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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Sept 18, 2011 16:33:19 GMT -5
It was a great event, I didn't get any trigger time but I did get a lot of shots from behind the camera. It was great to see everybody, it was a lot of fun. Its been some time since I've been out to Troy's field for an event, and I had a blast. Since our return, I called Miss Cleo to remove the bad weather curse ;D I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's pictures, the sunny day made for fantastic lighting, so it will be eye candy for all. I'll have pictures up as they get developed, and I also was able to get some video footage that will also be forthcoming in the near future. Thanks to Troy for hosting this excellent 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 23, 2011 11:44:34 GMT -5
AAR BEGINS HERE!! The spell is broken. No longer will MOA suffer abominable weather for its highly anticipated events. With the excellent weather enjoyed this Friday and Saturday at "Battle of Banska' Bystrica" I see no bumps in the road for future events. It was nice to finally have perfect airsoft weather. Even the sleep out wasn't too bad with the lows only dipping to about 34-degrees F. It made for a great day of fun and spirits were high. Turnout was great too. Thanks to all that were willing to travel a bit. The Twin Cities gang and the 6th SS troops from the Chicago area helped to swell the ranks and made for a target rich environment. Natasha was running well all day and caused her usual mischief but I sensed that she was not willing to stick her neck out too far and as a result I believe she was eliminated only once to anti-tank attack. Not sure who got credit for that one. I believe it was in the 3rd scenario when she was defending the Russian HQ. Scenarios - 1st Scenario was a German defense of their HQ on the eastern side of the play area. German defenses had been improved with the addition of a new fighting position and improvements in the size and design of old ones. It made for a miserable slog with Soviet fighters pressing in only to be repulsed time and time again. They had to respawn at their HQ which was quite a distance but Natasha was used for convoying their dead back and forth and less for offense. Still the end resulted in no serious threat being launched against the HQ position and this one went to the German team. I noticed Cairo2 (Nick) played a mean defense on this from his forward foxhole switching between Mauser and Stg-44. He got his share of kills in this engagement. 2nd Scenario involved a city battle meeting engagement. As has been experienced in the past the Soviet fighters gained the upper hand in the opening stages controlling the majority of the VP locations but tough city assault teams led by the 6th SS and 3rd PzGr teams paved the way to victory and here too the Germans won another scenario. I used my MP-3008 for the first time in this battle and scored two hits in hit and run woods fighting next to the village. That was nice. At this scenario's finish, the field organizer sprang a pop gun chrono on all players present and this resulted in a couple of guns being restricted to semi-auto only as they shot over 400-FPS and a gun being excluded, the infamous 500-FPS Tommygun. That was a brilliant stroke and might become a hallmark of future events for suspect weapons. Noted by this participant was the lackadaisical attitude by some towards maintaining eye protection out of the front lines. The spawn points are still dangerous areas and players have been known to be targeted in them and so players need to remember that they have to keep their eye-wear on at all time in the field of play. Future events might require a means to penalize or remove players who can't adhere to this important safety rule. 3rd Scenario was attack on the Soviet HQ on the western play area. The Soviets were dug in and also continued to try flanking maneuvers on attacking Germans and thus encircle us. We on the other hand did not have a motorized answer to ferry in respawned members so our turnaround time was a serious concern. We were ordered not to die. Play as if you had one life only. It was pretty fun. I saw lots more creeping and crawling than in games gone by and as a result though we never took the objective I know we were constantly pressing and the Russian defenders never had a chance to relax. I was proud of our effort on this one. The Soviets however gained the victory. 4th scenario was a field battle. It was a meeting engagement in which the two German trucks (static displays) were the objective in the center of the field and the armored car was also nearby and could be manned by whoever got to it first and although it could not be used as a motorized vehicle it still was the prize that would control the area and thus improve anyone's chances of owning the trucks at game time. Here the Germans got off to a great start reaching all the vehicles before the Russian team and from then on it was never in doubt. I had my most fun in this scenario as I got to mount the MG-34 in the turret and after that there was no way across open field that any Soviet push from the South would work although they gallantly charged the vehicle through a smoke screen and three were gunned down in the process. On the northern end of the field the Soviets could not make headway either. German rifles had a distinct advantage again and mortar fire from both teams claimed several kills as well. Afterwards some folks stayed at the campfire and had a picnic while others went to Pizza Hut to tell war stories. There was an abundance of photography talent in this event. Our budding producer/director Alban showed up with his period photograph equipment, Garrick used his high tech pad for some movie scenes, Cpl Mills was out and about in his monk's getup with his camera and trained eye and the 6th SS had a dedicated female photographer along. So hopefully we'll see some of their handiwork posted here in the near future. Thanks Troy for hosting. Your pre-battle preparations are always well thought out and the little details attended to. The next one is scheduled for Big Lake 9-10 December. Make your plans to be there now.
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sprinkles
Private
Close and Personal for life
Posts: 31
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Post by sprinkles on Oct 23, 2011 17:08:05 GMT -5
I'm excited to see these pictures as well.
I only made it for the 3rd and 4th scenarios cause of car troubles late Friday night. But still had a great time. Just wish I didnt twist my ankle on that tall grass when me and the other Russians made a brave charge knowing we were about to meet our maker. Overall it has made me want to make the US bazooka for situations like that. I'll make one mark my words silly Germans.
Also I'll keep that December game idea open.
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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 23, 2011 22:03:52 GMT -5
It was a great event! Weather couldn't have been finer and I personally had a banner day of success on the field. A big thank you to Troy for hosting another great Neillsville event.
Turnout was very good with probably over 40 players. Arrived Friday night and set up camp and enjoyed a nice campfire and some camaraderie before going to bed. Awoke to 34 degree weather and really really enjoyed that first cup of hot morning coffee. The day warmed up quickly and I was never in any discomfort as our camping equipment has steadily improved over the years.
The day started with a distinct German edge in player numbers and Garrick Udet "volunteered" to play Soviet and one of the Chicago 6th SS players was "drafted" onto the Soviet side. This made things doable and Soviet numbers further increased with late arrivals pretty much cancelling out any disparities.
1st Scenario (70 minutes) - straightforward defence of a German prepared position. For this battle I dispatched one 6 man 6th SS squad to the left and one 6 man 6th SS squad to the right. The 3rd Panzergrenadiers (five of us and the two remaining 6th SS players (cairo1 and his brother) maintained the center and dug in to the bunkers around our defensive objective. Soviet probes were continually snuffed out in this one as they tried attacks on all three sectors. I died in the center after pegging two Soviets with my ppsh and went back to respawn to find most of the right side SS squad dead and awaiting respawn with me. This was probably the highwater point of the battle for the Soviets but their attack on the right had decimated their attack forces also and Wolfgang and one other German were able to hold that sector until our group reinserted. I returned to the center and added another two kills to my total when the horn sounded ending the 1st skirmish. One down and three to go but I wasn't getting overconfident as the first skirmish was much easier on us than it was on the Soviets.
2nd Scenario (70 minutes) - Battle in the village. Each side started with their respawns about 100 yards from Troy's excellent mock village with the goal being to hold a majority of the six main standing structures. This one got off to a disappointing start as Troy blew the horn and the only German troops ready to advance were the 5 members of the 3rd Panzergrenadiers. Most of the 6th SS weren't even close to the start point and were slow to get there in this one. Nevertheless, not willing to entirely cede the village to the Soviets I ordered us forward. We poured in from the East and the Soviets were entering the town from the West. I positioned myself on the far right of our line and lay prone in a pretty good spot of cover and was rewarded with three kills. Unfortunately the Germans on my left were falling and my position was getting more precarious. Kevin B. (Troy's brother) easily hosed me down from a building window about 12 feet away as my left flank support completely disolved and I headed back to respawn but not before I got to witness the gloating Kevin B. die to a bang kill delivered by Aldrich Kiesel (our medic) and last German in the town. As I got back to the respawn point I saw most of the rest of my squad there and moments later Aldrich Kiesel trudged in which is to be expected when 15-17 Soviets assault five Germans. By now the 6th SS was forming up and after I chastised them for the late arrival they pressed in for a counterattack. Their push succeeded as our initial assault must have thinned the Soviets and the town was solidly in German hands. I respawned and returned to a building along the North side of the town and hunkered down into a nice position that gave me a view of the woods west of the City. Russian infantry was advancing piecemeal and I took out the lead Russian with another ppsh burst. A few moments later another Russian tried to take up the position where that last one had fallen and he went down too. Then Troy came up shouting orders and trying to motivate his forces. He took up the same position and moments later extended enough of his body around the large tree for me to claim a third kill from my spot. After that pressure at that point eased and other Germans advanced past me which made my position less valuable so I got up to check our defenses and to move any bodies if I had to. A Soviet assault then came from the south of the town and had some initial success. I traded fire with a Russian with a ppsh and it was nip and tuck as I fired from a low fence and he used some boxed crates for cover. He stood and yelled hit (in the tooth) and I felt lucky to have won the exchange. Better yet, he called out that he was ok but just needed a moment to shake it off. A few more minutes of fire and the horn eventually sounded ending round two. Getting the second victory certainly had me feeling confident and the Germans were ready for our hardest task of day.
3rd Scenario (70 minutes) - Germans assaulted the Russian prepared defensive positions. This one was going to be tough. Not only had Troy improved the Russian positions but our respawn was several hundred yards from the front. Unlike the first scenario where the Russians used their armor to ferry their dead back and forth from their respawn, the Germans had no vehicle to do this. So I took the bold step of ordering our troops not to die. Put simply, I stressed caution and a controlled but slow pressure as any casualty was likely to sap our attack force. We not only had to capture their postion but we had to do it with next to 0 casualties so that we at least could have a chance of holding on as their respawn was closer. We pushed very cautiously across the field first securing the woods and field closest to our respawn and then the village. I was surprised that no advance Russian outposts were set up to attrition us and as we got closer and closer I thought we had a chance. Within a couple hundred yards of our objective, firefights started to break out and Wolfgang was able to take out the Russian armor with a well placed panzerwurfmine as Natasha tried to harry our advance. The furthest Russian perimeter outposts were getting overwhelmed and outflanked and I was very satisfied with the progress of our attack. I was in the middle using my rifle firing at anything brown that was moving albeit at long range. I was hit by some long range Russian smg fire and began the long walk back to our respawn. When I got there I was happy to see only three other Germans and felt that to be a good sign. They trotted off back to battle and I waited for the next fifteen minute insertion and went back by myself. I walked towards the sounds of fire and decided I would try to flank the Russian defence and go around the barn on the south side of the field. As I walked down the road bordering the corn field I saw 4 Russians positioned by the barn to stop such a flanking move but they were busy being complacent and standing and talking in a most relaxed attitude. In plain view I continued to close the distance and then popped off about a seventy yard shot into the midst of them. They quickly responded and yelled some expletives realizing that I was very much a threat but my first shot failed to hit. No matter, If I could keep four engaged I figured it would be worth it and I settled down in the field and started popping off long range shots to keep their heads down. None of them possessed a long range weapon and finally Msgt. Tom stripped off his shirt, grabbed three or four grenades and charged me. What fun! My first two rifle shots missed but his grenade tosses were hopelessly short and my third shot caught him squarely in his left leg. Had his three other Soviets charged with him I am sure they could have got me. As it turned out they didn't and I kept them pinned until the horn blew. Did we capture the objective? Nope, we didn't, but we gave it our best and stuck to our initial plan for attack. Not a bad little battle.
4th Scenario (70 minutes) - This was the open field battle and focused around two German supply trucks and a burnt out ba-64 hull. Each side got one mortar and each side had one mg. Both sides started equidistant on opposite sides of the field with respawns set about 70 yards into the woods. The objective was simple - capture the trucks. The horn sounded and both sides rushed onto the field. The Russians seemed a little slower in the attack and soon German attackers had gained our barrel obstacles, both trucks, and had even captured the armored car wreck. The Russians fought from their wooded treeline and some barrel obstacles closest to their side of the woods. Soon they lost that position too and I called for Ersatzjack to bring up our mg. He crossed the field and was dead tired by the time he got to the A/C but eventually positioned himself in her and thus, controlled a large part of the field. He went thru about 2500 rounds from his position and even had the fun of mowing down a three man Russian assault under cover of smoke. They charged with satchel charges but didn't make it. Both sides rained mortar shells onto the field and there were minimal casualties from the mortars. I was constantly trying to reposition (yelling at them) our defenders into more sensible positions. I mean, we didn't need five-six guys behind one truck as one lucky mortar round would have killed all of them. This never happened but easily could have. I did this a number of times and manged two longer range rifle kills as the Russians kept trying to advance to their barrels. I watched the over ebullient 6th SS continue to advance despite not having to do so and then watched first one squad of them and then later another one half squad of them get mowed down by Russians in the woods. I couldn't understand their overzealousness as the victory conditions only called for a defence of the two trucks and that was never in doubt despite several aggressive but uncoordinated Soviet pushes. I'm proud to say that the 3rd Panzergrenadier members kept their composure and kept in safe defensive positions around the objectives. I don't think one of us was lost in that last one. This one ended with a German win in large part due to German rifle fire and having our MG in a fairly secure position.
Thanks to all who took the time to make the trip and a big thanks to the Russian team for some really wonderful sportsmanship. You guys fought hard and clean from my point of view.
As fun as the event was the highlight of the weekend for me was when Paul Rech arrived and gave me a helmet he had painted for me that I had purchased at this year's Iola Military show. Paul had done a wonderful Italian Camo scheme on it and had painted one like that for himself and my brother. Thanks Paul, I really like what you did.
Also, enroute to Neillsville, my brother and I stopped in to visit the metal fabricator that is helping us with the halftrack build. The last of the wheels (four inner ones) are now 35-40 percent done and that is a major step forward. There will probably be a German armor debut sometime in 2012.
See you guys at Big Lake Mn in December and hoping for some good weather for that one.
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sprinkles
Private
Close and Personal for life
Posts: 31
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Post by sprinkles on Oct 28, 2011 13:07:23 GMT -5
When these pictures from the event going to be posted
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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 Nov 2, 2011 1:13:28 GMT -5
Alban posted them on ostfrontairsoft.com.
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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Nov 3, 2011 13:57:08 GMT -5
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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 Nov 3, 2011 23:37:28 GMT -5
Nice photos. Its nice to see some pics from the Russian perspective. The rest will be just as good no doubt. Thanks for snapping these shots.
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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Nov 4, 2011 0:24:44 GMT -5
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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Nov 7, 2011 17:49:36 GMT -5
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