East Front events

[Antonescu]

Was wondering if we will see a rise in East Fronts events in the mid-atlantic and northeast areas. It seems that several of us also do other impressions (Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, etc.) as well as some new Soviet units forming up in the area. Besides the GD events can think of maybe two more. Lets see how we can start to see more of these events happening. Any suggestions? Maybe those who do German but have the Russian impression might want to consider coming out as Russian until it begins to gain some ground? Yeah, like my German impression as well but will come out as Romanian to do it (allows me to be on both sides depending on the scenerio).

[dixiejarhead]

Our unit will be hosting two Ostfront events a year in Lugoff, SC.  Lugoff is right near Columbia, SC, and is an easy interstate drive from any mid atlantic state.  The property is privately owned 170+ acres that we are modifying/improving (russian and german) for Ostfront battles.  We will do one ostfront in the spring, and one in the fall.  We are trying to work in conjuction with the Cabarrus living history in NC, which will also host ETO events in the spring and fall on a 1000+ acre piece of privatly owned land less than 20 miles away from our site, and within a month of each event to make it easier to stage vehicles etc....

Feel free to check out our website and our forum will have event updates as well.
http://www.geocities.com/ir134hud/

[Antonescu]

It looks like more are coming out to be known. There is one at Gore, Va and know of two in the Northeast (Haydenville, MA and a place in NH). GD has one but invite only. One in OH also. Hoping to see more in the Mid-Atlantic which is closer or at least about the same drive in both directions.

[Panzergrenadier116]

2SS is putting on an Ostfront event at Buck Springs Plantation in Warren County NC.  We(116Pz) have used it for Westfront event in the past.  It is a great property with forest, hills, buildings, and clearings.  It is tentatively set for the weekend of December 8.  Email Terry Green for info  algreen@meck.com

Erich

[Antonescu]

Erich,

I know the place. Came down as SS from NJ two years ago. Wasn't able to make it down this past time to the new location.

[Panzergrenadier116]

 I remember Harry had 3 guys from NJ that year.  It is the same property.  We will have our Westfront there in October too since deer season has claimed the other location.  Hopefully, 116 will have that farm again in Feb.  Most guys really liked the land.
 2.SS is a very close unit to us.  We are trying to help the Ostfront event go well as best we can.  They do plan to move it to VA in the future if it is a success.  They have access to a larger piece of land near South Hill.

Erich

[Antonescu]

I remember Harry had 3 guys from NJ that year.  It is the same property.  We will have our Westfront there in October too since deer season has claimed the other location.  Hopefully, 116 will have that farm again in Feb.  Most guys really liked the land.
 2.SS is a very close unit to us.  We are trying to help the Ostfront event go well as best we can.  They do plan to move it to VA in the future if it is a success.  They have access to a larger piece of land near South Hill.

Erich

Yes there were three of us, Harry, his son and myself. That was the only time I remember experiencing all 4 seasons in ONE day! Jim contacted me about getting some guys that do Romanian, etc. I'll email them and let them know about it but can't promise anything though. Two guys are in Iraq right now, one on PA and myself in NYC. We have one in the 101st who is getting his impression together right now so maybe I can guide him along to get a group together down there. Nothing like switching sides half way through a battle!

[Panzergrenadier116]

That is typical of North Carolina in February.  It goes from one extreme to another.  It can snow one day and be shirtsleeve weather the next day.  The last Feb event was cold and windy.  Jim is doing most of the emailing for 2.SS.  I posted it on At The Front.  2.SS are a great group of guys and have done alot for our unit.  So, when they want help we are glad to help out.  Personally, I would love an Ostfront event with snow.  We had a few flakes in Lowell, Indiana a couple of years ago but it really wasnt an Ostfront event.  Besides, it did not stick.

ET

[Antonescu]

Ost Front event with snow would be nice for sure. Question to think about is how do you get Germans who have Russian or other East Front impressions to wear them for an event instead of German? Think this would help greatly with the Russian numbers.

[Antonescu]

Here are some things to think about and maybe discuss.

East Front reenacting appears to not be organized. What do I mean, seems communication is not up to par (yes know there are the Yahoo Groups), members do not come out, members seen as mediocre at events, events not advertised, too many units but not enough players. Here are some ideas to think about and discuss:

1) Keep communication on tactics, living history open to expand knowledge. There are sites such as Red Army Online etc. than need to be utilized to the fullest extent. Keep a yahoo-group for general communication/selling items and the other just for the above.

2) Training weekends should be planned for Ost Front (non-German) units to attend and enhance skills and to get to know one another. Not just a unit weekend but an entire Red Army weekend.

3) Ost Front Events need to be advertised to the fullest extent possible. There are some which are invite only and it seems that since there are not enough around this might not be a good idea.

4) Ost Front Events need to have a non-German sponsor. This would make it possible for Russian reenactors to have the word spread about and this might actually draw some of the closet Russians back out.

5) Location of Ost Front events are also key. Why not try to do events that would be centralized for most people. So far the only two I can think of are WV and PA which could be used to draw attendees from OH, IN, IL, VA, KY, TN, MD, NC, SC, DE, NY and NJ.

6) Organize the Red Army into geographical sections with 2 or 3 POC's instead of several or just one. For Example, New England (come up with Soviet Front name)=list of units; mid-Atlantic:list of units, and so on for each geographical area of the US. Don't worry about listing the EU units until the US side of the hobby is organized/centralized per say.

7) Units with 4,5,6,7 members. Why? If two or three units in same state why not combine into one unit? This would make it easier for communication and lead to more numbers in the field. For Example, NC Unit A has 5 members and Unit B has 8, combine to create Unit C with 13 members. Decided to do Romanian instead due to fact that my other half grew up under Communism and doesn't want to see anything related to it.

Attend Living History Events, inform public on Soviet/Non-German participation, bring the toys to show, tell people about the hobby and cost compared to others.

9) Authenticity needs to be enhanced to the fullest extent. Each unit should adopt a 100% standard for this just like the Germans do.

10) Soviet Command at events seems to be in the hands of a certain few. Change it up, bring new people in to command the Red Army. This gives the others experience needed in commanding troops, allows others to feel they are being seen and respected, gives other units a goal to reach as well as good moral.

Just some ideas to put out there so lets see what can happen.

[Sturmkatze]

Here are some things to think about and maybe discuss.

3) Ost Front Events need to be advertised to the fullest extent possible. There are some which are invite only and it seems that since there are not enough around this might not be a good idea.

Then you're gonna end up w/ furry rejects from some bad Silly War event just showin' up... Good luck on that "Whuuuuut, I done traveled all the way from Podunk Junction Tennasee fer this event and yer a tellin' me we can't "play" 'cause we ain't got the right kind o' uniforms? The only way to enforce standards (since 97% of events won't just boot farbs out the gate) is to make in invit eonly and so good an event that people will wanna come. Kinda like WW2HPG used to do at Street, MD. Make it a wanna come... and I agree, get some Sov unit to sponsor it as people shy away from event sthey see sponsored by SS units.
My 2 Pfennige... Marsh

[Antonescu]

Then you're gonna end up w/ furry rejects from some bad Silly War event just showin' up... Good luck on that "Whuuuuut, I done traveled all the way from Podunk Junction Tennasee fer this event and yer a tellin' me we can't "play" 'cause we ain't got the right kind o' uniforms? The only way to enforce standards (since 97% of events won't just boot farbs out the gate) is to make in invit eonly and so good an event that people will wanna come. Kinda like WW2HPG used to do at Street, MD. Make it a wanna come... and I agree, get some Sov unit to sponsor it as people shy away from event sthey see sponsored by SS units.
My 2 Pfennige... Marsh

Marsh,

More like open it to Eastern Front units established already and not to ACW guys who just throw something together. Standards would have to be given out before the event and to actually tell someone no (which I agree, too many event coordinators do not do this). Know the New England and Marion events are co-sponsored (or used to be) by Russian and German units. GD has one at each at Newville and Bedford. Why doesn't a Red Army unit take the reins and host an event? Another idea is to find a location that would be like FIG (but on smaller scale and a little stricter on certain issues) and do an East Front weekend there (maybe in another part of PA, WV or MD).

Still though how do you get Germans to wear their Russian or other East Front impression instead?

[Antonescu]

How about these for reenacting East Front for ideas to start with? I posted these on another forum in response to another person. Healthy discussion is a good thing isn't it?

1. Costs:
A. Maybe to get those who have Russian or other Ost Front impressions as secondary possibly lower the fee for those impressions. Once the numbers start to move ahead then raise the fee over the course of events.

B. Weapons aren't difficult to find but due to being WWII must figure that over time they will go up.

C. Membership is key. Maybe all East Front units need to work together as well here. Refer people to correct units in their area, units in same region should attempt to make living history/public display events so that they can get the word out. The more the impression is seen the more interest people will have and the more educated they become. Dues would have to be left up to that unit. Some have them for good reasons while others do not. One reason for dues is to help with websites. Websites might be a good thing but they have to be updated and not left in the wind like a lot of Red Army sites are. As for websites, make sure that as many units who do East Front are in you links page even if only email.

D,E,F (gas, hotel, food, etc.): These are the same all around. I don't see groceries, gas going down for sometime now since it is summer vacation period. Look at the history of when gas prices are low and then try to have events in those seasons!  As for the hotel, that is something the person makes a decision to do. If you don't want the added cost then camp/barrack with unit.

2. Event locations and/or size: A location is important. If we look at the locations of most people what is a do able drive. I have no problem with 8 hour drives since I do it for a couple of events anyway (NC is going to be 10). Would it be safe to say have the driving range in a 6-10 hour time period? What states are you looking at? Think WV, central/western PA, MD or eastern KY are good. Will it be similar to Marion or Newville (WWI) where units are given a section to build up over time? I like this approach as well since it gives you the feel of non-combat as well. How about a location like the GAP but smaller that would have barracks and bunks instead of ground with a tactical on Saturday? Question is again the numbers of Red Army units that would attend? Seems to be only 15 on average. Look at the New England event for example. You think it might be too far but how many reenactors are in PA, NJ, DE, MD, NY, VA, MA, ME, VT, CT, RI, and NH who have an Eastern Front impression but are not going to attend? The Mid-west and Southeast are more apt to drive a longer distance than the New England guys. Need to support the events that are out there as well. Then you have GD who has a winter and fall event that is invite only as well as the fighting between Red Army units.

3. Dates: Try to keep events on the same dates or at the least the same month. Marion, KY, Hernendez, FL, Camden, OH and Haydenville, MA are good for examples for this. Some of the western front events are losing ground and might provide a good opportunity to use East Front to fill the void (just a thought!).

4. Authenticity, etc.: Maybe start of with 100% correct target for new members and then over time bring them up to 100% authentic. Baby steps, don't through them into the lake before they get their feet wet. Of course those who are like minded in how they think will come together naturally.

[Jager_Lang]

"Still though how do you get Germans to wear their Russian or other East Front impression instead?"

I think that a better question would be how do you get the Ami's and Brits to take on an new and reletively inexpensive impression? Down here in the southeast, at any given ETO/MTO event, Germans are outnumbered at least 5:3. It is my estimation that depending on German reenactors to fill Red Army ranks will tend to doom ostfront events to low turnouts, all the while Patton and Monte's boys are cooling their heels at home. Just a thought.

Shane

[Antonescu]

"Still though how do you get Germans to wear their Russian or other East Front impression instead?"

I think that a better question would be how do you get the Ami's and Brits to take on an new and reletively inexpensive impression? Down here in the southeast, at any given ETO/MTO event, Germans are outnumbered at least 5:3. It is my estimation that depending on German reenactors to fill Red Army ranks will tend to doom ostfront events to low turnouts, all the while Patton and Monte's boys are cooling their heels at home. Just a thought.

Shane

Shane,
This has been brought up in the Allied section. Lets see what the Yanks and Tommies have to say about it. It would greatly increase the numbers if the present western allies would have some members pick up the Russian kit.