A new chapter has been written in the long standing theological debate between the Elector and the Bishop of Holstein regarding the existance of Santa Claus. The Elector has long held that, not only does the man exist, but he has an interest in sustaining the military capacity of Ardoberg-Holstein. The Bishop maintains that Santa Claus is a fiction promoted by greedy children to separate their parents from money better spent titheing the church. As proof of his position, the Elector calls the Bishops attention to three new batteries of artillery drilling on the Marchfeld. It seems the Elector has been very good this year, and has been rewarded by a visit from the jolly old elf.

The guns and crew are plastic Wargames Factory War of the Spanish Succession. I like the guns a lot and the set includes some nice stacks of cannon balls, water buckets and barrels. On the down side the crews had early WSS hats, which I had to trade out for some tricorne heads I had in my collection of bits. Also, each gun had an officer mounted on an oddly posed horse (not shown). I suppose I will find some use for those.

 The Elector clings to a dollar with grim determination, and for that reason the army was assembled over time from whatever figures came to hand. Historians of the Imaginations military scene will recall that the Ardoberg-Holstein cavalry, Spencer-Smiths that were (sadly) out of scale with my 28mm infantry, were replaced last year with new plastics from Perry and Wargames Factory. This year it was the turn of the artillery. The guns were Prince August home cast models. Nice enough except my poor casting skills denied them the detail a more skilful hand would have delivered. The gun crews were an assorted lot of Hinchliffe gunners, ham handed conversions and infantry officers drafted in to fill up numbers.

The older guns will have their wheels removed and a garrison carriage added to provide firepower for a fortress project I have in mind.

The Highlanders are revolting!
This was a game Mike and I played to work the bugs out of our homemade Jacobite Rebellion rules titled It's A Kilt!If It Was A Skirt I'd Be Wearing Underpants! The year is 17 something something and Red Dougie MacArdo has raised the standard of one of the lesser known Stuarts, cousin Larry Stuart. Really just an excuse to descend on the Sassanach and steal their cattle. In support of this effort MacArdo has been joined by four clan regiments; Corrie, Appin, MacLeod and Atholl. The King of France has sent a battalion of the Irish Regiment of McLaughlin as a way of getting them out of France before they do any more damage.

The McLaughlin Regiment, chastened by their deployment, advances alongside the Jacobites
 The Government troops sent to face them are a half battalion from each of the four regiments in the garrison and the converged grenadier companies from those regiments. The Government force also has a battery of 3 lb guns.

                 Red Dougie scouts the advancing column of Government troops
As the Government column passed through the crossroads hard by Glen Herring the Highlanders sprang their ambush. Coolly surveying the situation the commander of the redcoats, Sir Gary Comardo (of the Bogglehole Comardos) ordered his units to deploy into line facing the onrushing plaid tide.

Claymore! Claymore!

Two of the raw redcoat battalions broke and ran at the unaccustomed sight of the charging highlanders, but the others stood firm and poured heavy fire into the close packed ranks of their foes. The Jacobites recoiled from the Government line without coming to grips and the broken battalions rallied brnging the battle to a swift conclusion.

Stop firing at us and fight us like men!

This was the second battle we have fought using these rules. The first one was a near run thing but this one was very lopsided. Clearly we have more work to do on the rules. What we are going for is a situation where the Government forces have an advantage in firepower and the Jacobites in speed and melee. The Government troops also have to test their nerve when being charged. Most of the redcoats are second class units, the good stuff being away fighting the French on the Continent. We'll keep tinkering with the rules and know we have it right when both commanders play to their strong suit and are kept in suspense until the last die roll of the last turn.