Orders of Battle

* = unit armed with SM, the rest armed with MLR.

Austrian 7th Corps

Corps HQ: No leader (Zobel: counts as army leader)

Franco - Piedmontese Forces

Unless noted all troops are Piedmontese. The lower case letter refers to deployment on the table and the reinforcement schedule. For the 1st and 3rd Divisions each 13 strong unit should lose a average dice - 1 stands to reflect previous loses, etc..

C in C: 1 Exceptional Leader (Victor Emmanuel) - see special rules below.

• Unit b is facing towards entry point A.

• Units k and l are facing towards entry point C.

• Unit h is facing towards Confienza.

• Unit j is in ditch facing towards the nearby road. This unit does not have to be placed on the table.

• Cialdini and the 4th Divisions artillery are placed within 12" of Palestro.

• Victor Emmanuel is in the center of Palestro.

• All other units (a, c, d, e, f, g and i) are facing towards entry point B.

08:30 Austrians: Jellacic and Koudelka's Brigade enters at Point B. Weigl's Brigade enters at Point C. Roll a D6, if a 1 or 2 Szabo's Brigade enters at Point A.

09:00 Austrians: Szabo's Brigade arrives at Point A, if they have not yet arrived.

1st Piedmontese Division: The units of this division appear in the order m, n, o, p. One of these groups of reinforcements appear per turn starting with the 13:00 turn, if not already all on table. In addition if an Austrian unit is within 12" of Confienza at the beginning of the Allied turn a group or additional group arrives. All units from this division appear within 8" of point Z and are in any formation desired.

3rd Piedmontese Division: Units of this division always appear one group per turn and in the order q, r, s, t, u. They arrive an hour after any Austrian unit has entered Palestro or starting from the 14:00 turn. So if an Austrian unit enters Palestro during the 11:30 turn the first units (marked q) would arrive on the 12:30 Allied turn. All units appear between points X and Y in any desired formation.

End of Game: The end of the game is when the last Austrian unit exits the table or is destroyed or at the end of the 18:00 Allied turn.

Terrain

Special Rules

The 3rd Zouave Regt: This unit should not be deployed on the table. Instead it is hidden in the Sesietta Ditch and unless it moves or fires need not be placed on table. The existence of this unit should, if possible, be unknown to the Austrians. If an Austrian unit moves within 1" of this unit, when hidden, it stops, becomes disordered and the Zouaves are placed on table. Once during the game if this unit is hidden it may launch a surprise attack. In addition to any other bonus's applicable this unit gets an additional +1 in melee for that turn.

Victor Emmanuel: During the early part of the King of Piedmont watched the battle from a church tower in Palestro. Where his presence bolstered nearby units. He should therefore be placed in the center of Palestro and count as an exceptional commander to units within 6". From this position he may not move unless the 3rd Zouaves launch a surprise attack or the Austrians overrun his position. If the former happens Victor Emmanuel may be attached to the Zouaves to lead the attack. After this attack or if overrun he may return to the church tower with the same restrictions as above. Or he may remain attached to the Zouaves or attach himself to any other unit. He may never function as a normal unit, he should either be attached to a unit or in the church tower.

Victory Points

In addition to the normal victory points awarded for damaging or destroying units the following points may be awarded.

The Allies

• 15 v.p's If the Austrians never enter Palestro during the game.

The Austrians

• 15 v.p's If at the end of any turn a non spent infantry unit is in Palestro.

• 5 v.p's If at the end of any turn a non spent infantry unit is in Confienza.

• 2 v.p's per turn that any non spent infantry unit is within 12" of Palestro at the end of an Allied turn.

• 1 v. p per turn that any non spent infantry unit is within 12" of Confienza at the end of an Allied turn.

• 1 v. p. per infantry unit exited between point A and C from the 13:00 turn.

• 1/2 a v. p. per artillery unit exited between point A and C from the 13:00 turn.

The Historical Battle

First into action were the brigades of Dorndorf and Koudelka who advanced to attack the Piedmontese units stationed in front of Palestro. The initial assault buckled the Piedmontese line and broke the left (unit d). Following up this success the Austrians were repulsed by the reserve line, who counter-attacked the exposed Austrian flank. The Austrians then regrouped and committed fresh troops for a second attack. This was only stopped by a determined defense of the outskirts of Palestro. A counter-attack then pushed the Austrians back in some disorder.

Meanwhile Szabo's Brigade had commenced its attack. Having crossed the bridge over the Sartirana Ditch they were confronted by a detachment of the 9th Regiment (unit b) guarding the San Pietro Farm. This unit put up a sterling defence before surrendering the farm to the Austrians. Its resistance had bought enough time for the 16th Regiment to intervene on this flank. Yet it was not to be this unit that delivered the decisive blow. For the 3rd Zouaves had been biding their time hidden in the Sesietta Ditch. The Austrians had unwittingly presented their flank to this hidden enemy. Having been joined by Victor Emmanuel they launched a devastating assault. Szabo's Brigade attacked in both front and flank dissolved in rout, with many drowning attempting to recross Sartirana Ditch.

On the Austrian right Weigl had been making slow progress in his advance on Confienza. The Bersaglieri of 1st Division had proved difficult opponents and there were signs that the rest of the 1st Division were about to arrive. So with the left destroyed and little being achieved elsewhere Zobel decided to withdraw. The remaining Austrian units then withdrew back through Robbio. Pursued by the Allies who were being reinforced by the Piedmontese 1st and 3rd Division.

The Austrian had come close to wrestling control of Palesto back. They had also established that the enemy were in the area in force. It still took some time for the Austrian commander to realize that the enemy had switched to the attack. The battle had also established the reputation of the French infantry. The spectacular attack of the 3rd Zouave Regiment inspired the term 'la furia francese' to describe French tactics.