Gettysburg Refight - Bloody Big Battles

So yesterday we tried out the not quite finished game board to see how everything worked; Bob and Rick took the side of the Union with myself and Haim trying to win the war as the Confederates.

The view looking south over Gettysburg towards Cemetery Ridge with, as yet, no soldiers in sight.

And then into the Round Tops and Devil's Den.  The wooded areas are not yet finished and a collection of hand made and bog brush trees adorn the chocolate brown areas where they will go.

The first day opened with Buford riding hard to the south to deny the Confederates deployment zones and Steinwehr deploying to cover Seminary Ridge, an aggressive opening gambit that went sour fast for the boys in blue as it resulted in 4 Confederate divisions swatting the German Corps with contempt and catching the reserves in column; only a flank charge by Buford's horse boys was able to keep the Rebs out of Gettysburg and allow a much needed respite to call up the reserves.

Day 2 dawned with the Union deciding that the Peach Orchard was the place to be while the Confederate battle plan coalesced around an assault up Cemetery Ridge from the vicinity of the Seminary while Longstreet sought to assault north through Devil's Den into the Orchard, bypassing the formidable Round Tops.

(Longstreet advances on the Peach Orchard)

(View from Little Round Top across to Seminary Ridge)

(Union troops watch the assault on Gettysburg)

A savage battle erupted around Plum Run with Union troops on the Round Tops pouring fire into the flank of the advancing Confederates but the Peach Orchard finally fell when batteries of the Army Reserve were able to bring fire into the defenders rear.  Meanwhile the Main Confederate force became fixated with taking the town as a prelude to assaulting the Cemetery but the Union failed to penalise this due to a staff error neglecting to bring forward whole corps of reserves, something that was to prove fatal to the Union cause.

Finally the Confederates were able to mount a sustained and unrelenting assault against Cemetery Hill and Ridge and as the second day ended the Union were in full retreat getting inextricably mixed up with their belated reserves so once day three dawned they were in no position to recapture the high ground and after a half hearted attempt to shake themselves out finally called the attempt off and began to compose their excuses for the Washington Post and to work out who was to blame for the disaster that had befallen the North's cause.

The final view from the defenders of Little Round Top as the Union army disintegrates.

Overall it was a great game with plenty of manoeuvre and desperate hand to hand struggles and now makes one win all; both sides are eager for a rematch and the next outing will be a reversal of sides with hopefully one more game before Warfare.  Next step is to finish off the wooded areas and neaten up some of the roads and other terrain pieces but all should be done in plenty of time for the show.