"Imperial Bayonets: For Liberty & Lombardy - 1859" is the second board-wargame in the Imperial Bayonets series.
"Imperial Bayonets" is a new planned series of Grand Tactical wargames covering the 18th-19th centuries. The series rules use a hack of the tried and true NLB mechanics in order to simulate what was, at the time, the largest campaign since Leipzig. 1859 occupies an interesting place in military history, post Crimean war, tactics had barely improved much beyond their Napoleonic forefathers. Cavalry had been rendered nearly useless in terms of shock, and artillery began to dominate the battlefield even more so than it already did.
1859 also is notable as it features one of the last successful campaigns of Napoleon III and the French Second Empire. The French martial philosophy of Le Systeme D’ (loosely translated to ‘Muddling Through’) which doomed them to failure in 1870 against Prussia, propelled them to victory against a much lesser opponent in Austria. Fresh off their victory in the Crimea, France and Piedmont were considered two of the finest armies in the world.
"For Liberty & Lombardy: 1859" includes 4 stand-alone wargames on the major battles of the campaign.