The First Battle Lost, 1809 in Germany, Series 3

There are so many interesting scenarios (with Bavarians!) I cannot wait to get some of these on the table and fight them out. As always this is a quality book, lots and lots and lots of images. EVEN IF you don't play ESR this is a huge resource for your collection.

The campaign guides from the Wargaming Company have been a staple of my Napoleonic rules library. The campaign books typically come with a short historical overview, a complete linked campaign of the era covered, scenarios ranging from Beginner through Expert and all types and sizes, and the capper of it all - a section of uniform plates that provide a guide to painting miniatures for every single unit and country featured in the guide. The scenarios are great, but the book is worth the uniform plates alone; there's no need to conduct your own research!

The 1809 S 3 campaign guide specifically covers a slew of scenarios from the 1809 campaign, including French, Austrians, Russians, Poles, and many minor nations. This particular campaign appeals to those who eschew the United Kingdom-centric campaigns (the Peninsula and Waterloo) and instead want to game in one of the largest theatres of the Napoleonic Wars: Prussia and minor German States.

With over 14 scenarios that can be linked together, you have small scenarios involving one or two formations, such as Raszyn, all the way up to the mother of the campaign, Aspern-Essling.

While the maps are detailed and gorgeous, your table will likely have to make some accommodations, as I've never seen a tabletop as detailed as these maps are. Using them as a guide, however, you'll be able to approximate the tabletop. And because ESR is scale agostic, dimensions are given in miles that you can convert to your preferred scale (with guidance in the ESR Series 3 rulebook).

I just can't recommend the ESR campaign guides enough. The main drawback to Napoleonic gaming has always been the number of miniatures you need to play, but buying the campaign guide now insures you don't miss out on it when you want it. I found the guide to be a good source of inspiration, and my early games were just square bases with labels on them.

If you are a Napoleonic miniature veteran, there is much to like in this book even if you don't play ESR. If you are a new historical gamer, this book (along with the ESR Series 3 rules) can get you started. And if you are an existing historical gamer thinking about taking the dive into the "Moby Dick" of historical wargaming periods, then this campaign guide (or another one that interests you more) is a great place to begin to think through your Napoleonic project.

Huzzah to yet another great campaign guide installment from the TWC!