"JACOBITES! Are you out of your mind?!" This was the response I received from most of the gamers I talked to about doing this period. The reasons behind the responses were numerous, but two tended to stand out: the only battle they know of was Culloden, a lopsided battle for the Hannoverians; and the more often heard, "all those kilts!" But in the end, blood will out and my heritage took over.

First I had to find out who, what and how many were there to engage in battle. Several book and articles later, I was almost as confused as when I started. There was no concise delineation of even the Hannoverian units present, although less trouble than Jacobite strengths. In the final step, I opted for what I felt was most likely and what most easily fit the rules system. Hannoverian strengths varied from a low of 7,400 in 17 units to a high of 8,400 in 20 units. Jacobite strengths ran from a low of 8,100 to 9,500. I eventually opted for 8,100 Hannoverians in 15 foot and 3 dragoon units versus 9,000 Jacobites in 20 foot and 4 mounted units. All foot units were 16 strong except the Edinburgh and Glasgow Militias at 24 each, the Argyll Militia at 30, and the Irish Piquets at 12. The British dragoons were 12 each, the Jacobite Cavalry were 4 each.

Next came the battle itself, and again I was presented with several discrepancies, although a basic line of events remained consistent. Basically the Hannoverian army settled in at Falkirk to await the Jacobite response. When the Jacobites did advance, the Hannoverian leader, General Hawley, was ill prepared, due mainly to overconfidence in his dragoons, against whom he was sure that no ragtag Jacobite rebel would stand. The Jacobite army nearly gained vastly superior ground on the lip of the moor above Falkirk, but the dragoon's speed prevented this.

The armies fanned out opposite each other, the English in two lines overlapping the Jacobite left, and the Jacobites having greater depth. While deploying, both armies were subjected to a great storm of hailstones and cold rain, for which the l lannoverians were caught unprepared. The dragoons charged the Jacobite line through deep mud. A fearsome volley met them and two regiments routed, while the third plunged into the Jacobite line and ceased to exist. The Jacobite line surged forward in a charge.

The Hannoverian left routed (all that was lett when the dragoons routed were two militia units!). As the Jacobites closed, the Hannoverians volleyed, but most of the muskets misfired due to the rain. In the ensuing panic, all but three units routed. I hese three units were protected by a ravine and fired into the Jacobite flank. Disrupted by fire, the Jacobites failed to pursue and destroy the routed Hannoverian army and take Edinburgh. This gave 'Bloody Bill" Cumberland a great advantage after the Jacobites lost their fervor when the siege of Castle Stirling failed.

The battle presented some problems which would require some changes from the norms of the rule system that I had chosen, namely Age of Reason (AOR). In AOR, English (Hannoverian) units are rated as 2, but most battalions at Falkirk were inexperienced, depot-type battalions of the regiments that had lought at Fontenoy in 1745. I wanted to make these units quality an unknown, so I created a die roll chart for quality. This is decided the first time a unit enters combat.

Secondly, the effect of the rain upon the Hannoverian musketry (most accounts have the Jacobites prepared for rain) had to be represented. Again, in keeping with the rules simplicity, a die roll chart decided the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of fire. The mud's effect on the dragoons is simple; no charge. move or bonus is given for any cavalry of either side.

Having decided on the numbers involved, I now turned to the scale. The normal scale of 1:50 would work, but units would be tiny, some of them only two figures, and I wanted some spectacle as well as playability. I opted for 25mm charts and a 1:25 scale. This made the average unit size 16 figures (400 men).

I amalgamated many of the smaller Jacobite units into larger units for convenience. The militia units became large, at 24 figures, and the Jacobite cavalry was quite small at 4 figures each.

Finale

The final decision came in the deployment of the armies. The Hannoverian/English were pretty straight forward and very consistent. Two lines of regulars, six battalions in front and five in the second rank, with another battalion slightly right of center as an unintended third rank. The Glasgow Militia behind the dragoon center and the Edinburgh Volunteers to their right behind the dragoon right and half behind the infantry second line. The Argyll Militia on the far right at the mouth of the ravine.

The Jacobites were more uncertain, but I opted for a checkerboard deployment with a third line of foreign units and the cavalry. This gave the appropriate length to the Jacobite line compared to their enemy. The primary ground features were the high moor, which covered most of the board, and the ravine, which covered the front of one unit and split the high moor as an impassible obstacle. The game played well at its premier and in subsequent games. The battle is quick (usually 4 turns to a decision), fast and furious. Players seem to enjoy it and love the look also.

Hannoverian/English Army

G.O.C. "Hangman" Hawley (1)

Right Wing: M. G. Huske (2)

1st "The Royals" Foot - 16
4th Foot, Barrell's
48th Foot, Ligonier's
3rd Food, Buff's
14th Foot, Price's
19th Foot, Harvard's

Center: B. G. Cholmondeley (1)

13th Foot, Pulteney's
36th Foot, Fleming's
34th Foot, Cholmondeley's
37th Foot, Munro's
8th Foot, Wolfe's
27th Foot, Blakeney's

Left Wing: Col. Ligonier (I)

13th Hamilton's Dragoons - 12
Edinburgh Volunteers (1) - 24
10th Ligonier' s Dragoons - 12
Glasgow Militia ( 1 ) - 24
14th Cobham's Dragoons - 12

At mouth of ravine on right wing: Argyll Militia (1) - 30

Hannoverian Quality Roll
1	Quality 3
2-3	Quality 2
4-6	Quality 1

Hannoverian First Fire Roll
1	Normal dice roll
2-3	Roll half the dice
4-6	Roll one die only

Jacobites:

Bonnie Prince Charlie (1)
All clan units are Class 3.

Right wing: Lord George Murry (3)

MacGregor
MacDonalds of Keppoch
1st Athol
MacDonalds of Clanronald
2nd Athol
MacDonalds of Glengary
3rd Athol

Center: Lord Ogilvy (1)

Lord Kilmarnook
1st Olgilvy
Chisholm
2nd Olgllvy
Grant
Manchester

Left wing: General John O' Sullivan (1)

Fraser of Lovat
1st Gordans
Carneron of Lochiel
2nd Gordans
Camerons
Stewarts of Appin

Reserve/Third rank: Lord John Drummond (2) -

Royal Scots
Balmerino's Horseguards (2)
Baggot's Hussars (1)
Fitz James' Horse (2-cuir)
Pitsligo's Perthshire Horse (1)
Irish Piquets (3)
Lord Elcho's Horseguards (2)
Royal Eccossais (3)

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