Gettysburg

Gettysburg Rulebook

Table of Contents

The Mapboard

The mapboard shows the area where the famous Civil War battle was actually fought. It covers approximately 35 square miles. A square grid has been printed on the mapboard and is used to determine movement. Terrain features include:

ROADS: Squares containing double-parallel lines.
WOODS: Squares containing green color.
RIDGES & HILLS: Squares containing splash contours in black.
STREAMS: Squares containing blue lines.

Order of Battle Unit Counters

Study the set of die-cut Order of Battle Unit Counters. Blue are Union; Grey are Confederate. These counters are your chessmen. Hereafter, they will be called units. Printed on each Unit is information necessary for the play of Gettysburg.

TYPE: Headquarters, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery.
SIZES: XXXX (Army Group), XXX (Army), XX (Division), X (Brigade), 11 (Battalion).
FACING DIRECTION: Important when computing battle odds.
IDENTIFICATION: Important when scheduling arrival of Units onto the battlefield.
COMBAT FACTOR: Basic fighting strength when attacking or defending.
MOVEMENT FACTOR: Maximum number of squares a Unit may be moved in one Turn.

Prepare for Play

STEP 1: Lay the mapboard out on a table. The Union player sits at the southern end; the Confederate player sits at the northern end.

STEP 2: Place the corresponding Units on the Order of Appearance cards, with Devin, Gamble and Heth placed directly on board where shown.

How to Play

Gettysburg is played in Turns. The Union player moves all of his Units, then resolves every battle, that is his Turn. The Confederate player moves all of his Units, then resolves every battle, that is his Turn. Together these two Turns are called a complete Turn and measured as the passage of 1 hour. The following is a condensed step-by-step explanation of the general routine of play:

STEP 1: The Union player moves all Units on Board he chooses to move. He then consults the Time Record card. If he is due new Units he places them on board and may move them also. No Confederate movement is allowed.

STEP 2: All battles caused by Union movement are resolved one battle at a time.

STEP 3: The Confederate player moves all Units on board he chooses to move. He then consults the Time Record card. If he is due new Units he places them on board and may move them also. No Union movement is allowed.

STEP 4: All battles caused by Confederate movement are resolved one battle at a time.

STEP 5: The Confederate player checks off one hour on the Time Record card and players repeat Steps 1 through 5 for the remainder of the game.

How to Win

CONFEDERATE player wins if he has eliminated all Union Units by the July 4, noon Turn.
UNION player wins if he has eliminated all Confederate Units by the July 4, noon Turn, or avoids the Confederate condition of victory.

How to Move Units

In any Turn you may move all your Units on board.
You may move each Unit any number of squares not exceeding its movement factor.
You do not have to move every Unit nor do you have to move any Unit in your Turn.
You can move Units in any direction or combination of directions in the same Turn.
Unlike chess and checkers you may move all Units you choose to move in your Turn before resolving any battles.
Movement Factors are not transferable from one Unit to another nor can they be accumulated from one Turn to the next.
You are not allowed to move any Units on any mapboard edge square for which there is no grid-coordinate.
After you have moved a Unit, you are allowed to change its facing to any direction you wish.
You may change a Unit's facing direction without moving it from its current square, even if prevented from moving it due to the presence of enemy Units.

NOTE: The die is used only to resolve combat. It has nothing to do with movement.

More Than One Unit Per Square

You cannot have more than one Unit on the same square except in cases involving Artillery with Infantry or Cavalry.
You are allowed to have one Artillery Unit on the same square with an Infantry or Cavalry Unit. However, the Artillery Unit cannot be stacked and must be at the rear of and facing in the same direction as the Infantry or Cavalry Unit.
You cannot have 2 Artillery Units on the same square.
Units may pass through squares containing other friendly Units but may not end their Turn on an occupied square except in the above (2) case.
Retreating Units that are forced to complete their retreat on an occupied square are eliminated instead.
You are not allowed to stack Units except during initial placement of reinforcements.

Reinforcements

Both players receive reinforcements at specific intervals. The Order of Appearance cards state the earliest hours that reinforcements can be put into play.
You must bring in reinforcements on the road stated on the Order of Appearance card. However, if that road is blocked by enemy zones of control you may enter reinforcements on the next unblocked road looking clockwise. Or, you may delay their arrival until a later hour.
To bring reinforcements on board you stack them all together on the first complete road square at the edge of the board. Do not spread them out along the road in a column.
Initial placement on board is not applied against the movement factor.
You may bring reinforcements in at any time during the movement portion of your Turn. They may then be moved and used in battle in their Turn of arrival.
Reinforcements cannot be left stacked. They must be moved in their Turn of arrival.
You cannot bring reinforcements in on a road that contains an enemy Unit or falls under an enemy zone of control.
You are allowed to put reinforcements on board only when it is your Turn, not during your opponent's Turn.
Reinforcements that cannot get into play by the July 4, noon Turn are considered eliminated.

Headquarters Units

Headquarters Units have no bearing on play and are included only for historical purposes. They are not allowed to attack and since they have no zone of control they cannot be used as defensive delaying Units.

How to Have Combat

A player automatically causes combat when by moving, he places an enemy Unit in his zone of control. The player moving his Units is always the attacker; his opponent is always the defender. To determine battle odds the attacker's Combat Factor is stated first and the defender's Combat Factor is stated second. For example, if Pickett's Division (3-2) attacks Hays' Division (3-2) battle odds are 1 to 1. To resolve this battle the die is rolled once. The battle result is obtained from the Combat Results Table by matching up the die-roll with the proper odds column. If a die-roll of 1 occurs for the above battle then Hays is eliminated. A die-roll of 5 means that Pickett is eliminated.

(Diagram captions: NO COMBAT / COMBAT.)

Attacking

An attacking Unit must stop as soon as it enters any combat square.
An attacking Unit is not allowed to move through enemy controlled squares.
You may move as many Units into combat against an enemy Unit as you are able before resolving combat.
You resolve all battles one at a time after moving all the Units you choose to move in your Turn.
You have the choice of resolving battles in any order you choose.
You must resolve combat against every enemy Unit that lies in your zone of control.
A Unit's Combat Factor when attacking varies depending upon its facing direction relative to the Unit it is attacking. Study the section regarding Combat Factors Added to Attacker.

Defending

The defending player is not allowed to withdraw any Unit while his opponent is taking his Turn.
A Unit's Combat Factor when defending varies depending upon Terrain. Study the section regarding Combat Factors Added to Defender.

Multiple Unit Battles

When two or more Units attack one defending Unit the factors of the attacking Units must be totaled into one combined Attack Factor.
When one Unit attacks two or more defending Units the factors of the defending Units must be totaled into one combined Defense Factor.
When several Units attack several defending Units the attacker has the choice of dividing combat into more than one battle as long as he battles every defending Unit in whose controlled zone he has attacking Units.
The attacker may deliberately sacrifice one or more attacking Units at unfavorable odds in order to gain more favorable odds over other defending Units. This tactic is called "soaking-off". However, soak-off odds cannot exceed 1 to 6. Any time an attacker finds one of his Units surrounded at odds greater than 1 to 6, he must either bring up enough Units in support to bring odds down to 1 to 6 or eliminate it from the board before resolving any battles.
The Combat Factor of a Unit cannot be split and applied to more than one battle.
No attacking Unit may fight more than one battle per Turn even if it finds itself in an enemy zone of control after combat has been resolved. The defending Unit must either attack or withdraw in its Turn. If such a Unit wishes to attack in its Turn it may do so staying where it is or by withdrawing from the enemy zone altogether and then re-entering by a different square. In this instance, however, Units may not withdraw and reenter by a route that would force them into or through zones of control of other enemy Units.
No defending Unit may be fought more than once in any Turn.
When the attacker has an Infantry or Cavalry Unit in front of an Artillery Unit in the same square, the Combat Factor of the Artillery Unit can be applied in an attack against Units in any adjacent square. When protected in this manner, adverse Combat Results such as A-elim, A back 2, or Exchange are ignored and do not affect the Artillery Unit provided no enemy Artillery Units are involved in the battle. Otherwise, adverse results do affect the protected Artillery Unit.
When the defender has an Infantry or Cavalry Unit in front of the Artillery Unit in the same square, the Combat Factor of the Artillery Unit is applied in defense against attacking Units in any adjacent square. When protected in this manner adverse Combat Results do not affect the Artillery Unit provided no enemy Artillery Units are involved in the battle. Otherwise, adverse results do affect the protected defending Artillery Unit.

Movement After Battle

Anytime attacking Units remove all defending Units from squares on which the Combat Factor of defending Units increase, you have the option to occupy the squares vacated by the loser. This also applies to surviving attacking Units in event of Exchange.

Special Terrain Movement

There are no movement delays due to streams, woods or ridges. Units move through woods and over streams and ridges at their normal movement rates.
There is no movement bonus for travel along roads.

Hidden Movement (Optional)

Use of this removal-from-sight provision is optional. We recommend that you do not employ this rule until after you have played several games.

You may remove from the board any of your Units which both you and your opponent agree could not be seen at that time by any of his Units due to intervening woods and ridges.
To remove-from-sight you make a written record of their exact location on board before removal.
Removed-from-sight Units may be moved while off the board simply by making a written record of each move.
You may not keep removed-from-sight Units off the board any longer than for 3 consecutive Turns. At the start of the 4th Turn, you place them back on board at their last location of written record. Of course, such Units may be removed once again on their very next Turn, provided they qualify for removal.
You may bring removed-from-sight Units back on board at any time, and you must bring them back if the movement of opponent's Units happen to place your removed-from-sight Units in their zones of control. In this event, your opponent is required to attack your removed-from-sight Units.
Any Unit in a wooded area (not behind it) is assumed to be hidden from sight. Only those squares containing more than 50% green can be considered wooded areas for this purpose. Any Unit separated from the enemy by an intervening ridge is also assumed to be hidden from sight. All disagreements on these points between players should be settled ahead of time by a roll of the die.

Combat Factors Added to Attacker

PARTIAL ENFILADE: Attacker's Factor doubles. Example: Schurz attacks Jenkins at 4-1.
FULL ENFILADE: Attacker's Factor triples. Example: Geary attacks Nelson at 6-2 (3-1).
REAR ENFILADE: Attacker's Factor triples. Example: Jones attacks Merritt at 3-1.
REAR ASSAULT: Attacker's Factor doubles. Example: Crawford attacks Heth at 4-4 (1-1).
FRONTAL VALLEY ASSAULT: Attacker's Factor doubles when attacking downhill. Example: Imboden attacks Farnsworth at 2-1. A downhill enfilade attack does not further increase the Attacker's Factor.

Combat Factors Added to Defender

HILLTOP OR RIDGE ENTRENCHMENT: Defender's Factor triples when in place without moving for 6 consecutive Turns. Example: McLaws attacks McIntosh at 3-3 (1-1).
HILLTOP OR RIDGE: Defender's Factor doubles when attacked from lower ground or from another Ridge. Example: Ayres attacks F. Lee at 2-2.
HILLTOP OR RIDGE: Defender's Factor doubles even when attacked from same Hilltop or side of Ridge. Example: Barnes attacks Hampton at 2-2 (1-1).

Only those squares that contain more than 50% Hilltop and/or Ridge area are considered higher ground squares. All disagreements on these points should be settled ahead of time by a roll of the die.

NOTE: When enfilade attacks are made against Units in above defending terrain, attacking Units also increase their Combat Factors as outlined in the section headed Combat Factors Added to Attacker.

Combat Results

ELIM: All losing Units are removed from the board. "A" applies to all Attacking Units and "D" applies to all Defending Units.
BACK 2: All losing Units must retreat 2 squares. Retreat can be through friendly Units and over all playable terrain, but retreating Units are eliminated if they are forced to retreat through or into enemy zones of control, off the board, or placed on squares already occupied by friendly Units to the maximum. The route of retreat is always determined by the winner. However, the winner cannot force losing Units into blocking zones of control and terrain if alternate, unblocked routes of retreat are available.
EXCHANGE: an even elimination of Combat Factors. When an exchange is rolled the player with fewer Combat Factors removes all of his Units; the other player removes the number of Units whose combined Combat Factors totals at least that of the Units removed by his opponent. In an exchange the Combat Factors are computed at basic, double or triple value according to facing and terrain situations.

Examples of Play

The following diagrams incorporate many of the complicated rules of battle. A study here will help you immeasurably in the general understanding of play.

(Diagram A and B are described in the text below.)

Birney and 1st Regular attack Fender at partial enfilade, doubling their Combat Factor to 10. In addition, Ayres is also in Fender's zone of control so he must attack also, but Ayres is not in the exact partial enfilade situation so his Combat Factor remains normal. Thus Pender is attacked at 12-4 (3-1). Alexander is not in any Union zone of control therefore he is not involved in this battle. If the Union player rolls an exchange, only Birney is removed along with Pender; Ayres remains... the 1st Regular cannot be removed since it is not affected by adverse results when protected, as shown, by a Unit in front of it. Had Alexander been in Pender's square, then the 1st Regular Artillery would have been affected the same as all other Units... as would Alexander Artillery for that matter.

Robertson's Combat Factor doubles in defense; Williams remains unchanged and McIntosh's full-enfilade facing triples his... so the Union player attacks at 6-2 (3-1). In event of an exchange, McIntosh and Robertson would be removed. Williams has the option to move onto Robertson's square after battle.

It is now the Union player's Turn. He has moved his Units into battle as shown in (A). He is guaranteed of eliminating Hood who is surrounded by Union zones of control provided he is attacked at nothing less than 3-1. Hood's Combat Factor doubles to 6 because he is on a Ridge. Union player gangs up on Hood with Humphrey at 6 (partial-enfilade), von Steinwehr at 3, Barlow at 6 (partial-enfilade) and 2nd Volunteer at 4 (partial-enfilade) totaling 19-6 (3-1) against Hood. (An exchange here would not affect the 2nd Volunteer because Pegram's Artillery is not included in this attack.) In order to arrange the attack in this manner, Union player soaks-off the 4th Volunteer at 4 (partial-enfilade) against Early at 8 (Ridge defense) at 1-2... but results adverse to the 4th Volunteer will be ignored because it is protected by Humphreys. In addition, Custer at 2 (Rear Assault) attacks Pegram at normal (less than 50% Ridge) at 2-2 (1-1). Finally, Farnsworth at 2 (rear-assault) attacks Hampton at 2 (higher ground) at 2-2 (1-1). It is important that this battle be resolved last because Farnsworth's presence is the key to Hood's automatic elimination since he, alone, controls all the rearward escape squares.

In (B) above, we see the same set-up as in (A) except that all combat has been resolved: Hood and von Steinwehr were removed in an exchange as Barlow and 2nd Volunteer Union Units occupied Hood's vacated square, Pegram was eliminated; and Farnsworth was eliminated. To complete set-up (B), the Confederate player chose to defend the valuable Ridge defensive position rather than pull out Early and Hampton altogether from the area. So Early was pulled back one square and McIntosh was brought up from another area 4 squares away. Hampton remained in place. Now, combat is divided into 2 attacks: Hampton soaks-off downhill thus doubled against Barlow at 2-3 (1-2), and both Early and McIntosh attack in partial-enfilade against 2nd Volunteer (doubled) at 12-4 (3-1)... with artillery of opposing sides involved in the same battle, adverse Combat results will affect both Artillery Units even though they are both in protected positions. Note that McIntosh's movement route avoided square (X). Movement into square (X) would have forced him to stop there and attack Custer. As it stands now, Custer who is adjacent to Hampton is not even fought at all in this Turn because his frontal zone of control does not fall on any Confederate Unit... conversely, no Confederate zone of control falls on Custer's Unit due to current facing of opposing Units. Humphrey's and 4th Volunteer are out of range so they are not involved either.

Historical Summary

In the Spring of 1863, General Robert E. Lee and his victorious Army of Northern Virginia seemed invincible. Almost without exception, every clash with the Army of the Potomac to date had resulted in a crushing Confederate victory. Encouraged beyond measure by still another victory at Chancellorsville, and in spite of the accidental death of General "Stonewall" Jackson, General Lee decided that it was time to invade Pennsylvania and attempt to end the war in one final campaign.

Thus early in June, 1863, General Lee sidestepped to the west of the main positions near Fredericksburg and began the race up the Shenandoah Valley, through Maryland and into Pennsylvania.

The Army of the Potomac, battle-hardened but badly led, began an agonizingly slow northerly march in an attempt to keep between General Lee and Washington, D.C.

General Lee's troops exhibited their usual swiftness, and their forced marches carried them north at an astounding speed. In less than three weeks, the leading Confederate elements had marched over two hundred miles and were literally at the gates of Harrisburg.

General J. E. B. Stuart, General Lee's Cavalry commander, had been instructed to "tail" the Army of the Potomac and keep the main body informed of the location of the enemy.

For various controversial reasons, General Stuart failed in his mission and for many days General Lee did not know the precise whereabouts of the Union forces, now under General George G. Meade. Further, General Stuart became entangled between various Union elements and was badly delayed, not arriving at Gettysburg until after the battle had been joined. Thus General Lee was deprived of a major segment of his cavalry arm.

Although the precise details of General Lee's strategy are not known, it is assumed that he hoped to push into central Pennsylvania and then turn easterly, making a drive to either Baltimore or Philadelphia. If successful, he would have been able to separate his opponent from his sources of supply and then defeat him in detail.

Not knowing exactly where the Union troops lay, and receiving alarming reports of their closeness to his badly extended main body, he instructed his elements to move to Gettysburg to regroup.

The Army of the Potomac, stumbling northward, had sent advance elements to Gettysburg to seize the town, an important road junction.

The leading elements of each army (paradoxically, the Confederates coming from the north and west and the Federals from the south) clashed outside of Gettysburg.

The game begins at this point in history.

The Army of Northern Virginia had a much more compact organization... a factor often cited as an advantage because of the ease and swiftness of combat control. This situation will be borne out in the game... the Confederate player will find that his army is comparatively easy to control, and the Union player will often become confused over the great number of less powerful formations under his command.

Union practice at this stage of the war was to centralize all Artillery Reserve brigades in one central pool. Confederate practice, however, was to divide the Artillery Reserve equally between their three basic corps.

The Union forces have a preponderance of strength... a total of 70 Combat Factors to the Confederate total of 52 Combat Factors. This relationship is exactly in proportion to the real strength on the ground in the actual battle.

However, do not be misled by these proportions... they present only a theoretical balance of power. The real balance of power is determined by the proportion of strength in a local situation. By adroit maneuver and superior tactical practice, a weaker army may mass his power at his opponent's weakest point and thus begin the process of crushing his enemy "in detail"... which means crushing him one small piece at a time.

And at the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate forces began with this advantage. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was fairly compact in the northwest area and the Army of the Potomac was "spread all over the lot" to the south. Thus for all intents and purposes, both forces are very evenly matched at the beginning of the game. The individual players decide the end result by application of their own skill and common sense.

For general information about Avalon Hill's series of realistic games and The Avalon Hill General, a gaming newsletter, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: The Avalon Hill Company, Baltimore, Maryland.

Replacement Parts List

Ordering information from the 1964 manual. Prices are as printed.

GAME BOX, 11" x 14": $1.00
MAPBOARD, 22" x 28" (available on stiff board, only): $3.00
BATTLE MANUAL, 16 pages (including Instructions): $0.50
TROOP COUNTERS, Blue and Grey (available in complete set, only): $0.50
UNION ORDER OF APPEARANCE CARD: $0.15
CONFEDERATE ORDER OF APPEARANCE CARD: $0.15
TIME RECORD CARD: $0.15
COMBAT RESULTS TABLE, available on 8" x 10" card, only: $0.15
DIE: $0.10

MINIMUM ORDER: $1.00. We pay postage and handling anywhere in U.S.A. Please enclose a check or money-order and always specify "Gettysburg Replacement Parts." Sorry, no C.O.D. orders.