Post by Gerry on May 21, 2011 10:50:28 GMT -5
NORMANDY
6 June 1944
We are happy to announce that the "Day of Days" Event is BACK ON.
When: June 4 - 5th 2011, Terryville, CT.
Field Address: 235 Wolcott Street, Terryville, CT
Store Address: 1254 Wolcott Rd. Wolcott, Ct 06716.
With respect to recent circumstances, Joe Migs (SfcMigs) and Steve (Kern1944) have decided to jointly head up this Day of Days event. Most of the original guidelines and rules will still be in effect. Most importantly is the impression restrictions. This has not changed. Any and all changes for this event have been slight and will not be dramatic.
As you read through the text below, all alterations will be highlighted in red.
Engagement rules (including blank fire reenactors),medic/wounded rules, insertion points/intervals, game objectives/points, updates and all final decisions/rules WILL BE posted on this thread. Please keep all discussions and opinions to the discussion board for this event. Any direct questions/concerns please PM Joe (SfcMigs).
Very Important to get your registrations in asap, especially the Airborne troops. The order of your registration will help determine your insertion order and initial role.
Historical background
One of the most daring elements of the D-Day landings was the insertion of two full US airborne divisions in the Cotentin peninsula, on the western flank of the Allied beachhead, where they played a vital part in the success of the landing on Utah Beach and helped to cause so much confusion that the Germans were unable to launch a coherent counterattack against either American beach.
With so many aircraft in ...such a small part of the sky the cloud inevitably caused chaos, with some aircraft climbing above and some dropping below the cloud, and many losing their place. Anti-aircraft fire added to the confusion. For many of the aircrew involved this was their first combat mission and their first time under fire, and once again the formations were broken up before they reached their landing zones. The two American airborne divisions were scattered far and wide across the Cotentin peninsula, and the American Army limited itself to daytime jumps for the rest of the war.
Despite the near-disastrous scattering that marked the paratrooper drop, the two American airborne divisions made a significant contribution to the success at Utah Beach. The 101st Airborne was most successful, preventing the Germans from defending the western ends of the causeways across the river. Even the two worst scattered regiments of the 82nd Airborne made something of a contribution by causing confusion in German minds.
US 82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne had two tasks. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was to land east of the Merderet River and capture Ste. Mère-Eglise. The 507th and 508th Parachute Infantry Regiments were to land west of the river and create a defensive line about three miles further to the west. This plan was badly disrupted by the scattered drop. Only 4% of the men in the two regiments west of the Merderet landing in the correct place, and these two regiments spent most of the day attempting to recover from the confusion.
The 505th PIR made the most concentrated jump of the night, landing in Drop Zone O, to the north-west of Ste Mère-Église. Here the pathfinders had done their job, and the C-47 pilots negotiated the troublesome cloudbank without any problems. The town was captured by a small force led by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Krause, and was then held successfully against a German counterattack from the south. Krause attacked the town with one quarter of his men. He ordered his men to limit their attacks to knives, bayonets and grenades, so that any gunfire would give away the position of a German. When the town was cleared the paratroops had taken thirty prisoners and killed ten men. During the morning the Germans mounted a counterattack from the north and south, but the 505th held its ground.
US 101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division was scattered across an area 25 miles long and 15 miles wide, with outlying fragments even further afield. Despite this the 101st did manage to achieve some of its main objectives, which had been to secure the western edge of the flooded area behind Utah Beach and to seize the line of the Douve River.
These scattered landings caused far more confusion on the German side than on the American. In Normandy the lack of any large concentrations of paratroops made it almost impossible for the local commanders to organise an effective response – every field or village could contain one or two or twenty or one hundred or no Americans. Further afield the confusion even helped reinforce the Allied deception plans, for the airborne landing was so scattered that several key officers, including both Rommel's and Rundstedt's chiefs-of-staff used them as evidence that the landing in Normandy was a feint.
Elements from the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry, managed to occupy Mésières, and then advanced to the west of Foucarville in an unsuccessful attempt to make contact with the 82nd airborne.
The 2nd Battalion, 502nd PIR, was too badly scattered to make any significant contribution on D-Day, and spent most the day attempting to recover from the drop.
The 3rd Battalion, 502nd PIR reached the St. Martin coastal battery but found that the guns had been removed after the Allied air offensive had destroyed the fire control systems. The battalion them moved on to Audouville-la-Hubert, at the western end of one of the causeways from the beach, where they ambushed a force of German troops attempting to retreat from the battle on Utah Beach.
The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 506th PIR had the task of protecting the two southern beach exits. Colonel Sink, the regiment's commander, set up his command post at Culoville, where he spent most of the day isolated from his own men and under intermittent German attack. The 2nd Battalion landed too far to the north, and attempted to advance south to Pouppeville, but was held up by German resistance and didn't reach its target until the early afternoon. The same was true of a force from the 1st Battalion which Sink dispatched from Culoville to Pouppeville.
Pouppeville actually fell to troops from the 3rd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry, the divisional reserve, dispatched by the division's command, General Maxwell Taylor. This force reached the village at around eight, but wasn't able to clear out the last defenders until noon. Soon after that they became the first airborne troops to make contact with the troops on Utah Beach when they joined up with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry.
The 3rd Battalion, 506th PIR managed to hold a precarious defensive line on the Douve River, partly because the Germans were unwilling to risk leaving their fixed fortifications to attack an American force of unknown strength.
The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 501st PIR, had the task of securing the western stretches of the Douve River, and the lock at la Barquette. The second of these objectives was achieved, but the German resistance along the river meant that the Douve bridges remained in German hands on D-Day.
By the evening of D-Day the 101st Airborne had about 2,500 of its 6,600 men under orders. Despite the scattered landings and confusion on the ground the division had succeeded in its most important task – securing the western edge of the flooded area at Utah Beach, preventing the Germans from using the causeways to bottle up the landings, or to launch any counterattack. The relatively easy victory on Utah Bridge owed much to the scattered battles of the 101st Airborne.
One small group from the 101st helped to further sow confusion when at about dawn they ambushed and killed General Wilhelm Falley, the commander of the 91st Luftlande Division.
The Defenders
Three German divisions were posted to the Cotentin Peninsula on D-Day. The eastern side of the peninsula, including Utah Beach, was allocated to the 709th Static Infantry Division, which also had responsibility for the defence of Cherbourg. The west coast was defended by the 243rd Static Infantry Division. Between them was the newly formed 91st Luftlande Division, which had only been sent to the area in May 1944. The 709th and 243rd were weak units. Three of the eleven infantry battalions in the 709th were manned by former Soviet prisoners of war, and many of the other battalions included large numbers of Poles. Neither group was trusted by their German officers.
Armoured support was very limited, and relied on some obsolete equipment, including the Panzerjäger 35R, which combined an old Czech gun and an obsolete French tank although the 243rd Infantry Division did possess ten StuG IIIs and fourteen Marder IIIs and a mix of 38 French types.
The 91st Luftlande Division had been formed at the start of 1944 and only had 7,500 men in June, but on D-Day it was joined by the 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment. The first soldiers to spot the invasion fleet at 05:02 were from the 352ID, they were stationed in the Wiederstandnester (resistance nests) between Omaha and Gold beaches at Port-en-Bessin. The 4. Kompanie, GR914 was manning the defenses in front of the beach areas of Pt.duHoc and took a very heavy toll of the American 2nd ranger Division.
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Event Info & Safety
This will be a 24 hour full immersion event starting at 8pm on Saturday. We will be EMPLOYING established German reenactors equipped with blankfire weapons (We are hoping to mix blanks with airsoft for a better "feel") as the opposing force along with German airsoft reenactors. This unit of German reenactors will be supplying the following: German guard shack, Ford 1.5 ton truck, German Communication trailer w/field phones and possibly a bike w/sidecar. They will also be heading down the week before setting up cammo nets over the trench line and use two mock 10.5 cm Howitzers. These guns will be able to fire "star bursts" for aesthetic purposes.
Please send your registration info to the following Email address:
SfcMigs@gmail.com
Please put "Day of days registration" as the subject header
Participants 18 and under must have a parent or guardian sign their waiver form.
Authenticity standards will be exceptionally high for this event
Participants that wish to be part of a US Airborne division must have a photo of their impression accompany their registration
US Airborne force will be NOT be limited. But Strict Airborne Impression rules are still in effect
We will be accepting a limited number of french resistance fighters to assist our Airborne troops with German positions, weapons and to assist (if needed) food and water. A photo of this impression will also be required.
Please include the following:
Name:
Unit Impression and rank:
Address:
DOB/Age:
Weapon:
Email address:
Rental: Y N
Cost
First estimates will be:
$80-$85 for Airborne troops
$45 for all others
This may change depending on the number of entries. Since we are hiring the German reenactment unit with all of their equipment, this has added to the cost of this event. In order to keep the cost at it's original estimates, our registered numbers need to be the same or slightly higher.
Obtain you waiver here: TBD
Safety
Airsoft electric Guns (AEG's) - 400FPS
single shot bolt action - 500FPS
ANSI Rated Eye protection (shooting glasses, goggles) is required to play.
NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES MAY BE CONSUMED ON THE PLAYING FIELD AT ANY TIME during play.
Authenticity guidelines
The following are the authenticity guidelines for all 82nd and 101st Airborne impressions
Headgear- M1C helmet with fixed d-bale ,with paratrooper liner and correct leather chinstrap. MOST helmets were covered with nets with pieces of scrim attached for camo effect.
Uniform-M42 REINFORCED jump uniform. The 82nd and 101st uniforms were slightly different,but for this event,it doesn't make that much of a difference.
Guys doing the 82nd are the ONLY ones who should have the American flag on their right sleeve. The 101st did NOT wear the flag! They wore the invasion gas brassard on the right sleeve. Members of the 502nd PIR also wore a gauze field sign around their left shoulder.
A WHITE tee shirt was usually worn underneath,along with the issue issue service shirt.
Footwear- BROWN repro Corcoran jump boots. M43 buckle boots were NOT worn till at LEAST Sept. of 1944. Hell even SPR got this little detail wrong using black ones! Black ones will be acceptable for this event if brown cannot be had. NO modern Army tan or suede boots,no French post War buckle boots,they are even wrong for regular infantry.
Webgear- WW2 issue,or repro khaki web belt,or cartridge belt,depending on your weapon. From existing pictures,members of the 101st did NOT wear the cartridge belt! They wore the pistol belt with rigger pouches for Garand clips and grenades. The 82nd DID use the cartridge belt.
M36 KHAKI web suspenders.Original or repro. WITH felt strap pads. These can be found at WPG or on Ebay.
M1910 canteen and pouch,first aid pouch.A lot of paratroopers also wore a first aid pouch attached to their helmet net containing a tourniquet,first aid dressing and morphine styrette.
Musette bag,khaki. Worn by ALL paratroopers on D-Day,and thereafter. Containing extra socks,k-rations,ammo,towel,raincoat,and other personal items. Attached to this sometimes was the coiled "let down" rope carried by most paratroopers in case of a tree landing.
Holster, or shoulder holster for M1911 if carried. Holster must be BROWN leather. Black wasn't used till the 1950's or later.
Correct period flashlights are recommended for night maneuvers.
Weapons:
Accepted and correct weapons include:
M1 Garand
M1 Carbine
M1 Thompson
.30 MG
M3 Grease gun
.45 M1911 pistol
The following are the authenticity guidelines for all German Army troops of the 1058 Grenadier regiment
Headgear: M40 or M42; no decals or one decal only. M35 if no other helmet available. NO CAMO COVERS. M38, M42 or M43 feldmutze
Uniform: Wool M43 preferred; M40 and M42 secondary choices. M36 tunics are acceptable if no other options available; would prefer M36's tunics to be worn by NCO's. No M44 tunics. Wool or HBT Keilhosen preferred; straight leg trousers acceptable.
Boots: Ankle boots with Gamaschen or march/jack boots. Modern black leather boots with gaitors will be accepted if there is absolutely no other alternative.
Gear: either all leather, all web, or a mix of leather and web; combat gear includes ammo pouches, y-straps, breadbag, canteen w/ cup, mess tin, entrenching tool, bayonet and frog, gasmask container and Zeltbahn (optional)
Weapons:
Accepted and correct weapons:
K98
MP-38 or 40
STG44
MG-34
MG-42
Thank you all for your attention. Please stay tuned for more updates and information. Get those registrations in!
Joe Migs