directions. The American plan was to move in a coordinated way to make use of their superior force size.
Historically, this was the second day of battle after reinforcements had been brought up. The Americans lured the British to attack them at a farm on the western side of the field at great cost. After the British had suffered these losses, the remaining American force attacked and seized one of the redoubts. Seeing they had high losses and only one redoubt remaining, the British were surrounded and at a 3:1 disadvantage. They surrendered and the Battles of Saratoga were concluded.
The Problem
The problem for the British force is they are outnumbered and must maneuver effectively through heavy woods to cover all the American avenues of approach. The Americans have more troops, but they have to take a mix of quality into account and use them in a way that does not collapse their line.
American (Blue) Briefing
Your force of 12,000 infantry and 22 guns. Your infantry is a mix of regulars and fresh recruits, so their stability can vary. You have moved north to block an invading force that has established itself on high ground, anchoring its position with two redoubts along the wood line. Although the enemy has fewer troops than you, they have concentrated a greater number of artillery pieces within those works, and a small force is reported to be at the edge of the woodline.
click images to enlarge
You have crossed the river in the south and are in the woodline. Your OOB:
Your mission is to contain the position, prevent any aggressive movement out of the redoubts, and drive the enemy force from your soil.
British (Red) Briefing
You command a force of regular soldiers consisting of 7,000 infantry and 133 guns. As the invading force you have to decisively defeat the enemy prior to continuing your movement south. The opposing force is larger than yours (10,000 soldiers or more), but lacks the quality of your soldiers. You have established two redoubts in the woodline on the high ground to offset your numerical disadvantage, but your mission remains to defeat the enemy and march south after the battle is concluded.
Force 1 is at the redoubts in the eastern arrow. Force 2 is at the western arrow. Your OOB:
You must decisively defeat the enemy force and establish dominance in the region.
Turn 1 – 1200
The British begin their deployment with AaTaWe (1) moving west toward the farm at Bergenthal, while Infermy (2) positioned his force forward of the redoubts that protect the British mortars. He occupied high ground in the woods, giving him a strong defensive posture overlooking the approaches.
To the south, the Americans divide into three elements. Nick (3), on the western flank, prepares to advance toward Bergenthal. Julian (4), in the center, is designated as the anchor force and will face the redoubts directly. To the east, FlyingVee (5) crosses the river with a small infantry detachment, intending to execute a wider flanking movement around the bend of the river.
Turn 2 – 1300
Upon realizing that a force is moving toward Bergenthal, AaTaWe (1) repositions behind the high ground to remain out of view. Infermy (3) pushes his force slightly forward but maintains a defensive posture, intending to rely on the redoubts and the howitzers for protection. Nick (3) advances toward Blumenthal, while Julian (4) pushes forward toward the redoubts. FlyingVee (5) continues moving up the river in search of a suitable crossing point.
At this stage, each commander is aware of the force directly in front of them, but none have visibility into what is occurring on their flanks.
Turn 3 – 1400
AaTaWe reverses his earlier decision and commits to an attack, using the high ground to try to catch Nick (1) on the flank. Nick is disrupted by the sudden contact, but the damage is limited because his force is positioned on the edge of the woods. In the center, Julian (2) comes into contact with Infermy, who now brings the howitzers into action from the redoubts. Both sides suffer casualties in the exchange. Meanwhile, FlyingVee (3) continues his movement up the river, still seeking a crossing point.
Turn 4 – 1500
Infermy attempts a major maneuver after receiving a dispatch from AaTaWe reporting contact in the west and requesting support. He begins marching west (1), but this movement exposes his column and he is caught by Julian advancing forward. The engagement inflicts damage on the rear of Infermy’s force and, critically, leaves the howitzers in the redoubt exposed without infantry protection (2). Meanwhile, AaTaWe (3) continues to fight a force nearly twice his size on the western flank, holding on under pressure. At the same time, FlyingVee advances along the river (4) and identifies a point where he can begin crossing.
Turn 5 – 1600
Infermy’s force splits in two, with one half moving west to support AaTaWe (1) and the other halting to secure the central redoubt (2). The fighting in the center favors the British, and Infermy successfully prevents Julian’s forces from seizing that redoubt. However, the eastern redoubt is now taken by the Americans (3). A detachment from Julian’s force, reinforced by FlyingVee after he completes the river crossing, assaults the position and captures the guns there. In the west, AaTaWe gains the upper hand (4) and begins pushing the Americans back. Nick’s force, now outnumbered on that flank, starts to fall back into the woods (5).
Turn 6 – 1700 END OF SCENARIO
The scenario concludes with AaTaWe successfully pushing Nick back into the woods (1) on the western flank. That local success, however, does not improve the overall British position. Julian and FlyingVee coordinate an infantry attack against the second redoubt (2), assault it, and take it. With both redoubts now in American hands, the British forces are dislocated and outnumbered. The situation is no longer recoverable. The battle comes to an end, and as occurred historically, the British capitulate.
Historical Campaign
The Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777, marked the decisive engagement of the Saratoga campaign and a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. Although British General John Burgoyne nominally commanded a larger force, attrition, desertion, and earlier fighting left him with roughly 5,000 effective troops. Ignoring advice to retreat, Burgoyne advanced a reconnaissance-in-force against the American left, deploying a mixed column of British regulars, grenadiers, German troops, and artillery.
The movement exposed his flanks to wooded terrain, a vulnerability quickly exploited by American forces under General Horatio Gates. Gates committed over 8,000 troops, skillfully arrayed with Morgan’s riflemen, New England brigades, New York regiments, and militia held in reserve. When British grenadiers launched a bayonet charge, they were met with devastating close-range fire, resulting in their rout, the capture of artillery, and heavy casualties. Simultaneously, Morgan’s riflemen shattered British attempts to maneuver on the left, mortally wounding General Fraser and triggering a disorganized British withdrawal toward their entrenchments.
The second phase of the battle saw renewed American attacks on the British camp defenses, highlighted by the dramatic reappearance of Benedict Arnold, who led assaults despite having been relieved of command. While the British successfully held the Balcarres redoubt, Arnold redirected forces against the Breymann redoubt, coordinating a breakthrough that exposed the British rear. The redoubt fell in brutal fighting, Breymann was killed, and Arnold was severely wounded, effectively ending his battlefield role.
With darkness falling, Burgoyne’s forward defenses were breached, and his army withdrew northward. The cumulative losses from the battles—over 1,000 British casualties and the loss of key leaders—left Burgoyne surrounded and outnumbered. On October 17, after failed negotiations for favorable terms, Burgoyne surrendered his army to Gates. The surrender of the so-called Convention Army secured a major American victory, helped convince France to formally ally with the colonies, and fundamentally shifted the strategic balance of the war.
Conclusion
The central challenge for the British in this scenario was that they were outnumbered and therefore had to rely heavily on terrain and the redoubts to offset that disadvantage. Historically, the British mission was not merely to hold ground but to win the battle and continue marching south to threaten the American line of communication to Canada, which placed them in a uniquely constrained and complex situation.
In this playthrough, the communications between AaTaWe and Infermy proved decisive. With limited information, Infermy chose to march away from the redoubts, a decision that weakened the eastern position and created the conditions for an American breakthrough. An alternative outcome is plausible, as Nick in the west was unable to break AaTaWe, and a firmly held redoubt system might have bottled the Americans up in the east. Instead, the dispersion of British forces undermined that possibility. The battle unfolded as it did because of these choices, and several key decisions can be clearly linked to the final disposition and outcome of the engagement.
In this scenario, we were able to accommodate five players, although the opening phase needed to be more tightly organized. We allowed the American players to reorganize their forces, which created a tracking problem once play began, as we then had to sort out channels, force assignments, and related mechanics on the fly. For live play to work smoothly, the forces, communication channels, and basic resolution mechanics need to be established in advance, and then players organize their decisions within that structure. If players begin changing mechanics during play, it creates an umpiring problem that slows the game down and ultimately makes the experience less engaging for everyone involved.
In terms of the mechanics of the game, the scenario was planned for sixty minutes over six turns at roughly ten minutes per turn, which is fine for turn length. Discord was unstable and orders had to be taken multiple times to ensure the information was received correctly, something outside the control of both the umpire and the players. The opening phase was far too long, largely because the game was reconfigured on the fly, which is never a good formula and is an important lesson for umpires running live games. Despite these issues, players reported enjoying the experience and the feedback was positive. Even though the battle itself was relatively straightforward and involved only a limited number of major decisions, the tension remained high throughout, and the overall report on the experience was favorable.
We will continue running these experiments across different historical periods to highlight the key decisions within a battle and to examine how communication between players shapes the outcome of a scenario. In this case, the communication between Infermy and AaTaWe led directly to a single decision that proved decisive, and studying how that communication occurred offers clear lessons. Those lessons apply not only to making better Kriegsspiel decisions under pressure, but also to improving judgment and coordination in everyday life. We will keep exploring these dynamics and refining the format.
We’ll see you out there.
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