Imperial Bayonets: Solferino 1859 – For Liberty & Lombardy

Imperial Bayonets: Solferino 1859 – For Liberty & Lombardy is the first game in a planned grand-tactical series covering warfare in the long 19th century. Using grand-tactical mechanics adapted from the tried-and-true NLB system, it recreates the 1859 Franco-Austrian War: the largest European campaign since Leipzig.

The game captures a transitional moment in military history. Armies still fought in ways that would have been recognizable to Napoleonic commanders, but rifled muskets had changed the battlefield dramatically. Cavalry shock was fading, artillery remained deadly, and infantry firepower was becoming the dominant killer on the battlefield.

The subject also gives players one of Napoleon III’s last great successes. France and Piedmont enter the campaign with strong reputations after the Crimean War, while Austria must face a fast-moving enemy under difficult conditions.

For Liberty & Lombardy includes three major battle games — Montebello, Magenta, and Solferino — with additional variants, including the Italian assault on San Martino. It also includes a campaign game using the Long Century Operations Series rules, allowing players to fight the wider 1859 campaign as well as its major battles.