Post by unsilenced on Feb 14, 2016 23:14:23 GMT -5
Hello! I saw there was a "resistance" thread here already, but I have something more specific in mind that I was wondering if people might be able to help advise me on.
Long story short, I'm trying to make a loadout based on Polish Home Army forces. I had originally been going to try a French Resistance one, and even got an armband for it, but the Polish resistance is much more interesting to me historically and allows a much more diverse selection of weaponry. It also allows me to slowly "put together" a full Polish (or German) uniform over time, rather than dropping a lot of money on a full set right out the gate.
For the civilian elements of the outfit I've put together a wool jacket, collared shirt, and wool pants, with a belt around the waist to hold my ammo pouches, which are reproduction German MP40 mag pouches, holding 6 AGM STEN mags.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Soviet_guerilla.jpg This is what I used as a reference for most of the civilian clothing. Yes I know it's a soviet partisan, but that brings me to the other parts of the outfit.
As seen in these pictures:
i0.wp.com/militaryhistorynow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/WarsawUprising.jpg
www.ww2incolor.com/d/344711-4/battle_warsawuprising13
www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/warsaw_uprising_cc_img.jpg
Home Army soldiers often seem to have much more military equipment than the soviet guerrillas pictured above. Some even appear to be in a full uniform, just not one that matches any of the other soldiers in their "unit." This makes sense as many fighters were remnants of the Polish military and would still have their gear, so it seemed like a good place to start in terms of making myself look like a Home Army soldier and not mid-60's Harvard professor toting an SMG.
The first and most iconic part of this has, unfortunately, proven rather hard to acquire. I have yet to find a convincing "AK" armband, and thus far have simply used red and white cloths tied around the arm. I was able to find www.amazon.com/Polish-Apparel-Armband-Silver-Eagle/dp/B0065L8BF4/ref=sr_1_1?srs=8420082011&ie=UTF8&qid=1455506056&sr=8-1&keywords=armband this, but it's not Home Army marked, and I'm not sure what the actual marking represents, if it's pre or post war, or if it could potentially belong to a Home Army fighter.
The second most ubiquitous piece of kit I see on Polish resistance soldiers is the hat. At first I thought they were wearing captured M43 hats, but it appears to be part of Polish Army gear. Once again, Amazon seems to come to the rescue, albeit a little bit too small for my noggin. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036QT5RY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
So, TL;DR: Can anyone vouch for whether or not those two items would make sense for a Home Army soldier, or possibly point me to more authentic gear?
Also curious, how appropriate are a STEN gun and a PPSH for a Home Army soldier? The Home Army wasn't exactly friendly with the Soviets, and even the Soviet partisans operating in Poland weren't exactly well supplied from my understanding. The British though had fairly good contact through the Polish Underground Government, and apparently supplied a number of guns, including STEN guns which were copied and manufactured in hidden facilities.
waralbum.ru/wp-content/uploads/yapb_cache/02.2zad7alc8kcgggc8woog4k8w0.ejcuplo1l0oo0sk8c40s8osc4.th.jpeg I did find this picture, which seems to depict a Home Army soldier wielding a PPSH or some variant thereof. The page it was on was in Russian, but according to google translate this is a "Polish Insurgent" and the gun is a "PCA"
Two other guns that I don't own but have my interest are the BAR and the STG-44. I've heard mixed things about the AGM-STG-44, but there appears to be a second one out on the market now by "Lancer Tactical," and I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I knew I could make a half decent, longer range gun out of it. I mostly play non-WWII CQB, where my PPSH and STEN work just fine, but going to a larger or reenactment-based op, I'd like to have something that can reach out and touch people the same way a mid-range AK or M4 based AEG might. For a modern milsim, I could always put on a modern optic and be some kind of rebel or insurgent, assuming I get the accuracy I'd want out of it.
I'm fairly certain the Home Army could have had captured STG-44's during the Warsaw Uprising, and I've seen what appears to be a picture of a Home Army soldier using an BAR, but any input or advice about those guns would be appreciated.
Long story short, I'm trying to make a loadout based on Polish Home Army forces. I had originally been going to try a French Resistance one, and even got an armband for it, but the Polish resistance is much more interesting to me historically and allows a much more diverse selection of weaponry. It also allows me to slowly "put together" a full Polish (or German) uniform over time, rather than dropping a lot of money on a full set right out the gate.
For the civilian elements of the outfit I've put together a wool jacket, collared shirt, and wool pants, with a belt around the waist to hold my ammo pouches, which are reproduction German MP40 mag pouches, holding 6 AGM STEN mags.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Soviet_guerilla.jpg This is what I used as a reference for most of the civilian clothing. Yes I know it's a soviet partisan, but that brings me to the other parts of the outfit.
As seen in these pictures:
i0.wp.com/militaryhistorynow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/WarsawUprising.jpg
www.ww2incolor.com/d/344711-4/battle_warsawuprising13
www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/warsaw_uprising_cc_img.jpg
Home Army soldiers often seem to have much more military equipment than the soviet guerrillas pictured above. Some even appear to be in a full uniform, just not one that matches any of the other soldiers in their "unit." This makes sense as many fighters were remnants of the Polish military and would still have their gear, so it seemed like a good place to start in terms of making myself look like a Home Army soldier and not mid-60's Harvard professor toting an SMG.
The first and most iconic part of this has, unfortunately, proven rather hard to acquire. I have yet to find a convincing "AK" armband, and thus far have simply used red and white cloths tied around the arm. I was able to find www.amazon.com/Polish-Apparel-Armband-Silver-Eagle/dp/B0065L8BF4/ref=sr_1_1?srs=8420082011&ie=UTF8&qid=1455506056&sr=8-1&keywords=armband this, but it's not Home Army marked, and I'm not sure what the actual marking represents, if it's pre or post war, or if it could potentially belong to a Home Army fighter.
The second most ubiquitous piece of kit I see on Polish resistance soldiers is the hat. At first I thought they were wearing captured M43 hats, but it appears to be part of Polish Army gear. Once again, Amazon seems to come to the rescue, albeit a little bit too small for my noggin. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036QT5RY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
So, TL;DR: Can anyone vouch for whether or not those two items would make sense for a Home Army soldier, or possibly point me to more authentic gear?
Also curious, how appropriate are a STEN gun and a PPSH for a Home Army soldier? The Home Army wasn't exactly friendly with the Soviets, and even the Soviet partisans operating in Poland weren't exactly well supplied from my understanding. The British though had fairly good contact through the Polish Underground Government, and apparently supplied a number of guns, including STEN guns which were copied and manufactured in hidden facilities.
waralbum.ru/wp-content/uploads/yapb_cache/02.2zad7alc8kcgggc8woog4k8w0.ejcuplo1l0oo0sk8c40s8osc4.th.jpeg I did find this picture, which seems to depict a Home Army soldier wielding a PPSH or some variant thereof. The page it was on was in Russian, but according to google translate this is a "Polish Insurgent" and the gun is a "PCA"
Two other guns that I don't own but have my interest are the BAR and the STG-44. I've heard mixed things about the AGM-STG-44, but there appears to be a second one out on the market now by "Lancer Tactical," and I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I knew I could make a half decent, longer range gun out of it. I mostly play non-WWII CQB, where my PPSH and STEN work just fine, but going to a larger or reenactment-based op, I'd like to have something that can reach out and touch people the same way a mid-range AK or M4 based AEG might. For a modern milsim, I could always put on a modern optic and be some kind of rebel or insurgent, assuming I get the accuracy I'd want out of it.
I'm fairly certain the Home Army could have had captured STG-44's during the Warsaw Uprising, and I've seen what appears to be a picture of a Home Army soldier using an BAR, but any input or advice about those guns would be appreciated.