Historical Background
Archduke John made a fateful decision after his sharp defeat at the Piave River. He unwisely split his army into detachments to defend the southern approaches to the Austrian Empire. Jerome and Marmont took full advantage and mauled or destroyed several of these outnumbered forces. John reunited his depleted army, and retreated north to a strong defensive position along the Pancza Stream near Raab. Eugene arrived early in the morning on the 14th and deployed his French and Italian forces in a position to be able to attack or defend. About 12 noon he realized that the Austrians were not going to attack and ordered his army forward. Eugene's plan was to turn the Austrian left flank with his cavalry, while Serra's division pinned the Austrian center by attacking the strong Kis-Megyer Farm position. Serra could not make any headway against the farm and it was Durutte and Severoli to his left that gained the other side of the Pancza Stream first.
Durutte's attempt to take the farm also failed, along with Severoli's attempt to secure the village of Szabathegy. While Durutte and Severoli were falling back to regroup, Montbrun and Guedin's cavalry were finding it very difficult to cross the stream. French horse artillery was brought forward, and their fire disrupted enough of the Austro-Hungarian horse to allow the French cavalry to cross. Once across the French cavalry destroyed the Austrian horse and turned to attack the Austrian center. About the same
time, Eugene sent forward Pacthod's reserve Division, and along with Serra managed to destroy the tenacious Landwehr garrison of Kis-Megyer Farm which had earned a place in Austrian lore that day by refusing to retreat. Losing the farm shattered the stream defense and forced the Austrians to retreat back onto the heights. With the loss of his cavalry and the French now close to collapsing his center, John was left with little choice but to retreat. Marziani quickly organized a rear guard and managed to delay the
French advance. Most of the soldiers escaped, but the army was so badly disorganized that it was unable to effectively intervene in the upcoming battle of Wagram.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?
Battle Notes
Austrian Army
* Commander: Archduke John (Iconic)
* Prior to the first turn one Hungarian +1 marker may be placed on three Austrian Line units
• 4 Command Cards
| Austrian Corps Commanders | Right | Center | Left |
| Command | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Tactician | 3 | 3 | 3 |
French Army
• Commander: Eugene
• 5 Command Cards
• Move First 
| French Corps Commanders | Left | Center | Right |
| Command | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Tactician | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Victory
19 Banners
Special Rules
* The Austrians gain 1 Temporary Victory Banner at the start of the turn, for each battlefield commander’s 2 sections without a French unit across the Pancza Stream. The Austrians start with 3 Victory Banners.
* The French are racing against time. The Austrians may take 1 Victory Banner and only draw one card instead of two when playing a Scout Command card.
* The two farm hexes of Kis-Megyer form a Temporary Group Victory Banner worth 3 banners for the French at the start of the turn.
* The two town hexes of Szabathegy form a Temporary Group Victory Banner worth 3 banners for the French at the start of the turn.
* The Pancza Stream stops movement for Infantry and Cavalry and is impassable for Artillery. The stream does not have any into or out battle reduction for Infantry. The stream does not have any into battle reduction for Cavalry. The stream will break a cavalry charge and a Cavalry unit is -2 dice when battling out. The stream does not have any into battle reduction for Artillery. There are no movement or battle restrictions at the fords or bridge hexes.
© 2025 GMT Games, LLC