It makes me wonder if Lee was thinking that the Union would protect its Right and Left wings at all costs and disregard the center. The thing about this is eventually the North figured it out and kept their men in the center. You can fool an old dog once or twice, but it’s gets harder to fool him a third time.
Well, the difference at GettysBurg, I think, was Meade, who was not only competent (unlike his predecessors) but was a close personal friend of Lee (most people don’t know this) and knew his idiosyncracies, and had in fact learned the hard way from previous battles. Consequently, he out Lee’d Lee during the battle.
“The thing about this is eventually the North figured it out and kept their men in the center”
The North didn’t really need its reserves in the center, anyway. Lee’s plan was doomed by Union artillery. There is no way you can march for a mile under heavy fire and expect to break fresh troops.