Welcome to the Gettysburg Wargame Society
The Gettysburg Wargame Society brings together military history and historical wargaming.
Our purpose is to help readers, researchers, and wargamers better understand warfare through careful historical study, thoughtful analysis, and historically grounded simulations. The Society explores not only what happened in past conflicts, but also why events unfolded as they did—and how leadership, terrain, logistics, technology, morale, and chance shaped the outcome.
Whether you are an experienced wargamer, a student of military history, or someone beginning to explore either subject, this website provides a place to learn, think, and engage.
What You Will Find Here
The Gettysburg Wargame Society examines military history from several complementary perspectives.
Military History
Explore campaigns, battles, military organizations, weapons, equipment, and the experiences of the people who participated in them.
These articles provide the historical foundation needed to understand the political circumstances, strategic decisions, and battlefield events behind the conflicts represented in historical games.
Begin with: Explore Military History
Battles and Campaigns
Follow the development of important military operations from their strategic beginnings through their battlefield conclusions.
Campaign and battle studies may examine:
- Strategic objectives
- Command decisions
- Orders of battle
- Terrain and geography
- Movement and deployment
- Logistics and supply
- Intelligence and communications
- Critical turning points
- Historical consequences
Begin with: [Explore Battles and Campaigns]
Leadership and Command
Military events are shaped by the decisions of the people responsible for directing them.
Our leadership studies consider commanders within the circumstances they actually faced. Rather than judging decisions only by their outcomes, these articles examine the information available at the time, the limitations under which commanders operated, and the alternatives they may have considered.
Begin with: [Explore Military Leaders]
Weapons, Equipment, and Tactics
Weapons and technology influence what military forces can accomplish, but their effectiveness depends on training, organization, doctrine, and battlefield conditions.
This section explores subjects such as:
- Infantry weapons and tactics
- Artillery systems and ammunition
- Cavalry operations
- Fortifications and field defenses
- Command-and-control systems
- Transportation and communications
- Changes in military technology
Begin with: [Explore Weapons and Tactics]
Historical Wargaming
Historical wargames allow participants to explore military problems by making decisions within a structured representation of past events.
Our wargaming content examines board games, miniature games, maps, rules, scenarios, and simulation methods. Articles may also consider how effectively a game represents command, terrain, combat, logistics, morale, and the uncertainty of war.
Begin with: [Explore Historical Wargaming]
Game Analysis and Reviews
A historical game can be entertaining while also serving as a model of a particular conflict or military problem.
Our reviews look beyond components and basic gameplay. They consider the historical ideas built into a game’s design, including:
- What level of command the player represents
- Which historical problems the game emphasizes
- How terrain and movement are modeled
- How the rules represent combat and morale
- Whether uncertainty and limited information affect decisions
- Where the game simplifies or departs from history
Begin with: [Browse Game Reviews]
Why Combine Military History and Wargaming?
Military history gives historical wargaming its context. Wargaming, in turn, provides a way to examine historical decisions actively rather than simply reading about their results.
A well-designed historical game asks players to confront problems similar to those faced by actual commanders:
- What is the objective?
- What information can be trusted?
- Where should limited resources be committed?
- How does terrain affect the plan?
- Can troops reach the decisive point in time?
- What happens when orders are delayed or misunderstood?
- When should an attack continue, and when should it be abandoned?
Wargaming cannot reproduce the full human reality of war. It can, however, illustrate relationships that are sometimes difficult to see in a written narrative. Movement, distance, timing, logistics, command limitations, and competing priorities become immediate problems requiring decisions.
This makes historical wargaming a valuable companion to serious historical study.
Choose Your Starting Point
I Am New to Military History
Begin with broad historical overviews before moving into detailed battle studies. Focus first on chronology, geography, major participants, and the political and strategic setting.
Recommended path:
- Read an introductory historical overview.
- Review a campaign timeline and map.
- Learn the principal commanders and military organizations.
- Study one important battle or decision in detail.
- Explore how a wargame represents that event.
[Start Exploring Military History]
I Am New to Historical Wargaming
Begin with games that have clearly written rules, manageable playing times, and focused historical situations. Do not be discouraged by unfamiliar terminology or complex-looking maps. Historical wargaming becomes easier once you understand the basic sequence of play and the decisions the game expects you to make.
Recommended path:
- Learn the major types and scales of historical wargames.
- Select a subject that already interests you.
- Begin with a smaller game or scenario.
- Play through several turns before worrying about perfect strategy.
- Read the historical notes after playing.
[Learn About Historical Wargaming]
I Am an Experienced Wargamer
Explore our detailed campaign studies, game analyses, scenario discussions, and examinations of historical command problems. Compare the historical record with the assumptions and mechanics used by different game designers.
[Explore Advanced Wargaming Topics]
I Am a Teacher, Researcher, or Student
Use the site to identify important questions, visualize campaigns, compare interpretations, and consider how simulations can support historical education.
Whenever possible, articles distinguish between documented facts, historical interpretation, and conclusions drawn from game or simulation analysis.
[Browse Research and Educational Resources]
How to Use This Website
You do not need to read the website in a particular order. Each article is designed to stand on its own while connecting to broader topics.
For the best experience:
- Begin with an overview of the conflict or campaign.
- Keep a map nearby when reading about military operations.
- Consult timelines and orders of battle to understand sequence and organization.
- Follow links to biographies, weapons, locations, and related events.
- Compare historical accounts with game representations.
- Record questions that emerge during reading or play.
- Revisit the historical material after completing a game or scenario.
The goal is not simply to memorize names and dates. It is to understand the relationships among objectives, decisions, resources, geography, and outcomes.
Questions to Ask While Studying a Battle
The following questions can guide both historical reading and wargame analysis:
- What was each side trying to accomplish?
- What information did the commanders possess?
- What did they misunderstand or fail to recognize?
- How did terrain affect movement, visibility, and combat?
- Were the available troops sufficient for the assigned objectives?
- How did logistics, fatigue, morale, and communication influence events?
- Which decisions created opportunities or increased risk?
- At what point did the outcome become most difficult to change?
- What alternatives were realistically available?
- How accurately does a game represent these problems?
These questions shift attention away from hindsight and toward the conditions under which historical decisions were made.
Our Approach
The Gettysburg Wargame Society approaches military history with curiosity, seriousness, and respect.
We believe that:
- Historical claims should be supported by reliable evidence.
- Different interpretations should be considered fairly.
- Command decisions should be evaluated within their historical circumstances.
- Wargames should be examined as models, not treated as exact reproductions of war.
- Complex subjects should be explained clearly without sacrificing accuracy.
- Respectful discussion strengthens both historical understanding and the wargaming community.
The purpose of studying war is not to glorify its destruction. It is to understand the people, institutions, decisions, technologies, and circumstances that shaped consequential moments in history.
Join the Exploration
Military history is not merely a record of battles won and lost. It is the study of human decisions made under extraordinary pressure.
Historical wargaming gives us another way to investigate those decisions. By combining research, discussion, maps, games, and simulations, we can develop a deeper understanding of both history and the challenges of command.
Choose a topic, open a map, set up a game, and begin asking questions.
[Explore the Latest Articles]
Browse Military History Topics
[Discover Historical Wargaming]