A Grand Day Out!

a very successful day,a sine post game pointing to the future of ww2 airsoft and proving that rifles do in no way inhibit game play.well done to all the organizers and thank you for putting together a thoroughly enjoyable day.

a few pics

Very brave for putting it on but I really enjoyed it. The game play and kit was superb, and it was a pleasure just to have rifles only. Shame we could not expose others to this area of Ww2 gaming, I hope others read this and take the chance next time to participate. Organisers including myself perhaps opening `Slots` in sides with rifle section with support weapons and AEG leaders could be a step in the right direction

Just wanted to know why the SS were always being shoved out at the front each time? Good for me managed to get loads of hits something which I have never done before being at such a disadvantage against AEG`s. Thanks to the Poles they fought great and died just as great

Might have a quiet night in now with a Bridge too far.

Thanks organisers was a pleasure

Yes, a great day out and a fantastic effort on both the guns and the kit. I was a bit concerned the exclusive use of rifles might lead to lots of running around in the open, but that didn't happen, and coupled with the limited ammo and restrictions on bandages, made everything quite slow and cautious, as it should be. The way the missions were managed was also very effective.

Unusually for me using a boltie, I burned through well over a hundred rounds of ammo, but managed to shoot more Poles than I sometimes manage using an AEG!

Anyway, lots of thanks to the organisers for putting it on, and hoping for a similar event next year.

I'll get some photos up once I've sorted through them a bit.

Cheers
Martin

Had a great day manage to get 4 kills for the entire day the weather was spot on not too windy with the rifles the pace of the game was good had the poles always on the run would love to have another rifles game top notch to the guys that put this together well done guys

Will post pictures late Sunday as I got another event tomorrow morning

Well done Craig & Dean for an excellent day out and for proving the 'rifles only' can not only work (well, I think that was a given) but more importantly can muster enough players to make a game viable. My enjoyment could only have been bettered had I had a properly functioning rifle - but then again, I had joyness unbounded with my single hit of the day.

Craig's focus on the preservation of life and limited ammo also took the WW2 airsoft genre off to another interesting tangent where a brief exchange of fire and withdrawal to a safer position were in marked contrast to the often seen scenario where a player exchanges fire from behind a tree with an opposing player until he runs out of ammo or gets shot then re-gens and returns to the same position to continue the exchange. The upshot was that gameplay was more measured and risk-assessed than usual, with less reliance on superior weaponry to 'win' and dire consequences should you be reckless (or unfortunate). A blatfest this was not - hope you decide to have another game next year (when you feel inspired and motivated enough, as I hope you will be).

Tick V.G. from me!

a Garand day

Wasn't it just?
There wasnt a single thing that I could think of to moan about.
I enjoyed shooting at Germans and I enjoyed taking the hits. I like the odd lie down during a battle to watch the action. I only used 7 Tanaka reloads all day, less than 100 bb.
Thanks very much to all the organisers and all the players of both sides, you made my day.

A fantastic day.

Now I've been to a lot of WWII events... look at my sig. So when I say this was one of the absolute very best WWII events I've been to, it's no tame boast.

This is the way WWII airsoft needs to go, period.

The only problem.... it's going to be too long before we get to do it again.

I did the chronoing in the morning... and wrote everything down, so here are a few stats.

Number of players total: 24.
Number of rifles : 22. (Commanders only had pistols, no other guns were used)
Number of over 350fps rifles (requiring MEDs): 3 (So 19 sub 350fps rifles... )
Number of VSR-10 (or clone) conversions: 9
Number of Tanaka K98s: 4
Number of M14 conversions: 5
Others: 1x Zeta Labs Mosin Nagant, 1xM700 conversion, 1x KTW Springfield, 1x K98 G&G

Most players I talked to had used around 150 rounds during the day.

Can only concur with everyone before and echo their praise; a great day and many thanks to the organisers and helpers for all their efforts.

Excellent standard of kit and game play, so thanks to everyone else too, Pole and German alike.

While I was, of course, shot by Lardy and I completely failed to hit anybody all day, unless one of my bbs rolled through the grass and gently nudged a jackboot, I also didn't blow any of my own side up and I even survived a mission without getting hit at all so one of my more successful events as well as being absorbing and fun.

Thanks Craig and Dean and let's have some more, please!

Charlie

I think I used about 50 rounds! The rifles-only policy worked really well, and interesting side effect being that it was damn difficult to figure out where the 'firefights' were.

While I remember, if anyone who posts photos ISN'T happy for me to pinch them to,use on my blog could they please make that clear?

Many thanks

T

i think i only used 150 rounds all day and was hit 3 times,i shot 4 or 5 poles i cant be sure.it was weird not hearing automatic fire at all as was previously mentioned it was hard to locate the battles because they were so quiet,i whole battle probably expended a combined 100 rounds from all present .the only thing lacking in the whole day looking back and this is knit picking,was set dressing,i think the only props i saw were a browning 30cal and a field telephone.the preservation of you'r life worked really well with lots of retreat's rather than standing to a man that is so common at other games,and the need for stealth while hunting down the poles made for huge suspense and adrenalin ,i remember my squad being pinned down by a concealed rifleman sniping from a berm,and i just saw the barrel of a rifle slowly extending between bushes,called the position out and he was cut down ,it was a real team effort.

I agree with Rich - this was one of my best WWII airsoft experiences. (BTW, somebody needs to make a campaign medal, pleeeeze!) Hats off to Craig and Dean for having the guts to organise an event that would not appeal to some, but to those who went, the immersion and fear factor made it one of the most realistic feeling events I've ever been to. Absolutely top notch play by top notch WWII airsofters - I heard not a single whinge all day. I used about 80 rounds all day, and had at least 6 kills - amazing!

I'm eagerly awaiting your next offering.

Yes well done Craig & Dean a thoroughly enjoyable day. Unfortunately my Kar98 was only firing at 280fps on the day so was often outranged but in the woods and bushes still managed to get several kills, I must get that springer conversion done for the next one.

Here are the good points as I saw it:

1) Good company, a nicer bunch of people you wont meet anywhere. Great fair play by everyone.
2) Game structure, despite the small numbers it felt that we were operating as a platoon, lots of varied and interesting missions with plenty of recon etc.
3) Medic rules, this did make everyone more carefull with their lives and suited my natural cowardice.
4) Rifles being used as a squad weapon mostly below 350fps, as others have said I hope other game organisers run with this. Im sure now it will be possible to organise games with a proper squad structure.

Thanks to all involved but especially my comrades in the SS squad we all fought hard and died just as hard (sorry Martin for the freindly fire but it wouldnt be a proper game if I didnt shoot someone on my side )

a couple more pics

well just one really,managed to put two pictures of Marsha up by mistake in my other post.

What an excellent day's airsofting and game playing! The whole "sub 350 rifles only" idea was a roaring success and its exponents completely vindicated.

Years ago in PBI we had a training day where, in an attempt to be less "airsoftery", we were drilled in and practiced fire and maneuver section tactics from the WW2 training manuals. Yesterday was probably the first time we used those tactics effectively without being mullered by a hail of SMG rounds being lobbed at us from beyond the effective range of a sub 350 rifle or being deafeningly pinged in the tin hat by a high velocity gas rifle . Everything was more tactical, and everybody was quite careful about not being shot.

Overall I think the Germans were much better shots than us Poles, ( I think there were more bolt action entusiasts / veterans on their side ) and when they advanced with purpose they were pretty formidable, but sometimes they seemed a bit timid in the assault so maybe the emphasis on "living to fight another day" had a real effect. It did with us:

i remember my squad being pinned down by a concealed rifleman sniping from a berm,and i just saw the barrel of a rifle slowly extending between bushes,called the position out and he was cut down ,it was a real team effort.

hehe, I think that was me, I shot a german who had called out my position then after I was hit I was was patched up, we withdrew to the next berm and waited. It seemed to take you all an age to get there!

As someone who regularly uses rifles at WWII games I was looking forward to this event a great deal and it did not disappoint! I had little doubt I would enjoy but was not as sure about others so it is heartening to hear how much they loved it and I hope Craig & Dean are thus encouraged further. I personally see the event as being pioneering in showing the way forward for WWII airsoft and its good to see other organisers taking note and considering the possibilities themselves as a result.

The standards of gameplay and sportsmanship were the best I've ever seen with truely embracing their roles. Standards of kit hardly needs mentioning these days since it is always so high but the were excellent as always, although we luftwaffe were undoubtedly the most dashing.

Gameplay wise not having the concern of being cut down in a hail of AEG fire at close range was liberating and you might have expected it to make people over confident but it had the exact opposite effect. It slowed things right down as people advanced cautiously and encouraged teamwork & tactics as no one person had any hope of doing serious damage to the opposition. Instead being cut of from your squad left you in fear of being picked off by some hidden marksman and the strict medic rules in play leaving little leeway for rescue.

Speaking of which I thought the medic rules worked brilliantly. It led to a rotation of those taking the lead as we had to take into account who was more likely to survive an encounter with the enemy meaning we all shared the burden. I only got hit the once but the game afterwards I found myself very tense and unwilling to push forward knowing it was one strike and out. Thats the way it should be to me, knowing a hit has consequences and not just a short walk to respawn and of the main reasons why I've always been a fan of the 'combat mission' style events.

Thanks for Craig & Dean (and all their assistants) for all their efforts in putting this one together and to trying new ideas along with everyone who took part for making it possible and displaying such high standards in every regard.

A few pics:

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Full set on Flickr here (well, not that full...)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47484028@N ... 656508478/

Cheers
Martin

Just to echo everyone else's comments, a fantastic day's action player in great spirit & no moaning by anyone! (surely a first???). Big thanks to Craig & Dean for all the hard working in getting the day put together.