Battle of Gettysburg ... with a twist

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-02-24 12:12am

Okay for War Between the States buffs, here's the scenario:

No change in plans -- except both the Union and Confederate armies are issued four Motorola radios (CB's) apiece for the duration of the battle, and we'll assume that the batteries are good for the entire battle. Who gets the radios, and then how do things unfold from there?

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-02-24 12:16am

If you just kept Jeb Stuart on a leash at the beginning and had him scout forward.. Lee would've been in a better position, or at least secured the hills and town possibly before the Union did.

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-02-24 11:24am

If I were the confederate, I'd have given the radios mostly to Longstreet's troops. The attacks were unorganized, and not properly coordinated, and the radio communication would have probably gone a long way to fixing that problem, especially when attacking the Wheatfield and Devil's Den.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-02-24 02:44pm

The radios would have been most useful in the hands of the scouts. If Jeb doesn't go riding off glory seeking and has radios with which to report back to Lee, the Confederates grab Little Round Top and the Union has to retreat. On the other hand, if the Union has radios, then they probably realize how critical LRT is and get defenders there earlier, and holding it isn't such a near thing.

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-02-24 02:59pm

The campaign would develop differently depending on when you doled out the radios to both sides.

If you gave the armies the radios in June, before Lee began his move into Pennsylvania, then you're right the situation with Stuart and the cavalry would never have been an issue. However if you give the rebels the radios on July 1st, then they are still stuck in the same position they were stuck in historically. The radios would thus be put to best use in helping coordinate their attacks.

If the Union armies get the radios, the initial defense probably would still play out the same way it did historically. Troops would probably get on Cemetery Ridge much quicker than they did, but other than that they still take a beating on the first day. The Second day's battles probably go a little differently. Sickles would probably get his ass chewed by Hancock over the radio for moving his men out of position. This could be a double edged sword for the Union, though as Sickles moving out of position delayed the confederate advance just enough to allow federal troops to get to the Round Top. If they call Sickles back, then maybe they don't hold up the rebels enough. But then again, they probably could have deployed troops quicker to Little Round Top though if they had given radios to General Warren's scouts.

Third day probably plays out the same way as it did historically. You don't really need a radio to tell Union artillery crews to "shoot at big mass of rebels coming at us".

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-02-24 07:58pm

For all we know, Meade may retreat to the Pipe Creek Line, which was fine defensive territory.