Wot, No Heer?

Well, a new Heer-based group will be officially launched in a few weeks' time - I don't think I've let any cat out of the bag with that statement. It's taken a bit longer than anticipated, but it should be worth the wait.

Hurrah there, Steiner

Still putting the finishing touches to my GD loadout but its pretty much there - I look forward to finding out about the new group

don't worry about what others are wearing, but rather ask yourself 'What am I wearing?' I dare you!!!

Or maybe the real question should be "why am I wearing this?".

Porta's mindset is one which I wholeheartedly agree with, namely dressing to suit the event.

I suppose what irritates me a little is the idea that the Waffen SS and Grossdeutschland did all the hard fighting and everyone else sat around scratching their arses and eating sauerkraut and are therefore not worthy of basing an impression on

I suppose what irritates me a little is the idea that the Waffen SS and Grossdeutschland did all the hard fighting and everyone else sat around scratching their arses and eating sauerkraut and are therefore not worthy of basing an impression on

You'll get a chance to dispel that myth next year.

Came across an interesting tit bit on the net under the sub-heading of 'Criticism'....

"Reenactors are sometimes looked on with suspicion, particularly by military veterans, but also by elements of the general public. It is often difficult for veterans or the public to understand why reenactors do what they do, or there may be questions as to the motivation, or the knowledge of the reenactors......

......A final concern mentioned by Thompson's book is the "fantasy farb", or tendency of reenactors to gravitate towards "elite" units such as commandos, paratroopers, or Waffen-SS units resulting in an under-representation in the reenactment community of what were the most common types of military troops in the period being reenacted.

and then goes on to observe that.....

"This is largely drawn from a North American perspective, although there are parallel issues on the European scene, such as the tendency in Britain for Napoleonic War reenactors to perform as members of the 95th Rifles (perhaps due to the popularity of Sharpe) and larger proportions of plate-armoured soldiers in later medieval groups. ...."

As for the real reason behind this tendency...well....

"Reenactors are sometimes looked on with suspicion, particularly by military veterans, but also by elements of the general public. It is often difficult for veterans or the public to understand why reenactors do what they do, or there may be questions as to the motivation, or the knowledge of the reenactors"

as Wikipedia would say - "citation needed" Do you have a link for the article?

As to the rest, I think Wladek has identified the real reason, namely that concentrating on elite units afford us the ability to spend time and money on all the bits 'n' bobs that a bog standard leg infantryman would never have. How can a re-enactor possibly moan about the poor quality of the repro tank destruction badges if he chooses a unit that never faced a tank?

As to WHY people gravitate towards certain unit impressions is delved into in this analytical article entitled 'HARDCORE LEISURE: A SOURCE OF DIVISION WITHIN LEISURE SOCIAL
WORLDS' ......seems its a universal phenomenon....

http://lin.ca/Uploads/cclr11/CCLR11-133.pdf
Who will ever really know.......

Good link

Hardcore participants use standards of authenticity to highlight how their style of participation is superior to those pursued by others.

Strangely enough I found the aricle on Wikipedia..... ...speak of coincidence...it is under the article heading of Historical_reenactment...( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_reenactment )...

BedsnHerts.....out of curiosity, what unit do you enjoy portraying (....and NO this is not a trick question I hasten to add....)?

Phew, when I started reading article that I thought I was in for something rather heavyweight. Thankfully it was short so I managed to read it. Well, skim it. And its true, its everywhere and in every hobby!

I'm pretty sure, as a general rule, those new to the hobby of WW2 reenacting (of all flavours) will come at it from a fairly shallow angle (popular culture, casual interest, vague ideas & concepts, mates) and that commitment and knowledge builds over time. So you might enter as a BoB wannabe or the most highly decorated, hard core SS stormtrooper, but then move on to a more pared down and representative garb. I think this is why appeals to potential new players to just buy the most basic and unblinged kit possible falls on deaf ears, largely. This just isn't what they see in films, TV series or in comic books. Not to worry, they will learn (or leave the hobby once they have accumulated all the kit but never attended a game ) so no point berating folk. Even if they don't learn its no biggie - as long as they are happy doing what they do, that's good!

BedsnHerts.....out of curiosity, what unit do you enjoy portraying (....and NO this is not a trick question I hasten to add....)?

I now have enough Brit and German gear to try my hand at most things so my portrayals are always changing. For me, part of the fun is spending the months leading up to a game putting together something that's tailored to the scenario.

Awesome! I will work hard to be in a similar position like that. Gotta extend my 'Man Cave' for all the gear I plan to get. I will though stick to the German side for the time being......possibly...unless we can play an Eagle has landed scenario ....with the german uniform hidden for timely disclosure....

I've always drempt of someone starting up a line infanty axis unit/group (similar to PBI for the British) called "Heer we go!"

I'm looking forward to the "New Unit" the wait will be worth it.

well i started out as Heer and will stay as Heer as i like the infantry look

Heer Heer !!!

I've always done Heer , never SS . Don't want ot portray SS even if they had nice cammo . I reckon the real reason people go SS is that they can never work out what rank you are from Heer Shoulder straps alone

Er.....one ...two ...three ...four pips ....you must be a Sturmbannfuhrer .......twiddly shoulder strap and two pips or is that three ......that be a Heer, er , oberfeldwebel.... Major ??????

As for group,s we've gone through many , most survive because they have a reason to , ie reneacting as another side to the hobby (ie 16th SS, PBI ,Dog company). Airsoft alone ones don't tend to live beyond a few training days .

As for group,s we've gone through many , most survive because they have a reason to , ie reneacting as another side to the hobby (ie 16th SS, PBI ,Dog company). Airsoft alone ones don't tend to live beyond a few training days .

As you suggest there are not really the airsoft events to keep a group going. To be interesting it must have a hook for people. The hook is usually what keeps it from being useful in any given game.
A truly generic Heer infantry unit, white waffenfarbe, no real camo, would not be attractive to most people but would be the most useful for games. You can set a game anywhere in Europe and not need to buy more kit for the German side.

I think if a group organises it's own events as well, it does help keep it going...

Wot,No Heer...There's no problem when it comes down to it.. people will all ways make the effort if thats whats needed in a event.Take Op Ariel cracking turn out a good 80% came as Heer those that attended as SS wore Field greys with Jack boots..No smocks..No Helmet covers..No camo.
May have been a shame that not all came as Heer though..but never the less a very good effort all round
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I think if a group organises it's own events as well, it does help keep it going...

Yes I missed that other obvious point as well ...

@ Poacher , AFAIK I've done all barring one event as generic Heer . It has saved me a fortune . No rebadging, nothing to do . My M36 Tunic now is too big for me , but is still in use even at our last event after "four years of war" with CiA . The only stuff I've bought in the last 36 months has been replacing damaged . The farby jackboots I bought off warren before this began have finally given up the ghost and been replaced by ones pinched off Kermit last night . The point I'm making is that generic Heer should appeal , it's cheaper , universal , iconic.