Game of the Week, Sept 22-28

This week we’re heading back to 1809 and the fast-moving opening of the War of the Fifth Coalition. Campaign Eckmühl is our Game of the Week — now 25% off through Sunday, September 28 — and it drops you right into Napoleon’s spring counterstroke against Archduke Charles in Bavaria. Can the French concentration come together in time…or will the Austrians smash the scattered “Army of Germany” in detail?

"Tapfere Krieger Bayerns! Österreichs Armee nähert sich Euch.
Sie geht nicht auf Eroberung fremder Staaten aus, ihr Zweck ist, dem unterdrückten Europa seine Fesseln zu lösen."

("Brave soldiers of Bavaria! The Austrian army is approaching you.
It is not seeking to conquer foreign states; its purpose is to free oppressed Europe from its shackles.") - Archduke Karl (Austrian appeal to Bavarian troops as the offensive opens, 10 Apr 1809)

In the spring of 1809, Austria gambled that a rapid offensive in Germany could break Napoleon’s system of satellite states while much of his veteran manpower was tied down in Spain. Archduke Charles assembled the main army on the Bavarian frontier and, in early April, crossed the Inn into Napoleon’s ally Bavaria, hoping to beat the scattered French–German contingents before the Emperor could arrive. The opening favored Vienna: Napoleon’s chief of staff, Berthier, misread pre-campaign instructions and left Marshal Davout’s III Corps dangerously exposed around Regensburg while other elements—Bavarians under Lefebvre, Württembergers, Oudinot’s forming corps, and Bessières’s cavalry—were strung out along the Isar and Danube corridors.

"J'arrive avec la rapidité de l'éclair…"
("I arrive with the rapidity of lightning...") - Napoleon, proclamation before Eckmühl, April 1809 

Napoleon reached the theater in mid-April and, with his trademark speed, converted a precarious deployment into an opportunity. He ordered Davout to fight his way west toward the rest of the army while he himself drove south to unhinge the Austrian left. On 19 April, Davout’s hard marching and stubborn action around Teugen–Hausen kept Charles from severing the French concentration. Napoleon then executed a violent pivot: on 20 April at Abensberg and on 21 April at Landshut, he hammered the Austrian wing under Hiller, seized river crossings on the Isar, and threatened the enemy’s communications. With Hiller reeling, Napoleon wheeled back north, now holding the initiative and interior lines.

The campaign’s fulcrum came on 22 April near Eckmühl. There, coordinated attacks—Davout pressing from the east, with Napoleon bringing Lannes, Lefebvre, and the Guard into the fight—split the Austrian position and forced Charles to yield the south bank of the Danube. The next day, 23 April, the French stormed Regensburg, pushing the Austrians over the river and clearing the road to Vienna. In five days of rapid maneuver and consecutive blows, Napoleon had rescued a fractured start, bloodied the Austrian offensive, and set the stage for the Danube battles that followed—Aspern-Essling in May and Wagram in July.

What’s in the Game?

Campaign Eckmühl covers these major battles:

• Teugen-Hausen — 19 April 1809. 

• Abensberg — 20 April 1809. 

• Rohr — 20 April 1809

• Landshut — 21 April 1809 

• Eckmühl (Eggmühl) — 22 April 1809. 

• Ratisbon (Regensburg) — 23 April 1809. 

• Sacile — 15–16 April 1809. 

• Soave / Caldiero — 27–30 April 1809

Campaign Eckmühl is packed with content and tools to let you explore (or rewrite) the 1809 campaign:

• 222 scenarios of all sizes, including a solo tutorial, plus variants tuned for vs. AI and head-to-head play.

• A master map of 326,825 hexes (approx 2,800 km² or 1,100 miles²) covering the key Bavaria/Danube battlefields.

• Historically researched Orders of Battle for both sides, with additional formations for what-ifs.

• Full Campaign & Scenario Editors (with sub-map support) to build your own battles.

• Multiple play options: AI, PBEM, LAN/Internet live play, and hot-seat.

Note: The game is updated to the latest version (4.09.3). You can see the changelog for what is new in this release.

Campaign Eckmühl is the first game on the 1809 Campaign, which finds its conclusion in Campaign Wagram (Note: If you own both Eckmühl and Wagram, you can play one huge combined campaign game, that connects the Eckmühl campaign game with the Wagram campaign.)

Book and Video Recommendations 

Some book recommendations for you to get in-depth information about the 18098 campaign. (Clicking the cover image leads you to Amazon)

Arnold, James R. Crisis on the Danube: Napoleon’s Austrian Campaign of 1809. 1st ed. Paragon House, 1990.- Arnold is known for balancing readability with solid research. This book condenses the 1809 campaign into a single volume, focusing on Napoleon’s response to Archduke Charles’ invasion of Bavaria. Includes tactical maps and vivid battle descriptions.

Petre, F. Loraine. Napoleon and the Archduke Charles: A History of the Franco-Austrian Campaign in the Valley of the Danube 1809. Frontline Books, 2017. - 

A classic and still valuable study, first published in 1909. Petre offers a narrative-rich and strategic-level look at the 1809 campaign. While some interpretations are outdated, his account of movements, personalities, and battlefield decisions remains a strong foundation.

And finally: 

Gill, John H. 1809, Thunder on the Danube. Volume I. Frontline Books, 2014.

Gill, John H. 1809, Thunder on the Danube. Volume II. Frontline Books, 2014.

Gill, John H. 1809, Thunder on the Danube. Volume III. Frontline Books, 2014.

This is the definitive English-language account of the 1809 campaign. Spread over three volumes, Gill covers the political context, troop movements, and detailed battle analysis—including Teugen-Hausen, Abensberg, Eckmühl, and Ratisbon. The work is scholarly but readable, and maps are plentiful.

Additionally, here is a gameplay video from our own YouTube Channel and a historical documentary from Kings & Generals

Screenshots

Here are some screenshots, to get an impression of the game. As with the entire Napoleonic Battle series, this title has three 2D views and two 3D views to choose from. (Clicking on the screenshots opens them in full resolution)

If you don’t already own this title, what are you waiting for? You can buy it directly from the dedicated product page.

We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week. Like all WDS titles, there is a lot of gameplay included at a very attractive price.