Radetzky's March

I recently purchased "Radetzky's March: The Hundred Hours Campaign", a board wargame by Sergio Schiavi on the 1849 campaign of Novara between Piedmontese and Austrians. It's the final campaign of the 1st Italian Independence War and Marshal Radetzky's final victory: defeated King Charles Albert decided to abdicate and further hopes of Italian reunifications were crushed until 1859.

Radetzky's March box content - not shown here there are
also counters with soldiers' silhouettes,
which help recognition

The game has a simple chit-pull mechanic, where each player has a number of command points each turn that allow him to select a certain number of unit formation chits (Corps for Austrians, Divisions or independent Brigade for Piedmontese). Each chit is pulled at random and all action done, then a new chit is pulled. Special "overall commander" chits (Radetzky and Chrzanowski) are available to activate up to 3 previously selected chits together, as if they were a single unit (very useful for combined attacks), but they can be used only every other turn. A free "independent" chit is alway available to move a few units even outside their normal command structure, as long as they weren't already activated (and they can't be activated again in that same turn).

Combat mechanics are fast and mostly intuitive, with an added "charge" mechanic that isn't as complex as in many other similar games and makes Cavalry a useful asset despite its lower combat value (as historically). After a few turns, I was checking the rulebook less and less often, until I didn't need to check it again, also thanks to a useful Quick Reference Sheet.  This is always a good sign, because it makes for a faster gameplay and is a mark of a game design that "makes sense". Combat tables are printed on the map, allowing a fast reference during combat rolls. In other words, players really can concentrate on what to do, and not on "how the mechanic to do it works", which both speeds up play and keeps it fun.

The action is fast, tense and both players have lots of choices to make: should the Piedmontese push across the Ticino towards Milan, in order to threaten it (and get victory points)? Or would they just concentrate on protecting Piedmont, especially the key towns of Mortara and Vigevano, which are right in the path of advancing Austrians? When to commit reserves? When to retreat in order to avoid casualties and regroup? When is Ramorino going to enter and threaten the enemy flank?

How many troops should the Austrians send to counter the Piedmontese moves towards Milan, if any? Where to cross the Ticino and how to organize the advance north towards Mortara, Vigevano and ultimately Novara? Would sending troops west towards Casale, Vercelli (and ultimately Turin) be useful due to the linked victory points, or would that weaken the main effort too much? How many troops to employ to screen Ramorino's division, a small but not-to-be-overlooked threat?

In addition to the main campaign, there are several smaller scenarios, useful to learn the rules. At first I tried 2 of them: "La Sforzesca" (which deals with action at Vigevano, roughly 1 Austrian Corps vs 2 Piedmontese Divisions) and "21 Marzo. La Risposta Piemontese" (which is the situation during March 21st, basically the Sforzesca scenario with the action at Mortara added, so roughly 2 Austrian Corps vs 4 Piedmontese Divisions). They were fun and easy to play, and I think they gave me a good comprehension of the main rules.

I then tried the main historical campaign. You'll find the report here!