Battleground on YouTube

Ssssshhhhhhh....let's just keep this to ourselves, OK? More episodes to follow in due course.

Battleground: Gettysburg

A few random images from the Gettysburg episode of Battleground (admittedly these are of poor quality but as there's so little out there on Battleground i thought they were worth posting, and they do give a sense of how visually impressive the game was).

Apparently Peter Gilder managed to sell the Gettysburg terrain featured three times - first of all the original commission for the Callan movie, then, after it's return by the film company, to Edward Woodward (the owner when Battleground was filmed), and finally (again, after its return gratis by Woodward) to a wargamer in the USA.

Griffith At Gettysburg

The late Dr Paddy Griffith is one of the key individuals behind my enduring (but largely unfulfilled) interest in the ACW. His books are fascinating but, long before i had read any of them, he took part in the first ACW game i witnessed (albeit via the TV screen) - the game played during the Gettysburg episode of Battleground. I remember the game looked spectacular and it was the terrain in particular that really struck me as something to aspire to. And wargaming was now on TV, presented by a famous actor, so it was clearly a serious adult pastime worthy of the many hours i was destined to devote to it in the coming decades....oh yes....

Despite playing with 'his toys, his terrain, and with his rules' Peter Gilder was given a sound thrashing by the other PG as they played out a highly condensed Gettysburg scenario. After winning a largely irrelevant cavalry melee on his left flank Gilder made his main thrust in the centre - Griffith's front line was brushed aside as Gilder's Rebs won the heights but his elation was to be short lived as he was then confronted by Griffith's reserve ('the Iron Brigade armed with breechloaders') and hit by enfilading artillery. A couple of moves later Gilder's centre was in tatters with his infantry brigades either dead or fleeing and the game was up.

Incidentally, the terrain was the same board used in the Callan movie, although by the time Battleground was recorded Edward Woodward had purchased it from Gilder.

The 'high point of the Confederacy' - Gilder's Rebs crest Cemetery Ridge but are shot to pieces by Griffith's reserve infantry and supporting artillery.

Not only did Griffith take part in one episode but he was also a Historical Consultant (along with Dr David Chandler and Charles Wesencraft) to the series. At this point in his career Griffith was Senior Lecturer at Sandhurst, where he also ran the wargame group.

Thanks to some very generous individuals i am slowly pulling together more information and images, so i hope to post more on Battleground in due course.