Indianola, IA - Feb 23, 2008 Eastern Front Battle

[Konstantin]

Tovarishchi,

Planning has begun for the 2008 Indianola winter battle. This event will be held at the Bunker Site outside of Indianola, Iowa on either Saturday February 23rd or Saturday March 1st, 2008. Right now we are leaning towards Feb 23rd, with March 1st being the alternate date.

The event website is: www.416rifleregt.com/IndianolaInfoPage.html

The site will be updated as we put together information for the event. It will be similar to the 2007 Eastern Front event that was held there this February past.

The time frame for the event will be the 3rd Battle of Kharkov, which was February 16th – March 15th, 1943. Thus all impressions should be correct for that time frame. This is an Eastern Front Only event, no Western Front impressions will be allowed.

As far as impressions…

Heer (German Army) is invite only.

SS is open to all SS reenactor impressions.

Russian is open to all M35, M43 and transitional Red Army impressions.

Eastern Front Partisans are also invited to attend this event. They will be needed.

Any other impressions must be approved by the event coordinators. Do not show up at the gate and expect to play. Improper impressions have and will be turned away.

The event is co-hosted by Grossdeutschesland (GPS) and 416th Rifle Regiment (HRS). Coordinators are as follows:

German Coordinator: Dave Ruffcorn
Russian/Partisan Coordinator: Rob Leinweber
Event Coordinator: Dave Pasbrig

More details on the event are to follow shortly. We should have the exact date nailed down soon. Waiting on approval.

Any questions, concerns, or issues I can be emailed at [e-mail]

Thanks

-dave

[Konstantin]

Comrades,

Time to mark your calendars. The date has been set as FEBRUARY 23rd, 2008 for the Indianola Eastern Front event.

Updates on the event can be see at the event website: www.416rifleregt.com/IndianolaInfoPage.html

Also we have created a generic message board that does not require a log in. This will allow for questions to be answered so that everyone can get the answer. That board is linked to the Indianola page.

Also you can email me at: [e-mail]

Individual and Unit Pre-Registration is required by Feb 16th, 2008. Walk ons will be allowed but there may not be food enough for those. The event lunch will be based on pre-registered numbers. To Pre-Register please email me at [e-mail].

Battle fee is set at $10. This covers the lunch and water. Water will be brought in each day to prevent it from freezing. Once costs are paid the extra will be donated for site improvement.

See you there.

-dave

[Konstantin]

Just a reminder to get your pre-registrations in. Either as an individual or unit, both German and Russian. We need a fairly accurate headcount so we can buy food and water. Walking on is acceptable but we may not have enough for too many of those.

Those interested in attending or with questions email me at: [e-mail]

Thanks

-dave

[crazydima]

Tovarischi,

We want to be sure that folks know that we really want to encourage you to come out and portray Eastern Front Civilian / Partisan. It is not very hard nor very expensive to assemble a good impression.

So if you are a GI who would like to try an Eastern front event but do not have a Soviet rig why not consider assembling a Partisan impression. Or if you are a German and would like to do something different then why not try out portraying a Partisan.

It must be remembered that on the Eastern Front the Partisan movement had both Pro-Communist and Anti-Communist Partisan forces. Thus sometimes there were battles involving the two groups of Partisans.

Depending on Partisan numbers this will probably be incorporated into the scenario as well.

This event will not be the typical "free fire" zone that most other events portray. This event will force both Soviet and German forces to deal with the Civilian / Partisan element just like in a real world situation. The Civilian / Partisan forces will have to show that they are a threat before they can be fired upon.

Both Soviet and German forces will have the right to stop and search and question Civilian / Partisan forces and so folks had better have their story straight. Interrogation will be allowed as long as the situation warrants it.

Civilian / Partisan forces will have paperwork given to them to carry on their person to be checked by German forces in their sector. The same may be done for the Russian sector as well.

Once a Civilian / Partisan has shown themselves to be a threat then all bets are off.

Here is the link to the partisan guidelines for the event.
www.416rifleregt.com/IndianolaPartisans.html

If you have any questions be sure to drop me a PM.

Be sure to get your registration in so we have accurate numbers of who is coming.

Looking forward to seeing you at the event.

Sincerely,

Dima
(A man who can relate to Partisans)

[Konstantin]

Comrades,

We are one month from the event. Here are the units I have confirmed numbers for so far:

Germans – 2nd SS, 11th SS, Grossdeutscheland

Russians – 143rd Engineers

1 Independent

Don’t see your unit on the list? I have not received numbers from the unit C.O. then. They need to get those to me soon as we are now in full swing. A couple units are getting numbers as we speak, so the list will be growing.

Independents are fine, but please don’t register if your unit is registered. Thank you.

The weekend prior to the event we have planned as a work weekend. We will send out a site condition report then. Right now we have a lot of snow and some big drifts.

Any questions email at: [e-mail]

Later

-dave

[Konstantin]

This event is shaping up to be a very nice eastern front winter event. We have 85 pre-regs in so far. Split as such

41 German/Italian
44 Soviet/Partisan

Included is a mounted soviet element bringing 5 ponies.

This of course is if the weather is gentle on us. We have had a horrible winter so far. Right now as of Feb 7 we have the snowiest winter ever recorded here in the Cedar Rapids area. And the winter is only 60% over. Big storm slated for Valentines day. Ugh.

Local folks report 7-8" of snow on the ground at the Bunker Complex at Indianola. Work weekend is this weekend to prep for the event. We'll have a better report by then.

Any last minute folks are still welcome. Email me at: [e-mail]

More soviets would be good, and more partisans. SS is still open but Heer is closed.

Stay tuned for more info.

-dave

[Konstantin]

Indianola Site Report

Comrades,

Saturday the 9th, Dima, Dave Ruffcorn and I got out to the event site. We got firewood cut, the mock villages staked out, Russian road signs placed and several other things done. I spent most of Saturday clearing the pass to the washed out bridge. Several large trees had fallen blocking the road during the summer wash out. With my trusty chainsaw in hand I hacked away the trees and cleared the overgrowth so the bridge building scenario can take place. Because of all the work it required to clear the road, this landmark shall now forever be known as Konstantin’s Pass. LOL

I officially hate thorny vines with a passion. D’oh

Some more pre-event prep will be done Friday before the event. That is going to be stuff that wouldn’t last two weeks in the open with 2 more storms forecast.

After the work we had a meeting at a local restaurant to go over logistics. Everything is set.

Here are some more points…

There is 6-8” of snow on the site. With some drifts well over a foot. We have 2 more minor storms forecast this week and who knows what next week. Doesn’t look like there will be any melt off at all as temps are forecast to be around freezing or below.

Snow is extremely fatiguing to march in. Add to the fact the site is a valley with steep hills leading into it. The downhill part is not to bad, but coming out is painful. Folks need to be aware of their physical limitations. This is not a city park battle with flat fields and trees. This is like 80 acres of rolling terrain, with heavy woods covered in about a foot of snow. Truly a good eastern front feel to it. It does need more white birch trees to truly be like Russia. LOL

This woods has a lot of sharp thorny things in it. Locust trees with barbs sharp enough to penetrate leather work gloves. Thorn bushes, thorn vines. Iowa seems to have a lot of thorny plants. Be aware of this, as with improper gloves or what not your hands could become bloody and painful.

There is also a lot of downed tree branches from the ice storm back in December. I cleared the ones off the road I saw, but some are buried under the snow. I rolled my ankle on one.

In essence what I am saying it standard woodland hazards are everywhere. The creek is flowing under a little ice. But Dima put his foot through the ice into it. Then it promptly froze. LOL

Just be careful.

We are going to try to have a large area cleared for parking. Cars will need to be stacked up. Car-pooling is highly encouraged. Overflow may end up parking along HWY 65/69. Parking in the summer is not an issue, but in the winter we don’t have the field to park in. That stinks, but we’ll work it out.

The kitchen will have to be up by registration. With all the snow on the ground we will not be able to get it to the lower warming station. Lunch will be brought down the hill from the kitchen and served at the lower warming station.

Speaking of lunch. The weather contingency plan is this. Should it be bad and Todd & the Kitchen can not make it, we will waive the battle fee and not longer serve a meal. Folks should bring their own food to lunch in the field if this is the case.

Also for the hot lunch please bring mess kits and utensils.

To encourage Russian participation we have a minor blanks issue. For the first 20 Russians, not members of the 416th, who are using bolt action 7.62x54 rifles. Sorry we are not buying sub-blanks, nor German blanks.

Battle fee has been set at $10. This covers the porto, water, lunch and materials. Any extra money will be donated for site improvement after costs are recovered.

I am sure there is stuff I am forgetting. Dima can add any points he can think of.

This is going to be a good event. Lots of fun. Just be safe out there. It is winter and winter can mess folks up real bad.

Oh speaking of winter, we will monitor the weather as the event approaches. Should we have to pull the plug due to a winter storm we will try to let everyone know ASAP. Let us all pray for good weather.

Any questions, concerns, or comments please let me know. My email is: [e-mail]

Later all,

-dave

[Konstantin]

Supplemental 02/13/08

Comrades,

Here is some info I forgot to mention in the initial report…

The Upper Bunker has about a 1 foot of solid ice in it. Maybe deeper. Anyone attempting to use this bunker needs to remain mindful of this. All we need is a Zamboni and we could have an indoor hockey rink in there. Bring your sticks and skates. LOL We may try to find some planks for it so that folks can walk around in there without falling. Hopefully. This summer we will attempt to put a drainage system into the bunker to prevent this from happening in the future.

The Lower Bunker guarding the washed out bridge is dry, and there should be no issues using it.

The ice in the upper bunker is over the door of the stove. We will not be able to have the warming fire in the bunker. Also the 55gal drum we use at the lower station has about 3’ of solid ice in it. Rendering it unusable also. Thus the warming fires will need to be out on the ground. Not to big an issue with the snow limiting the fire hazard. Upon completion of the event the snow should be kicked over the fires so they are put out.

Camping on site is available. It is primitive and most likely will be very cold. Some folks have asked about camping Friday night. That is fine. Camping Saturday night is also ok, but no one has ever stayed around. Everyone has packed the vehicles and jetted out right after the battles.

Dima and some others should be on site at 2pm on Friday. Registration will be open that night for those that want to swing by and get it done. Look for his Russian squad tent, that will be registration. Battle fee of $10 will be collected, cards issued and waivers signed there.

That’s about all I can remember for now. I am sure there is more that I am forgetting. Keep the questions coming. This looks to be an awesome event. We are at 91 pre-registered. Should be a nice Eastern Front event again, larger than last year. I just hope mother nature lets us pull it off.

Later

-dave

[Konstantin]

Comrades,

Here is a site map with the named objectives. Enjoy.

www.416rifleregt.com/IndianolaObjectiveMap.html

-dave

[Konstantin]

Comrades,

All systems are go. The storm is holding off until late Sunday night into Monday. Indianola forecast is Sunny and 30 for Saturday. Gotta like that.

With all the snow we have it should have a great eastern front feel to it. Just need more birch trees and less thorn trees. LOL

Updates are located here: members7.boardhost.com/IndianolaEFE/index.html?1197069704

See ya there.

-dave