The Battle of the Hilton Heights - St. Maurice and Ardoberg-Holstein crossed swords yet again today in the Battle of Hilton Heights. This was a full scale battle, pitting approximately 1000 infantry and 300 cavalry in combat for a thoroughly enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Gary (the Ardo in Ardoberg), and I are working out the bugs in a very strait forward set of rules based on the DBA mechanism. It will allow us to fight truly large battles over a very short time, with the focus being on those headaches a commanding general would have to deal with. Movement trays are 2"x6" for all troop types which allows both movement and storage convenience. Here's a little picture essay of the engagement:
Here's the initial disposition of the A-H forces, with heavy cavalry to the right (foreground), light cavalry to the left and his household troops in the center.








Here's a rather poor shot of the early deployment of the St. Maurician forces.

At the beginning of turn 4; some serious maneuvering going on on the St. Maurice left. The center has closed to artillery range, and the guns are in operation. On the right, the Arquibusiers are moving up the Hiltonwald, and the Gendarmere are moving in on the hussars. It's almost crunch time.


By turn 7 we see some serious combat underway on both flanks, and with the center involved in both artillery and small arms exchanges. The battle is well and truly involved.









By move 10, things were still up in the air, but seemed to be moving slowly and steadily in favor of the A-H forces. At this point Marshall Neigh formally requested to disengage. This was granted and the fighting ended after approximately five and a half hours of solid fighting. All in all, a very enjoyable little contest.

Arquebusiers de Bergerac - The only light infantry in the army de St. Maurice was added to the lists last Summer as Les Arquebusiers de Bergerac. We would like to suggest that the similarity between these gentlemen and their counterparts, the Grassins, is purely coincidental. This is, however, not the case as it is common knowledge that large stores of uniforms and equipment were "liberated" from French military stores at approximately the same time as the unit was organized. There is, in fact no noble family named Bergerac in St. Maurician service, and it is thought the name was derived from the hero of Rostand's famous play. No mean feat as the play will not be published until 1897. While this theory may seem absurd, the battalion's motto ("We have a nose for trouble") may actually lend some credence to the idea.

Artillerie de St. Maurice - As with any functioning army of the current century, St. Maurice sports it's heavy weapons detachments, albeit a bit thin by most modern standards. Pictured here is, currently, the only active line battery in the army. It is currently supplemented by the single battery of the Household Brigade, as well as the battery of the horse artillery. Current table of organization has four of these batteries in the final structure of the army, one per line brigade of infantry.

Dauphin - The regiment Dauphin is one of the more recent additions to the St. Maurician army, and the senior regiment of the fourth brigade, also known as "Les Enfants Terribles." Battle honors include a credible defense of of the earthworks at Mabb's Knoll as well as a solid showing in the Battle of King's Park. Dauphin is a royal regiment, and her current colonel is some shirt-tail relative of His Majesty.