By Iron and Blood

The Battle of Königgrätz July 3, 1866

by

Blue Panther LLC

 Bismarck is the prime minister for Prussia underneath King Wilhelm I. Bismarck had intended to kick Austria out of Germany by hook or by crook so that Prussia would become the most powerful German state. He also had a much larger plan, which was to create a unified Germany for the first time ever. For almost the last 1000 years Germany was just some lines drawn on a map and called the Holy Roman Empire until Napoleon came along. It was just a conglomerate of many small and a few large states. Now was the time that Austria and Prussia were going to duke it out to see who was to control the future of Germany. All Bismarck wanted was an excuse to put them both at war. After the war started there were some battles on the frontiers but now the Austrian Army was gathered together for the final act of the play. Two Prussian armies were bloodhounds on the scent of the prey. The largest battle in Europe until the 20th century was about to take place. Hermann Luttmann and Blue Panther have put you in command of either army. The Prussians have the needle gun against the muzzle loaders of the Austrians. The Austrians have new Krupp cannons against the older guns of the Prussians. So, general, what are your orders?

 This is what comes with the game:

22"x17" inch game map

176 Unit Markers

27 Playing Cards

Two Player Aid Cards

Two Command Tracks

Game Turn and Victory Point Tracks

Rulebook

Two 6-sided dice

PLAYERS: 1-2

TIME TO PLAY: 4 Hours or More

AGES: 13 and up

SOLITAIRE SUITABILITY: 4 out of 10

SOLITAIRE COMPLEXITY: 6 out of 10

Game Design: Hermann Luttmann

Game Development: Fred Manzo and Ryan Heilman

Game and Box Art: llya Kudriashov

Production: Blue Panther LLC

What is in the box

 This is what Blue Panther says about the game:

"By Iron and Blood simulates the climactic engagement of the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, the Battle of Koniggratz (also known as the Battle of Sadowa). Taking place on July 3, 1866, this decisive clash pitted the forces of General Helmuth von Moltke's Prussians against the Austrian armies of Feldzugmeister Ludwig von Benedek.

At stake was the question of whether Prussia or Austria would be the dominant power in central Europe. This battle was the largest clash of arms on the European continent since the Napoleonic Wars (the Battle of Leipzig, 1813), and would not be matched again until 50 years later at the start of the First World War in 1914.

In this innovative game from award-winning designer Hermann Luttmann, the Prussian player will be challenged to match the skill of their historical counterpart by bringing together widely separated forces to engage in a crushing assault on the defending Habsburg army. On the other side, the Austrian player must effectively engage their opponent by defeating the enemy piecemeal before their armies can join together in overwhelming numbers.

With so many choices and variables, players are assured that By Iron and Blood will always offer an engaging and challenging experience. Will the Prussians crush their foes and set the path for the creation of the new German Empire? Or will the Austrians successfully fend off their foes and retain their position of power? Play By Iron and Blood to find out."

The map

 The map may seem like a Plain Jane, but nicely done, war game map. However, the colors and various terrain make it very easy on the eyes. It is very easy to read and there is no question about what terrain each hex is. The counters appear to be laser cut and have a glossy finish to them. Each counter has a small illustration depicting what each unit actually is. The Prussian units are divided into two armies: the 1st and 2nd (the 2nd army is a lighter shade of blue). The Austrian player has both Austrian and Saxon units to command. The Rulebook is 39 pages long. It is in color and is in very large type. There are variant rules that can be added to the game. The Rulebook also includes a write-up about every Event Card in the two decks. It ends with some short Designer Notes. There are actually three decks of cards in the game - the aforementioned Event Cards and then one that decides the Prussian 2nd Army arrival times. The cards are the normal size and thickness for game decks, meaning that you might want to invest in sleeves. They come with an artwork from the battle, or war, on the reverse. These also have large type on them. There are five Player Aids in the box. These are all of card stock and glossy. Four of them, two Austrian and two Prussian, are for the fire and assault tables, these are all one-sided. The fifth one is two-sided and has the Sequence of Play and all the other information you would need on the sheet. There are also three half-page sized sheets. These are for the Turn Record Track/Victory Points and the separate Austrian and Prussian Command Points. The entire ensemble is up to snuff.

 

 This is the Sequence of Play:

Game Turn Marker Phase

Command Points Phase

Event Cards Phase

Initiative Phase

Activation Phase

End Phase

 The separate phases, and their separate actions, above are meat and potatoes to any grognard. 

Prussian Event Card

 As far as the gameplay goes, this is a Hermann Luttmann design, thus making it a no-brainer for any grognard worth his salt. Most of us fans would buy an Ant Farm if it was designed by Mr. Luttmann. That being said, the game is as tense as the battle actually was. The Prussians' 1st Army is meant to hold the Austrians in place while awaiting their 2nd Army on the Austrian right flank. The Austrian Player has better artillery but only smoothbore muskets. The Prussian troops have smoothbore cannons, and their infantry has the needle gun. There are eight Victory Point hexes that give one point per turn and three that give the Prussian Player 5 Victory Points per turn (although these are on the lower and far right of the map, if the Prussian Player gets there the game is inevitably over). The game can be won in sudden death by either side. The Austrian Player is definitely on the defensive and should make good work of his longer artillery range and only close with the Prussian troops when needed to save Victory Points. The Prussian Player has to decide how much of a drubbing his 1st Army will take in trying to wrest Victory Point hexes from the Austrians. If the Austrians have too much of a lead in Victory Points the Prussian 2nd Army arrival may not make up for them. The game ends after 12 turns.

 This is a relatively easy wargame with a small footprint. You should be able to have it on the table to study it for a good long time. That is, if you have a dedicated gaming table. If not, it is short enough to be able to easily play in one sitting. Blue Panther has it listed for four hours of playtime and a complexity of six.

 Thank you, Blue Panther, for allowing me to review this nicely done small package. Please take a look at Blue Panther's other products. My only regret is that the Battle of Königgrätz has never been given a large game as of yet as befits its huge place in the history of Europe. Nothing against this good game; I just wish that the battle had a large-scale simulation about it.

 

Robert

Blue Panther LLC:

Blue Panther LLC Home Page

By Iron and Blood: The Battle of Königgrätz July 3, 1866:

By Iron and Blood: 2nd Edition – Blue Panther (bluepantherllc.com)

 Custoza Fields of Doom

by

Europa Simulazioni

 Custoza and its fields were a crossroad in Italy for a long time. It was also essential to attack or defend the fortress system called the 'Quadrilateral' (composed of the four fortresses Peschiera, Mantua, Legnago, and Verona). The first battle in 1848 was decisive in the First War of Independence of Italy. The third battle took place during the Third war for Independence in 1866. Both battles were fought because Austria-Hungary was trying to keep control of its possessions in Northern Italy. Like many areas in Europe, because of Custoza's geography many other armies have traversed its fields also. The year 1848 saw the Hapsburg monarchy of Austria-Hungary fight for its life against the tide of revolution flowing across Europe. The Hapsburgs were barely treading water, let alone able to deal with insurrections and invasions into the outer parts of the Empire. Finally with some semblance of calm in the inner empire Franz Joseph I, the new emperor, was able to send Field Marshal Radetzky to secure its Northern Italian provinces. Unbeknownst to many, the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 also saw Austria-Hungary fighting in Italy. Custoza was the scene of another battle in this war. Why do I mention two battles? Because the game allows the players to fight both of them. So, let us see what you get with this two for one deal. These are the contents:

Two 23"x34" maps

A rules booklet (the Italian version also contains a rule booklet in Italian)

3 sheets of large (5/8") counters

Charts and tables (both in Italian and English)

Two Dice

Boxed

  This will be my third review of a Europa Simulazioni wargame. I must tell you upfront that the game impresses me as visually as the first two did. Even the artwork on their game boxes are wonderfully done. The maps that come with the game are large and have big hexes to accommodate the large 5/8"counters. The maps are extremely well done. Another thing I like about Europa Simulazioni maps are that you do not have to guess what the terrain is in each hex. They make it very easy for the player that way. There is no need for quibbling if this hex is more forest or swamp etc. The counters are very colorful without being 'busy'. You get very nice looking counters, with small black and white portraits of the different generals. The two Player Aid cards are of thick paper and are done in large print. On one side of the first one is the terrain chart. The other side has the Assault Table and the Fire Table, along with the modifiers and the Cohesion Check Modifiers Table. The other Player Aid is 'The Objective Map'. This is used in the advanced game; more on this later. The Rules Booklet is thirty-two pages long and is in black and white. The rules only take up sixteen pages, and the rest is the different scenario setups, background history, and designer notes.

  The game actually comes with these scenarios:

Three smaller ones to learn the game (two from 1866, and one from 1848).

1848 Historical

1848 Free Set-Up

1848 Late Start

1866 Historical

1866 Free Set-up

So, you get eight scenarios from two different wars in one box. Not a bad package at all.

 The game allows a player to deal with almost every problem or tactical conundrum that faced all 19th century generals. The terrain helps with that, but the various scenarios really help to put you in their shoes. The Basic Game rules only take up twelve pages. There is enough in the rules for anyone who wants to play out a 19th century battle. Where the game really shines is with the addition of the Advanced Rules. These include:

Formation Status

On March Formations

In Reserve Formations

Fatigue

Command Collapse

Line of Communication 

Reinforcements

 There are also a few Special Rules that deal with Fortresses and Night turns etc.

 This is the Objective Map below.

 This is the Basic game Sequence of Play:

"1. Initiative Determination. Each Player rolls two dice,

 adding the Command Rating of the Overall

 Commander, if in play. The player with the highest

 total is the Initiative player. Re-roll on ties.

2. Engaged Formations Action Phase.

2.1 Command Step. Check the Command Status

 of all of the units, and mark the Out of Command

 ones (4.1).

2.2 Activation Step. Starting with the Initiative

 player, both sides alternate trying to activate one

 of their Formations (5.1). A failed attempt is

 considered an attempt. Both players can choose to

 pass, and to not try to activate a Formation, but if

 players pass three times in sequence (i.e. Player 1,

 Player 2, then again Player 1), the Phase ends and

 Formations which have not been activated cannot

 activate any more on the current GT.

 NOTE: Out of Command units can still move in

 their Phase (see Step 4.)

 Once activated, the Formation’s units that are In

 Command can act, Force by Force.

 NOTE: Remember, consider a single unit as a Force.

 For each Formation to activate, conduct the following

 steps:

2.2.a) Assault and Charge declarations

 Assaults and Charges must be declared at the

 beginning of the Activation, before any action,

 using the appropriate markers (see 6.1).

2.2.b) Forces perform Actions

 Each Force belonging to the Activated Formation

 can perform one Action, potentially causing

 Reactions (see 11) by enemy Forces. A Force can

 choose one action among:

- Movement (7.0) (including any Action implying

 expenditure of Movement Points)

- Fire (8.0) (Artillery or Light Infantry), including

 movement before firing, if Light Infantry (6.4)

- Charge/Assault, including the movement to

 perform it (9.0 and 10.0)

2.2.c) End of Activation

 Eligible Forces can Recover Status Levels and/or

 Exhaustion (see 13.6).

 Remove Assault/Charge markers.

3. Non Activated Formations Phase. In Command

 units of Non Activated Formations can Recover

 Status Levels and/or from Exhaustion (see 13.6).

 They must execute Withdrawal (see 12.0) if they are

 in a ZoR.

 The Initiative Player’s units move second.

4. Out of Command Units Phase. Out of Command

 units can move now, and Recover Status Levels

 and/or from Exhaustion (see 13.6).

 They must execute Withdrawal (see 12.0) if they are

 in a ZoR. If they are not in a ZoR and move, they

 must move closer to their Commander (4.1.1).

 Initiative Player units move second.

5. End of the the Game Turn Phase.

 Remove “Low Ammo/Out of Ammo” markers.

 Advance the GT marker one box on the Turn record

 Track."

  When using the above Objective Map in the Advanced Game, only the commander and his scout unit is shown on the large map face down. Every 'On March Formation' has it's marker placed on the above Objective map. One interesting rule is that at least half of his movement allowance must be on any type of road hex. The commander also has to be at least one hex closer to his destination after movement. The designer states that both "fair play and good sense" are to be used in conjunction with the above. They must grow grognards differently in Italy. 

 So, the game comes with eight scenarios and the inclusion of the Objective Map, and the free set-up scenarios mean that the gameplay in this box is almost limitless. 

 The designer states that at first the project was boring and predictable. Their answer: "Hence the radical decision: we reset everything and started gain with a completely new system. Without using predefined schemes,  and with the basic concepts of a) non-absolute control of formations and b) continuous action/reaction, the system that you find was born". Historically, in 1866 the cavalry of both sides were not used to their fullest advantage. Both sides groped about the battlefield trying to find each other. In these essentially Napoleonic battles I am sure that most grognards will do better. The games revolve around a unit's cohesion, and its ability to withstand the enemy fires and then use shock. In my eyes Europa Simulazioni has hit the mark with this game. As long as you are a fan of 19th century warfare, you should be a fan of this game. Thank you Europa Simulazioni for allowing me to review this unknown, but very welcome addition to battles of the 19th century.

This is the link to the English Rules:

Custoza-Rules-P1-2-Eng.pdf (italianwars.net)

This is the link to Europa Simulazioni:

Europa Simulazioni - Home (italianwars.net)

This is the Link to Custoza: Fields of Doom:

Europa Simulazioni - Custoza, fields of doom (italianwars.net)

Robert