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Post by Gordak on Jun 6, 2011 12:56:46 GMT -5
I want to start by saying this was the most incredible, elaborate, daring and immersing ww2 airsoft battle Ive ever attended. Bravo to Joe for taking the ball and scoring an epic success. Alot of thanks needs to go out to everyone, Gerry and Mike once again ran the German fight with extreme care and professionalism. Everywhere we had fantastic ww2 scenery, from the beach to carentan, to the hill battery. Steve, Chris, and the Virginia troops, met up with the Wisconsin Rangers and went above and beyond with the beach scenery. Uniforms and equipment looked great, when I saw the airborne forces moving out, It really did look like a movie, I mean everyone was so squared away and loaded down with massive amounts of gear, faces painted and of coarse holding arms our like birds and doing a pretty decent C47 impression all the way lol. WOW WOW WOW! Best event so far, awesome job everyone!
a breif overview for those who were not there, We really did have a beach landing with landing craft followed by a trench battle in the sand, we had patrols through the thick vegetation, savage collision gun battles, confusion, fog of war, a local french populace who were always a potential danger and often succeeded at devilish acts of defiance. The battle for the hill battery was continuous and grueling. Finally huge battle for caranten itself which had a mistaken cease fire called just as the first american and resistance forces began to enter the buildings. It was here we eventally decided to call the game. The US forces had been attacking defended positions for the entire event. The exhaustion was extreme, I saw that thousand yard stare on more than a few of the faces. Considering that for most of the night, and all of the day, and allied troops had been dashing to gain ground and get cover, while we germans just held positions only straining to raise our weapons. I recalled how the Germans were exhausted at colmar pocket after just 4 hours of combat, I really have to hand it to the Allies, epic job, following through with massive effort. My personal experience was just one of the many stories but Ill share if for those who are interested. Ill start with how it began, The Youngsters of the 12th SS panzer grenedeir division were somewhat familiar with the area. Being the night of june 5th were we participating with night training exercises and patrols as usual, with the added difference of what seemed to be an increased amount of air trafic. The patrol made its way carefully down the dark cow paths of the french countryside with special care not to injure ourselves as the moon was almost totally obscured. It was decided to give our squads flashlight to the clumsiest grenedeir in hopes he would use the guiding light to avoid injury to himself (insert lolz here). The third group (or dritte gruppe), as we called ourselves made it's way as usual, occasionally running into excited french civilians who seemed to be riled up by something. Communication was difficult but it was ascertained with broken french and German that there was some kind of market that morning that all the farmers were keen to be first to arrive at. On we went into the darkness, snapping branches wondering as to what the luftwaffe was up too. Our loud cursing stumbling band continued on till suddenly without any warning, a number of automatic weapons opened up! Assuming we had run into another German squad the seargent yelled "Halt Feur! Deutche Soldaten!!" but this only seemed to increase the carnage much to the dismay of dritte gruppe. Finally the firing died down and the wounded Sergeant called to the only two survivors, "run back! tell HQ what happened" The surviving soldiers protested expaining that it was "dark and scary" and that would be a negative, IE request denighed. This caused the Sergeant to rage a bit, cussing and belittleing the courage of the friginted soldiers when all ears were turned to a hissing sound. It was heard archin through the air above them, leaving a small trail of sparks like a comet in the night sky. Only this comet was about 8 feet in the air and landed amidst the two surviving dritte gruppe soldiers as they argued about not leaving the saftey of their location. Settling the argument with a loud bang and signifigant flash of light the mkII grenade exploded as if placed there by a vengefull god. Thus came the end of Dritte gruppe, who vanished from this earth still pretty much unware of the unfolding invasion. Dritte 3b was soon detached from the HQ in caranten to investigate the missing squad, but their story is another matter.
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sgt.walls
Private
"i'm in the nazi kill'n business"
Posts: 5
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Post by sgt.walls on Jun 6, 2011 16:13:47 GMT -5
nice AAR really funny also PM sent
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Gerry
Master sergeant
Wilkommen zu Italien!
Posts: 819
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Post by Gerry on Jun 6, 2011 17:45:50 GMT -5
Awesome event! The best yet! I spend a lot of hours thinking of how I can make events better than the last, new & unique. Day of Days was no exception but when I had to take a few months off I was disappointed, I felt I had let everyone down just as we were getting this "thing" off the ground. Migs picked up the reins and produced the best most epic success yet. He did everything right and went above and beyond the expectations I had for the event. It was no secret that this was a huge amount of work and hundreds of hours of preparation.
Thank you Joe!
And a big thanks to all the supporting staff that contributed to the success of this event especially Kern 1944 and GR914 and the VA 101st who worked their butts off, setting up and breaking down tons of gear and equipment.
This event was 1.5 days of absolute fun, since 90 percent of our Western Allied force represent American paratroopers we felt that this should have a special undertaking just for them hence the night mission specifically catered to them. I must say these guys looked amazing as they strolled through the town towards their insertion point, absolutely unbelievable I swear I was on a movie set! The seaborne infantry kicked back for the evening as French Civilians/calibrater's/sympathizers Oberleuntnant Kern and Oberfeldwebel Weiss went over the days events in the large Chateau they took over as their Hauptquartier to begin filling out leave passes for their men to Paris or Home to their loved ones, prepare duty rosters and work for tomorrow. It seemed like just another day in occupied France other than the bit of elevated chatter on the air waves by the French underground but the Germans were used to this and it always ended up uneventful..... why would this evening be any different? So the 2 men sat down to a glass of Riesling from the Rhineland, something they often did to remind them of home while on duty in Frankreich. The things they had seen on the Ostfront, the men they have lost, men who.... were to them like sons or brothers. Non stop combat of the most brutal kind, months without washing days without foot water or ammunition to them occupied France was like heaven compared to Russland.
Just as the "probst" left their mouths they could hear the sounds of thunder in the distance.... just another June thunderstorm in Normandie I guess....until the FLAK Batterie to the west began to fire and the sounds of dual engine aircraft became deafening ......
On the phone to the FLAK batterie "Allied planes and parachutes in the search lights" What? on the phone to the Batterie further west "Have you seen parachutes in the searchlights?" replied- "Negative it is a bomber formation!" But why were the planes not dropping bombs? perhaps they were headed to Calais or to Germany! Maybe this was a diversion....
"Oberfeldwebel- assemble the Gruppenfuhrers......"
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HornetWSO
Private 1st Class
"We may not have a history, but we have a rendezvous with destiny!"
Posts: 551
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Post by HornetWSO on Jun 6, 2011 18:46:02 GMT -5
To: Allies and Axis Teams From: Commander Allied Forces, HornetWSO Date: 6 June, 2011 Subj: After Action Report for Combat Actions 4-5 June, 2011 Ground Zero
1 – Thanks go to Joe Migs for organizing and executing a really professional event. This was a special event, as it was the brainchild of Gerry and organized and executed by Joe Migs. From my perspective, this was the most unique event I’ve attended to date, as it was a blend of both Historical Airsofters and Historical Blank-Fire Re-enactors! Kerns1944 really made this a special event with his group and brought many props that made this a very believable battlefield. Some of the items he brought were: Glider empennage, Guard Post, Artillery, Tentage, and a group of awesome Germans! Chris Gerrior get’s an Atta-boy for organizing the “Sound-Track”, artillery strobe lights, Sand-table, Normandy Briefing Map, and assisting in building the LCVP. Additional thanks go to Alex and his Rangers for prepping the beach by constructing obstacles and digging shell holes. All these efforts combined to provide authenticity and scenarios that will leave a lasting impression for all those that attended. 2 – Special Note: This was my first time interacting with blank-fire folks, who added to the realism or the events. It was very interesting to see how the Airsofters and Re-enactors interacted during the battle, more on this towards the end. 3 – The Set-up: The initial event was designed to be an Airborne event centered on inserting Pathfinders and Airborne, Assembling forces, and attacking German Garrisons. However during discussions it was decided to provide a Beach Landing to allow for Infantry to participate as well, which I think proved to be most exciting battle for the event. The plan was to insert Pathfinders at dusk on Saturday evening, followed by Airborne forces an hour later. The goal was to scatter the Airborne jumpers, requiring them to evade German patrols, while they worked towards assembling and reconnoitering the enemy disposition. Sunday was planned to be the Utah Beach landing coordinated by an Airborne assault on the town of Carentan. As in all battles, the best plans go the wind after the first rounds are fired, and the ensuing “Fog” of war dictated that we flex to the situation. 4 – The Jump: The Airborne Forces were briefed on the mission, which was conducted using a Sand-table and Normandy Map. The goal was for the Pathfinders to set up a Beacon Light to mark the LZ’s. Additionally the light would act as a guide to assist Airborne’s assembly. Sgt. Palladino led the 82nd All American Pathfinders and was instrumental in correctly identifying the LZ and deploying the Beacon Light. As the 101st was lead into the field, in pitch darkness, and were distributed in groups of two’s and three’s. All the while a sound track of airplanes and Ack-Ack fire was blasted from sound system powered via a generator in the town of Carentan. This could be heard throughout the night and created a very realistic setting. The goal was to simulate the scattered miss drops that occurred at Normandy. The terrain was hilly, rocky, dense woodland, and very dark! It was difficult to move people through the woods at night. We were successful in splitting the Airborne forces into three groups. 5 – Assembly: Nearly 50 percent of the Airborne forces were successful in making contact with the path finders in short order. We were able to form a 360 degree perimeter around a hill top and were able to listen to sounds of the night. It was comical at first how we utilized the crickets. I think initial nerves resulted in one “click” from one side of the perimeter followed by multiple double “clicks” on the other side of the perimeter. After we got hold of our senses, the Cricket Choir settled, allowing us to listen for distant “clicks” and guide paratroopers to our Assembly Area. It was nice to see the transition from Cricket clicks to the challenge and password “Flash-Thunder” transition as the paratroopers approached. After about and hour we had assembled 80% of our force. At this time we observed lantern’s in the distance and watched as they came and went through the forest. This gave us a good indication of direction of movement. Later we were to learn the lanterns were carried by French Maquis. As we continued to observe we watched as a German patrol approached our position. A quick fire fight ensued and we finished the Germans with grenades. At this point I knew we had to move, as our position was now compromised. 6 – Evasion: I tasked the 82nd with reconnoitering toward the direction of the Maquis, in hope of establishing contact with orders to discover what was to our North and West. Additionally, SSgt Migs led a patrol up higher ground to establish a Battalion HQ, I lead a group toward the German area to discover information regarding enemy disposition. Both Migs and Palladino were successful accomplishing their missions. As my group approach German territory, we encountered patrols as the result of the Airborne activity. We were about 10 feet from a German patrol as it encountered French villagers. We witnessed the exchange and were undetected. After the area appeared to be clear, we started moving towards the area that the initial Maquis were observed to be moving. It was during this movement that we encountered another German patrol, shot’s and grenades were exchange. We were able to evade and eventually made contact with Maquis. 7 – Maquis: We were a bit edgy and greeted the Maquis wielding lanterns with the business ends of US weapons at the ready. We identified ourselves and were warmly greeted. We were quickly led to a farmhouse that had fresh French bread, ammunition, and US weapons found as the result of airborne operations. This was greatly needed, as three of our team had lost their weapons during the jump due to “prop blast”. (I have a new found respect for those that spent the Night of Nights without a weapon!!). After we were re-fit by the Maquis, broken French and English determined the Maquis knew were more “Clicky” noises were located. I decided to ask for assistance in locating the “Clicky” noises. Luck turned up the 82nd manning OP’s and SSgt Migs manning the Battalion HQ. We quickly did a head count and it was determined we still had Airborne out in the LZ. We sent out patrols and notified the French that more Airborne needed to be located and brought to the US strongpoint. 8 – End of the Night of Nights: As midnight approached we could hear German patrols desperately looking for GI’s. We were able to cricket a team from the 101st to within 300 feet of our perimeter, but sadly watched as the Germans opened up with automatic weapons and grenades and killed one and captured the other. Our hearts sunk, but our resolved was steeled! We knew the Day of Days was only hours away and that we would extract our vengeance, but first we needed to set up the bivouac, dig fighting positions and engage in needed rest. 9 - D-Day: The initial plan was for a simultaneous attack on Utah Beach and Carentan, but we allowed Paratroopers to don infantry gear and join the landing. I think this was the highlight for the event. Once the photos are posted I think these will reinforce this sentiment. As the LCVP approached the beach, the sound of gunfire, German orders, and artillery explosions permeated the area. As the ramp dropped GI’s scrambled into a cacophony of sensory overload. Automatic weapons, both airsoft and blankfire, accentuated by the sound track blasting from speakers really enforced the chaos on the beach. It was decided that the respawn for the GI’s would be the landing craft, and that the Germans would die in place. I think I counted about 10 ramp drops and rushing GI madly dashing for any possible cover. Hopefully the footage of the landing will show just how exciting it was for the both the Germans and Americans. It took over an hour of full action mad dashing desperate struggling for the Americans make progress and eventually claim the first trench line, resulting in close quarter grenade and small arms fighting to clear additional trench lines. After the 4th infantry Division supported by the Rangers took Utah Beach, the focus of effort moved to German Artillery located on a high ridge fanatically defended by German 914 352 Infanterie Division.
10 – German Guns! The Germans defending their artillery position held a steep ridge with fixed fortifications that commanded any approaches. Combined arms of airsoft and blankfire resulted in massive US casualties desperate to silence the guns firing on Utah Beach. After about two hours of skirmishing, the US seemed to be gaining the crest of the ridge when the fanatical SS flanked the Americans and caused the US advance to attack down hill! It was at this point that Allied Command decided that the town of Carentan held a higher priority than artillery and were ordered to advance toward the strategic town to ensure Omaha and Utah Beaches would be consolidated into on continuous beachhead. As Airborne units moved toward Carentan, a lone German Soldat was spotted running through the forest carrying a briefcase. After searching the soldat, it was discovered that Hitler was now without some of his precious gold and the Americans held a prisoner. 11– Battle for Carentan: Elements of the 4th Infantry Division supported be Rangers moved out from Utah Beach along Causeway number 2. It was decided that an Airborne flanking assault would assist the Seaborne forces. Skirmishes broke out after a stealthy approach by Airborne units, and just as the town was to be overrun, events lead to a confused order of “cease fire” erupted. It was now close the 3pm on day two and it seemed the General Taylor wanted his airborne units to be moved to a quite area to lick their wounds from the last two days of battle. 12– Thoughts: This was a very ambitious event from the start, and provided a level of play and intensity that I have yet to experience. For for our forces, the addition of blankfire groups resulted in a high caliber of authenticity that was truly welcomed. The combination of airsoft and blankfire seemed to be complementary. I know Airsofters are not used to hearing the sound of the guns and need to adjust to how to determine hits. From battlefield reports I received, the blankfire groups were not used to the incoming fire resulting from airsoft ordnance. I think both sides had new experiences. As with all new endeavors rules will evolved based on events occurring on the battlefield. I think the concept of combining these two passions has merit, I hope you do too!
All in all the best event yet! I can’t wait for another crack at “Gerry”!!
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Post by grady on Jun 6, 2011 18:58:41 GMT -5
That was an exellent game
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mccallion
Private 1st Class
Official Road Sign Reader (retired)
Posts: 770
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Post by mccallion on Jun 6, 2011 20:27:48 GMT -5
first off i would like to thank all that helped to make this event happen, Joe migs, Gerry Kern, HornetWSO the guys from wisconson, thanks so much for putting as much time and effort into this event it really paid off and has been one of the best that i have attended, Highlights from the event, dritte gruppeA patrol and then the quest of dritte gruppeB trying to find them, the holding of carrantan and the beach landing this event was defentally awsome and i hope that we can learn from it and make events in the future like this!
McCallion
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Post by Rapture on Jun 6, 2011 21:58:55 GMT -5
The afternoon of june 5 found members of the 504th PIR of the 82nd airborne preparing for their next jump. Following the blooding campaign in Anzio, the 504th was not scheduled to jump in on the normandy invasion but a select few troopers were to be selected for the job of being pathfinders for the main airborne invasion. Myself, Sgt Palladino and 3 other troopers, Cpl Zutant, Pfc Biela, and Pfc Roach were the lucky ones to be chosen for the job. In preparation for the jump the pathfinders studied every detail of the ground terrain that they would encounter while on the ground in normandy. The sand table was a perfect recreation of the terrain and served vital in the coming hours. The battle plan was laid out and the pathfinders were given their orders to mark the drop zone for the airborne drop. Once the DZ was marked we were to hold position and wait to link up with the main airborne units. Our Captain also taught us how to set up and operate our Eureka landing beacons which would be vital for the airborne troops. We spent the next hour donning our gear, blackening our faces and making sure everything was set for the jump. It was now time for us to earn our jump pay. As the sky darkened our plane reached the normandy coast and soon the green light came on. Before I knew it I was on the ground scrambling for my weapon and began to regroup with the rest of my squad. Finding just Zutant, Biela, and Roach, we headed towards the DZ to set up our marker. I put Zutant and Roach while Biela and myself worked to turn on the Eureka marker. Even with minor technical problems we were able to achieve our objective and get the lights up in time for the coming planes. With the beacon up I placed us in a defensive perimeter around the DZ and waited for the rest of our Unit to arrive. As troopers began to arrive it soon became apparent to me that no other 82nd units had landed in their correct DZ so I link what was left of my squad up with elements of the 506th PIR which was led by a Captain Hildner. Not long after a small german patrol of unknown size began to head for our position. The challenge was given to make sure they were other troopers and with no correct response the patrol was eliminated with small arms fire and grenades. The Captain then sent my squad to search the area to the north to try and find the 101st CP and any other troopers in the area. With very little moonlight and heavy tree coverage above we moved as quietly as we could with no visibility. Thanks to our knowledge of the terrain from the sand tables we were able to navigate our way to the CP area where we also located the remains of a crashed glider. Inside I found a box containing blocks of TNT which I took just in case since we had no TNT of our own. Back at the CP area we dug a foxhole position while we waited for the rest of the forces to arrive. With the rest of the forces back at the CP and all of our night objectives completed we decided to break into our K rations and get some rest for the day ahead. The following morning our forces were tasked with taking out the guns firing on utah beach which were located on a steep hilltop to the south of the CP. The plan was for the 101st to launch the main assault on the hill while my squad worked its way around to hit the hill from the rear. On our way we ran into unexpected german resistance in the hedgerows beneath the hill but we were able to push through them and make our way to the side of the hill. Our first push on the hill soon faltered under the withering german fire and we were forced to pull back to rearm and regroup. Our second attack was much more successful with us making it right up to the first bunker and using grenades to take it out but again we were forced to fall back under the heavy fire. After regrouping once again, we decided to try and take the outskirts of Carentan alongside the 101st. At first our attack was going well with the first few buildings under our control. Heavy house to house fighting ensued with grenades flying everywhere. In the confusion of the battle the call to retreat was incorrectly relayed and our forces pulled back out of the city. After a full day of exhausting fighting, what was left of my beleaguered squad went back to the CP to fight another day. Thanks alot to Joe for putting this great game together along with Gerry and Steve, Chris and the rest of the 101 guys. This was a fantastic game and it was great to see how great everyones kits are coming along. The level of authenticity we are attaining is getting better with each game. Cant wait to help start working on the next one!
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Gerry
Master sergeant
Wilkommen zu Italien!
Posts: 819
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Post by Gerry on Jun 7, 2011 15:57:08 GMT -5
...the Gruupenfuhrers gathered at the table in the dining room of the chateau still buckling the hasps on their combat waistbelts, on the table lye maps adorned with red "X's", positions relayed from the Luftwaffe FLAK batteries. Gruppe eins was tasked with patrolling the small French town in which the blackout order had been given, talking with civilians to see if they could collect any sort of intelligence. This evening seemed different amongst its civilians even though it was apparent there were planes and FLAK bursts overhead and totally blacked out, the village seemed to be bustling with activity! This gave the German troops an uneasy feeling, could this finally be the invasion of fortress Europe they knew was inevitable?
Zweite Gruppe was tasked with patrolling the road leading to the artillery battery directly to the west
Dritte Gruppe, A foward element of the 12 SS was tasked with patrolling the road that headed north.
All were to collect intel, search for Paratroopers, parachutes or any other clue that may have lead to revealing whether or not this was the real deal.
The groups assembled and headed into the dark night......
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Post by Gordak on Jun 7, 2011 18:04:27 GMT -5
hey one of my loaner mp44s didnt make it back, its got a wood stock that was restained and a simplified mauser sling. We left it on a sandbag wall early in the game after the beach landing, it seems to work but wasnt firing bbs, possibly a piston issue
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Post by cryonics on Jun 7, 2011 21:21:56 GMT -5
Just wanted to say what a fantastic event this was. Lots and lots of kudos to Joe for pulling this off in such a magnanimous way. Lots to tell about, but will be out of town starting tomorrow and will reserve my AAR when I return. Trying to upload a Youtube video of the beach invasion. Will hopefully post tomorrow morning before I leave. In the meantime here is the "Mexican standoff" Large version can be seen at host.activeworlds.com/jp/dday/p1030048s.jpg
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Post by Gordak on Jun 7, 2011 22:57:23 GMT -5
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Post by CharleyNovember on Jun 7, 2011 23:35:56 GMT -5
Wow pictures just tell a story looks fantastic.
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Post by cryonics on Jun 8, 2011 4:48:34 GMT -5
Here is the video of the Beach front attack. Enjoy Defending the batteries.
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Post by cryonics on Jun 8, 2011 4:52:30 GMT -5
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Post by CharleyNovember on Jun 8, 2011 6:50:08 GMT -5
Videos are really cool. It is hard to tell from that distance but the landing craft looks similar to the design we went with. Looks like it worked great as did ours. The blankfire and the sound effects really added to it it seemed.
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Gerry
Master sergeant
Wilkommen zu Italien!
Posts: 819
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Post by Gerry on Jun 8, 2011 8:06:09 GMT -5
..... confusion was the order of the evening. Exhausted Grenadiers came back still unsure of what was happening, one thing was certain, that there seemed to be a never ending wave of planes overhead. Reports of friendly fire incidents, Ami paratroopers or nothing at all came through the now very busy headquarters. Radios buzzed, typewriters were click claking away, FLAK bursts, planes, interrogation of French civilians suspected of underground activity and confused squadleaders giving their reports. The chataeu permeated with the smell of boiled pork which was soon overtaken by the odor of sweat and leather as Grenadiers came in and out. Then, finally something concrete..... Report of 2 American paratroopers, one killed in the clash and another captured. The Oberleuntnant and Oberfeldwebel anxiously awaited the arrival of the prisoner. The prisoner had arrived, escorted by 2 grenadiers. "Thank you men, we will take it from here" and the 2 grenadiers exited through the rear door of the headquarters to return to their squads. This American paratrooper was by no means impressive, of average height and weight with a blackened face, he resembled nothing of the reports that the Ami paratroopers were Goliath savages, what was impressive was that a search of this trooper revealed just how well equipped they were..... 3-4 days of canned and packaged food, cigarettes, compass, clothes, knife, ammunition, it seemed that anywhere on the uniform something can be stored there was. Most impressive was the craftsmanship of this troopers machine pistol! The troopers weapons and helmet were secured and the Oberleuntnant began to question him. The Oberleuntnant was most humane while interrogating prisoners, this was the way he preferred interrogations, it was successful in France, Poland and Norway but in no way was practical on the Eastern front. The trooper was offered some wine and crispy Bavarian pretzels. The exhaustion & fear was evident, he was thirsty and hungry. The questioning began....... Kern1944 and Fusilier finally meet!
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Gerry
Master sergeant
Wilkommen zu Italien!
Posts: 819
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Post by Gerry on Jun 8, 2011 8:27:25 GMT -5
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Post by Gordak on Jun 8, 2011 12:54:24 GMT -5
I think this pic is my fave from the event so far, IT really evoked the feeling of the 12thssPGDiv in those hard pressed summer months
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Sgt_Tom
Technical Sgt.
Combat!
Posts: 3,580
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Post by Sgt_Tom on Jun 8, 2011 12:54:25 GMT -5
Looks like an awesome events guys! A good number of people, a lot of good impressions, and not one non WW2 weapon. Keep up the good work. I only hope we can raise the bar to a better standard here in Michigan. By the way, were the ticks bad over there?
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Jun 8, 2011 14:01:43 GMT -5
the ticks were bad I had about two on me but that is expected in the woods in the northeast
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Post by SfcMigs on Jun 8, 2011 15:40:50 GMT -5
My AAR starts way back in December when Gerry first came up with the vision of Day of Days. I immediately sent in my registration and started getting mine and Dean's Airborne kits together. The jump, the sound effects, the strobe lights, the gun fire, this was an event that I was not missing.
Then on that dark day early in 2011, Gerry made his announcement that he was not able to produce any events for this year. Confusion and concern rained down on my thoughts. What were we to do? Will anyone step up? What's to be of the Northeast events? Gerry has been such a staple for all of us that we all naturally deferred to him. Now he wasn't there. With the Colmar Pocket event schedule only weeks away from Gerry's announcement, we were all in dire straits.
Then the word came down that Brandon (Rapture) was stepping in and taking over the Colmar Pocket Event. This fine young man took the bull by the horns and got it done. This I felt was my cue to jump in feet first and give it my best shot.
As excited as I was, I was also nervous to not let anyone down. This was billed as the premier event and I had to make sure it was just that. I was receiving numerous PM's offering help and advice and I was happy to heed them. I did what all good leaders do, I surrounded myself with good people that knew how to get the job done. But before any of this was to happen, I had to get a field.
My search for a field took me from Long Island to northern Ct, then to NH and finally to GZA. Steve K. (Kern1944) was a big help in all this as was Piper. With their input, we decided the best option was GZA. It was then that Steve H. (HornetWso) and I had a conversation about opening up the event to Seaborne Infantry. This idea led us to a whole new world of planning.
Field maps were drawn and exchanged, blue prints were drawn for the Higgins boat and numerous ideas were floated back and forth. Steve and Chris (VA 101st) really stepped up and contributed so much to the event. Chris acquired the strobes and made the soundtrack for us. Both him and Steve constructed the sand table and both of them got to the field on Friday and together we constructed the Higgins boat. They deserve so much credit.
With all of this in place, it was my job to make sure everything went according to plan. Gerry and I had several conversations about the event prior to and he was a big help in laying things out for me. But if not for the help of so many, this event may have turned out a lot differently. Therefore I must thank all who have been previously mentioned here from the bottom of my heart for giving it your all and making my job that much easier. Thank you.
So to conclude my unique AAR, I just want to say that all of the accounts (AAR's) from the days events are accurate and very enjoyable for me to read. I'm happy and proud to have served all of you and hope to once again produce an event for you.
Joe Migs
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Gerry
Master sergeant
Wilkommen zu Italien!
Posts: 819
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Post by Gerry on Jun 8, 2011 16:05:36 GMT -5
Bravo Migs! And I speak for the entire NE WW2 airsoft scene you were the lynchpin to the production of the finest WW2 airsoft event to date and we all thank you from the bottom of our hearts! I think we gain soo much experience from producing one event that the collective will set the bar for WW2 airsoft. I elect that we make Day of days an annual event learning from the one prior and making each one better than the last!
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HornetWSO
Private 1st Class
"We may not have a history, but we have a rendezvous with destiny!"
Posts: 551
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Post by HornetWSO on Jun 8, 2011 16:54:33 GMT -5
I heartily concur with Gerry, Bravo/Zulu to Joe!! I would love to see this as an annual event. My thoughts would be to see if we could secure a more centrally located field, in the hope of enticing WW2 Airsofters from the South and West to journey to our events as well.
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Post by SfcMigs on Jun 8, 2011 19:09:01 GMT -5
Thanks Guys, Means a lot to me. I agree with this being an annual event. May have to tweak the date as I can't keep missing my anniversary every year (June 5th).
But in regards to a more centrally located field (PA), Steve Kern1944 and I are going to look into several options. But I'm still detoxing right now. Maybe I'll start looking next week ;D
Thanks again guys,
Migs
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Post by Gordak on Jun 8, 2011 19:10:28 GMT -5
A location that would allow me to bring some heavy stuff, Jeep/halftrack/armored car would rule. Pennsilvania perhaps?
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Post by Fusilier on Jun 8, 2011 19:22:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the pics of you guys getting me loaded! lol! Great event guys! Once again,setting the standard!!
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Post by Rapture on Jun 8, 2011 19:58:46 GMT -5
Im all for a central location. It will definitely help to vary up the gaming and add new elements to the scenarios.
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HornetWSO
Private 1st Class
"We may not have a history, but we have a rendezvous with destiny!"
Posts: 551
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Post by HornetWSO on Jun 8, 2011 20:03:28 GMT -5
If we can get an area that will allow a "box" truck, we can construct a Mock fuselage for the Airborne to jump from. I heard CN mention that a while back, and it's been something I wanted to create ever since.
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Post by CharleyNovember on Jun 8, 2011 20:06:02 GMT -5
they did it for JTD when I went many moons ago now. It was out freaking standing. I don't think I will make the mistake of missing the next one.
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Post by SfcMigs on Jun 8, 2011 22:22:58 GMT -5
All good ideas. Like I previously mentioned, Steve K. and I will be looking into several options to which some are in PA.
Once we secure a field, based on the logistics, we'll step it up and make this next one even better.
Migs
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