| “ | Throughout the war, Colonel Kuechler eluded Nathaniel - until finally, they would face off near Morristown. | ” |
| —Scenario description | ||
The Battle of Morristown is the seventh scenario of Act I: Fire in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs. It is based on the Battle of Springfield, in which General Knyphausen's Hessian forces briefly fought the Colonials after their initial plan to invade Morristown had been foiled.
Summary[]
The scenario starts off with the cinematic "Vengeance" in which General Washington summons Nathaniel Black to inform him the threat of Kuechler's forces closing in on the colonial flank. Nathaniel's bitter past with Kuechler leaves Washington to caution him about the dangers of a revengeful mindset, briefly mentioning how it lead to his father John Black's death.
This scenario is focused solely on taking out the Hessian forces, and due to this will contain no enemy British forces. Unlike the previous three scenarios, General Washington will be absent in this mission, making Nathaniel the only hero unit available. The Hessian forces will cause significant casualties to the player's forces, and the artillery pieces supplied by Washington will prove useful in taking out Hessian infantry.
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
- Find and destroy the Hessian base.
- Pursue and destroy Keuchler's army before it destroys the Morristown Capitol building.
- Kill Colonel Kuechler.
Secondary objectives[]
- Destroy all of the Hessian Town Centers. (100 XP)
Players[]
Player[]
- Black Family Estate (
Black Family Estate) - The player starts in the south of the map with a friendly village which is given to the player's control. The village will have several Houses already built as well as a Community Plaza, Corral, and a War Hut. Players start out in the village with Nathaniel Black, 6 Tomahawks, 6 Forest Prowlers, 2 Falconets, and 1 Heavy Cannon. The primary objective of destroying the Hessian base is revealed at this point.
Allies[]
- Morristown ( United States) - They have Villagers but lack military units, contain the Morristown Capitol which the player must protect from Hessian attack.
- American Revolutionaries ( United States) - Forces are lead by General Washington, will provide a continuous supply of Artillery throughout the game.
Enemy[]
- Hessians ( Germans) - Forces are lead by Colonel Kuechler, consist of a diverse array of Doppelsoldners, Uhlans, War Wagons, Jaegers, Skirmishers, and Heavy Cannons.
Treasures[]
There are 9 treasures on the map:
- Click for a list of treasures and their guardians related to the "The Battle of Morristown" scenario
| Treasure | Reward | Guardians | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| A trapped Native warrior. He may join the cause of whoever rescues him. | 1x  Haudenosaunee Tomahawk
| 1x  Pirate1x  Bandit Gunslinger
| West of the player's base |
| A drift of terrapin worth | 90 food | 3x  Wolf
|
West of the central enemy base |
| Three stray sheep. | 3x  Sheep
| 2x  Black Bear
| |
| A pool of quicksilver worth | 80 coin | 2x Wolf
|
East of the central enemy base |
| A trapped Native Scout, who may join the cause of a rescuer. | 1x  Native Scout
| 1x Bandit Gunslinger
|
South of the eastern enemy base |
| Concord grapes worth | 85 food | 2x Black Bear
| |
| A chest of pirate gold worth | 300 coin | 1x  Buccaneer Captain3x Pirate
|
East of the eastern enemy base |
| A supply of maple syrup worth | 85 food | 2x Black Bear
| |
| A stray dog in need of rescue. | 1x  War Dog
| 2x Black Bear
|
North of the eastern enemy base |
Strategy[]
- Note: In this scenario the player cannot train their own artillery. Washington will continuously supply the player throughout the game instead.
The player can defeat the Hessians with the initial army and American Revolutionaries' artillery. Heavy Cannons can survive even against Veteran Uhlans and Veteran War Wagons.
Immediately the player should train 4-5 Villagers with the Food already provided by the village, while at the same time stationing all military units by the Corral built by the lake. These forces will later be used to raid the Hessian settlement not far west of the village. The Villagers should be configured to the Healers Ceremony so Healers can be trained and will heal the player's units with clashes with the Hessians forces later throughout the game.
The player should also build a Market and another War Hut at this point with the wood provided by the village. The first Home City shipment should be used on getting crates of food as the goal is to increase the economy to get a massive military going later on. With the wood gathered Villagers, the player can start training several more villagers and building Farms and Plantations as the natural resources nearby the village have been exhausted.
With the newly trained Villagers, the player should task all of them to gather food while the villagers gained from shipments should be sent to mine for coin. With this new influx of resources, the player should begin to advance to the Fortress Age. The player should also start training around 10 Colonial Militia and at least 5 Dragoons. Once trained, 5 Militias should be sent guarding the east of the village in case straggler Hessian troops attempt to attack, while the remaining troops should be merged with the player's army. Once the player's main army is at least 5 Dragoons, 8 Tomahawks, 8 Forest Prowlers, 10 Colonial Militia, and the 3 Artillery pieces then the player is ready to raid the Hessian settlement.
The main army should move west of the village along the lake where they will face the outskirts of the Hessian settlement. The Dragoons should be placed at the back of the army for two reasons: to protect the vulnerable artillery from Hessian cavalry and so the Dragoons don't come in contact with the Hessian infantry, which will wipe them with ease. Immediately groups of Doppelsoldners and Uhlans will spring out from enemy Barracks and charge at the player's forces. The player should let the Tomahawks and Militia take the brunt force while the Falconets and Heavy Cannon help quickly annihilate the enemy infantry.
As soon as the Hessian forces are defeated the player can proceed to raze the Hessian Barracks and remaining buildings. several Hessian Skirmishers may spring out from the western forests and the players must quickly bring them down before they cause significant damage to the player's army. While the Hessian town burns in ruins, the Medicine Men will prove useful in their job and will heal the injured troops during the process.
Once the entire Hessian settlement in the center of the map is razed, the player can start using their shipments for military units of Kanya Horsemen. The main army should be placed idle in destroyed Hessian town for now until they're needed later on. In addition 15-17 Forest Prowlers should be trained from the War Hut as these will prove excellent in taking down the Hessian War Wagons and Doppelsoldners in later clashes. The player will have to build more Houses at this point to replenish their low population to support more troops.
Now the player should send the newly trained Kanya Horsemen to join the player's main army at the center of the map. The player can now start a push further north east to destroy the Hessian Fort and thus complete the primary objective. As the player advances northeast, there will be walls build around the Hessian Fort. General Washington will supply the player will additional artillery at this point and the Hessian Fort must be quickly brought down.
As soon as the player destroys the Fort, Washington will supply the player with a Mortar and the secondary objective of destroying all of the Hessian Town Centers will be revealed. The player can now training an additional 15 Colonial Militia and 10 Tomahawks from the War Hut to replace the casualties of the earlier siege on the Hessian fort. Once trained the Tomahawks and Militia should escort the Mortar and Falconets provide by Washington to the northeast to join the rest of the player's army.
Now the player can move the new artillery supplied by Washington along with the players new forces to join with the rest of army in the northeast. The player can then proceed to head west and destroy the rest of the Hessian base, enemy War Wagons and Skirmishers will guard the settlements and will put up stiff resistance as the player attacks the base
As the main Hessian settlement gets under attack, Colonel Kuechler's colossal army of powerful Landsknechts, Jaegers, Uhlans, Falconets, and Heavy Cannons will make their way southeast to attack Morristown. Because of this, the primary objective of stopping Kuechler's army will be revealed. The player must now swiftly all move their forces destroying the settlement to follow Kuechler's army southeast. Meanwhile all newly trained troops from the village should be sent west to block Kuechler's forces to push east in Morristown.
- Note: The Morristown Capitol must be defended at all cost and if the Hessian forces manage to destroy it, the player will lose the scenario.
Kuechler's army will be a force to be reckoned with, a massive green blob will show as his army will march to Morristown. By now the Kanya Horsemen will prove useful in flanking Kuechler's artillery from the back. As Kuechler's forces tear through Morristown, the player must use their own forces to take out Kuechler's artillery first and then finish off the Heavy infantry with their Falconets and Heavy Cannons. Kuechler's army will be so large that it will surely cause substantial damage to the structures of Morristown, however as long as the Capitol is standing, the scenario will be nearly complete.
Once Kuechler's forces are defeated at Morristown, a final objective of killing Colonel Kuechler will be revealed. Fighting off any additional Hessian forces including civilian units will be unnecessary at this point. Kuechler and his forces will head straight for Morristown and will be guarded by Uhlans and Jaegers, the player can use their artillery to fire and directly take out Kuechler (who fights as a Heavy Infantry unit). Once Kuechler is killed, the player has completed the scenario.
Alternative strategy[]
Before freeing the trapped Tomahawk, send some Villagers to construct a Town Center where the land bridge initially halts the player from advancing to the main enemy base. From there, garrison Villagers in the Town Center and release them on the other side of the river. Build many War Huts to train a huge army; deleting the initial military units for more population is possible. Attack the unexpecting enemy. During this stage, Kuechler does not advance to Morristown, so the player does not need to rush.
Trivia[]
- In The WarChiefs, despite starting out with 6 Forest Prowlers, the player can't train them at the War Hut (as they were replaced by Colonial Militia after Nathaniel joined the militia). In the Definitive Edition this was changed, and the player can train Forest Prowlers.
- This is the only campaign scenario where the primary enemy player color red is not featured.
Gallery[]
