Sadowa 1866
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Price: 27.90 €
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Sadowa: a name that sounds like a thunderclap at the turn of the 19th century. Also known as Königgrätz in the German-speaking world, it was the biggest battle in the Western world after the Napoleonic Wars and right up to the First World War.
It was also, contrary to all expectations, the fall of the power that had dominated the Germanic world for four centuries.
After little more than a week of campaigning and a series of minor battles that undermined the Austrian army, 220,000 Prussians faced 180,000 Austrians allied with 20,000 Saxons positioned on high ground with their backs to the Elbe.
The defensive situation chosen was both interesting and perilous. The Prussians had not yet regrouped at the start of the day, but went on the attack all the same. It was a resounding victory for the Prussian troops. It would change the face of Europe forever.
By the end of the day on 3 July 1866, 21,000 Austro-Saxons were out of action and 20,000 others had been taken prisoner: a quarter of the army in the north of the Habsburg Empire had been eliminated, and the rest retreated in great disorder to cover Vienna. The Prussians suffered ‘only’ 9,000 casualties despite a hot situation in the middle of the day. Austria was definitively rejected by the Germanic world, which would finish building German unity around Prussia four years later.
Based on the series Les Grandes Batailles de Napoléon III (VaeVictis no. 55, no. 73, 138, 157, 166 and 174), the system is simple and dynamic, emphasising the commitment of troops in the face of deadly defensive fire.
This game is the final battle in the series devoted to the War of 1866 in Bohemia. A campaign system - which can be downloaded from the VaeVictis website - allows you to play through the first six battles (VaeVictis nos. 157, 166 and 174), leading to a situation that is potentially different from the historical one. If the Austrian forces had beaten the Prussian 2nd Army and Sadowa had never existed, the decisive battle could have taken place at Gitschin...
The game includes :
- A 59 x 41 cm map
- 216 pre-cut counters and markers
- A rulebook
- Two scenarios
- A player's aid