48 hour tactical battle

[Panzersaurus]

Wow that looks like a great deal of fun ade. I might have ro move to england just to get in on this.

[canti44]

Hey Ade what about a report on your personal experiences of the weekend? Did your boots keep your feet dry? How did your clothing and equipment bear up to the surrounding conditions? Did you manage any sleep and could you get warm? What were you eating and how much vodka did it take to keep the cold out? Were you using port-a-loo's or did you go 'in-country'?

I think details like these would be very interesting to hear about.

Cheers,

Ian.

[Gunny Hartmann]

That looks a fantastic way to spend a weekend!....

[Jerry B]

Looks like a lot of fun Ade. Brilliant stuff I am sure.

[Tango]

Not something you see everyday whilst walking your dogs lol....Looks like fun I think I would like to be the general in some hotel about 20 miles back...Thanks for posting Ade. Cheers Terry.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, as ever thanks for the comments.

To cover the points Ian raised:

The "Sapogi" boots are fantastic. I love them. They have rubber soles, no metal segs, heel irons etc and have leather uppers but synthetic tops. I keep them well polished and my feet stayed dry. We wear foot wraps, not socks, in true Russian style.

The uniform was designed for a colder climate than Britian can throw it it. We wear long white cotton flannnel under shirts, white long johns, 43 pattern "gym" and trousers. Over this goes the padded "vatnik" telogrieka jacket and trousers was worn. Headgear was the synthetic fur Ushanka. Once you moved around you soon started to sweat. The only problem with the padded gear is once it gets wet, it stays wet. Elbows and knees do get a bit damp due to crawling around.

At night I used a "Plash-Palatka" ground sheet to sleep on doubled up and a greatcoat as a blanket.

Food during the day was what you carried in your pockets. Cheese, bread and a bit and meat and a few sweets. We had a hot meal of Goulash in the evening, about half a mess tin full.

Vodka was a bit more than the issue ration of 100ml...LOL.

No Portaloos were used. We all had our entrenching tools.... Loos really add a lot to our costs. They are well over £100 to hire and we like to keep things as real as we can. Many years ago at an event we caught the German CO with his trousers around his ankles. Talk about laugh!

Cheers, Ade.

[canti44]

Great bit of reportage there Ade thanks for that, sounds like a fantastic experience.

[Walkwolf]

Nice to see Ade, looks like you all had a great time.
Thanks for the pics.........!

[Scout]

At night I used a "Plash-Palatka"

Okay, now you are just making names up!!!



KIDDING


On a more serious note: Thanks for info on uniforms and how they hold up in practical use.
We see the uniforms parts in period pics and museums, but scant info on the use of mundane itmes like shirts, padded tunics etc and how they worked for the individual soldier.
A great way to educate those interested on the day-to-day life of the soldiers.

No Portaloos were used. We all had our entrenching tools.... Loos really add a lot to our costs. They are well over £100 to hire and we like to keep things as real as we can.

Cheers, Ade.

That info is on a need-to-know basis and I didnt need to know!

But by hiking/camping I can certainly relate to that.

[Adrian Stevenson]

A few more pics can now be seen on our group website:

2014 ASHBY BATTLE

Cheers, Ade.