The Red Danube

By May of 1809, Archduke Charles' massive Austrian army had been defeated but not destroyed by the French in a series of actions centered on the Bavarian town of Eckmühl. Napoleon followed up this victory with a lightning strike against the Austrian capital of Vienna, seizing the great city unopposed. Charles, he predicted, would be retreating towards Bohemia along with his large contingent of landwehr conscripts who he thought were thoroughly demoralized. North of Vienna, preparations were made to cross the Danube and destroy the Archduke's army. Instead, Charles saw an opportunity to deliver a bloody nose to the Emperor. As the cavalry-heavy pursuit force ferried across on suspect bridges under constant assault from flaming flotsam and other debris, Charles attacked. With the Napoleon's back against the Danube and the bridges out again, the surprised French found themselves putting up a determined resistance in two small Austrian villages.

While technically a draw (both armies retreated from the field of battle); the battle of Aspern-Essling proved to be the first time an army led by Napoleon in person had been checked in battle. As Napoleon failed to crush the Austrians after Eckmühl, Charles would fail to deliver a fatal blow against the worn out French defenders. The battle had cost Napoleon the life of a close friend and superb commander, Marshal Jean Lannes, who died of his wounds nine days later.

Charles attempted to address the organizational issues that deprived him of a decisive victory, and eagerly awaited the arrival of his brother, the Archduke John who had been fighting against Eugene in Italy. In early July, Napoleon once again crossed the river, this time better prepared for Charles' response and this time leading the larger army. The horrific conflict that followed would be the largest in recorded history to date: the Battle of Wagram.

Introducing the Game

The third in his Napoleonic Battles series, John Tiller's Campaign Wagram picks up where Campaign Eckmühl left off. Ranging in size from six to 166 turns, scenario designer Bill Peters covers the conflict from every possible angle with well over 100 selections including both historical and hypothetical situations. Many of the scenarios are variations on a theme intended for use with the campaign engine, which allows the player to make operational decisions then fight the tactical engagements if desired in a series of linked battles. There are ten different campaigns included in the game.

Campaign Wagram portrays the battle on a grand-tactical scale. The basic maneuver unit is the battalion, which is very accurate for the period and scale. The unit mix covers every significant troop-type employed in the conflict; from skirmishing companies to heavy cavalry, and from bridge engineers to horse-drawn artillery. Command organization on the French side ranges from Napoleon himself and his marshals down to brigadier generals. On the Austrian side, Archduke Charles and his field marshals lead an array of subordinates down to Major General in rank.

Map hexes are 100 meters across, and scenarios range from a few to hundreds of square kilometers in size. Turns represent fifteen minutes of actual time. Visibility depends on the options chosen, but with full fog-of-war, it varies with environmental conditions (restricted at dawn and dusk, and point-blank at night). There are limits to how many men can be placed in a single hex; typically, this is a function of the number of men in a unit and not a simple matter of counter density (there are exceptions).

Game documentation comes in two digital formats: Windows help files and printable Word documents. The manuals are exhaustive and complete, and thanks to Tiller's unending support for his titles, will be kept so via patches for years to come. Also included are designer's notes from both John Tiller and Bill Peters, as well as a section on tactics to introduce novices to tactical Napoleonic combat.

The Thomas Hook music soundtrack is superb as usual, always a high point in Tiller's games. It is, however, completely recycled from the earlier Campaign Eckmühl game. Having spent many hours with the previous title, I found myself opting for some other period music, such as Beethoven or Hayden.