Blood & Iron: Bismarck's Wars for Empire (1993)

This Corps-Division level wargame covers 5 formative wars of the mid-19 Century :

• The Risorgimento of 1859 between France and Austria that resulted in the formation of modern Italy;
• The German-Danish War of 1864 that established Prussia as the Protector of German Nationalism;
• The Seven Weeks' War of 1866 where Prussia beat Austria to become the political and military leader of central Europe;
• The Italo-Austrian War of 1866 that introduced iron-clad steam-powered warship fleets to the military balance of power;
• The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 that allowed the realization of the Prussian dream of a German Empire and set the stage for World War One.

Players are faced with strategic and operational challenges as they form their units into field corps and armies, never quite certain of the enemy's strength and intentions. Geography will determine areas of maneuver. Once battle is joined, commanders will have to decide whether to fight, reinforce, or withdraw. Winning or losing one battle may trigger military action on the part of other nations that can help or hurt your cause.

Command, supply, and technology will all play their respective roles in these wars. Each scenario has specific rules that focus the game system on the military advances and limitations of each of the 5 conflicts. Extensive historical commentary illuminates the importance of the military actions within the politics of 19th Century Europe.

The armies of 21 nations, large and small, took part in these struggles for continental domination - from France, Prussia, and Austria to Saxe-Meinigen and the Papal States. Every signficant field force is represented in this intensive study of strategy and operational interaction. Scale is 35 mies per hex and 3 days per turn.

BLOOD & IRON contains Second Edition rules incorporating all known errata and frequently asked questions from the First Edition. The Second Edition rules may be distinguished by looking at the upper right hand corner of the back cover where the changes from the First Edition rules are noted.

There are three games called Blood & Iron, the other two are more tactical.