This year the Duke claimed the honour of being the first stand alone/fully catered Horse and Musket tournament. On this point I would like to thank Doug Parrish for his catering and tireless support. I would also like to thank my sponsors, Peter Nathan Toy Soldiers of Sydney, whose 54mm figures have set the standard in quality for competition prizes (Cancon & MOAB take note!). Whilst most of our Southern Compatriots could not make the journey north, their numbers were more than made up by new faces and others who were lured out of retirement by the prospect of a non-hereditary title! A strong contingent of eighteenth century armies stopped the tournament from being just another round of Napoleonics. Indeed, of the 18 players only four fielded French Armies. After the tournament several players approached me requesting a two-day competition. Seems a good idea. In the grand tradition of the Duke I am pleased to announce a second competition "The Comte de Illawarra", to be held on the Sunday following the "Duke". Whilst the "Duke" will remain staunchly WRG (for the moment), the "Comte" will be the FIRST points competition using Phil Jones' new and improved edition of Elan (do I smell potential sponsorship in the air?). Every tournament has its winners. The following people walked away with the prizes. Duke of Wollongong: For the second time in three years the title returns to Penshurst. Well done Robert Horton whose Austrians have taught us that a white coat is not just a sign of surrender! His glorious triumph was recorded on Page 5 of Monday's Illawarra Mercury (article enclosed). Further to this, on the following Tuesday he received a letter from his State MP congratulating him on his victory (is an election pending?)! Interviews with Ray Martin will follow! Elba: When people heard that Paul Hummerston was fielding the British Light Division, they laughed. Frenchmen queued with requests to meet him in battle. His wife pleaded that I should go easy on him! By the end of the day the laughter had died. Against all odds Paul showed why the Light Division was the "first in the field and the last from the fray". The Grouchy: Cynics call this "the organiser's award". However a "0" casualties score-line in round 3 guarantied that the title remained in Wollongong. Once again not too many letters to write home to those poor lead women and children. Besides, I spent too much time painting my Hessians to let some other bugger shoot them! The Borodino: Deservedly awarded to Mark Hume. Whilst his AWI Frenchmen did not quite die to a man - they almost did on some occasions. It is hard for an army without good cavalry to fight on even terms. Mark showed just how hard! Well done! The biggest surprise was Adrian Parr who finished clearly on top of the points table after four rounds but was unable to stay for the final because of Bledisloe Cup commitments (watching - not playing!). He'll just have to come back next year to get his name on a trophy. All in all I was very pleased with the spirit in which the games were played and the continued strength of the competition. Back to Table of Contents -- Kriegspieler #10 To Kriegspieler List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Kriegspieler Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com