Ye Gods and Little Fishes...

It's been almost a month-and-a-half since my last update. Where does the time go. In my scramble to catch up, I'm going to try to add another update sometime in the next two weeks. I know; good intentions (sigh!). Well, let's go...

FitzAndrew's Horse - This is my newest cavalry regiment, FitzAndrew's Horse, or as they are referred to by the rest of the army, "Les Cuirassiers Gris," or "The Grey Cuirassiers." They have no combat history to speak of, although a squadron of the cuirassiers did supplement the Gendarmere at the Battle of Hilton Heights this past Winter. Commanded by that notorious Scottish expatriate Charles, Edward, Thomas, Robert, William, Malcolm Stewart, to date no one in St. Maurice has any idea just what the Scotsmen are saying, assuming they are actually attempting to communicate at all. More on the highland horsemen as their adventure unfolds.

Loncheney Hussars - Recruited from some of the more questionable regions of the vast Austrian empire, the Loncheney Hussars are the first light cavalry regiment of l'Armie de St. Maurice. Here, we see the boys parading in royal review, with their colonel Tepps taking the salute of His Majesty. Holding with the tradition of the cavalry, the hussars have yet to win so much as a fist fight. They do look good however, and in St. Maurice that certainly must count for something.

A New Reorganization - St. Maurice is in the process of reorganizing it's troops. Here, the regiment Maison Du Roi is formed in battalion line with each of it's three companies represented by a single stand of 16 privates, and officer or NCO, and a drummer. The color party is mounted separately, with the King's color on the left (as you look at it), the regimental color on the right, and flanked by NCOs. The colonel's stand and quartermaster's stand are also separate and round out the battalion/ regiment. This new organization makes the movement of large numbers of figures much easier, but keeps the flavor of the OSW that we have come to know and love. Maison du Roi is the only guards regiment in the army of St. Maurice. Formed in the year 1726 (MY 1976), they have become the centerpiece of the Household Legion, which is also composed of the converged grenadiers, Les Gendarmere de St. Maurice, and the Guards Artillery. It probably says a great deal about the military philosophy of St. Maurice that the regiment has never distinguished itself in the passage of arms. This may also explain the otherwise enigmatic logo found on the national color; Quando Omni Funcus Moritati ("When all else fails play dead").

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.