Duel of Eagles - Mars-La-Tour 1870

The Battle of Mars-la-Tour, most famous for von Bredow’s “Deathride” and the huge cavalry battle that occurred outside of Yron, was in fact a critical turning point in both the Franco-Prussian War and the course of European history. The French loss at this battle essentially lead to the end of the Second Empire of Napoleon III and helped give birth to Bismarck’s Second Reich.

Duel of Eagles is a two-player game depicting the entirety of this remarkable battle. One player represents Moltke’s forces marching under the banner of the Prussian Eagle, still confident from their decisive victory over the Austrians at Koniggratz in 1866. The other player commands the proud French forces fighting under the Imperial Eagle of another, but ultimately lesser, Napoleon. The players must contend with a very unusual military situation since strategic circumstances created an encounter that began as a lopsided meeting engagement and ended as a brutal slugfest, inflicting more than 30,000 casualties on the participants.

Duel of Eagles is a game of moderate complexity and size. Players maneuver brigades of infantry and cavalry along with batteries of artillery on a beautifully detailed map of the battlefield. The game applies a chit-pull Corps activation system which models the friction and confusion of battle. In addition, special Event chits represent important historical factors such as the French Chassepot rifle’s deadly “beaten zone”, the Prussian’s superior steel Krupp cannons, the initiative of Prussian Colonel Caprivi and the lethargy of French Marshal Bazaine. A player’s proper and timely use of Event chits can often decide the battle in his or her favor.

Players will have many critical decisions to make while the battle ebbs and flows throughout the course of the game. As the Prussian player, are you up to the challenge of fighting a delaying action against the entire French Army until all your forces arrive on the field of battle? As the French player, can you break out of the trap and bring glory back to the Empire? Play Duel of Eagles and find out!

Polybag Game Components:

One 12-page, full-color Rules booklet

One 17" x 22" game map (two sections)

165 thick, double-sided, multi-shaped game pieces

2 Player Aids

1 Setup / Reinforcement card

One six-sided 5mm die