How was it for you?

My first CiA and what an event. On my third anniversary of joining the forum I get to attend a game. At last!
The smoke added to the flavour I think and the dark tunnels got frustrating as you could never tell if it was enemy or friend you were sneaking up on. The tension that created was good.
We on the Soviet side had good clear commands given and 'simple' tasks to undertake, once in the dark and under fire 'simple' isn't always simple. Again all good.
To those who set it up, did the recce, planned the scenario, walked miles with flags and lanterns, thank you.
To the glorious sons and daughters of the motherland who bled and died to free the ..........thank you.
To the Germans, a superb opponent, thank you.
Smashing, I'll be back for more.

Anyone else get knife-killed?

It was in the early phase, where the lines were blurred, to say the least. I was crouched in a doorway when I heard steps close behind me. I didn't turn around because I thought that in the unlikely event it was the enemy, I would get a face full of BBs for my trouble. Unfortunately, it was the enemy - whilst Headshot administered the kill, he had a whole silent squad behind him as well!

That may possibly be the best game I have been to
I loved the site and the smoke, poor vision, crap on the floors, stuff against walls in pitch-black corridors, the whole feel to the site was authentic. I wish I had got to see more of the place but we ruskies just couldn't achieve our goals of sight seeing in Berlin by 16.00 hrs

Great day well played by all.

However it did show up the pitfalls of playing WW2 airsoft in dark rooms to me again, people don't know they have been hit even at distances of 6 ft due to their heavy clothing and they are firing an AEG which masks and hit noise on their own clothing. However this is a fact of life/ airsoft and isn't going to go away so we all have to live with it.

Hells teeth, what a day. I got home just before 8pm and couldn't get out of the car and had to shuffle to the door whilst maintaining a sitting down posture. Bath and bed by 9pm.
This morning, with agonising hips and feet and red eyes I can reflect on the weekend.

Its true to say CiA events are designed to push players to the limits, at times hovering between pleasure and torture. At times it will be immensely frustrating and others immensely exhilarating.
And with this event we were troubled with how to make gameplay work, given the scale of the location and the difficulty of communication. But I'm pleased to say I think we pretty much pulled it off.

When the Russians breached the front door and were almost immediately met with a brutal ambush I looked at the pile of brown clad bodies piled on the floor an for a moment I was horror struck. At that point my 'excitement factor' score went up a point as I thought 'hmmm, these player get it and its going to be a good day'.

The Russians did incredibly well pushing up towards the map room, making progress bit by bit. As we were pinned down in the map room I thought we would be secure all day as both entrances were well locked down but the dreaded whistles went and all hell broke lose. Concerted, massed assaults were the only way to take that objective and it was a cracking job well done.

Thereon in, when the Germans fell back to a more secure location in the gloom of the factory things quietened down. At times as the Germans patrolled the complex there would be no Russians to be seen, so we resorted to plenty of friendly fire as 'Russians' appeared out of the darkness. To say we were jumpy would be an understatement - goodness knows how many miles we walked following up reports of sighting only to find nowt! It turns out that the Russians were sending out five man parties which made them very difficult to find, given the darkness and scale of the place.

Unfortunately for the Germans the relentless assault of Russians pouring into the complex combined with our rapidly depleting ammunition stocks and knocked out vehicles meant we had no alternative other than lay some charges to bring down the roof of a couple of access tunnels and beat a hasty withdrawal.

Best bits:
Getting mowed down by Headshot's party lurking in a dark tunnel next to a control point then chuckling as I watched the get mown down by Germans on both sides of them.

Walking down the furthest dark tunnel and glancing across into the distance to the first lit tunnel and seeing the 222 slowly glide past the dark framed archway with a squad of crouched Germans walking behind it. Hell, did that look menacing!

Porta lying shot on the floor only to have a badly thrown Thermobaric land right next to him and watch him stagger to his feet fumbling for his cyalume and getting caught in crossfire. I'm pretty sure Porta enjoyed that too!

Watching heavy machine guns being used to good effect for the first time in any event as far as I can recall.

Yith's entertainment Saturday night.

Walking with a patrol then hearing the whistles go. Hurry to the location to find a Russian group attempting an assault down the main lit tunnel. They were stopped by a group of Germans in front of them so we rushed forward and shot the Ruskies in the backs, as no one was watching their rear.

The whistles and hurraaaahs!!

Yup, to repeat what has been said already. What a weekend. I was very impressed with the turn out of kit for the ruskies considering how seriously we were let down and the generosity for people lending stuff out was second to none.

But damn stof and his "Black Power"... god that's nice stuff... but fecks you over completely! ARGH!

Best part of the day for me was the patrol with Porta... sneaking about, ambushing German patrols, etc... marvellous.

Thanks to all.

Anyone else get knife-killed?

It was in the early phase, where the lines were blurred, to say the least. I was crouched in a doorway when I heard steps close behind me. I didn't turn around because I thought that in the unlikely event it was the enemy, I would get a face full of BBs for my trouble. Unfortunately, it was the enemy - whilst Headshot administered the kill, he had a whole silent squad behind him as well!

i got knife-killed too

Standing in a dimly lit filthy tunnel amidst the debris and decay of abandonment, the silence as shadowy figures of German solders stood, straining their ears for signs of the invading Bolsheviks;was broken only by the distant reverberating strains of Wagner.

This moment for me was the most ethereal of Boryszyn.

Having visited the tunnels at Nordhausen. Having stood on the site of the ReichsKanzelrei. Having walked the forests of the Heurtgen and gazed over the Seelow Heights. I have some grasp of history and many times I have tried hard to imagine man and materiel at these locations. Tried to put myself into the mindest and attempted to feel how it must have been.

Then on Sunday morning I kitted up and bombed up then went forth from the crisp fluorescent lit 1960s Cafeteria into the hell black unlit bowels of the tunnel at Drakelow. I worked for years underground at a Colliery in South Yorkshire at the beginning of my working life. So I know about the dark and it hold no fears for me. But I quickly recalled the feeling of standing in what amounts to sensory deprivation and after a few minutes, not being bale to sense if you are facing down the tunnel or at the wall. And with the added frissance of armed men waiting to shoot you down this was a completely new buzz.

For me, this event brought to me the closest feeling I have ever had to "Being there". AND I DO NOT SAY THIS LIGHTLY.

I was part of the initial patrol with CW who guarded the entrance. With Boshman on MG and three others we covered the narrow choke point that the Soviets had to make their entry through. I had the honour to fire the first shots and I neatly slotted the first two cautious scouts. This had the effect of immediately slowing the Bolsheviks down. A Sniper poked his rifle around a corner and as his elbow appeared the StG did it's work and landed three rounds on his arm. "Hit" he cried and the sportsmanlike ethos that is CiA again showed through. Suddenly as I was about to change my position a whistle blew and the horde simply charged like a great brown hairy deranged catterpillar down the narrow channel! I was out in the open so I opened fire on full auto and.................... BODIES STARTED DROPPING WHERE THEY WERE HIT!
I was quickly hit by the wall of fire being returned so I "fell" to the side and the MG hidden opposite the entrance in the shadows of an office opened up. This stopped the initial charge. I was mediced and returned to action to be quickly ordered by the officer to fall back to the secondary position (another choke point 25 m in)

And this was the opening action setting the scene on a particularly brilliant day.

As in my earlier, more modest post - there are not enough superlatives to heap upon this event. It gauged player/re-enactor mindset accurately. It managed to contain enough activity to tax yet not strain most people. It held the interest and moreover it certainly evoked a sense of war and struggle and in some cases, futile desperation. This was a WWII Re-enactment with the glorious added bonus of airsoft weapons lending more dimension to the scenario. The location was incredible and I sincerely hope we return.... perhaps with more players and a larger dedicated command structure to assist the excellent efforts of the Officers commanding on Sunday. Present and at their first WWII airsoft events were Martin Wall, CO of Kampfgruppe Stahlkrieger and Martin Standbridge, a 20'odd year re-enactor and member of 2nd Guards.... I know they will be returning with glowing reports of what they experienced...... stand by for more willing recruits to the cause.

Boryszyn ticked all my boxes. Unless you were there you can't adequately describe it or convey the atmosphere to anyone. CiA=WIN!

Walking with a patrol then hearing the whistles go. Hurry to the location to find a Russian group attempting an assault down the main lit tunnel. They were stopped by a group of Germans in front of them so we rushed forward and shot the Ruskies in the backs, as no one was watching their rear.

Only to be shot by the surviving member of said assault who'd burried himself in the wreckage , that was very sobering seeing all the germans walking within feet of me, shooting down the darkened corridor to my right thinking I was down there! hehe

As regards for the original charge when we breeched the facility, Ive counted over 20 dark red bb impact marks on my person from the original charge... my falling to the floor was not at all planned, the sheer shock and pain of 15 guns bearing down on me brought me down. As I lay on the floor the bodies were piling up by my feet, all I could see was Lardy sprawled on the floor in a heap,... and everyone else collapsing like a flan in a cupboard! hehe

Sorry about that Matt! Massed charges were the only way to break the initial German defences, as there just wasn't the space or cover in the entrance to get suppressing fire down to make an assault. It actually took far less charges to gain a foothold than we initially feared it would, thank goodness. Seeing the dead pile up in front of the German defences really rammed it home just how brutal life on the Eastern Front was. It seems the whistles had a psychological impact on the Germans as well, which was exactly what we had hoped for.

:whistle: Sorry about that Matt!

No need for the apology! That was part of the game, I think I even asked you to issue another charge in that foggy tunnel in the map room for the sheer fun of it! lol

BB wounds heel, fun memories dont fade!

...Only to be shot by the surviving member of said assault who'd burried himself in the wreckage , that was very sobering seeing all the germans walking within feet of me, shooting down the darkened corridor to my right thinking I was down there! hehe

I might have guessed it was you!

As regards for the original charge when we breeched the facility, Ive counted over 20 dark red bb impact marks on my person from the original charge... my falling to the floor was not at all planned, the sheer shock and pain of 15 guns bearing down on me brought me down. As I lay on the floor the bodies were piling up by my feet, all I could see was Lardy sprawled on the floor in a heap,... and everyone else collapsing like a flan in a cupboard! hehe

I bet it felt like 15 guns - only five there though and one of those was never used (heh, I wasn't getting myself caught up it that death trap)! Boshman's MG42 did sterling work though, cutting across the opening. As there was no way to get through without waiting for him to run out of ammo I guessed enough pain had been inflicted and pulled everyone out to the next choke point so THREE heavy machine guns could cut you to shreds.

as usuall, a big thank you to all the orginizers the site and the players i can never thank you too much for games like this

i had a great time, my bent tanaka was shooting lovley, lots of stealthy hits, i got old un (guy) as he was rolling his baccy, hit the commander of the 222 in the chest,
sneeked up on chommers in the tunnel when he was alone and dead , but scared him anyway

had a great ambush patrol with yith any harry, we had a german patrol in front (the blaggers) i think, and we were lay flat on the ground in the middle of the tunnel in the pitch black, the germans were in shiloette from a small petrol lamp 50m behind them, they were only 10 feet away when we opened up, They gave a phenominal amount of return fire,(unfortunatly all over our heads) great anti ambush techniques and disengaged back down the tunnel leaving a few dead/wounded .
also a great bit of fun was having a duel in total blackness against che, me with a k98 and he had either rifle or a pistol, we both fired a shot and moved , then fired and moved, and so on and so on, then some dastardly fritz shone a torch , and there i was in a group of them , then the expected mullering happened

later in the tunnel

: .sorry to the russky i threw the grenade on. it made me laugh though

i was lay down on the floor in the pitch black shooting germans against a tunnel wall, i think chommers and friends sneaked round the side,
just after i took a burst in the ribs a nice thermo bounced of the back of my neck and landed on the floor next to my head, i couldnt see for a few seconds, and just lay there getting my senses, as i stand up a russain patrol had seen the flash , and decided to hammer the area, while i tried franticly to get my cyalume out.

nice throw john, chucking things round in the dark, no-one could have known who was there, so no worries

the soviet greatcoats were great at stopping bb`s, you can feel the hits fine, but they dont hurt, i was in the front rank on 3 charges, and never got a serious bb wound or hit in the face either

though i did get shot in the back of the head point blank by one of my own team, 5 minuites in to the game, 6 nice bloody scabs on the back of my head this morning

a great day for me, despite that im walking like a 80 year old today due to leg cramps

Yeah I was front man in 2 of the charges with thin clothing on, which is prolly why my skin's a bit worse for wear today! But all part of the fun!

Funny to see you're not mentioning your first grenade throw of the day porta, I think the count was 7 Russians you got with that hehe!

sneeked up on chommers in the tunnel when he was alone and dead , but scared him anyway

Git! You have no idea how brave I was walking the tunnels on my own having heard tales of the ghost Oswald that occupies the complex. I was walking in the pitch black in an area of no action and totally silent to remove control points to concentrate the gameplay, thinking to myself "Don't think of ghosts, don't think of ghosts" when I could have sworn I heard footsteps behind me. "Ignore it, its nothing" I thought to myself but it got to the point when I just had to turn around and the torch caught Porta's face four foot from me. "Boooo" he said, and I swore back at him. If he had got to me and tapped me on the shoulder I'm quite sure I wouldn't have stopped running until I was out of the front doors!

Yeah I was front man in 2 of the charges with thin clothing on, which is prolly why my skin's a bit worse for wear today! But all part of the fun!

Funny to see you're not mentioning your first grenade throw of the day porta, I think the count was 7 Russians you got with that hehe!

i did bandage them all to make up

hey 7 kills 30 seconds in to the game , not bad eh

chommers like a total tit, id forgotten my torch, so when all my comrades were dead, i was hopelessly lost in the pitch black, this worked to my advantage so well, i really enjoyed it.
you walked past me within 3 feet, but i was lay down (at one point later on someone even walked over me, and thought i was a pile of shit no comments please) i wanted to put a hand on you shoulder not your foot, hence the "follow", i was hard to follow quietly as you were walking at a fair pace
made my day, then off in to the blackness again . absolutly top class fun.
i also found crawling round on the floor kept noise down, and myself safe, hardly anyone shone their torch at their feet, and i could roll out of the way without being seen

OK what else can I add. It was blummin briliant. Everyone looked and played fantastically and large heaps of thanks must be piled on the CiA team for a fantastic day in all aspects.

Sgt Heide and Headshot did a sterling job as the Soviet commanders and it realy felt that we were in those tunnels getting a job done, not just wandering around shooting at Germans, which added to the atmosphere immensly. My throat is horse from Hurahing so much and all my linbs are still in agony from being an unhealthy fool who tries running and things.

My favorite part has to have beenw hen all the squad I was with had fallen and I was left alone in the darkness, I made my way homewards, quitly waiting for germans to pass before moving on slowley through the darkness, until I came out into a tunnel to see the 222 and its acomanyment of Germans moving away from me. I pushed myelf into an alcove and glancing accross the tunnel was relieved to see Barry and Anne arrive with their squad. We opened fire on the Germans and then, as the light from the 222 turned on us, ran back to our base for more asignments. Great.

My thanks to all, and to Ranj for the lift - and my appologies for consistantly falling asleep on the way home, despite my best efforts not to.

Yes excellent game thanks to all involved in putting it on. The headlong charges were exhilerating to say the least but the pacing of the day was well thought out to break up the relentless action.

I trod all over a couple of dead bodies in one headlong rush before getting mown down next to them (sorry to those chaps).

Best bit for me was leading my own whistle charge late on and finding to my surprise that people actually followed.

Anne's was being the last line of defence and shooting Che to stop his counter-attack at the last gasp.

Nice to see the new chaps we played alongside, Panzerfaust and Tarpey.

...We opened fire on the Germans and then, as the light from the 222 turned on us, ran back to our base for more asignments. Great.

Yes that was fun, I almost fancied I could see the turret cranking slowly around to bear on us like in Kelly's Heroes.

One of the best bits for me was when I joined up with a few comrades in a room not too far from the canteen, which had a small hole knocked in at the bottom which led into the lit spine tunnel at the centre of the complex, then seeing that the hole was conveniently sited right next to the 222 and a bunch of germans, you can guess probably guess what happend next.... Also being part of "operation human sheild" for Porta to chuck a grenade at the german headquarters was exhilarating to say the least!

This was my first game at a CIA event, and I would like top say a big thank you to the originisers and the players for making me feel welcome, and making "the loop" such an outstanding game.

Thank you.