The Battle of Mehr, August 1758, was refought in grand scale on the game table this year at Origins. All of the units that took place in the battle were represented in 1:30 scale. The rules used for the refight, which was part of the HOT2K project, were "Mitre, Moustache and Musket" by Ben King.

Both side were very aggressive at the start of the action. This cost the French dearly as they failed a reconnaissance roll which would have let them find the Hanoverian regiment Stolzenburg. Instead, the Hanoverians burst out of the dense brush and caught the German regiment La Mark in the flank, destroyed one of its battalions and shot up a battalion of Swiss regiment Reding before they could be driven off.

While the French militia generally refused to advance, they gave a good accounting of themselves in a number of sharp fire fights with Brunswick and Hessian infantry, keeping the Allied battalions from turning the French flank. The French Dragoons avoided the marshy ground and any action. They were unable to advance due to swamp to their front. With Hanoverian Dragoons blocking the only viable attack route, they chose to become spectators.

The French clearly outperformed their historical counterparts on this day, though. The Allied infantry was shot up, in poor condition, and would have been unable to mount any pursuit. The French would also be able to drag their guns off of the field of battle. However, the Allies fulfilled their victory condition perfectly. The bridge over the Rhine that Ferdinand needed was still in Allied hands -- out of danger from the French.

Historically, the French were soundly drubbed at the Battle of Mehr. They lost 11 heavy guns, their cavalry was shot up by their own men and the Allies recovered a great many weapons, thrown away by the routed militia. The Allies took only about 200 casualties and remained a viable, effective fighting force ready for any task assigned by Prince Ferdinand.