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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Oct 25, 2009 3:19:36 GMT -5
I had a blast, The cold weather Friday night made it appear that Saturday was going to be a miserable day, but as luck would have it Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. I got one of the rolls developed, I still have some pictures to burn off the second roll. I took a round from the Sturmgewehr 44 in the first battle. The rest are here: s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff92/2ndrangers/Operation%20Debrecen/
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Post by CharleyNovember on Oct 25, 2009 9:03:31 GMT -5
Hey that German is sporting a full beard!!!! Kidding fellas, The pics look great as always.
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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 25, 2009 11:39:08 GMT -5
Hey that German is sporting a full beard!!!! Kidding fellas, The pics look great as always. That's Ulrich of the 6th SS. He was 3rd Panzergrenadier but wanted facial hair and broke off to do a gebirgsjager unit. Both of the 6th SS guys in this photo are great fighters. I think his unit down in Illinois is up to about 5 or 6 guys. They're all ethnic Russians for the most part. They are always welcome with their beards because of their fighting prowess and amicable dispositions. They're sort of like our sister unit in battle. They also are in the process of picking up a 20 acre parcel for monthly games in the Chicago area. Stay tuned....
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Post by shadycadence on Oct 25, 2009 13:20:29 GMT -5
Thanks to Troy for another outstanding time. I had a blast in spite of my back pain, which says a lot about the event. My apologies to my fellow soldaten for leaving the second scenario, but I was no good to anyone in that condition. Lots of new players for this one, that's always good to see. Being my first time in command of the Germans, I was a little nervous. I did my best to asses our situation continuously and adjust accordingly, which seemed to work out well in the first scenario defending the headquarters. I think the deciding factor was the Russians devoting to much attention to the medical supplies in the village, and me saying to hell with the supplies, defend this position. Our perimeter defenses were too strong for anything short of an all out assault by the entire Russian team, which I was certain was eminent, but never materialized. By the time Natasha had the HQ in sight, the time had expired. The second scenario had us attacking the Russian HQ, and searching for a FOB (Forward Observation Base) with a field phone. I was confident the FOB was at the fuel depot, so that was my primary initial target. We would assault and take the fuel depot with a wing to our left sweeping forward as we went. But to my chagrin, the crafty Ruski's had a bunker built in the path of our wing and gave us stiff resistance. I was trying to help with this position when I was shot, and my reflexes jerked my spine in absolutely the wrong way. I literally felt like I had been bayoneted in the back. I walked slowly back to the respawn and handed command to Franz. I rested for a few minutes, then left the field for some Ib I had in my truck and went to the barn to lay down. I did eventually make it back outside to listen to the final 20 minutes of the firefight. It sounded mighty fierce, but the Russians managed to hold out to the end. The final scenario was a battle of attrition in the open field with cover scattered throughout. Oh, and mortars. We started from opposite corners, and at game on I began to lob rounds from our new mortar. My luck was absolutely incredible. I landed rounds directly behind three major pieces of cover, taking out a substantial number of Russians, including their mortar.(note the line in my signature) Five minutes into the scenario, the last Russian died. That was too quick, so we decided to do it again. This time my luck wasn't as strong, and I only managed to get a few Russians before running out of ammunition, so with my ibuprofen in full swing, I grabbed my Mauser and joined the pick-off fest for the rest of the game, eventually achieving the same result. There was then the opportunity to have a fight in the town, but I didn't want to push my back any more, so I declined to partake in this one. I hope the new players enjoyed themselves enough to bring friends, I think we are definitely building a reputation of being a really fun time. Thanks to everyone who came out, I am naturally looking forward to the next 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 25, 2009 14:36:09 GMT -5
AAR - Operation Debrecen, To start off, I was worried that weather would ruin the event. When Steve and I and Georg (new member from Chicago are) arrived the temperature was 31-F and everything was soaked from a week of cold rain and it was still misting. We decided to back out of camping. Steve and I wanted to unveil our new period camp for this event but that can wait we figured. It will give us time to perfect it was our thought. Well, we had to think about the comfort of our guest too. Anyhow, we greeted the host, Troy and the stalwart 2nd Rangers and headed out for a warm night's sleep. In the morning, when we returned we were surprised how many had arrived in the evening and did camp it out. I mean it was a brisk wind and still plenty wet and muddy all over and our hats went out to those that braved the night. We did lose one person to the weather who had tried courageously to make it through the evening and for whatever reason could not stay warm enough. He was shivering and had to be driven home. We'll see him fully recovered at future events however as we all know he is a gamer. The weather improved as the day wore on and partly sunny skies and warmer (40-ies) temperatures intervened making for a fun day. The first scenario had the Germans on defense. I was with George and Kevin (Peiper) on the German left flank and must say we had it easy at first. Peiper had a choice position and was racking up a number of kills so that George and I had little to do initially. During returning waves however, the Russian attackers had more knowledge of Kevin's position and did better. I decided to go rifle hunting and flanked Kevin on the Russian team, eliminating him with a grenade and then gunned down Robin (a reasonably long rifle shot) and also as I pressed the Russians creeping in they gave away their positions so that Peiper added to his tally. This was the second repulsed attack on our flank and then I got cocky and went on the offensive. That resulted in my elimination and as I was at respawn, Peiper came back dead as well. When we returned to our old area, it was under Soviet control and the AC was in command of the road junction. I surrendered rather than get gunned down but was shot by Soviet infantry anyway, and before I could reenter the battle a third time it was over with the German team just holding on to their position. Lunch was then offered up and as Steve had forgotten to load our rations we went begging. Robin and Chris from the Russian team had their usual feedbag put out though so we still ate well. Robin is quite handy with food prep and we are all the better for it. In addition, I worked on the electrical problem I was having with the Viva MG-34 so that when scenario two started it would be ready. It did eventually provide good service for that game after an initial hiccup so that we had two crew served MGs for the German attack on Russian prepared positions. It was like hitting the Maginot line. The Russians had internal lines which they easily moved their troops to when the Germans made any headway. They had several excellent bunker positions prepared and they had Natasha. The AC would move back and forth wherever it was needed. This was a demoralizing attack and we kept making little progress. If we did take some position, it would be recaptured. There was one bright spot for me in this battle. The Russians had a forward defensive area at their fuel dump which was fortified but less heavily than the other positions. Additionally I was able to creep to high ground with enfilade fire possibilities and shielded from the fire of the main bunker by a building, I poured suppressive fire into their position. A 1000-bbs poured from the MG. The Russian leader, Panzerknacker tried to steady his green Russian troops but things were too hot for them and I had the fun of seeing one after another abandon their position while our assault troops moved in from the front to take the position. Panzerknacker (Tom) was the final Soviet to retreat and although I didn't score any kills, it was a great demonstration of proper MG use when it can be used that way. We never made much progress after that and the event was a solid Russian win. The third scenario Shady aptly described. It was an open field shoot-fest with little cover. The German's unveiled their new mortar (a group effort of Garrick and Dietrich's) and it could be said that it had an excellent debut. The German 120mm mortar was more effective than the 82mm Russian mortar and the first contest was over quickly. So organizers said let's do that again and the second time was a closer run affair. The armored car sat this battle out. The deciding factor was the long range fire of the Mausers and it caused at least one Soviet to surrender in disgust, yelling "we can't reach them." Sad to say, but I found his frustration very satisfying, and was reminded how several events ago, the consensus was that the number of German rifles was a disadvantage. It all comes down to tactics. I know the frustration however as I feel it every time their armored car heads my way and I know I have little chance of surviving. It's all in a fun day of war fighting. There were then two village fights held infantry only which I believed ended in a split decision for those that still had energy and I was one of those. I was back to my rifle as my MG battery was dead after the second scenario. So, if we are keeping score mark this as the first German victory at Neillsville in awhile. Here are some of my pics - Looking forward to Big Lake. The drive there on Friday was not encouraging. WTF - 23 Oct? Troy certainly posts the signage. Can't get lost going to his events. He also threw out the red carpet at this event with field improvements, headquarters (barn) improvements and just organized the heck out of things. Great work. I hope people stopped at the donation box and were generous. Our hosts Troy and Kevin Elements of the German side in period pic Our model soldier showing off his new hand-sewn cap. He made a wool one too that my brother scarfed up for a price. He is handy with needle and thread. After Shady (Dietrich) hurt his back, he became the mortar operator lending new meaning to the term chairsofter.
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sprinkles
Private
Close and Personal for life
Posts: 31
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Post by sprinkles on Oct 25, 2009 14:38:47 GMT -5
Here Here shadycadence haha
I know I really enjoyed myself this game even though I had to take Alban back home to MN because he wasn't feeling so well. But I came back to fight with my Russian and Ranger Comrades.
I enjoyed the last two scenarios a lot. scenario two was one of my favs since Rangers(I included) held off our bunker even if we had two people in the bunker we still held it off. I'm also pleased that I got to use my shotgun (soon to be made Trench gun) and get some kills with it. Those silly Germans just kept coming granted I wish I could of seen the battle on the more left side of the woods cause all I heard were constant fire fights. But we held our own that battle yay us. The final round just as intense until they ran out of mortars then it was just a sniper fest. B4 any of the fights started I knew that the Allies wouldn't win cause we had very few range weapons unlike the Germans who have there sniper rifles and Kar-98's or whatever they all had.
All and all I had much fun minus the driving back to MN and back to WI after just getting there then coming back to the event basically sleep deprived. So the putting up the tent was pointless hahaha.
See you all Next game
*****************ALSO*********************** I have whosoever Panzerfaust and what I think is a German Mess-kit
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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 26, 2009 1:15:52 GMT -5
A big thanks to Troy for once again hosting a fun and successful event. Turnout was excellent despite the horrible weather on the day before the battle. I believe there were 50 rsvps and I think we had 36 participants on Saturday. Troy had spent a lot of time getting the field ready with strengthened fortifications and extra battlefield props and he had tidied up the barn and made things as comfortable as he could. Unfortunately, with all the cold rain and wet conditions my brother and I opted out of the traditional Friday night camping and camaraderie in exchange for warm lodgings. Troy's skirmishes were a lot of fun. In the first one the Russians had to assault a German HQ and we had two fausts, mines, and plenty of firepower to stop their armored/infantry push. We had 40 lives and they had 60 but we could capture medical supplies (15 more lives) in a village outside of our lines if we so chose and the Russians had a twofold mission. They had to assign some of their force to guard the village and they still had to dig us out of our foxholes. They couldn't do it in 90 minutes and I think they got chewed up in the process pretty good. In both this skirmish and the next I was carrying just a pistol (never fired it) and one of our two panzerfausts. I followed the engine of Natasha thruout the battle but Troy was very careful in how he used her. About halfway thru the battle he did push her down a road and I got close enough to shoot. I sent a charge (nerf) into the front of her and Troy heard the solid smack and their red kill rag was displayed. Very satisfying. Even more so since I had denied another kill to Rekkon whom I learned later was closing in with some of his pioneer treats. Later in the battle I had another opportunity at almost the same terrain but as I was preparing to shoot, Jacob of the 110th Panzergrenadiers came running to my positon with his panzerfaust. They saw him and lit both of us up. They killed Jacob pretty quickly and I was in another hail of pb's. This time my luck ran out and their turret gunner killed me. I had some choice words for Jacob back at the respawn. In the second skirmish the tables were turned. In addition to attacking an even more fortified postion we had to face Natasha again. Like Shady said, his back went out and I assumed command but I was at a loss for how to attack. The battle seesawed and there was attrition on both sides as we were able to kill some of the lesser protected Russian infantry. Their bunker personnel and armor was another story though. I don't think too many of them died. Every time we made some progress in an area it was costly and Russian armor and infantry counterpushes had us back to square one. Still, we continued to knock our heads against a wall. Afterall, that was our mission. I think Natasha was killed once in this one by our other panzerfaust but I'm pretty sure I died either three or four times either leading or trying to get close enough to take her out. The second skirmish was a clear Russian victory. In the third skirmish Troy had set up seven pieces of cover in a grassy crop field. Each side hovered in opposite corners of the field and when the airhorn blew we could dash out to the limited cover. Oh, yeah, each side had a mortar. Other than the seven burned out wrecks or trailers there was no cover for this one. The Russians had an 82mm mortar and the Germans debuted a new 120mm mortar with nerfs about 60% larger than the ones we've been used to shooting. It was over in under 5 minutes. Shady, still nursing his bad back sent a number of his early rounds into Russians skulking behind the limited cover and was fortunate to counter battery the Russian mortar almost at the beginning. Our aeg's and rifles did the rest. I doubt if I got a kill in this one and the mortar may have taken out over half of the Russian force. Both sides agreed to replay this skirmish and so we did. The fourth skirmish I'll call "Day of the Mauser." The mortars were both still in play but neither had the same effectiveness as the first open field skirmish and they ran out of ammo. After that the battle got interesting. Each side had three pieces of cover and the wrecked plane which was dead center became a focal point with the Russians trying real hard to obtain that piece of real estate. They needed it too because they had to leapfrog from cover location to cover location in order to bring their shorter range aeg's into play. The Germans didn't need it as the longer range mausers (we had four of them) began to turn the tide. Towards the end of the battle the Russians had four troops left. Two by their armored car, one by their burned out truck and one by their first aid trailer. I had shot at the first aid trailer target about 30 times and repositioned from our burned out truck to our fuel trailer. Much easier shot and his bb's were barely reaching. After about 4 shots I had him. I ran back to the truck and could see that our forces on the east side of the field had the two Russians behind the armored car now taking cover by the rear of it and thus, in my field of fire. Being flanked is no fun. After about six long range shots they surrendered in frustration. No shame in that. Their position was hopeless. Our forces advanced on the Russian Willy's truck and poor Belka was the lone Russian. She should have surrendered too but for some reason didn't and while the majority of our forces pinned her frontally, I flanked her postion and sent one 60 yard shot into her. This skirmish was obviously a lot of fun for me and if a few Russians felt helpless they need to remember that Natasha can often cause us Germans to feel the same way. The day ended with about 16 of us (eight to a side) fighting some close quarter village actions. The Russians won the first one and the Germans won the second. In the first one I was the last German and about four Russians started hunting me in the woods. Not good odds for a mauser equipped soldaten. I exchanged a few shots and got winged in perfect Hollywood flesh wound style in the upper left arm. I called out for our medic, then realized I was alone and dropped my gun and surrendered. To my surprise, the Russians didn't shoot me again. All in all a great day with lots of trigger time. Oh yeah, almost forgot, thanks Alex (Cpl Mills) for only shooting your Thompson half of the time and shooting your camera the other half.
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Post by Paul Rech on Oct 26, 2009 13:58:01 GMT -5
Hungary 1944... Armored elements of the 198th Soviet Rifle Division prior to the attack... Grenadier Franz V. 3rd Panzergrenadier Div. mit Panzerfaust... 6th SS Nord and 3rd Panzergrenadier after mortar attack...
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Post by Fusilier on Oct 26, 2009 14:38:14 GMT -5
Nice BA-64.
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