All-right boys!
Uniform cost about £300/$600 in total I guess, check out the website
http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/ though I got my m1 helmet & also my jacket from the stalls at the fair for a cheaper price. £50/$100 is v good for a genuine ww2 helmet with new liner & net. rock:
Anyhoo I better try & get the details of this battle down before I forget...
Basically I was invited to this military re-enactment fair without much of a clue what to expect. I always thought people who did re-enactment were slightly sad & socially challenged as the only things I ever saw them do at other fairs was to walk around in ww2 uniform & pretend to be from that era.
I arrived at the camp & we started setting up the tents, I changed into my American 2nd armored ww2 uniform & started to help out. I figured it would be just like every other military thing I've done in the army cadets/navy reserve. Just set up some tents, albeit ww2 ones, then hang around cooking food etc. I noticed there were some tanks around but thought they'd be like every other tank I'd ever seen- a static display for people to Oooo & Aaah over.
[img]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81527_7088.jpg[/img]
After a while more & more vehicles started arriving so I thought it might be an interested weekend just to look over all the gear.
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logistics
[img]http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81534_8357.jpg[/img]
tanx
I started to wander around the camp a bit & noticed some German paratroopers with all their stuff & also some Brits. I was amazed to discover that there was also quite a few women around & a first aid field hospital with a beautiful, brown haired/blue eyed nursy girlie... There were also loads of stalls with military uniforms/books etc where I brought my helmet & jacket.
We started cooking some food outside our tent & through all the chit chat I half heard the schedule for the day, somewhere amidst all the banter I heard someone say 'mock battle'.
[img]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81535_95.jpg[/img]
I asked some questions about the 'mock battle' & apparently we were going to take the tanks out & pretend fight to impress the crowds. 'O.K.' I thought, just riding the tanks around & shooting some of the smaller weaponry, prolly won't be that amazing. I wandered around a little more & noticed even more vehicles including Willys jeeps, Kubelwagens & Harley motorcycles.
[img]http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81537_9521.jpg[/img]
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Come 1230 it was mock battle time & I was assigned a place as assistant driver in the M-8 Armoured car/tank thingy.
[img]http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81541_286.jpg[/img]
commander of my m-8 shortly before the mock battle
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me in the turret of the M-8
[img]http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81694_4242.jpg[/img]
rolling
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guys behind us in more M-8s
I started to get a little excited as I noticed quite a few of the vehicles were now rolling & even an M4 Sherman. I climbed down from the turret & into the assistant drivers seat & we set off. It was a strange experience & reminded me a lot of driving the half track in BF1942/Operation Flashpoint. It had a rectangular view through a window which was quite limited, there were all sorts of dials & switches inside & I was right next to the driver. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any photos of the actual battle sequences as the crowds would have noticed a G.I. with a camera.
Anyhoo, our convoy trundled off onto the field & I heard lots of shouting & orders & then was surprised to hear a few explosions. Our M-8 was driving parallel to a hedge & as I looked out the window I saw a load of guys in 101st airborne gear run past in bounding overwatch & then dive into a trench not far in front. It got a little confusing at this time as the commander in the turret was shouting orders to the driver & everyone was firing their weapons. They were even firing the main armament on the tanks which I was not expecting so there was a constant roar in the background. More explosions started ripping up the field in front. It was a spectacular view as they'd obviously been planted there before, a fine fire-works display with quite a bit of flame & smoke.
Then as I was peering through the window trying to figure out where the airborne guys had gone I noticed a clearing in the smoke & saw a tiger tank. WTF! I said to the driver 'There's a bloody tiger tank over thar!’ he said 'Yar, that's the thing that's going to blow us up.' I peered out the window again & saw the tiger trundling onto a bridge so it had full view over the mock battlefield. The airborne guys were still yelling at each other & trying to engage some wehrmacht troops who had just come running over a hill & were now hiding in the long grass. The toigar then spotted us & started to traverse it's turret in our direction.
It's prolly quite hard for you guys to imagine but at that particular moment I was totally surrounded by ww2 stuff, combined with all the explosions & noise & yelling, for a moment it was just like being back in 1944.
I looked out the window & saw the tiger was directly lined up with us at about 800 yards with it's long barrel pointed directly at my window- to say it was un-nerving was not enough, I was rather scared at this point & had to keep reminding myself that this was only a mock battle & it was only a blank round.
Just then a large explosion went off right next to our M-8 and the commander threw some smoke out the window, a simulated hit from the tiger. I was able to watch the rest of the battle out of the window which was pretty near, naturally the 2nd armoured withdrew on sight of the tiger.
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The one & only battle sequence shot I managed to sneakily get with my camera showing some half tracks, infantry & a sherman engaging the panzer grenadiers.
When the 'mock battle' was over we had to get out of the vehicle & I was quite surprised by the amount of people who came to watch. A load of photographers came along & started taking our photo for some magazine which was a bit surreal. We held a minutes silence with our helmets off for the dead of ww2 & I returned to my tent buzzing.
I then got pissed out my face & tried to chat up the hot nurse.
The next day I was looking forward to the next battle, I managed to weasel my way onto one of the recce jeeps as they looked like fun. Shortly before the battle a load of guys with cameras turned up, it was the Discovery Channel, I was ganna be on T.V. rock:
[img]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81627_8503.jpg[/img]
The Discovery Channel
I jumped onto one of the Willys Jeeps, there were three jeeps in all, all decked out with 30 cal & 50 cal machines guns. Our job was to go in first, very fast, & check out the area for enemy units. Upon finding & engaging the enemy the toigar would show up & we were then to bug out asap & leave it to the Shermans, M-8s & infantry to be cannon fodder.
[img]http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81692_926.jpg[/img]
me in a Willys with some goon at the back skylarking about
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mobile infantry, queen of battle etc
Everyone got to their vehicles & lit the engines then we all started to roll in convoy to the 'mock battle' arena. This time there were even more crowds & papparazi fkers running around trying to take everyone’s photo for ‘Military Spooge Vehicle Magazine’. As we went past the gate I noticed the Discovery Channel ppl with their cameras rolling.
We lined up & were hanging around for everyone to get into a position so the jeeps could go on first followed by halftracks & then armour. I was quite nervous & excited.
[img]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81687_3172.jpg[/img]
view from my position on the jeep
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my driver
We got the order to roll & all three jeeps zipped across the ground at quite a high speed, it was a major adrenaline rush, even more so than being in the M-8 as I was totally exposed to the elements.
I was hanging half in/half out of the jeep as it manoeuvred at high speed. The front window was down & I was hanging on for dear life whilst trying to aim the 30 cal. I'm sure my driver was trying to turn our jeep into an aeroplane with all the jumps.
The other jeeps were ahead of us & driving in an equally erratic manner & then we spotted the wehrmact running over the hill at about 800 yards. The first jeep opened up with its 30cal firing blank rounds & making quite a racket. My driver then did a u-turn at speed, which nearly threw me from my seat, then he jumped out behind the bonnet/hood of the vehicle & started to fire his Thompson.
I didn't really have any idea what to do, so just did what I thought was natural & also hid behind the front of the vehicle firing my 30 cal at the Germans.
The other jeeps were tearing past us firing their 50 cals & as more & more German infantry came running into the long grass, bounding over watch style, we decided to pull back a little bit.
I jumped back into the jeep & all of us fell back, my driver still driving & shooting his Thompson. Then we spotted the tiger & decided to bug out.
At this point I thought my fun had ended. But we quickly zipped back to where the half tracks & tanks were & as we jumped out of the jeeps my driver handed me his Thompson & said. 'You're now infantry, get into the halftrack.'
This added an entirely new experience to the weekend as I was now cannon fodder. I bundled onto the halftrack & everyone had their heads down in a realistic manner. Then we got onto the field & the commander threw a smoke grenade & everyone jumped out.
At this point the set explosions started going off only about 5 yards away, which was rather un-nerving as I wasn't sure where they were all set. I decided the best course of action was to try & stick with my driver who was now also infantry & brandishing an M1. Some squad leader bellowed at us to move forward & as the other troop gave covering fire we ran headlong into a trench/hole in the ground.
By this time I had totally forgot about the thousands of spectators lined around the arena. The only things I noticed were the other guys all dressed in ww2 infantry/airborne stuff shooting their rifles, the smoke, wehrmacht in the field ahead & tanks rolling about. Everything was so surreal, & it was just like being in Band of Brothers or some sort of WW2 movie.
One of the squad leader guys shouted that it was about time we started taking casualties. We were told to move forward again & this time we heard an mg42 & my driver accidentally tripped & fell over, his helmet flying off, but he decided to play dead anyway.
There were explosions going off constantly around us with lots of smoke & a few flames etc, so I decided it was best to do likewise before stepping on one of the charges. The next time I heard an mg42 I hit the deck, it was weird looking up at the sky with it raining & still hearing the strange sounds around me. Then a medic ran up just to add to the realism & bundled me onto a stretcher. To my delight I was transported back to the totally hot nurse rock: - unfortunately I never did get her photo
I hope I haven't bored you guys with my rather long description of events, I certainly recommend this re-enactment stuff. It was probably the best military experience I've ever had & that covers my cadet bs & 5 years in naval reserve. I think it's the fact that we were actually playing with tanks, you go around museums & it's so boring as you just see them as static displays. The best way to see a tank is in action! I hear the guys I was with are planning a trip to go around Italy doing this stuff, just as the real corps did in ww2, I hope to join them. biggrin:
More random pix:
[img]http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81696_5107.jpg[/img]
My new car, M4 Sherman
[img]http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v78/34/38/505567408/n505567408_81697_5374.jpg[/img]
crewing the Sherman
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Me looking a bit rough to wear with all the oil & dirt etc
Bloody great weekend! beer:
I've just been in a firefight with a panzer grenadier unit
I've just been in a firefight with a panzer grenadier unit -
06-24-2007, 07:15 PM
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