ersatzjack2
Private 1st Class
"We can still win this thing, once the secret weapons arrive."
Posts: 612
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Post by ersatzjack2 on Oct 14, 2007 12:29:56 GMT -5
The Patton Unleashed event is over and my impression is that it went extremely well. The event organizer, Gryphon (Todd Meyer), and the land owner, BA-64 (Troy Buddenhagen) were extremely well organized and very cordial. The land was in great shape and presented options for a variety of skirmishing scenarios. The directions and signage to the event allowed ensured that everyone easily found the place. There were clear safety briefings and a chrono location. The weather was great. Not too cold on Friday night (but still cold) and cool autumn air for the most part on Saturday. It even warmed up in the Afternoon and caused some to remove their layers. Total participation was 31 players and this included three females who participated as two Russians and one Volksturm. Their presence was a testament to the versatility and hardiness of Wisconsin women. In the first scenario, the Russians, the Americans, and a number of para-militaries attacked the Germans and Volksturm units in the village. Fall of Berlin ended in a German victory as the attackers bravely persisted until their lives had been expended. They did succeed in dislodging the German defence but were in turn pushed back out of the town by respawning German reinforcements. The town was a tough nut to crack in every event and it is true that close in town fighting tended to be very bloody. The shy airsofter who fears a hit is best advised to fight outside of towns. In the second scenario, the paramilitants were reassigned the role of playing Polish Army 1939. The Germans (roughly 12) and the Russians (8-10) each started on separate ends of the playing field. Both were tasked with crushing the Polish contingents and attempting to occupy the most of Poland as they could. This event was really fun too. The Poles wisely chose to center themselves in the town as it was such a good defensive position. Initial and early German assaults were pushed back with heavy losses and the Germans finally succeeded in capturing the town in their final pushes. They had three lives total for this event. Upon capturing the town they were down to about 2-3 players. That is when the Russians finally decided to get involved. They finished off the displaced Poles but were much more focused on assaulting the town and wresting it from the weak German defence. In this, they were ultimately and treacherously successful. Others (Gryphon) claimed their tactics were just a case of being clever and wily and that debate may rage on but in the end the Russians were able to claim a relatively easy victory. The third and final event had the Germans and a number of Volksturm assaulting the Russian and American defenders in Russian prepared postions. No village but plenty of foxholes and machine gun pits. In this battle the 9th SS devised a sweeping envelopment of the defensive positions and attacked along a creek bed. Maintaining strength in numbers (18-20 attackers) vs (10-13 defenders) the German attack swept thru the advance defense posts and pushed hard despite some initial casualties. It was a textbook case of determined and capably led SS troops pushing on and gaining positions. In the end, the Russian and U.S. defenders were routed and the battle ended. There was a working and beautiful 45' willys jeep at the event and a beautiful but non-working Russian armored car (engine trouble) at this event. There were also a number of anti-tank weapons which could not be used because of the lack of armor but which were still available for the event. In retrospect, they could have been utilized in the town attacks and would have made the displacement of those building defenders easier. Oh, well, hindsight is cheap. There were players from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Best part, no injuries of note and lots of fun. Pics forthcoming from Ersatzjack and others. No video that I know of. Next event at this field will be left for Troy and Gryphon to announce but I can't wait. See you guys there. There will be some new toys at that one.
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Ersatzjack
Corporal
"That silly Franz... he thinks we are winning."
Posts: 1,093
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Post by Ersatzjack on Oct 14, 2007 13:27:56 GMT -5
Unofficial AAR - Unofficial because the event organizers - Gryphon and Troy B. - really will provide the official version if and when they get around to it. I'm not going to broadcast any future plans as that is up to them. My report is overall impressions. It was a fun FIRST event for WWII airsoft in the Midwest area in Wisconsin. The land used was very airsoft friendly. Troy has spent a lot of time ($$$) to make it interesting. Signage that he has posted, a small village, foxholes and emplacements and a good series of paths and roads wind through the 30-acres that we played on. The event had I believe 31 participants, 10 of whom braved the night on Friday to heighten their experience. Troy who could have slept in the house next door was with us in the field. He's an animal. On Saturday he took a point blank shot in the face from an overly excited Volksturm after he had yelled a "Bang" kill on the fellow and didn't even wince. He just rubbed a little dirt into it. It was a tent set-up in the parking lot area. Fire for cooking and water was available. Players were mostly from Wisconsin but there was a healthy contribution from MN and one fellow came up from Chicago. He was the gungho Andre. Russian by birth he fought as a fall-in troop with the 9th SS. His partner, Neoptolemus was equally aggressive and made a charge across open area into the city assault that was witnessed by others who remarked on how daring it was. Along the way he killed two surprised defenders but was finally shot and killed despite his bravery. Still he helped the remaining Germans to achieve a takeover of the town. The 9th SS had a respectable showing as this was the first time we had fought together as a unit and I just foresee continued improvement. There was a five-man contingent there and many of the other Germans fell in with us for ease of organizing tactics. The Russians that came had very good impressions too. They had really put some time and effort into their event. Alas, not everyone that fought was really into WWII but this was an initial event and sort of introductory in nature. In the pictures don't be too harsh on the Flaggrantly Wrongness of some of the outfits. They came and had a good time and hopefully by the next one they will improve their impressions. Each side had a Squad support weapon that was allowed to be fired on full-auto and then if you had a period weapon that was full-auto you could use it. The remaining modern weaponry was limited to semi-auto only. I thought that was a good way to handle it. My Mauser's fought hard all day and so did Gryhon's Mosin-Nagant which he indicated was very successful for close-in fighting. (Okay - that was a shameless plug - ha-ha). After the event I went to Gryphon's secret workshop for planning and preliminary sketch work on his next weapons "project". I don't think anyone will be disappointed. Anyway I'll let the pictures I took do the rest of my talking. Great signage and good visibility for the association. The 2nd Rangers, Sergeant Tom and Corporal Mills coming to in the morning. Solitary and in character for the whole event they added to the US forces. Tagg from the 45th ID arrived and the Jeep owner (sorry, don't know his name) pushed the US forces to four personnel. They really added some firepower with their Thompson's though. Ersatzjack2 feeding the troops after a cold night. He had some out of the frame help. Russian and Volksturm female warriors. A new element in my short airsoft experience. They were a welcome addition to the event. Safety precautions were enforced. I liked that. Ersatzjack2 was happy too. His gun chrono'ed higher 455-fps than mine and that was a change from the NY event and without a single change to the guns except for a cleaning. He had been depressed for months and was smiling again. Members of the 9th SS question some captured Russian prisoners. Sadly, the armored car had engine trouble and wasn't part of the day's fun. She's named Natasha and was probably jealous that there were other women involved. Mine signs doubled as out of bounds markers. Very clever! Your's truly being unable to pass up the photo op. The 9th SS in attendance. Johan and Andre. Future 9th SS members I'm hoping. I would be proud to have them on our team. (are you guys listening??) The Ruski's. One big happy family. and lastly, A pic of the Jeep and the Rangers again. They didn't pass up the chance to be inserted by vehicle into the fray. -Otto-
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Post by wade on Oct 14, 2007 13:49:48 GMT -5
Sounds fun (probably an understatement), I wish coul have gone.
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YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Oct 14, 2007 17:20:22 GMT -5
Looks like it was a great event based on your aar's (very good aar's too). My favorite picture by far is the one of ersatzjack2 getting breakfast going, looks like all the little things added a ton to authenticity. Also, hat's off to whoever made the signage, the ww2aa sign in particular, I want one for my war room!
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Post by Iron Will on Oct 14, 2007 17:57:50 GMT -5
I'm the guilty-as-charged "overly excited Volkssturm" (Sorry Troy/BA-64 ) I really enjoyed playing alongside the Ersatzjack brothers and the rest of the Ninth SS. This was my first WWII game, but I will say it most certainly will not be my last. Oh, and thanks, Gryphon, for the suggestions and assistance on converting the Swiss jackets into Organization Todt uniforms.
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Post by spetsnaz on Oct 14, 2007 19:03:40 GMT -5
Great Job fellas!! Looked like an awesome time. Wish I was there.
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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Oct 14, 2007 21:54:17 GMT -5
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Post by neoptolemus on Oct 14, 2007 22:09:03 GMT -5
Reposts:
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alban
Private
Sniper for life.
Posts: 177
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Post by alban on Oct 14, 2007 23:34:50 GMT -5
Great event, amazing people, and awesome land!!! Who could ask for more? Sadly though Russian couldn't get Natasha to run. Looking forward to the next event and I'll do some video, I'll even strap the camera to my helmet or shoulder for that, "through the soldier's eyes" angle. My camera died on me when I got there, I was taking too many photos on the way over there... Anyways thank you to all for making an awesome event!!!
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Ersatzjack
Corporal
"That silly Franz... he thinks we are winning."
Posts: 1,093
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Post by Ersatzjack on Oct 15, 2007 1:03:22 GMT -5
Those are some great photos Cpl Mills. I didn't even see your bunker until these photos. Very sneaky. I bet I was getting shot from there and never knew it. I also like the picture where the prisoner is being held before being taken away for a hot meal and a ride to the prison camp.
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Post by Conrad on Oct 15, 2007 1:17:45 GMT -5
Looks like it was a great time! I'll look forward to participating with you fellow mid-westerners soon.
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Lev
Private 1st Class
Posts: 454
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Post by Lev on Oct 15, 2007 7:21:13 GMT -5
Schütze Udo Schaaf’s After Action Report May 1, 1945, Outside of Berlin, Germany
I was only one of three bright-eyed replacements just recently conscripted out of service from the Kriegsmarine and sent to the 9th SS. Naturally, we were somewhat tense and wondered if the legendary SS Männer would accept us as worthy Soldaten. When we finally came off the trains and met our new Kameraden, we were surprised. The bad news was that our squad consisted of only two Soldaten. The good news was that these two “Alten” were hardened veterans with a wealth of experience dating all the way back to the first war. It wasn’t long before Otto and Franz were regaling us with old Freikorp stories and solid tactics on how to kill Russians.
We would need every bit of their wisdom in the hours to follow.
Our squad, with support from a squad of Wehrmacht grenadiers and one squad of local conscripts, was ordered to hold a small corner of the Berlin suburbs with a critical road leading to the city’s southern gate. We new recruits had never seen combat and were new to the profession of killing. Lucky for us, the dumb Ivans gave us a chance to get a taste of things right from the start. The manner in which these Stalinist officers carelessly led their men to death was appalling. Their piecemeal attacks were quickly repulsed leaving one to two squads dead on the field surrounding our position. Our casualties were minimal but included the commander of the Wehrmacht grenadiers. It was sad to see such a trusted Kamerad of our Fatherland fall in this final hour.
Flush with victory, we felt invincible and eagerly awaited the next attack. When it finally came, we found that not all Ivans are equal. This second assault was much more concentrated and taught us to respect the muses of war. These new men were of a different caliber from those that already lied dead to our front. Overwhelmed by superior numbers and lacking the machine guns needed to repulse such an assault, a fierce struggle ensued with confusing and frantic house-to-house fighting. Our corner of the Berlin suburbs was lost, but the Russians had paid a dear price.
Bolstered with reinforcements, we prepared ourselves for a counter attack under the concealment of a wooded grove. Our assault quickly enveloped the village and one of “der Alten” schooled us on how to clear a house with grenades, breaking the strong point of the Russian defenses in the process. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins the Iron Cross First Class for that brave action alone. With speed and aggressiveness, we were able to beat the Ivan’s back east.
At the end of the day we’re tired and hungry. From the distance the faint rumble of approaching heavy engines begins to louden. We hope it’s our promised armored reinforcement but Otto and Franz think they sound like Russian engines. The squad tries to get some sleep while we can.
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Post by Garrick Udet on Oct 15, 2007 9:27:49 GMT -5
My thanks to all the members of the 9th SS for welcoming me to the unit last weekend as a 'probationary' member (whatever that means). I can say that I won't be turning down an invite to the next WW2AA event the 9th fights in. Special thanks to Udo and the Ersatzjacks for keeping me from looking like a total Flaggrantly Wrong! -Nanook The only inuit to fight for the 9th ss
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gryphon
Master sergeant
shchi e kasha, pisha nasha.
Posts: 250
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Post by gryphon on Oct 15, 2007 10:25:30 GMT -5
Skirmish Lost & Found:
Two wooden spoons, a Kitchenaid can opener, and a metal fork found by the picnic table in the campsite. (ersatzjack2's hash-making tools, maybe?)
One wide mustard-colored Russian-style leather-reinforced webbing belt with two-prong roller buckle, found on a fuel drum at the Allied reinsertion point.
Gryphon's AAR:
Friday dawned damp and overcast. Troy was out early doing final field prep, setting up registration and chrono tables, arranging "Boris' WWII Reenactor Surplus Discount Emporium," putting up his outstanding directional signs, walking the field and double-checking to make sure that the buildings and trails were free of debris, and trying to get Natasha the BA-64 Russian armored scout car started. She was cranky and wouldn't catch, despite her having run perfectly at every other event we took her to this season. Todd - aka Gryphon - showed up late (as usual) and he and Troy hung the "Achtung Minen" field boundary markers. From there out, it was meet-and-greet in the camping area as the hardy overnight campers arrived. The Volkssturm volunteers from Gopmat (a village in the south of Germany, apparently,) the lone GI from the 45th Infantry, and 9th SS settled in at the camping area, while the 2nd Rangers pitched a period camp at the Allied rally point on the east end of the field and dug themselves the finest camouflaged foxhole the field has ever seen. Very nice position - it would come in handy Saturday. Todd left to outfit his squad of Russian conscripts, and Troy got a bonfire going. What happened around that fateful fire on that cold Friday night is anyone's guess, but we Russians noticed that our American Ranger allies had an awfully difficult time making Reveille the next morning....
Saturday dawned cool and cloudy. Todd showed up around 7:30am with a carload of bleary-eyed Russian girls (as usual) who brightened considerably once they were kindly allowed to fill their bellies with fine German coffee and cake and even freshly fried-up hash and eggs courtesy of the Gopmat Volkssturm and the 9th SS. Ausgezeichnet! Luckily, our political officer hadn't arrived yet, or they might have been shot as collaborators. Da, Russian girl, she go always for man with food....
Natasha the BA-64, our other Russian girl, proved not so easy to rouse. Even after being towed, and gassed, and having her plugs cleaned and regapped, she just would not start. Todd pulled the Panzerfausts from the game since there would be no armor on the field. Fortunately, Dave Brooks of ISG arrived with his vintage war-era Willys Jeeps, so the Americans at least had wheels for the day.
Waxmandave turned up in a spotless officer's uniform to lead the Panzergrenadiers with his brand-new AGM MP40. Although he is an experienced reenactor and has beautiful kit, this was his first ever airsoft event, so out of kindness we won't mention the confusion over the safety rule requiring "barrel condoms."
Everybody chrono-ed in under the limit, which was a huge relief. We all milled around, taking unit pics, hollering into the woods to try and wake up the Rangers, and admiring each others' guns and gear. The safety briefing was at 9:30am, only an hour late, which is something of a record for Todd. Just as the safety briefing finished, three carloads of local ABZ Volkssturm led by Jason of Airsoft Battle Zone arrived. The Germans and Allies were allowed to take the field and prepare for battle while Todd sorted out the new recruits. Most of these were sent into the first skirmish "Defense of Berlin" as ABZ Volkssturm, but a few were conscripted into the Red Army. The fighting around the village was intense; the first Russian attack was repulsed handily, but the second Red assault pressed home and drove the Germans out. The German counterassault had ten Germans vs. two Russian women scouts with SMGs, the only Russians left alive to defend the village when the scenario ended at 12:30pm.
Lunchbreak until 1:30pm, then the next scenario "Poland 1939." Jason's civilians played Polish villagers trying to defend their hamlet from both the Germans advancing from the south and the Russians moving in from the east. The Russians sent their political officer forward in a Lend-Lease Jeep, in hopes of convincing the Poles to join the glorious Bolshevik struggle against Fascist oppression, but the stubborn Poles refused to see reason. Not wanting to shed too much Polish blood unnecessarily, the Russians sent half their troops in a circling movement around to the north and west of the village. The mission of this second Russian squad was to cut off Polish reinforcements and hit the German assault in its unprotected left flank, which would then allow the first Russian squad to take this poor misbegotten Polish village into protective custody. This scheme worked well for the Russians, until the German MG42 gunner spotted the Russian point man and pinned the Russians down near the Polish reinsertion area. As house-to-house fighting raged between the first Russian squad and the Germans in the village, the two remaining remnants of the second Russian squad conscripted the lone remaining Pole into the Red Army and pushed into the village from the west. Little did they know that there was but one person left alive in the entire village, a single youthful Panzergrenadier faithfully standing guard. Naturally, Gryphon the Russian point man walked right into his ambush and was shot at close range, leaving it to the Pole to have the satisfaction of finishing off the German at point-blank range.
The ABZ Volkssturm rejoined their Wehrmacht brethren for the third scenario at 3:30pm, "Ukraine 1942," where 18 Germans assaulted 12 Russians and allies dug in on the east end of the field. By this time, the sun was out and the field had warmed to the point where some were experiencing goggle-fogging, but despite this the action was fast and furious. There was a concentrated German blitz through the heavy brush mid-field. At one point, a Deutcher soldat leapt into a foxhole on top of three Russians he had just machinegunned to death, so he could continue the fight to take the next foxhole up the hill. The American Rangers put up a particularly stiff defense from their camouflaged hilltop bunker, but even they were eventually overwhelmed by the force of German numbers. The game was called at 4:15pm, before a Russian counterassault could be organized.
Afterwards, we packed up gear and headed home, tired but happy.
Thank you all for making the drive to come play, and for providing the ambience and quality of play to make this an outstanding event. I know that, for many of you, this was either your first airsoft event or your first WWII reenactment-style event, and I thank each and every one of you for your welcoming and tolerant attitudes. This was a fantastically friendly first event for our field, and we REALLY want to preserve that sense of comaraderie. Special thanks to the ersatz brothers and everyone else who made donations to the field improvement fund to help Troy out; to the 2nd Rangers for the new foxholes; to Dave Brooks for the Jeep; and Jason and Hugh in the Airsoft Battle Zone Mobile Supply Unit for providing genral airsoft goodies, free chips, rental guns and goggles.
The official headcount was 34, not 31 (Todd and those Russian girls, they never remember to sign in.) Except for the inscrutable Natasha, everyone's equipment appeared to work throughout the day. I LOVE my $20 MOSIN-NAGANT for house-to-house village CQB! The photos, especially Cpl. Mills' period B&Ws taken with a period camera, are beautiful. Troy's field is so cool, and so are his signs. My Flaggrantly Wrong Russian accent was improved by getting to listen to a real Russian, whom the 9th SS is trying to recruit into their ranks. Nobody got hurt, or lost, or enduringly pissed off. Everyone tried their best to play fair and by the rules, and except for a couple of heat-of-the-moment infringements on the "Bang" rule, all went very well indeed. If fact, those two incidents sorta underscored why we use the Bang rule on this field, and I know we all will remember the example of Troy's nose and Jason's extra bellybutton when we play our two-day Belorussia scenario event this spring.
At the spring scenario, we hope to have civilian NPCs living in the village, a unit of Belorussian partisans, grenade rules, medic rules, and hopefully armor. More on this to come....
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Post by Gordak on Oct 15, 2007 10:56:31 GMT -5
OMG that looked awesome!!!!! WOW. great pictures. My favorite is Mills yelling on the feild phone, awesome photo!
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Post by CharleyNovember on Oct 15, 2007 12:50:01 GMT -5
Looked like an awesome game guys. Really cool impressions, I really really like Natasya and everyone seemed to have a safe and fun time.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Oct 15, 2007 18:04:55 GMT -5
You guys are to be heartily congratulated. The AO looked great,everyone has great smiles on their faces and the impressions for the most part look very good. Fun time. It looks like something that be worth getting on a plane to come to.
Keep it up!
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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Oct 15, 2007 20:02:40 GMT -5
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ersatzjack2
Private 1st Class
"We can still win this thing, once the secret weapons arrive."
Posts: 612
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Post by ersatzjack2 on Oct 16, 2007 1:28:09 GMT -5
Nice added pics Alex. I like the black and whites.
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Post by Koulikov on Oct 17, 2007 21:52:56 GMT -5
Wow, judging by the photos you guys had an amazing time. And a game with Soviets! I wish i had known about this. I am so there next time!
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Post by neoptolemus on Oct 19, 2007 11:19:50 GMT -5
Is anyone in contact with the fellow's wife who took the pictures in the field?
I happened to get some nice poses in ;D and need to show them off to my friends!
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ersatzjack2
Private 1st Class
"We can still win this thing, once the secret weapons arrive."
Posts: 612
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Post by ersatzjack2 on Oct 19, 2007 11:53:20 GMT -5
Is anyone in contact with the fellow's wife who took the pictures in the field? I happened to get some nice poses in ;D and need to show them off to my friends! I sent waxmandave1 a pm. His female friend was doing some photography and I inquired of him about those photos. Haven't heard anything back yet but he is new to these boards. Perhaps in a few days those extra photos of you may get posted.
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Post by waxmandave1 on Oct 21, 2007 20:37:13 GMT -5
Thanks every one for welcoming my grenadier and myself to our first airsoft event. (it was a blast). I have contacted the mother of Grenadier kroeger and hope to get photos to post soon. As for my saftey erors I will have that corrected at the next event I attend. Thank you all for your help.
Stabsfeldwebel Koehler 1.110.11th pz
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alban
Private
Sniper for life.
Posts: 177
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Post by alban on Oct 22, 2007 9:27:58 GMT -5
I am really surpised how many people said this was there first event. Just shows you how much the sport is growing. Also I'll bring extra safety glasses next time.
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Post by Jager.Drü on Oct 22, 2007 12:14:10 GMT -5
This looked to be one heck of a event. I'm jealous, I don't have a town to fight in or even Russians to fight. Good Job! Thanks every one for welcoming my grenadier and myself to our first airsoft event. (it was a blast). I have contacted the mother of Grenadier kroeger and hope to get photos to post soon. As for my saftey erors I will have that corrected at the next event I attend. Thank you all for your help. Stabsfeldwebel Koehler 1.110.11th pz Staff officers don't fight in the field! Stabs denotes a staff type positon. www.nuav.net/SS-insignia.html and here www.packrat-toyz.com/Reference/heer.htm, start at the bottom and work your way up.
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Post by Capt. Zak on Oct 22, 2007 17:34:37 GMT -5
start at the bottom and work your way up. AMEN TO THAT! ;D
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Post by Rock of the Marne on Oct 23, 2007 19:50:22 GMT -5
wish i coulda been there looks like it turned out to be a great event
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Post by waxmandave1 on Oct 27, 2007 0:26:20 GMT -5
Stabsfeldwebel ,Hauptfeldwebels and oberfeldwebels all fought with there units in the field , My rank is the equivalent of a master Sargent or Sargent major , most of them were lifers left over from the first world war or the Wiemar republic with a service record of 12 to 25 years This looked to be one heck of a event. I'm jealous, I don't have a town to fight in or even Russians to fight. Good Job! Thanks every one for welcoming my grenadier and myself to our first airsoft event. (it was a blast). I have contacted the mother of Grenadier kroeger and hope to get photos to post soon. As for my saftey erors I will have that corrected at the next event I attend. Thank you all for your help. Stabsfeldwebel Koehler 1.110.11th pz Staff officers don't fight in the field! Stabs denotes a staff type positon. www.nuav.net/SS-insignia.html and here www.packrat-toyz.com/Reference/heer.htm, start at the bottom and work your way up.
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Post by neoptolemus on Nov 8, 2007 20:06:54 GMT -5
Bump for the in game pictures
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KRaddatz
Private 1st Class
505th
Posts: 589
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Post by KRaddatz on Nov 8, 2007 21:59:27 GMT -5
Bump For Great Justice!
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