Battle of the Bulge WWII Reenactment Fort Indiantown Gap 2010

[daretoprepare]

ill be there with the german mounted cav. looking forward to running down some allies

[MrMichaelDogson]

Ugh! If only I could be in better reenactments!!

[generalbellic]

what are the rules for tanks i mean do they still fire and where would you keep it?

[hockey37lax14]

hey can 16 year olds use rifles with blank ammo...thanks for posting this video

[21leftcenter]

nuts!

[NirvanaMegadeth1567]

this is cool as hell, i would love to take part in this. i read the description and i saw that its in Annville, PA which is not too far from where i live, philadelphia. when does this reenactment usually take place?

[CL137626]

Go Military police jeep go XD 

[MrThePsychologist]

hi all can anybody help me find a mp40 REENACTMENT

[MallowReload]

That "Jagdpanther" Looks like an SU-85 to me.

[SuperDarkSamurai1]

how do you take part in one of these?

[carlman1987]

imagin deer hunting by here sitting in your tree stand or blind and seeing these "german troops" coming through the woods haha? i'd be like what the hell? did i step into a black hole or something? never the less yo gonna die bitchaaaz

[steelhelex]

Machine guns they are something.

[Richunite34]

do u use BB bullets or any kind of anumition

[sguberdude]

Is this a reenactment that you dont have to be in a unit for? and two more things, can a blank firing adapter just pop on and off? one more thing, does anybody know american army units near or in Ohio? i really want to do this and i cant find units

[norseleague]

GI with a K-98? Oh he must have watched that movie called 'saints' or something about the Battle of the Bulge? When did the first ww2 reenactments occur?

[Krieger91]

@norseleague I know people that have been doing them since the 1980's

[vernonvideos]

@MrLtwilliam

Dude learn to spell please

[MrLtwilliam]

all i know is i love war i wont to in one so mach but at the side lines in my house and this is a pane in my ass

[MrLtwilliam]

@MrLtwilliam

[RayG707]

How exactly do you know if you're dead?

[MLIPHANTOM22]

do they give you equipment or do you have to bring your own. and do you have to bring your own gun.

[Jaakko213]

@MLIPHANTOM22 No everything is privately owned for mostly everyone, some fee-paying units may supply thier own guys with some gear maybe a rifle (legalities concerned), but as far as just showing up you get nothing unless you're in an organized unit like that.

[MLIPHANTOM22]

@Jaakko213 thanks

[Ricardo271093]

@MLIPHANTOM22 you gotta have your own stuff man :D kinda expensive ha? im doing afgahnistan reenactment as a us soldier and believe me its freaking expensive :D

[mountainstandardtime]

Looks really boring. No tactical movement.

[beerndumplings]

@mountainstandardtime yah... but it's not bad, ppl put a lot of work into this! i kinda liked this vid.

[micah960]

One time in my life I have to be a part of these

[liquidbullet5]

I would love to go to one of these

[CrysoFairy]

how do they know they were hit?

[Jaakko213]

@CrysoFairy you either blatantly see someone shooting at you, or if your rifle jams, or if you run out of ammo, or get too tired you just take a hit. Sometimes its coordinated to entertain a crowd but with this reenactment in particular it depends on the day, first day axis advance, second day allied advance.

[Gliderrider327]

@Jaakko213

I always get tired of explaining that on when to take a hit. Thank you for saying this from the Kraut point of view as well. 327th GIR will see you this year again.

[airsoftspartan89]

that jagdpanther at 0:50 isnt original is it my guess is its a converted T55 or T34

[Jaakko213]

its a StuG III ausf. f/8, but you're right it isnt original, the 9th SS panzer reenactor site says its a "replica built for a mini series". Although the tiger tank that came last year was built off a T34 chassis.

[dude13302]

@airsoftspartan89 thats not a jagdpanther u idiot! its a stug3

[airsoftspartan89]

@dude13302 orite mate no need to call me an idiot just because i miss identified a tank, sorry im not an expert in identifing german tanks and in the future dont go around calling people idiots because they miss identified a tank

[colblimp]

@dude13302 Jeez, relax!

[riflelord2]

alright when they fire are they just blanks or are they something close to a paintball round?

[micah960]

@riflelord2 Blanks

[Gannondork14]

I wish I had known about this, I only live 10min form Indian Town Gap.

[Jaakko213]

@Gannondork14 it starts next week if you're interested in going, public day is saturday january 29th 2011 10:00AM-2:00PM in area 12, and its free. apparently theres going to be public reenactment but i've been going for four years and havent been involved in any, but I do know people can come into our barracks and walk around looking at ww2 vehicles and stuff. any more info you can get at wwiifederation (dot) org

[Gannondork14]

@Jaakko213 Ah thanks, I am indeed a WWII fanatic

[mspade83]

@Jaakko213 well, new management took over for the january FIG and the got rid of the I&R division for the private tactical. too many units complained that we were being favored by command. well no crap. we train and perform perfessionally. of course we're gonna get chosen for the good missions. people need to quit complaining about the ones that are good and work on making themselves better. theyre making the january FIG more of a social event anymore anywyas, so we're going to the one in March

[2ndpadrummer]

hey im a rev. war reenactor, and ive been lookin into the other war reenactments, and personally i like ww2 the most, im just wondering which are the better units on both sides, i mean im only 15 and i know i cant do it for a couple of years but i was just wondering if i could get some help with getting a kit together early for a good unit. thanks!

[Joshw124]

@2ndpadrummer u cnt do it? idk i thought u could. i mean many people lied about there age and were 15 or 16. it would be realistic lol

[2ndpadrummer]

@Joshw124 yeah hitler youth or 1944-45 era german army i guess, but yeah i know of like 2 units that let you reenact at 15

[Joshw124]

@2ndpadrummer o alright, well kool good luck. my one friend is italian, do u know if he could reenact as an italian soldier or an italian SS soldier with other groups?

[ashbiz21]

FIG is soo lame

[halo07guy2]

2:43 That's one badass German. Even in the middle of battle completely exposed, he's just relaxing, taking it easy, drinking some coffee while bullets fly around him.

[fishman424]

What are they shooting eachother with?

[berylak47]

Pennsylvania does look alot like the Bulge region. I have been to Bastogne twice and they are very similar in terrain.

[Herbymac0811]

I'm only bitching so dont get your nickers all twisted ok! but for real if those no good place to hide then lay down and shoot fromthe prone. It's alot more realistic than hideing behind a tree that to small . A jeep is not a tank even if it has a 50cal on it.

but it is hard to tell if you are hit or not becouse somany guns are going off. but most of the time if we know we would have been hit had it been real we take the hit .

H.M. Fields CPL.

18th VOLKS GRENADEER

Memphis Tn.

[Herbymac0811]

WOW ! All the way from 5:01 to 7:43 is a perfect example og GI's being bullet proof !

the 30call on the jeep is a bullet magnet with an MG34 nest not even 100yrds to it's front , and every GI hideing behind a tree 6inches wide isn't takeing a hit ! I know the point is to have fun keeping history alive I re-enact as a German so I know. I'm also an IRAQ vet who knows what weapons like these can do. So please GI's stop useing your jeeeps like tanks or trees to small to hide you ,it just looks bad

[mspade83]

@Herbymac0811 i agree with you fully. thats why we dont use jeeps in our unit. too many people think a machine gune is invisible. well when a 34, 42, or a 1919 go off, they become the bullet magnets and everyone tries to supprress it. plus at FIG, you get a lot of irritating "super units" that think they can never die.

[Herbymac0811]

@mspade83 I hear ya man ! I had a Ranger pop out the back of a weapons carrier once after we unloaded about 200 rounds from an MG42 into it, fire at us with a carbuine and say he got us. We were 30ft away when we opend up on the truck !

Have a great time, play war, take pictures, have drink with your buds, but act like it's real that's all I ask of any re-enacter. Keep it real thats all.

[mspade83]

@Herbymac0811 yeah the rangers seem to think they are awesome stuff. a carbine is worse than a pistol so fat chance that they'd hit you. and if they did, it would be like a paintball and bounce of lol. i hate going up against 42's to begin with. unless i have my rifle grenades. but even then, when i heaar that thing bark, i just sit down and give up :P

[Herbymac0811]

@mspade83 I'm the same way. If I see an MG open up in my dierection I just lay down and take my helmet off. I know I'm done for. But your completly right, rqangers and airborne unit's teend to think they are bullet proof at times. I know in HUGE battles it's o good thing for everyone to just go nuts and shhot, but when you get to within say 50 to 100 yards of a MG or a cannon just take the hit a respawn in 10 minets.

[Herbymac0811]

@mspade83 Perfect example : My very first event was a tactical in MS. my group had 7 K98's, 2 MP40's, 1 G43, 1 MG34, and a panzerfoust. We hit a patroll of 15 101st from 70 or 80 yards out. They were all rideing in a 5 ton when we opend up. they dismounted and closed to within 50yrds of us before they took their first hit. All the while the 1919A4 on the truck was blazeing away . Everyone in the truck would't have gotten out alive had it been real. They still argued with us over it.

[HansErben]

Good video Jaako213. Looks like everyone had a good time. I hate seeing people just walking though...it makes the whole reenactment loose it's authentic feel. Idk...maybe I'm just one of those over the top guys that will run like crazy and almost bust my ass just to get to cover lol =P

[seaweed555]

looks like fun!

[1955sat]

There will be no mistaking this for real WW2 combat footage, Participants are too heavy, people standing up when enemy infantry within sight, a captain driving a jeep (well, possible, just not probable), taking cover behind a tree half as wide as you, obvious BFAs. etc. Looks like fun though.

[dmtau]

Why these people try put "shits" on their paces ! WWII did not have likes that !

[Jaakko213]

@dmtau excuse me?

[dmtau]

@Jaakko213 What ? "Excuse me?" . . .WWII was not step in any part of US land,but more than 6 millions good US citizens got killed by Nazis burned,Chemical weapons . . Who were they killing them ? US Military did ! Likes Vietnam war, myself was a forner fighter from South VN in this war. . .US Military fought in the same side with VC,Mongols & all other Asia countries . . .

Now you"Excuse me?"Who are you ?

[0TheWeatherman1]

@Jaakko213 I think he ment "shirts on their pieces" like a white cover on a kar98.

Anyway, I have seen footage of german soldiers doing so.

[MrHongKongBuffet]

@dmtau Lol wut

[HunterR909]

Ahh, wasn't the Battle of the Bulge done in winter? I mean it looks funny w/o snow on the ground.

Also is it a forgone conclution for the Germans to lose?

[Jaakko213]

@HunterR909 it was in late january so the reenactment was in winter around the same time the bulge was fought. unfourtunatly it just didnt seem to snow this year in Pennsylvania. and its usually set up as the germans winning the first day allies force them back and win on the second day.

[HansErben]

@HunterR909 You are right that the Germans loose, but some groups do scenarios so that they can actually determine the winner, like a capture the flag type scenario or something. It's just so if it's a type of battle, like the Battle of the Bulge, we don't have people walking around thinking they are the hand of God and won't take their hits. It mostly happens with the American units...

[flydelta522]

how do you know if you are hit if you are useing blanks?

[Jaakko213]

@flydelta522 you either blatantly see someone shooting at you, or if your rifle jams, or if you run out of ammo, or get too tired you just take a hit. Sometimes its coordinated to entertain the crowd but with this reenactment in particular its just random.

[TheNewCommissar]

Wargames can be resolved without people actually taking hits, think how the Army did wargames before they had MILES gear. Also, reenacting is something where you can use the real equipment. The real uniforms, the real guns, the real vehicles. You don't do that in airsoft or paintball. You are playing with a toy in those. When you reenact, you can take your Kar98k that was firing blanks yesterday and shoot live rounds at a range with it the next day. You actually own a piece of history.

[McCbobbish]

@TheNewCommissar

What does MILES stand for?

[666thrashisback]

@TheNewCommissar but isnt it mandatory that all wepons have a blank adapter on the end? those are hard to deal with

[TheNewCommissar]

@666thrashisback Not all weapons need them to fire blanks. Only automatic and semi automatic weapons need them. If you are reenacting using a bolt action rifle, like a Mosin-Nagant, Enfield, or Kar 98k, you won't need one because you manually work the action. In a semi-automatic rifle like the M1 Garand you will need a blank firing adapter because it won't cycle on its own when you fire a blank. But adapters can be removed for when you want to fire it normally at the range.

[gtellys]

this is so cool! I never knew reenactment is done in this detail.

I have some questions though, how do you determine a hit or miss? where do you target your shots? were there any kind of instructors directing the entire 'battle' during the event??

[gtellys]

@gtellys sorry I didn't quite read all the comments before posting this

[Monkeyman4512]

there shooting blanks arent they ive never been to one i just wanted to know

[Jaakko213]

@Monkeyman4512

Yes they're blanks, no projectiles at all. But still blanks are very dangerous at close range so we need to keep our distance. although some of the machineguns are propane operated instead of blanks because the ammo would be expended so quickly, not to mention how expensive too.

[jubbedk]

Nice vid my friend.

[Jaakko213]

Very well said, spade. Dude853 also very true.

Most people assume its like paintball or airsoft or something. It's not about hits its about tactics, flanking/overwhelming the enemy. And plus this battle in particular isnt open to the public its just for fun between reenactors. So I dont know why people bother to cry over it

[mspade83]

@Jaakko213 i've been asked why we dont do paintball or airsoft before. mainly because a lot of guys use original uniforms, and airsoft guns dont make the loud bang we need. plus paintball and airsoft are their own seperate hobby. they have theirs, we have ours.

[mspade83]

i was GI there. I&R from Regt. HQ. for those that complain that we dont take hits: both sides either ignore hits or dont even see them. when the firing starts, we dont see every single enemy that shoots at us. mainly because theres so much gunfire. i was there, and probably got shot at least a dozen times,but i didnt see it. and the other reenactors dont cry about it. why are you? we fire a few times, and if the guy doesnt take a hit, we quit firing and move on. Jaakko, nice job on the video

[HamburgerHill937]

@mspade83 some of your guys just refused to die. I was using my MG-42 shootin at like 7 of your guys and they were standing in the open and never died.

[mspade83]

@HamburgerHill937 dude you need to chill. both sides dont take hits. live with it, or complain about it. it's still not gonna change anything. those 7 guys you shot at in the open were the guys we saw pepper your butts when you leisurely hopped off a truck. they caught you guys completely off guard and you were the ones that ran away with your tails between your legs when you shouldve taken your hits. right there after we blasted the tank. i was there watching. you deployed after they killed you

[mspade83]

@HamburgerHill937 and about my comment of other reenactors not crying about it, well, you just made yourself one of the crying ones. i dont really know why people have to make a big deal about it. lots of guys shoot at eachother and either dont see it or ignore it. it's a common and easy thing to ignore and not make a big deal of. if it was a public battle, sure, they'd take their hits and make it look good. seeing as it was a private battle, theres little chance someones gonna want to fall down

[HamburgerHill937]

@mspade83 i wasnt on the truck bro. Im not made man. I havent been to an event since that and mifflin to busy with motocross. But your right both dont take hits depends on what unit ur fightin. I stopped goin for awhile cuz i almost ended up blind and death from a drunk asshole at mifflin shootin me point blank in the face with a pearl gripped revolver at night. Needless to say I was fucked up all night

[mspade83]

@HamburgerHill937 yeah i've been point blanked by a stupid history confused girl. she was portraying a Russian fighting for the Germans. go figure. and needless to say, she was using a bolt rifle so i got the bad end of that one. couldnt hear for the longest time after. i've been pretty busy with work n such too so my next event wont be till march. i plan on going to the FIG battles in March because theyre more focusses on the tactical aspect more instead of just socializing. i may see ya there!

[generalflood]

thats pretty cool

[Jaakko213]

actually each day has a set plan on who should be taking hits whoevers falling back or on defensive, whose offensive. Do dont judge our hobby its just for fun noone really cares because noone "wins"

[gtellys]

@Jaakko213 so is it like a drama? it is still awesome thoughhhh... may I know how much you guys typically spend?

I was amazed at the medic and pows footage, didn't expect that to happen=)

[HunterR909]

@gtellys Yeah, It's like watching a movie, unfortunatly you know how it's gonna turn out anyway. But w/o REAL M4A1s 2s, and4 Shermans, Halftracks M10s, Tiger IIs, but I like scirmishing better.

[Gashinos]

The GI's have infinite ammo, body armor, indestructible jeeps... etc.

That German crew at 6:00 fired up on that jeep from an ambush position, but since the jeep crew is invincible, they fire back at the MG Crew and complain when the ambushed German fireteam "doesn't take their hits"

These GI's have what we call in Re-enactment jargon, "Hero syndrome" - and they can stand out in open field without going to cover or being suppressed. Theirs jeep crews also have 9 lives...

[81partyon]

What a bunch of damn fools....total dorks

[Gullin667]

Where is the snow? Only in PA! They should give them real ammunition and see how they like it then. I don't think I have ever seen anything so ridiculous! Respect for rounding up the equipment though. Especially the STG III. You guys are well . . . . "Nutz!"

[dude853]

Dont dis the hobby till you've been apart of it or actually seen one. YouTube doesnt do it justice :P

[youknowyouright1]

i took out  that stug 2 times

[paulusa7]

Cool video. I like the way the GI's sort of wander in the open at the beginning seemingly oblivious to the fire directed at them. Then they have machine guns mounted on jeeps that can fire for ever without changing belts!!!! Priceless comment at 6:36 when a GI standing in a jeep with a never run out of ammo (gas operated??) MG, in full view of a dug in Kraut MG crew complains that no one is taking hits and that maybe they should go home. Apart from this, it looks like great fun.

[Jaakko213]

@paulusa7 yes sir its gas operated, propane and oxygen, and yeah the taking hits system isnt very reliable lol. lots of people bitch about who shot who first, etc. but its all about having fun

[krizzby]

Yes..the Ammies do like silly walking across the field. However, in ever reenactors defense, the ground was terrible. It was a mess of jagged tree stumps and barbs. It would be a bad idea to take a full hit. In events like these, hits don't matter so much as tactically giving or taking the field.

[Sw0rdnemesis]

Sweet stuff!