Return to Blasthof bridge.

For the last couple of games that I have played, I used Neil Thomas` excellent rules, One-hour Wargames.  I love how quickly they play, and the 30 scenarios are always an inspiration.  There are times when I want a bit more from my games, though.  Trying to choose which of the many rules sets I have, to use can be a little daunting, but for the game today I thought I would break out a classic set, Donald Featherstone`s War Games.  Like a lot of rules of its era they are not as complicated as people imagine.  There are some areas, mostly around failed morale, that could have been clearer, but as a solo war gamer I just made a ruling and went with it. 

Of course, I could not help tinkering with them a little and introduced card activation, where each unit had its own card, and the obligatory end of turn card.  This led to some situations where units did not move for quite a few turns, but it certainly helped to make for a fun game.  I think that I may return to Keith Flint`s system from Honours of War, or Henry Hyde`s activation from Shot, Steel, and Stone for a future game . 

I thought that it would be fun to refight the action at Blasthof Bridge from Charge! by Peter Young.  I tried using the original troop numbers from Charge! but Donald Featherstone`s rules are a little too deadly for so few troops.  I increased the number of units and troops but tried to keep the ratio from the original scenario.  The game you could say was a blast, and I will definitely use the scenario and rules again.

The Battle

Following his defeat at the Vallée des Ormes the Lord Warden Philippe Le Duff, Duke of Monfort realised that his position as Head of State was not as secure as it once was. So, he decided that the only way to stop the machinations of the other nobles was a fall scale invasion of Volgar.

The Lord Warden of the Five Duchies could not lead the invasion himself as he was too busy dealing with issues at court, so he sent a force under Robert du Ouestbourg to secure the bridge over the river Blast.

The army under Robert du Ouestbourg

General - Robert du Ouestbourg

The Ouestbourg Regiment- Col. Wadoux

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers – Col. De la Côte D'or

The Burgoyne Hussars – Col. Leblanc

The Montfort dragoons - Colonel Douker

The Capel – le- Ferne battery – Capt. Le Bigot

Ouestbourg`s orders were to secure the bridge over the river Blast and bloody the nose of any Volgan troops he faced.

The army under Theodoric Von Martinez.

General – Theodoric Von Martinez

The Dijl Regiment – Col Joannu

The Fouksten Highland regiment – Col. Huss

The Feweszem regiment – Col. Chomski

The Sytynbon lancers – Col. Dragos

The Tanbrydz-Lelz battery – Capt. Lehmann

Von Martinez was commanded to destroy the bridge, and deal as much damage as he could to the forces of the five Duchies.

Battle Plans

The army of the Five Duchies

Robert du Ouestbourg, always an aggressive commander, decided to utilise his cavalry advantage and sweep up the eastern bank of the river Blast while holding the western side with his infantry.

The army of Volgar

Theodoric Von Martinez, the wily old campaigner, knew that his lack of cavalry could be a deciding factor and realised that he had to dislodge the enemy infantry as quickly as possible.  He planned to send his lancers across the river to delay the enemy cavalry while pushing south down the western bank with the rest of his army.

Turn one

In the first turn, the two commanders started to move most of their units towards one another.  Both the Montfort dragoons under Colonel Douker and the brave Sytynbon lancers commanded by Colonel Dragos failed to advance with the rest of their armies.

Turn two

In the second turn, Colonel Dragos spurred his men on, crossing the river to face the Burgoyne Hussars. 

An ineffective exchange of musketry broke out between the two armies, the Ouestbourg Regiment, and the Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers both firing on the Dijl Regiment, while the Dijl Regiment and the Feweszem regiment shot at the Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers.

The Tanbrydz-Lelz battery raked the Burgoyne Hussars with cannon fire as they stood waiting for Colonel Douker and his regiment to come up in support.

Turn Three

Having stood waiting under cannon fire for long enough Colonel LeBlanc ordered his hussars to charge across the bridge into the flank of the overexposed Feweszem regiment.  The infantry couldn`t stand up to the charge of the ferocious light cavalry men, broke and were cut down to the man.  The Dijl Regiment, a regiment of mostly untested soldiers, broke and fled from the battlefield. 

The Burgoyne Hussars did not have it all their own way, though.  They had come into cannister range of the Tanbrydz-Lelz battery and the punishing fire from the cannon forced them to retreat across the bridge.

Turn Four

With the loss of two of his infantry regiments the battle was lost for Theodoric Von Martinez, but the old commander could not order the retreat (I probably should have stopped playing here as the battle was over, but I was having too much fun).

The Montfort dragoons moved forward to block the Sytynbon lancers, who had just cut down the remnants of the Burgoyne hussars.  The blood of the lancers was up, though, and they routed the dragoons with ease.

Across the river, the Fouksten Highland regiment was taking a pounding from the Cherry Blossoms, and the Capel – le- Ferne battery.

Turns Five, Six, Seven

For the next few turns both sides stood and exchanged fire with one another.  The Sytynbon lancers, their horses exhausted from destroying two regiments of cavalry, came off badly as the Ouestbourg Regiment had them squarely in their sights.  Colonel Dragos decided that his regiment had done their duty that day and calmy led them off the field of battle.

Turn Eight

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers came under scathing fire from the infantry and artillery that was left under Von Martinez`s command.  The Capel – le- Ferne battery`s supporting fire could not find its mark in all the smoke covering the battlefield.

Turn Nine

The Ouestbourg Regiment pushed up the eastern bank of the river Blast and engaged in close-range musketry with the Tanbrydz-Lelz battery.  The canister from the artillery ripped through the infantry, but the cannon was running low on powder and shot.

On the western bank, the Capel – le- Ferne battery continued to pound the Fouksten Highland regiment, while Robert du Ouestbourg tried to rally the Cherry Blossoms.

Turns Ten & Eleven

With both artillery batteries out of ammunition, and their soldiers spent, the two commanders broke off the engagement.  The battle being a marginal victory for Robert du Ouestbourg.

Forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies - The Burgoyne Hussars

 The Burgoyne Hussars

 Commanding officer: Count Gui Leblanc

Motto: "We get knocked down, but we get up again"

Garrison/HQ: Lynn de la Duchesse.

Nick name: The Ragged Brigade

Origin

The regiment was raised in Lynn de la Duchesse by James R. Montague as James Montague's Regiment of Dragoons in 1715, in response to a Volgan invasion. During the invasion, it took part in the Battle of Capel-le-Ferne in October 1715, after which it escorted the captured Volgan soldiers to the waiting prison ships.

The Peasants' Revolt of 1745

During the Peasants' Revolt of 1745, a major uprising across large parts of the Confederation of the Five Duchies, the regiment was largely made up of recruits and commanded by an inexperienced officer, Francois Baskerville. On 13th September, the regiment was confronted by a small party of disgruntled oast workers and was routed in the so-called 'Kiln Canter'. Francois Baskerville was almost stripped of his command for his poor handling of the situation, but he blamed the defeat on his soldiers' sympathies with the workers and their lack of battlefield experience.

The regiment, however, was demoralised both by its conduct and by the way its commanding officer had been treated. At the Battle of Maison Dieu on 21st September, which lasted only 15 minutes, a large group of peasants once again routed the regiment and killed Francois Baskerville as he tried to rally his men. Command of the regiment was handed over to Jacques Hiver, but the equally disastrous Battle of Colline Militaire in January 1746 saw the regiment routed from the field once more.

Shortly afterwards, Baskerville's replacement, Jacques Hiver, died of malaria and was succeeded by David Marais. Under Marais' guiding hand, the regiment underwent many changes. It was renamed the Burgoyne Hussars, and its recruiting process was reorganised. No longer would it take in former prisoners of war, murderers, debtors and rejects from other regiments. Instead, it would seek to attract the yeomanry. Marais, who became known as the 'Old Drill Sergeant', put the troops through relentless drills and imposed rigid discipline, introducing some of the harshest punishments in the army.

Forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies - The Mont du Château Chasseurs

The Mont du Château Chasseurs

Commanding officer: Colonel Adas Van Beorg

"Motto: "Bold and Swift

Garrison/HQ: Mont du Château 

Nickname: The Wheat

Origin

The Mont du Château Chasseurs were originally raised in 1650 by the Honourable Volgan Trading Company as a marine force to protect the company's overseas interests.

The War of Independence

The regiment returned in secret from its colonial duties under cover of darkness in 1668. This redeployment was organised by Wilhelm Lützow, chairman of the Honourable Volgan Trading Company. Lützow, a proud Mont du Châteauian and staunch believer in the wisdom of the independence movement, had been siphoning off funds from the company to transport, train and arm as many troops as he could for the fight.

This move allowed him not only to bring back the regiment but also to raise two additional battalions. The sudden appearance of three battalions of well-trained sharpshooters among the rebel forces, combined with the embezzlement of company funds by its most senior member, caught the loyalist members of the board completely by surprise. The misappropriation of capital and the resulting loss of confidence in the company led to its bankruptcy and eventual dissolution by the Volgan Monarch.

The value of Lützow's investment was soon realised as the Mont du Château Chasseurs were quickly deployed in the Volgan campaign. The three battalions took part in skirmishes around Feweszem in December 1669, the Battle of Hen-Bei in July 1670, the Siege of Sytynbon in October 1670, where elements of the 2nd Battalion captured the colours of the 2nd Sytnbon Regiment, and the Battle of Iytstelbel in 1671.

At the conclusion of the War of Independence, Wilhelm Lützow made the shrewd decision to amalgamate the three battalions into a single, compact elite force. This allowed him not only to select the best men from the three battalions but also, through the financial savings this consolidation generated, to equip them with the best arms available. A tradition the regiment would continue to the present day.

Rearguard at Vallée des Ormes

 

Rearguard at Vallée des Ormes

In the previous battle, the forces of the Kingdom of Volgar were soundly defeated and forced to retreat. So, I imagined this battle revolving around the forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies trying to pursue the retreating army and push their way into the Kingdom of Volgar.

I am always amazed at how fast time flies, I didn`t realise that it had been over two years since I last did anything on my Lace Wars project.  I have, like many wargamers, been distracted by too many other projects to mention, but I found myself wanting to return once more to the never-ending conflicts between the forces of the Kingdom of Volgar and the Confederation of the Five Duchies. 

I thought that it was best to ease myself back into things, so I decided that Neil Thomas` One-Hour Wargames were in order.  I am still surprised by how good a game these simple rules always give.  The last time I used them I opted for my smaller 2` by 1.5` table, today I thought I would use my 3` by 2` board to try and expand the manoeuvre options for both sides.  This idea was rather scuppered when I rolled scenario 24-Bottleneck, but that was the way the die rolled.  The result was not a complete loss, as it allowed me to link this battle with the last one. 

I have had to resort to using my river sections to represent the road down the centre of the table as I don`t have enough road pieces to serve the purpose.  Making more road sections will have to go on my to do list.

The Battle

Theodoric Von Martinez wiped his brow at the thought of Queen Dragomira Zedwitzové`s reaction to his latest failure, even as the Queen`s uncle he was not immune to her wrath.  What he needed to do was to bloody the nose of the perfidious Philippe Le Duff and stop him from penetrating into the Kingdom of Volgar.  Luckily for Von Martinez, Le Duff had rashly followed him into the Vallée des Ormes unable to control his desire to ravage the outlying Volgan provinces.  The Lord Warden of the Confederation of the Five Duchies had given the old soldier a chance to redeem his reputation.

Smiling to himself, Von Martinez turned to Colonel Lara Akyne and instructed her to take her Grenzers and occupy Elm wood.  The general was sure that the lioness of Volgar would not let him down, her Grenzers would make Le Duff pay.  The rest of his forces would wait at the end of the bottleneck, between Elm wood and the impassable Elm hill, to see what forces Le Duff had managed to muster and how he would dispose of them.

The Confederation of the Five Duchies` army under Philippe Le Duff

General - Lord Warden Philippe Le Duff, Duke of Monfort

The Ouestbourg Regiment- Col. Wadoux

The Maison Dieu Regiment - Col. Bricourt

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers – Col. De la Côte D'or

The Montfort Dragoons – Col. Douker

Capel – le- Ferne Battery - 1^st section Capt. Le Bigot

Capel – le- Ferne Battery- 2^nd section Lt. Le Gross

The Kingdom of Volgar`s  army under Theodoric Von Martinez

General -Theodoric Von Martinez

Fouksten Highland Regiment - Col. Huss

Feweszem Regiment - Col. Chomski

Sytynbon Lancers - Col. Dragos

Sendgyt Grenzers - Col. Akyne

 

The Lord Warden Philippe Le Duff, Duke of Monfort sighed to himself as he saw the waiting Volgan forces.  A look of boredom crossed his face as he realised how easy this battle was going to be.  The old dog, Von Martinez, would be taught a lesson on this day.  With a slight movement of his hand, Le Duff sent his aide de camps off with the orders for his forces.  The guns would pound the Volgans from this position, the Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers, and the Montfort Dragoons would form the lead forces while the Ouestbourg Regiment, and the Maison Dieu Regiment would deal with the skirmishers in the wood.  The battle should be over before teatime.

The Capel – le- Ferne Battery hoped to please the Lord Warden with a concentrated barrage and opened fire on the line infantry ahead of them.  Captain Le Bigot cursed under his breath as the first shots were mostly ineffective, the mist coming down from Elm hill obscuring the gunners aim.  The fire from the forest was much more effective, as the sharp eyed Sendgyt Grenzers let loose their first volley, cutting down many members of the Maison Dieu Regiment.

Colonel Dragos, and his lancers swept down the road looking to smash into the Cherry Blossoms, but they were intercepted by the Montfort Dragoons.  The brief melee was indecisive, the heavy cavalry leaving many of the saddles of the light horse empty with their sword play, but the courage of the lancers never faltered.  As the two cavalry regiments separated, Colonel Dragos saw an opportunity to attack his original target and spurred his men forward.   The Sytynbon Lancers crashed into the Cherry Blossoms their lances causing untold carnage to the unit.

The staccato crack of musket fire from into and out of the woods drowned out the sounds of the wounded and the dying. Both the Ouestbourg Regiment and the Maison Dieu Regiment were being cut down by the accurate fire of Col. Akyne`s Grenzers. Reluctantly, Le Duff decided that his line infantry was better employed with dealing with the Volgan line infantry and marched them past the Grenzers.

Colonel Wadoux shook his head in frustration as his regiment ground to a halt behind the Maison Dieu regiment.  Too many of Le Duff`s men were trying to fit into too small a space.  Withering fire spat out from the woods dropping many of the brave men of the Ouestbourg regiment.  The Montfort Dragoons moved forward to try and relieve some of the pressure on the infantry, but the Sytynbon lancers blocked their path to the Feweszem Regiment.   Once more the brave rovers were able to fend off the heavy horse.

The Maison Dieu regiment moved past the forest straight into a deadly fusillade from the Fouksten Highland Regiment, and the Feweszem Regiment. Col. Bricourt couldn`t hold his men together and the proud regiment fled from the field. The disbelief on Col. Wadoux`s face as his sister regiment fled was quickly turned to horror as he saw the ferocious Sytynbon lancers bearing down on his regiment.

The loss of the Maison Dieu regiment and the reckless charge of the Sytynbon lancers broke the spirit of the Confederation of the Five Duchies army. Le Duff failed to keep control of his remaining forces and the retreat turned into a rout. A rout that the Sytynbon lancers were able to take advantage of, and cut down the last of the Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers.

Theodoric Von Martinez smiled to himself; the battle had gone better than he could probably have hoped for.  His plan to delay the enemy with his light forces had worked well, both the grenzers and the lancers had been crucial in stopping Le Duff from pushing his superior forces forward.  But Le Duff`s own incompetence had helped in the defeat.  Countless times the artillery couldn’t be brought to bear, as other regiments had come between them and the Volgan forces.  Von Martinez had handed Le Duff a sound beating, taking care of half of the army the Lord Warden commanded at the loss of only around a third of his force, most of which came from the Sytynbon lancers.  The brave rovers would take some time to rebuild their strength, but their sacrifice had been worth it.  Colonel Hans Dragos star was in the ascension, one that he, Theodoric Von Martinez could make use of.

 

 

The defence of Saint Augustin

I found myself with a few hours to spare and thought that it would be nice to pit the forces of Volgar against the five Duchies.  Time was limited; though, so I thought that rather than use my usual mash up of the War game, which takes time to prepare, I would turn to another favourite of mine, One-hour Wargames by Neil Thomas.

One-hour Wargames are a very simple, but excellent set of rules that really do play in an hour or under.  Within the pages of the book, you have a set of general rules that are then tweaked to give some period feel.  Are they for everyone?  Probably, not, but they allow me to have a fun game on a 2` by 1.5` table in a very reasonable amount of time.  As well as the rules the book has thirty scenarios in it, so after a roll of my d30, all I had to do was set up my table and get playing.

The Battle

Queen Dragomira Zedwitzové was still fuming over the last defeat that her forces suffered at the hands of the Confederation of the Five Duchies, and she decided that the only way to save face was a punitive raid on the town of Saint Augustin. 

The Queen turned once more to Theodoric Von Martinez, he was ordered to move with all haste and seize the town of Saint Augustin, relieve it of all of its valuables and return to Volgan territory before the Lord Warden of the Five Duchies could respond.  Unknown to queen Dragomira, the Lord Warden, Philippe Le Duff, had already started to mobilise forces in the area.  The only question would be whether Robert du Ouestbourg could hold Saint Augustin long enough for the rest of his forces to arrive.

The army under Robert du Ouestbourg

Initial forces.

General - Robert du Ouestbourg

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s own Fusiliers – Col.

De la Côte D'or

Mont du Château Chasseurs - Col. Van Beorg

Reinforcements

1^st Bn. Ouestbourg Regiment- Col. Wadoux

2^nd Bn. Ouestbourg Regiment -Lt Col. Delforge

Maison Dieu regiment – Col. Bricourt

Capel – le- Ferne battery – Cap. Le Bigot

The army under Theodoric Von Martinez

General – Theodoric Von Martinez

Fouksten Highland regiment – Col. Huss

1^st Bn. Dijl Regiment- Col. Joannou

2^nd Bn. Dijl Regiment -Lt Col. Carras

Feweszem regiment – Col. Chomski

Sytynbon lancers – Col. Dragos

The sound of the approaching, Volgan force spurred Robert du Ouestbourg into action.  He sent the Mont du Château Chasseurs forward, to the orange orchards, to harass the enemy, while the Duchess du Burgoyne`s own Fusiliers fortified the town ready for the upcoming battle.

The first shots of the battle erupted from the orange tree orchard as the Chasseurs peppered the 2^nd Bn of the Dijl Regiment, but Von Martinez wouldn`t be distracted by the Mont du Château Chasseurs.   The general ordered Lt Col. Carras to deal with the skirmishers while the rest of the army matched on Saint Augustin.

Ignoring the protracted firefight on their left the Volgan infantry marched at a steady pace towards the waiting Duchess own Fusiliers in the town.  While, on their right Colonel Dragos, and his lancers swept further south ready to intercept any reinforcements that might appear. 

As if on cue, the Capel – le- Ferne battery, and the 1^st Bn. Ouestbourg Regiment arrived on the battlefield.  The battery quickly unlimbered and started to fire at the approaching infantry.  Col. Wadoux moved his infantry to protect the artillery battery.

Colonel Dragos spurred on the Sytynbon lancers repeatedly slamming them into the waiting infantry, but even the elan of these fierce mounted troopers could not break the iron discipline of the Ouestbourg regiment.  The brave stand of Col. Wadoux`s men allowed the artillery and the fusiliers to pour all their firepower into the Diji regiment.  Col. Joannou encouraged his men through the storm of lead even as they dropped around him.

After a ferocious melee the Sytynbon lancers finally ran down the Ouestbourg regiment, and Von Martinez directed his infantry to concentrate their fire on the fusiliers in the town.  Col. De la Côte D'or stood calmly at the front of his regiment extolling them to stand their ground.  But at this moment of triumph for Von Martinez, the 2^nd Bn. Ouestbourg Regiment, and the Maison Dieu regiment took up their positions.  The Ouestbourg regiment moved to protect the Capel – le- Ferne battery, and the Maison Dieu regiment joined the fusiliers in the town.

The arrival of the reinforcements put pay to any hope that Theodoric Von Martinez had of taking Saint Augustin.  He skilfully screened the retreat of his forces with the Sytynbon lancers, but he wouldn`t be able to hide his defeat and the loss of the 1^st Bn. Dijl regiment from his sovereign.

 After action thoughts

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to play a game against an opponent for the first time in a long time.  My opponent made skilful use of his light cavalry, the Burgoyne Hussars, to tie up two units of my infantry and then took apart my remaining forces piece meal.  It was a good afternoon of play, but I will not be including that battle or the results here.

Why would I ignore the results of an enjoyable game?  There could be a lot of reasons; perhaps I want to keep control of the narrative that is slowly building up here, maybe I am a sore loser, or I may not have kept good notes of what went on.  All of these could have some truth to them, but the real reason comes down to why I play games.

A lot has been written by much more eminent people than me about the joys of solo wargaming.  Donald Featherstone expounded the merits of solo wargaming as things like the freedom of ideas, and time that a solo wargamer has on their hands.  These are indeed some of the benefits, but after my game the other week I was struck by the main thing that I get from solo wargaming and wargaming itself.  

I play games to see a story unfold on the table.  This desire for narrative leads me to name units, generals, and regimental officers.  I like to see how a unit`s history develops over the course of play.  If you take away these elements then I lose interest in the game, and I may as well just play a computer game.  Here is where I saw the stark difference between myself and my opponent, for them the game was a tactical challenge.  They wanted to show their skill at out manoeuvring me and winning the game.  Whether or not a regimental officer was killed did not really interest them.  Now, I am not criticising my opponent for their reasons for playing a tabletop game, it is just not the reason that I play.

Does this mean that I won`t ever play games against other people?  Of course not, but I get the most joy out of playing games solo.  If you have not tried it before I recommend that you give it a try, you may be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

 

Forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies - The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers

 

The Duchess du Burgoyne`s Own Fusiliers

Commanding officer: Brevet Colonel Christophe de la Côte D'or

Motto: "I serve"

Garrison/HQ: Cerisier

Nickname: The Cherry Blossoms

Origin

The Duchess du Burgoyne's Own Fusiliers were raised in 1668, during the War of Independence, by Duke Henri du Burgoyne to serve as his personal bodyguard. They were originally known as the Duke's Own Bodyguard.

The War of Independence

The regiment served under Duke Henri du Burgoyne throughout the 1669–1671 campaign in Volgar, including the Battle of Hen-Bei in July 1670 and the Battle of Iytstelbel in 1671, which brought the campaign in Volgar to an end. The Burgoyne forces joined those of the other Duchies in fighting in the Nine-Month Campaign at Saufend in August 1672 and took part in the storming of the earthworks there.

On the renewal of hostilities in 1673, the Cherry Blossoms were assigned to protect the artillery of the Duchy of Burgoyne. They were consequently equipped with lightweight muskets, or 'fusils', and became known as the Duke du Burgoyne's Own Fusiliers. The regiment served throughout the various campaigns of the War of Independence, including the battles of Sainte Marguerite, Falaise de l'Abbé and Vallée des Ormes.

In 1688, the Five Duchies finally secured their independence from the Kingdom of Volgar. However, in the final hours of the war, Duke Henri du Burgoyne was killed by a stray shot. The loss of their beloved leader caused consternation throughout the Duchy of Burgoyne, and from that point onwards, the Duchess du Burgoyne's Own Fusiliers would no longer be led into combat by their liege. Instead, command of the regiment in the field was entrusted to a brevet colonel.

Forces of the Confederation of the Five Duchies - The Maison Dieu Regiment

 

The Maison Dieu Regiment

                                                    

Commanding officer: Colonel Petros Bricourt

Motto: "Where duty and glory lead"

Garrison/HQ: Maison Dieu

Nickname: The Resurrectionists

Origin

The Maison Dieu Regiment started out its life as the 2nd Battalion of the Ouestbourg Regiment. As such, it can trace its origins to the Maison Dieu Trained Bands that served in Boleslaus Závětří's Company. The 2nd Battalion of the Ouestbourg Regiment was formed in 1668 during the War of Independence as the war escalated and each side needed to commit more forces to the fight.

The War of Independence

The fight for freedom from the Kingdom of Volgar was a particularly bloody one for the Resurrectionists, as the commander of the young battalion, one Frederick Bricourt, wanted to show that the newly raised unit could hold its own alongside more senior units in the army and threw them in at the bloody end of each fight. This eagerness to show their mettle at the point of a bayonet led to countless displays of glory but horrendous levels of casualties, and the battalion was constantly being rebuilt. The decimation of the battalion did not deter recruits from enlisting, and Frederick Bricourt was always able to field a fighting force. This ability to quickly replenish its losses led to the battalion gaining its nickname of the Resurrectionists.

At the end of the War of Independence, in 1688, the 2nd Battalion of the Ouestbourg Regiment was split from its parent regiment and formed into the Maison Dieu Regiment. In recognition of his sterling leadership and bravery, Frederick Bricourt was awarded the colonelcy of the new regiment, and the Resurrectionists have always been led by a Bricourt since that day.

Commander and Chief of the Five Duchies

 Lord Warden Philippe Le Duff, Duke of Montfort

The Duchy of Montfort long languished as the least influential of the five Duchies until Philippe Le Duff came into his inheritance.  Some of the lesser nobility questioned the sudden death of his four older siblings, but their voices were soon  silenced.  The driving ambition of Le Duff coupled with his willingness to do anything to rise to the top and his utter mercilessness pulled the struggling duchy from out of obscurity into its pre-eminent position, so when the election for the Lord Warden occurred the electors had little choice but to choose Le Duff.  On the field of battle, Le Duff`s bravery is sometimes in questions, but he has dependable tactical knowledge.

A portrait of Philippe Le Duff