Darrell and I arrived at the site Friday afternoon and the first thing to meet our eyes was the beautiful T34/85 sitting at the end of the camp. Tanke looked marvelous!
We set about establishing our portion of the camp and unloaded 75 sandbags, 400 feet of fake barbed wire, 50 mortar, small arms, munitions etc.
SATURDAY:
Saturday morning brought immediate heat and sunshine but a darn fine breakfast (eggs, sausage, potatoes) was served to us by the event folks and it was good.
As the day drew on we became a little concerned because Dean was nowhere to be seen and he had stated that he planned to be out first thing in the morning. Well late in the morning we decided to go ahead and do tank rider photos and boy was that a treat. Seeing my comrades up on that chunk of steel made me proud. It was also fun watching folks get up and down from the tank. We finished with our photos and went back to finding ways to survive the heat.
Early afternoon Dean pulled in with fresh batteries for the tank as well as parts for the electrical system. Dean also was kind enough to bring out a 1942 Russian 82 mm mortar for us to set up for display. Coolness!!! So set about conducting general maintenance on the tank and it was a real treat when diesel fuel was spilled on the outside of the tank. Dima is clumsy at times. None the less I learned a lot about the T34.
SATURDAY BATTLE:
At the given time Konstantin fired a flare and we were off. The battle started and our 50 mortar team(Chuck & I) opened fire. The gusty winds and the fact that we were moved forward 60 yards made precise targeting very difficult. None the less we fired 20 rounds and had landed them all in such a pattern that even the Germans agreed we killed off the bulk of their force. This force included a 20mm cannon, pseudo kublewagon(VW thing actually) motorcycle sidecar. The fighting was brisk and the Soviet forces did a grand job of assaulting and dying when hit by enemy fire. The sight of having the BA 64 and the T34 made my heart proud as they moved around the field engaging targets. An American Sherman also joined the fight as a Rusky tank with the Soviet flag on her turret. Fake buildings, temporary trees and battlefield debris added to the feel of the battle. Grenades and smoke bombs flew and in the end the Germans were vanquished.
SATURDAY NIGHT:
The event provided a very nice evening meal of brats, hot dogs or hamburgers with the fixins to go with it. The event puts on one heck of a USO show that is truly a pleasure to watch. Pretty girls, good music from a big band and a variety of performers. Some of the unit remained in camp to re-live the wild tales of adventure from the day. Others took part in a recon mission to a nearby gentlemen’s establishment to learn more about western society. All seemed to have a good time.
Here are some pics:
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The morning found us recovering from the previous nights festivities. Once again the event provided us with a very good breakfast. Extra gear was packed away in preparation for the long drive home after the battle. Dean arrived and we began to conduct maintenance. This time Darrell helped me with the fueling and we spilled very little. It is a lot of fun getting dirty on a T34.
The next thing we know some Germans are placing a Nazi flag on the side of the tank and are claiming it for use in the battle since many of their troops had left Saturday night and they were now greatly outnumbered. To make a long story short…the Germans lied and told Pierre that they had asked Dean if the T34 could be a German tank for the Sunday battle. So needless to say a real mess started to brew and Darrell and I decided to get ready to head for home since we were now going to miss out on our chance to ride the tank and there would be no reason to stick around. Fortunately for all of us several of the Russians pressed the issue and found out that the Germans had not asked Dean about using T34 s a German tank and thus foiled their plot. The T34 would remain Russian for the battle. What an emotional roller coaster.
SUNDAY BATTLE:
The battle was an east meets west with the Americans and Russians ganging up on the Germans at the same time. Again Konstantin fired a flare to start the battle and away we went. So now there was all kinds of fire being poured into the Germans from two different directions. Adam had his PPSH on the field blasting bursts into the Germans. Darrell tossed a wonderful grenade into the German position but it was a dud. The T34 rumbled across the field while the turret spun around as the new crew received a crash course in operating the turret. It was so cool.
DIMA THE TANK DRIVER:
After the battle I piled up on the tank and rode while sitting on the turret. Dean took us for a spin around the dirt race track and opened her up. It was a blast. We then proceeded back to camp but about 200 yards from camp Dean stopped the tank. He hollered for me to come down into the tank. I did as he asked and I found that Dean had moved into the machine gunners seat and he had me get into the driver’s seat. Dean had me drive the tank back into the camp and make the necessary turns to get us back into position. It was great!!!!!
After many handshakes and hugs Darrell and I set out for home. I would drop off Darrell in Sun Prairie in a couple of hours but I would still be on the road for another 5 hours to finish the total 7 hour trip home.
It was truly a memorable event and it was worth the time, money and effort to get there and take part in it. Our camp looked good as always and had there been public we would have been good with them as well.
I hope the T34 comes back next year.
Sincerely,
Dima
