Aspern-Essling was fought at the culmination of Napoleon's daring gamble to cross the Danube with hopes of catching the Austrians before they escaped destruction. Far from retreating, Archduke Charles hoped to strike the French a blow as they were precariously astride the river. The result was two desperate days of combat amidst the villages of Aspern-Essling.

At the end, the Austrians had successfully fought off Napoleon's finest, giving the Emperor his first defeat in ten years. The French retreated across the Danube in near panic leaving the field in Charles' hands.

This game gives the full panoply of Napoleonic battle-artillery, cavalry, charges, various infantry formations--all in a straight-forward fun game system. Aspern-Essling is the third game in the Napoleonic Brigade Series (Austerlitz and Marengo being the first two) whose purpose is to show the Napoleonic battles in enough detail to hold the interest of the serious student, but easy enough for the beginner.

Aspern-Essling comes with the latest v2.5 series rules (applicable to the earlier games as well). These rules correct all known errata from the previous v2.0 rules...no major changes, just polish and clean-up.

A feature of both this series and its sister 13-game Civil War Brigade Series is its unique command system. This system allows players to fill the shoes of the historical commanders in a way never before available. Orders go forth, some get lost, others are confused, commanders sometimes take the initiative to do good, other times do something you wish they hadn't--just like real life. The command system (which has been giving players a good time for over 10 years) allows the best solitaire experience available today!