After-Action Report; Street, MD April 6-8, 2001; W2HPG Event

Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2001 10:47:50 -0400

From: "Andy Zappone" <thunderbird@reenactor.net>
Subject: Street Maryland report

I attended the W2HPG Eastern Front event Großdeutschland hosted at Street, Maryland this weekend. I made a few observations.

  1. Both sides seemed very intent on taking and holding the low ground early in the day. It was less than impressive in regards to a tactical expertise in this regard.
  2. The Soviets showed major improvement regarding the unity of command. Tom Linder, the Soviet commander, did a good job of having all of the Russians recognize his authority. This is a major change for them. 
  3. GD recently cancelled a training weekend. It showed. I would have expected a more established unit with training to clean up the Russians, who don't yet have the organization to train.
  4. Mass "Urrah" charges were good surprises. 5 minutes before the end of a scenario. Russians gained an advantage separating the German forces, then springing one of these charges with 5 minutes remaining before the objective was to be secured, carrying said objective.
  5. Objectives were not focused upon. The Germans were easily distracted more often. A few Russians were able to pull large numbers of Germans running "to the sound of the guns" enabling a greater chance of success for the "urrah" charge.
  6. Russian execution of plans was good. Timetables were followed well. 
  7. Security lacked a bit on the Russian side. Elements in security roles could have been deployed better, although they were successful.
  8. Exposure was overdone. A few times moving troops moved poorly on both sides. Cover fire for movement was non-existent. Very often moving troops on both sides ignored reacting to fire. On the Soviet side, an argument could have been made that 'friendly fire' from Commissar units was more dangerous than fire from German units.

Overall, this was a good event. Dinner, the flea market, and barracks facilities were great. 60 Soviets and about 60 Germans were in attendance. It's a welcome change to see Russians in equal numbers instead of heavily outnumbered.