Big Muddy Historical Gaming Alliance – St. Louis October Game Day East Pub Battles Gettysburg

Our October Game Day East featured two games focused on American History. Our second table featured Pub Battles Gettysburg presented by Tom Vielott with his enlarged and expanded game kit including 3D miniatures and a much larger map making the game much more visually interesting. 

Our commanders were for the Union Adam J and Jay C, while the Rebels were lead by Les H and Kevin F.  

Tom not only presented a great looking historical battle but was kind enough to send in both a report of how the game progressed so we will turn it over to him …….

“Gettysburg day 1 AAR:

“We replayed the first day of Gettysburg with the Pub Battles Divisional level rules.” 

“The rules did a good job of recreating the problems that the armies faced on the first day – neither was concentrated on the battlefield initially, so the balance of forces shifted back and forth.”

“Much as happened historically, the union fought a delaying action on Seminary ridge, but was outflanked by the arrival of the confederate 2nd corps. Unfortunately for the union, they had positioned their baggage train too close to the front lines, and the confederate breakthrough that resulted overran the baggage.” 

“Fierce fighting on Cemetery hill inflicted serious casualties on the confederates, but the loss of Buford’s Cavalry and the 1st corps baggage made the situation significantly worse for the Union at the end of day 1 than it was historically.”

“Overall, a good game and a good example of the game mechanics revealing the system dynamics that produced the historical result”

One of the Northern players was Jay and his description follows giving us two different perspectives on this most famous of battles from our history.

“General John Buford sat on his horse as he observed preparations by his men to get defenses ready north and west of the town of Gettysburg. There were a lot of questions he faced that he didn’t have sure answers for. Lee’s army was coming and soon, but so was the Union army and General Reynolds should be arriving mid morning tomorrow. The biggest question he had no control over would be who would arrive and when. Realizing his cavalry unit was going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the number of troops that the Confederate army had coming, he considered that he would have an important role to play early by delaying the Confederates approaching Gettysburg as much as possible to buy time to give the Federals a chance to set up defenses on good ground south and east of the city.” 

“We got together for the monthly “Game day east” session and this particular game was the first day of the battle of Gettysburg Pub Battle Rules style. Tom V was officiating with Adam and Jay as the Federals while Kevin and Les ran the Confederates. This is a small scale miniature battle played on a regular map. The map is taken from official sources and should look very familiar to anyone who has seen a map of the Gettysburg area during this time period. (We even had someone walk by and comment “Oh Gettysburg, nice!”). Tom’s troops are 3D printed in color, so no painting required. The other game markers and aids are also 3D printed as well. The rules set used (Pub Battle rules) is meant to be a quick and simple set of rules for miniature gaming. One of the keys for the civil war era is when to get out of march mode along a road and deploy for combat. Another key element is setting up so that troops have support. Tom briefed us on the basics and we got started.” 

“The game starts with just General Buford’s cavalry on the map, however AP Hill’s troops don’t waste anytime streaming in from the north west towards Gettysburg. However, with Buford’s cavalry in the way, Hill must change from marching along the road at a fast speed to deploying his troops to get Buford out of the way which is what they do. Union troops under Reynolds start coming on from the south and also move up the road as fast as they can to try to slow Hill’s advance down. Buford’s cavalry successfully delays Hill’s troops, but gets disorganized and retreats.” 

“The Union position isn’t a good one and is further compounded by the appearance of Ewell from the north. With the map edge where it is in relation to Gettysburg, it seems like Ewell’s troops come right in on the Union troops north flank. More troops are coming for the Union, but they are not as many or as close as what the Confederates have. The Confederates have been getting the better of the initiative (determines the unit order for movement and most of the Confederates have been getting to go earlier). Some grumbling is heard from the Union side about stacking the deck and/or payoffs. (Cards are drawn for order).” 

“The situation threatens to get out of hand for the Union as the Confederates push hard. The Confederate assaults do wind up in troops on both sides becoming disorganized. (In this game system, troops are reorganized by being near a deployed wagon train). With the added pressure from the north from Ewell, the Union baggage train is threaten. Buford makes a charge into Ewell’s troops on the main road in an attempt to try to slow them down. Unfortunately, Buford gets smoked (hot dice from the Confederates), but manages to disorganize the lead elements and the Confederates must pause and reorganize the thrust up the main road. Reynolds continues to be pressed hard by Hills troops.”

“Mid-afternoon sees Ewell finally push through Gettysburg, finding Reynolds baggage train and wiping it out. Reynolds withdraws the best he can towards the hills south and east of town, but also keeps troops on Cemetery Ridge. More Union troops have been arriving to set up on defensive positions and just when it looks like the Confederates are going to run the Union off the board, the Confederate attacks go bad on both flanks. At Cemetery ridge, Hill is repulsed and has troops disorganized and loses a unit as well. He had the Union down to their last fresh unit, but it held firm. Early launches an attack on Howard sitting on Benner’s Hill, but not only does this not go well, Early’s attackers are flanked by another unit of Union troops, which sends him packing with the loss of a unit and other units being disorganized. (The Union really needed a turn like this to save their bacon and they got it). “

“As the first day winds down, both sides get more troops and Ewell launches one last attack on Benner’s Hill and is again repulsed with disorganized troops streaming back into camp from the attack attempt.”

“As we look to wind up the game (it is now mid afternoon with no chance of getting another day of battle done in the time left), the Confederates have done slightly better than historical. Both sides have lost two units (Confederate 2 infantry and Union baggage train and cavalry). Unfortunately, the baggage train is the big one because it makes much harder for the Union to reorganize troops. They have another one that arrived during the evening, but it can’t cover the entire front and it will be a bit before another one shows up. In the meantime, the Confederates have 3 baggage trains they can use to reorganize their troops. It is not a clear decisive win by the Confederates and the issue is still in doubt, but the Confederates do have the advantage. “

“Overall, this was a lot of fun to play and everyone had a good time.”

Thanks to Tom and Jay for the great reports on the game We also would like to offer our Thanks to all the players who came out to enjoy a fun afternoon of gaming. As always we extend our ongoing appreciation to Impact Game Center for their continued support. 

Remember to shop local! 

Big Muddy Historical Game Alliance of Greater St. Louis

Our public educational demonstrations including rules and game evaluation sessions use historical miniature and historical board gaming to explore military history, historical decision-making, and the people, places, and events of the past.

Historical Gaming in Action is a public educational program presented by the Big Muddy Historical Game Alliance of Greater St. Louis.

Using miniature figures, terrain, maps, historical research, and guided play, our games explore military history through the decisions faced by commanders, soldiers, and communities. Visitors can examine the table, ask questions, learn about the historical setting, and—when space and time permit—join the game.

Our scenarios are based on historical sources. While game rules simplify some details for practical play, each event is designed to encourage discussion of historical events, geography, leadership, logistics, strategy, and the human experience of conflict.

Historical gaming can be both enjoyable and educational. Big Muddy provides public educational demonstrations, seminars, and convention programming that promote historical miniature gaming and military history.