For a simple game, Chattanooga presented several complicated problems. In Chattanooga, the Players take on the role of the field commanders, namely General Grant for the Union Player and Gen. Bragg for the Confederate Player. The Players are faced with the same historical conditions and resources that Grant and Bragg had available. Let us examine the historical factors.
There were numerous circumstances when Union units were not moved when ordered, or moved when they were ordered not to. Clearly, there were a number of times that Grant observed that his orders were not carried out.
The simulation is intended to be a grand-tactical level game. The game as it is does follow the general flow of the real battle. In play testing, it was pleasantly surprising to discover that the Union Players tended to follow Grant's original plan; the Union flanks were used to push back the Confederate as well as to draw units from the center. On the final day, November 24 (the last four Game-Turns), the Union center was then hurled at the Confederate center to crack its position in two. As soon as the Union troops had crowned Missionary Ridge along the Confederate lines, the Confederate position became untenable and their formation simply broke. The Union movement restrictions as they stand tend to control the game so that the historical flow could be simulated, rather than dictating the course of the game so that history could be repeated.
Players are welcome to disagree and to try the game without the Union Movement Restriction Rule. They will discover that the game quickly becomes a matter of die rolling and steam rolling. The Union units simply ride roughshod over any Confederate position without regard for any historical basis or military theory. In short, it no longer becomes a game. To say that the Union Movement Restriction Rule makes the game is not true either, but it should be regarded and be given more credit than Players may wish to bestow upon it as a necessary ruling to give the game historical sanity as well as simply making the simulation a game.
If you have purchased a copy of Chickamauga, from the original Blue & Gray Quadrigame, you may experiment with a "super campaign" game. Late in development, it was pointed out that, with minor modifications, the Chattanooga and Chickamauga maps could be made to overlap with one another. A Player may be loathe to cut or fold his map and may want to purchase an additional map. Simply trim down the Northwest corner of the Chickamauga map or the Southeastern corner of the Chattanooga map so that the following hexes are superimposed upon one another: hexes 0101 and 0501 of Chickamauga should coincide directly with hexes 2025 and 2425 of Chattanooga, respectively. This overlap permits Players to start with the Chickamauga battle and continue right through to the Chattanooga battle.
Players should keep in mind the following facts. The battle of Chickamauga occurred on September 20, and the battle of Chattanooga commenced on November 23. Thus, there was a two month interlude between battles. In fact, there was considerable commotion during the intervening weeks, but it cannot be shown within the framework of the game. For instance, supplying the Union Army was a major problem. Bragg knew this, so while he had the Union Army invested he sent his cavalry to raid the Union supplies. On both sides, earthworks were constructed to strengthen the defenses. On the other hand, when Union and Confederate soldiers were on picket duty, they often exchanged stories and tobacco. Bragg's army was plagued with disagreement and indecisiveness among the higher officers. A single, continuous "Campaign Game" would be difficult to develop; although losses in Chickamauga could easily affect force levels in Chattanooga.
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