Fulda Gap 2008

Okay, so this is a few days late but it took me this amount of time to recover from Fulda Gap 2008 and get my thoughts together. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning as we were packing our stuff getting ready to leave Fulda Gap 2007. After a hard fought victory under the leadership of David Thompson of Capital Offense, we were packing up getting ready to head home when David approached Runaway and I in the parking lot and told us that Fulda 2007 would be his last as General of the Warsaw Pact. He then told me that he would recommend to Ferg that I take over his command in 2008. Talk about a great HONOR! I respect (and like) Dave as a person and a paintball player so it was very cool to have him recommend me as his replacement. What’s more he told me that Capital Offense would return as Spetsnaz in 2008. With that began our journey towards Fulda 2008.

Planning
As I stated in my after game comments at the awards ceremony we began our discussions for Fulda 08 almost immediately after the conclusion of the 2007 game. Now, I don’t want to give the impression that we were engaged in intense planning all year long, we were not. We just began to bounce ideas off one another (general and core unit commanders) and have intermittent discussions. Key in these early conversations were Wendell “Runaway” McInnis, Dave "9D" Thompson, Ted “The Hun” Pellech, and Chris “Werewolf” Molles. Other commanders would join in and add input later on but we spent several months just discussing lessons learned from previous games, strategy, and recruiting. However, as we drew closer to the game our level of effort and time spent on planning increased.

Our overall strategy for the game was to maximize our advantage in manpower by forcing NATO to fight us across the breadth of the field, thereby not allowing them to concentrate their force at any one spot, we did not want to give them a Thermopylae where in the words of King Leonidas in The 300, "our numbers would count for nothing!" Second, we would cut or at least strangle the NATO supply lines. We also wanted to attack the NATO commander's decision making process by presenting him with multiple decision points at once. Finally we would execute as coordinated an advance as any paintball army ever did.

The following is a summary of our key strategy points.

Cutting NATO Supply Lines
First there was what to do with DZ2. In previous games DZ2 represented a major obstacle and created major havoc since we could never really clear our rear areas of NATO forces even though we had had overrun Holiday and Duckett. Given DZ2’s proximity to these bases, NATO in effect had an endless army to throw against Warsaw Pact forces and those bases would change hands all day long stretching our forces in those areas to their limits (talk to Wolf and EGI). Thus we decided we needed to do two things. First, we decided to view the DZs as supply bases that could be cut off. We decided to task specific units with the dedicated mission of screening the supply lines coming out of the DZs outside of the 100ft exclusion zone. Our thinking being that even if we could never completely shut down the DZ we could attrit NATO forces coming out of the DZ to attack Holiday and Duckett before they reached their objectives, forcing them to expend paint, air, and energy getting to the bases, and then having to fight a pitched battle against a second set of troops once they got there.

The second thing we did was to present Ferg and the NATO Commander with a new rule for DZ2. That being that once we took Holiday and Duckett DZ2 would shut down to NATO forces except their 10th Special Forces. Our argument being that in a real battle once an area had been overrun the OpFor would not be able to magically respawn their army in that area. The other side of the coin was that all NATO needed to do was take back one of those bases and the DZ would reopen to NATO regular forces.

With our plan to cut the supply line coming out of DZ2 while at the same time having for the first time a chance to secure our line of advance, we began to see the battle for Holiday and Duckett as less of the meat grinder it had been in previous years. Both proved critical to our success. We used a similar plan on Sunday to cut the NATO supply lines coming out of DZ4 executed by SOVA. This proved to be a major part of why Sim City finally fell.

Based on some of the post-game posts there seemed to be issues with DZ camping. I took great pains to make sure that our guys were aware of the rules. Yes, we did purposely screen both DZ2 and DZ4, but our intent was to do so within the rules. If Warsaw Pact Forces were DZ camping it was by accident or on their own volition not due to any orders from our command element. I know we had one or two occasions that I am aware of where Warsaw Pact units maneuvered below Rte 9 near DZ4. In each case we moved them out of there ASAP.
But our goal was to strangle NATO reinforcements coming out of those DZs.

Nuke Strike against Rex
In previous years it had taken a tremendous amount of time and effort to neutralize FB Rex (Camp Lee) which yielded very little in terms of points or tactical advantage. Coming out of 2007 I knew I did not want to do this and decided very early to take Rex out with a tactical nuke. Even though it would cost us a points penalty I felt that the preservation of troops and resources far outweighed the points lost. I also felt that a nuke strike that early in the game might disorient NATO as well as deprive them of a jump off point to launch a counter attack against Bravo. I also decided to leave the low ground in front of Rex without any bunkers, creating clear fields of fire against anyone attempting to attack across that open ground. The denial of Rex meant that any NATO attack had to come out of the tree line into the open field in order to attack Bravo. This also worked very well as we were able to hold Bravo against persistent NATO attacks on both Saturday and Sunday with a relatively small force. Big kudos to Team TangoAlpha2 (the core team of the Dagger Force) which took on this mission. They in effect would become the hinge upon which the rest of the field would turn as both Army Groups pressed their attacks south and to the south east. Not to mention they tied down at least one NATO heavy tank and a large number of their troops.

Order of Battle
Given the success we were having with recruitment, I realized quickly that it would be impractical for me to plan with each individual team. So I organized the Warsaw Pact into two Armies, Army Group East and Army Group West. Army Group East consisted of 39th Guards, 117th Guards, 172nd Guards, and 51st Guards. Army Group west consisted of EGI and 120th Guards. Once we agreed to an overall strategy it fell to the Core Unit commanders to plan the activities of their regiments and subordinate teams. This resulted in two way planning cycle where the base strategy was pushed down but the tactical planning was pushed back up. It also broke up and distributed the planning process into manageable bits. This resulted in an almost 100% acceptance and knowledge of the plan and resulted in a much higher involvement of the subordinate teams in planning than we might otherwise have achieved. Particular credit goes to Herr Oberst Werewolf for the work he did gelling Army Group West into a cohesive and highly effective battle group as well as ensuring cross coordination with Army Group East.

This also included taking a very systematic approach to the recruitment and assignment of teams. We DID NOT haphazardly assign teams to units. Every core unit was built from the ground up looking at the core strengths and weaknesses of each team. We really worked to ensure that the regiments were balanced given the missions they would be assigned. This meant that we did not create one core unit filled soley with teams of berserkers whose sole desire was to seek and destroy! We made sure that the teams had complimentary styles of play. This meant matching storm trooper squads who would storm bases with mil-sim types that would be willing to hold ground.

This planning approach resulted in a highly flexible plan that accounted for different scenarios and really gave us the ability to react quickly to the flow of battle.

Dedicated Reconnaissance
I also decided early on to have dedicated reconnaissance teams whose primary mission would be to infiltrate behind OpFor lines and report on OpFor troop movements, unit strengths and locations, and provide pre-assault intelligence on primary regimental objectives. This mission fell primarily to Forefront which was part of our Spetsnaz contingent. This allowed Capital Offense, the core Spetsnaz team, the ability to focus on mission frag orders and direct action in support of our overall operations. Forefront was able to provide a constant stream of real time intel on the OpFor. While Capital Offence racked up on mission and base points. Capital Offense was also a great source of battlefield intel. Both teams were OUTSTANDING and were critical components to our victory. This combined with the constant stream of information coming into the CP from the regiments gave us pretty good situational awareness.

Tactical Communications
If there is one thing that is an absolute force multiplier it is good tactical comms. Most people make the mistake of thinking in terms of just radios, but that is only the beginning. Radios, like any other tool are most effective when you know how to use them. The number of radios on the field is less important than how they are employed. During Skirmish USA's ION we controlled a 1500 player force with 12 radios. At Fulda we used 6 radios (not including the radios used by subordinate units). Our tactical nets were structured to allow us the greatest flexibility while making it easy for information to flow up and down the chain of command. While at the same time keeping a minimum number of people on the radios to prevent confusion.

This ability allowed us to react quickly to a free flowing battle field situation and to coordinate our attacks so that they had greater impact. A perfect example was Runaway’s operation to relieve EPIC after they became surrounded by NATO forces.

On Field Re-Supply
As a command team we discussed a detail plan for on field re-supply of paint, air and water that would effectively increase our practical numbers on field. While we did not fully implement this plan, enough teams took advantage of staging supplies in our DZs that we were able to maintain some of our forces on field for much longer than we otherwise could have. It must have been a funny sight watching Runaway pull that chest behind him around the field, but those extra supplies came in handy! Otto can attest to that when he ran out of Nerfs at Bravo.

All of these things in and of themselves probably do not turn the tide, but when looked at in the aggregate these things worked together to create a much more dynamic and potent force than your average scenario army.

The Game

Due to my incomplete reading of the rules regarding the starting locations of 117th and 120th Guards we were forced to delay our attack by about 15 to 20 minutes in order to allow our units time to reposition. Our plan called for the 117th to launch an attack from Luke to Alpha, however since they had to start at Bentree they had to conduct a movement to their jump off point once the game began.

While some of the commanders were initially wary of this, it did result in some key tactical advantages, especially since the battle could not start until we crossed the DMZ.

First, the 117ths movement would clear our rear of any NATO Special Forces. This turned out to be a mute point as it appeared that 10th Special Forces was operating up around Bentree. However, it did give me confidence that our CP would not come under direct attack at the start of the game as it did the year before.

Second, the delay allowed us to bring our units as close to their max numbers on field before we actually started our attack. In my opinion this was significant. Allowing the units to get to their attack positions, get organized, get communication checks ect….allowed us to launch our attack in a much more coordinated manner.

Finally, it allowed us to launch our pre-planned nuclear strike against Rex so that the time between impact and when we crossed the DMZ was lessened. As I stated above, our intent was to force NATO to defend the entire field while presenting the NATO commander with multiple threats and issues simultaneously. In military parlance we wanted to get inside NATO’s OODA loop.

Our planned worked, sort of, per some of the commander’s concerns it was very hard to control some of the individual players even though I briefed each unit as they went onto the field about waiting for the order to attack. As the start rocket fired almost immediately fire broke out across the DMZ. I was hollering to the units at Bravo to cease fire. I think there were similar incidents up and down the DMZ. Fortunately NATO did not cross in force which gave us time to complete 117th Guards movement from Bentree unmolested. As soon as they were in position I gave the order to attack while at the same time getting time hacks on the tactical nuke headed for Rex.

Others will be better able to discuss the specifics of what happened in their sectors but I can talk to my view through the command net.

First, our recon teams began to immediately provide excellent intelligence on NATO units at our primary objectives. I had a very good picture of the numbers we were facing at Holiday and Alpha. Since our plan called for a 2 regiment assault on Holiday I felt confident it would quickly fall. Alpha was a different matter. In truth, my objective was not necessarily to take Alpha but to make as big a fight around Alpha as was possible to deny NATO the ability to send troops to the western side of the field. However, right from the start it seemed that we were pressing Alpha much more successfully than I had anticipated while the battle for Holiday seemed to be going much slower. On top of that I lost comms with the 120th Guards and basically had to rely on Wolf to coordinate Army Group West.

In front of Bravo, the Dagger force was doing a good job of holding back NATO. I had anticipated that once the tactical nuke hit, Dagger (39th Guards) would be able to move up to the tree line behind Rex but this did not happen. Between the two NATO tanks and the fact that NATO kept a large force of troops in that area even after the nuke strike, prevented us from moving up. However, this also worked to our advantage as it tied down at least one NATO tank and a large number of NATO troops for most of Phases 1 and 2. Central to this was a decision I had made not to place any bunkers in the low ground between Rex and Bravo. This meant that any NATO attack would have to cross open ground to get to our CP. This became a perfect elimination zone throughout the day, even though on one occasion they made it to the blue bunkers adjacent to Bravo.

The actions in front of Bravo and at Alpha followed our plan to a tee since we were able to tie up a large number of troops at those locations that could not defend against our main effort in the west. The fact that we were able to eventually take FB Alpha (Fulda) was extra.

The core of our strategy was focused on the capturing and holding of Holiday and Duckett to shut down DZ2. We never thought we could capture the entire field. However, with DZ2 shut down we felt we could hold Holiday and Duckett as well as our East German bases. From Duckett we would then try to take Hamburger which would open up DZ6 to our regular forces. With DZ6 open we would then cut the field north to south and force NATO to fight us in open space while we consolidated our defenses around the bases.

Well, as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men... Our attack in the west began to bog down around Holiday. EGI, which had been tasked with screening DZ2, had moved up to the area of DZ2 but had limited maneuver space because DZ2 butts up against the tape line. Since I did not have comms with 120th Guards, I cannot say with any certainty what was going on in their sector. The original plan called for EGI to attack along the western tapeline with the dual mission of cutting off the DZ2 supply line while at the same time hitting Holiday from the west. Simultaneously, 120th Guards was to come up on Holiday from the low side moving from Luke and catching the base in a pincer. I estimated that the two regiments totaling almost 100 troops would quickly overwhelm Holiday and would then be able to jump off to Duckett. However, we had also discussed a back-up plan with 172nd Guards that if the attack at Holiday stalled, 172nd Guards would send a heavy squad to hit Duckett from the east then support the attack on Holiday by attacking north. This forward planning would pay dividends!

Based on the radio calls it was clear that EGI had engaged a very large force around DZ2 and was taking heavy casualties. I distinctly remember Wolf’s calls that his attack was faltering and that his battle lines were failing. I immediately executed our back up plan to have 172nd Guards launch an attack on Duckett to relieve the pressure on EGI. Not having comms with 120th Guards I could only hope that they were still on task. In retrospect what I think happened is that when EGI stumbled on the NATO forces at the start of the game NATO began to mass in that area to respond to EGI. In effect EGI served as bait drawing NATO forces to them. This allowed 120th Guards to continue on to take Holiday while 172nd Guards was able to take Duckett. With DZ2 shut down to NATO regular forces we were then able to consolidate our forces and reset for the next phase. It would be interesting to hear the NATO perspective on how that part of the battle went. However, it is clear to me that the effort we put into planning and the willingness of the teams to execute those plans during the game was a decisive element in our overwhelming victory.

By this time the Spetsnaz main force (Capital Offense) had captured Apache and began to use it as a staging area for attacks against NATO forces in the south. The Spetsnaz recon teams, Forefront, continued to move about the field providing excellent intel. A quick note about Forefront, this was their first time at CD and their ability to maneuver around the field, behind NATO lines, without being compromised was just incredible! These guys really understand what being a recon team is about and their impact on the game belied their small numbers (6).

I don’t remember exactly when Alpha fell but at some time in the late morning we controlled the following bases Bravo, Luke, Bentree, Holiday, Duckett, Apache and Alpha. We were way ahead of schedule. In my planning I had accounted for us being behind by 200 points coming out of phase 1 due to our use of a nuke and the reasonable expectation that it would take us that long to secure Holiday and Duckett. But now I began to think about taking Hamburger in during Phase 1. Taking Hamburger would open DZ6 to our regular force but was a Phase 2 objective. However, given where we where in the game I decided to go for a full sweep of the western side of the field.

At about 11:30 or so I received a call from Warsaw Pact Command (Ferg) that the Czech paratroopers , under the command of Bill "Greenman" Ford, were getting ready to insert. This also meant that the 82nd Airborne would be hitting the field. I had already briefed Greenman that I would insert his Paras at the CP and that they should stand by to face off against the 82nd if they inserted on our side of the field or go to wherever they were most needed. So I told Ferg to insert them at Bravo. When the Czechs showed up they took up defensive positions around Bravo. I held them there for about 15 minutes to ensure that we were not going to get US Airborne in our rear areas. I called Warsaw Pact Command to confirm that the 82nd had in fact inserted, which was confirmed. Since they were not on our side of the field it was safe to assume they had been inserted on the NATO side. About this time word came that Hamburger had fallen to a mixed force of Spetsnaz and the 172nd (I think), but that NATO was counterattacking in force and it was doubtful they could hold out. I decide to split the Czechs and send Greenman and part of his unit to reinforce Hamburger while the rest remained at Bravo for base defense.

Beyond anything I could have hoped for we now controlled the entire western side of the field and we were still in Phase 1! For the rest of Phase NATO launched furious counter attacks against Apache and Hamburger. Army Group West pulled back and consolidated around Holiday and Duckett. At the end of Phase 1 (1300) we were given credit for holding Bravo, Luke, Bentree, Alpha, Holiday, Duckett, and Apache. Plus we completed both our Phase 1 missions. This was a great start! My original time table called for us to hold Bravo, Luke, Bentree, Holiday, and Duckett. With the 200 point deduction we would have been about 200 points down but well with striking distance of NATO. I was very concerned about over extending our units and opening us up to counter attacks but this never happened.

About this time I could tell units were reaching their limits on paint and air. Our encouragement of units to stockpile air and paint on field in the DZs had paid dividends but even those supplies were beginning to run low. So I decided to slow the pace consolidate our defenses and take the next hour or so to allow units to get players off the field to get lunch and recharge. EGI went to 50% on 50% off. 172nd started rotating their squads off, ect…. This seemed to coincide with a drop in NATO activity, which was just as well by me.

Sometime around 1430 the pace began to pick up again. We retook Hamburger and now began to press our attack on Sim City. While we continued to encounter NATO attacks across the field it seemed as though the bulk of the NATO Force had fallen back around Sim and Alpha. But since we held the high ground we definitely had the initiative.

Around 1500 NATO launched a major attack out of SIM with a large force of NATO infantry spilling out of the entrance near the entry point. They easily swept out into the middle of the field even though they were taking heavy casualties, when all of a sudden someone screams out they are carrying something. I take a look over the Bravo trench wall and I realize it is their back-pack nuke (not that it is even close to being back-pack size). I start yelling to our troops that they are carrying a nuke and we need to take them out. Runaway hears this and immediately organizes a fierce counter attack to intercept the nuke. He also reminds me that we need the Spetsnaz to disarm bomb as well as the disarming code. I call 9D, Dave Thompson and tell him we need his Spetsnaz, I then call Warsaw Pact Command to request the disarm code and I am told that capturing the bomb is the same as disarming it. Dave and Runaway begin to directly coordinate a mission to do just that. After a few minutes the call comes back from Runaway that the bomb has been secured and is on its way back to the CP.

This illustrates one of the Warsaw Pacts great strengths during the game; our communications was such that the commanders could easily coordinate attacks and missions across the field.

With the day drawing to a close it was clear we controlled the field as we pressed closer to Sim. NATO put up fierce resistance and launched counter attacks against some of the bases we held, but we were able to keep the pressure on them. Around 1630, NATO launched a nuclear strike against our Command Post, since only myself and Seoul were in the CP we were the only casualties. So we just went on down and respawned. With the CP irradiated we positioned ourselves near the bunkers at the Warsaw Pact entry point.

It was at this time NATO launched it final attack across that open space. The paint was coming in heavy but our defenses held. With that final push Phase 2 ended.

From a points perspective we completed the first 2 phases firmly in the lead. We went to dinner knowing we could put the game away during the night phase. With that knowledge I began to get a headcount of who would be playing that night. Fortunately for us we were going to have a pretty good showing.

Weeks prior to the game we had agreed on a general strategy for the night game. EGI would have base security at Bravo. We would send one task force to secure Rex, another task force working with the Spetsnaz to secure FB Alpha. Once Rex and Alpha were secured we would send the Spetsnaz to take SIM. A third task force would sweep around the western side of the field to hit Sim coming from the southwest in support of the Spetsnaz attack. This fell to elements 120th Guards. Simple, straight forward, and to the point.

Wolf‘s base security plan was beyond anything I could imagine. Supported by Rogue Cell it included spot lights and zip lock control of the entry points to our CP. Wolf had decided that no one was getting into Bravo unless he wanted them to, and that included me. I don’t think a force smaller than all of NATO could have taken that position.

The first task force fell under the command Runaway and would prove to be the most difficult objective of the night. While they were able to get to the outer trenches of Rex getting into the base proved to be very hard. NATO had taken up positions on the other side of the base and was pouring fire over the top. Also, Wolf’s spot lights served to skyline the Warsaw Pact troops whenever they stood up or poked there heads over the top of a trench making them perfect targets. The first task force would spend most of the night pinned down in front of Rex.

The second task force was comprised of Recon-1 and their mission was to secure FB Alpha after the Spetsnaz had captured the base. Spetsnaz moved out and quickly accomplished their mission, however, the link up between them and Recon-1 prove to be difficult. We went back and forth on the radio trying to get the two units link up but it never happened. Eventually, once I confirmed that Recon-1 one was at Alpha I instructed the Spetsnaz to move on to their next mission, securing Sim City. Later on I directed our Spetsnaz recon team, Forefront, to Alpha in order to complete a mission there as well as reinforce Recon-1. They would hold this position until the completion of the night phase.

The third task force, consisting of the Rats and Krisis (120th Guards) started a wide sweeping movement to the west, moving around Alpha, to Hamburger and Apache in order to position themselves to attack Sim in support of the Spetsnaz mission. Otto, of Team Krisis, stayed in the CP and provided comms to that element as they conducted the longest movement of the night. The only issue we had was that they came out below route 9 near the NATO DZ4 which constituted DZ camping. I immediately asked Otto to have them move into Sim and away from that area, which they did. Ferg called me to confirm that they had moved.

The final mission of the night fell to the Spetsnaz and 120th Guards to hit Sim. I also intended for 117th Guards (SOVA) to hit the Rex side entrance to Sim, basically boxing any NATO forces on 3 sides. It was at this point I decided to tour the front lines around Rex, so myself, Seoul, and Otto headed out across the field to link up with Runaway. When we arrived Runaways force was still pinned down. About this time SOVA announced they were coming on field and we went to meet them to bring them up to Rex.

Once there they solidified Runaway's position and we began to discuss them launching a frontal assault to clear Rex. They were clearly game but it did not make sense to send them into a meat grinder unsupported. The command group then returned to Bravo during which time a plan was worked out to subdue Rex by coordinating the spotlights under Wolf’s command with an attack by SOVA and the other Warsaw Pact troops in front of Rex. Also, a squad lead by Hambo of Phantom Recon Ops was tasked with a frag mission to secure the helicopter next to Rex (the second mission of the night phase) , which they did.

By 1000 we were in complete control of the field and given NATO’s dwindling numbers it was decided to end the game at 1030, which made sense. I know some people may have felt the game should have ended as scheduled at 2400 but it did not make sense to have so many people standing around with nothing to do in the cold.

With the night game called at 1030 it was clear we now held a lead that could not be surpassed even it NATO swept the field on Sunday, which was highly unlikely given the numbers were in our favor. When I came off the field to give Ferg his radio he just smiled and shook his head, we talked for a few minutes about the points (I believe one of the terms he used was monkey stomp). But it was clear that we were in a commanding position and that the game could potentialy turn negative on Sunday if I decided to press our advantage against NATO with the game set-up the way it was. It was at this point that I began thinking about ways to make the game fun and interesting for both sides. Knowing we would win no matter what happened there was nothing to lose in doing so and it would make sure that folks on both sides could walk away feeling good about the event.

On my way back to the camping area I mentioned this to Ninerref and he half jokingly suggested having us come onto the field in segments. Then when I stopped by Capital Offense’s camp site to chat with Dave I mentioned to him what I was thinking and he added in the 15 minute time interval for insertions and VOILA! The game structure for Sunday was determined. We would occupy 2 bases to start the game with 1 regiment each. We would then bring in the remaining regiments 1 every 15 minutes after the start of the game. I then ran into Harly and told him what I was thinking. Harly strikes me as a man of integrity and honor who doesn’t ask for or needs any favors. When I told him what I wanted to do he just said “if it’s what you want to do I’m good with it”. The next morning I briefed Ferg on the details and the game was set. I also asked Ferg to delay the game start to ensure that I could brief my commanders on the game change and ensure they had enough time to come up with a quick plan.

On Sunday morning, I made a round of the Warsaw Pact campsite to let the commanders and team captains know about the change. I know I didn’t get to everyone but I hit as many as I could find. We had a team captain's meeting at 0830 where we went over the game changes and strategy. Day two of Fulda Gap is supposed to find the Warsaw Pact on the defensive against an all out NATO counter-attack. However, the games changes I had suggested basically put us in a break-out situation with us controlling only 2 bases and NATO the rest of the field. We decided on a two pronged strategy. Army Group East under Runaway, consisting of the 117th , Czech Paras, 172nd would secure Sim and Rex. They would then move to take Bravo, expanding our beachhead. 15 minutes into the game the first element of Army Group West under the command of Werewolf, would enter the game and attempt to launch an attack up the northern side of the field to the west towards Bentree. We were to try and execute a basic envelopment, with Army Group East fixing NATO forces at SIM and Rex while Army Group West attacked west towards Meinigen (a 200 point bonus base) then cut across the field south, finally turning back east (aproaching from Hamburger and Apache) towards Sim trapping NATO between the two Army Groups.

Right at the start things started to go a little off track. As Army Group East units began to push out from Sim they began to encounter OpFor resistance which seemed to gradually pick up steam to the point where it seemed like NATO had launched an all out assault on Sim. Although I had Runaway on my command net, I dropped down to the Army Group East TAC net to listen to their battle calls. It was CRAZY! All their units seemed to be in heavy contact. EPIC somehow had become cut-off and surrounded and was calling help. Runaway quickly pulled together a relief effort that was a great example of small unit tactical leadership. Realizing friendly units could not approach EPIC without shooting into their position; he quickly ordered them to lay flat... It was a very interesting radio call to say the least...

Runaway “Okay guys you are going to have to trust me on this, go to ground and stop firing….”

I never heard EPIC’s response but they must have trusted him enough to do as told. Runaway then maneuvered two units from opposite directions to EPIC’s position firing into the OpFor over EPIC’s heads! The NATO force surrounding EPIC was broken and EPIC was able move out of that precarious position.

Army Group West also got off to an inauspicious start. First they started inserting earlier than planned and we had to call back several units which sort of gave away what we were trying to do. Then once that was addressed and Army Group West began moving again they immediately ran into a strong NATO force. Wolf’s AAR states this was at Holiday and Duckett but my recollection is that it was they made contact somewhere just beyond Luke, but that’s the fog of war! Anyway the resistance to Army Group West’s advance is building and I’m wondering how NATO is putting up such a big fight at both Sim and on the western side of the field. All of a sudden Runaway radios that Sim is close to falling. The next Army Group West unit to insert is Rogue and they are immediately rerouted to the defense of Sim. However it was too late. By the time they had moved up to the tree line behind Rex, Sim had fallen. Now we would spend most of the rest of the day beating back fierce NATO pushes from Sim towards Rex led by the Wallace.

Sizing up the situation, things were bad but still manageable. Runaway was seriously pissed that Army Group East had lost Sim but I told him we could still make that work to our favor as long as we held them at Sim and they did not overrun the CP. Runway went off and began organizing a defensive line that went from the entrance to Sim to the entrance to Alpha and then wrapped around with us holding Alpha. Army Group west had advance as far as Holiday and Duckett and engaged in heavy fighting that was whittling down their forces.

NATO was putting up one heck of a fight and applying massive pressure across the field. Side note, this is why I was for the game change. It gave NATO a chance to organize and concentrate their forces so that they could make a good fight. I believe this was a good thing for everyone involved and A LOT OF FUN!

By the end of the morning, the pattern was set for the rest of the day. NATO would launch consecutive charges out of Sim in an effort to break out into the open area by Rex. On several occasions they came very close to succeeding. The Wallace would come flying out of Sim guns blazing and scattering Warsaw Pact troops in it’s wake followed up by NATO infantry in force. This was a very effective tactic except that there was poor coordination between the Wallace and the NATO infantry. Had those actions been coordinated it is very doubtful we could have held Rex. Fortunately for us they never broke the code and we developed a simple tactic to offset the Wallace’s power.

When the Wallace would break through we would let him go deep into our rear. On at least two occasions he drove around Bravo and Rex blazing with his guns. At one point I was behind one of the bunkers at Rex when the Wallace fired its main gun trying to take the bunker out. Note, nerfs make a very interesting sound when fired from the Wallace’s main gun as they whistle overhead, sort of a heavy SWOOOOSH! But I digress. Once the Wallace broke through we always had at least one anti tank gunner standing by to deal with him while the rest of our infantry refocused on the entrance to Sim and mowed down the NATO infantry as they tried to rush forward. This proved very effective and allowed us to hold off the NATO attacks despite a yeoman’s effort on their part.

On the western side of the field things had gone from bad to worse. NATO had completely stalled our advance in that sector and was taking apart Army Group West piece by piece. Wolf was doing his best but they had just run into some heavy heat. Sometime around 1200 Wolf radioed that they were out of gas and he was pulling his army back to re-arm and regroup. NATO had stopped our Western advance cold. Now this was turning into a real challenge! My hat goes off to NATO for the spirit they showed on Sunday!

As Wolf pulled Army Group West back to the Warsaw Pact re-entry point I decide to task several units with running patrols up the Bentree side of the field. I know to some this may have seemed a bit excessive but it was necessary to avoid NATO back dooring us through Luke. But NATO never came that route, instead they seemed to shift most of their forces to Sim and to what appeared to be a screening mission between OP Romeo and Holiday and Duckett. But the space between Sim and Rex was the hornets nest, buzzing with thick cloud of paintballs.

By 1300 hundred Army Group West was preparing to come back onto the field. I told Wolf that I wanted him to try his push to Bentree again but that I’d try and get Spetsnaz recon out in front as his advance guard. But by the time the recon team was ready to go Wolf and Army Group West had already pushed off and was at Luke. Meeting minimal resistance. He then pushed his forces on to Bentree. Now that the Spetsnaz recon team had no mission, I directed them to hold Luke while Army Group West secured Bentree and then launched an attack across the DMZ to capture Holiday and Duckett. Also by this time the Czech Paras and other units had control of Apache and were pushing Hamburger. Once again we were beginning to gain control of the entire field.

At this point it appeared to me that the NATO commander had made an all out gamble to breakout from Sim, overrun Rex and Bravo and go from there. They made a valiant effort but I think our numbers among other things was to much to overcome. They fought hard and brought the PAIN, which made the game exciting, so I am not mad at them.

At around 1330 NATO made one last major push out of Sim towards Rex which we barely turned back. This actually signaled the beginning of the end as Runaway and Otto with the help of EPIC and others launched a final assault on Sim. This included to 2 air strikes called in back to back on the Sim trailers, Warsaw Pact units attacking from Rex as well as Apache, and one heck of a defense put up by NATO. One motivating scene was Otto and Runaway behind the Revelation pushing the attack into the entrance of Sim.

With less than a few minutes remaining Warsaw Pact infantry surged through the entrance to Sim and gained a foothold. The paint was so heavy you could see groups of 3 to 5 players being eliminated all at once. But the Pact was smelling blood and there would be no denying them. MGB of Boxer brought a large unit down from Apache and hit Sim in the rear. This sealed Sims fate as the defense began to crumble. All of a sudden I hear a cheer and ran to the entrance of Sim, the flag had been turned.

Apparently Runaway had lost his mind and decided to run out into the open, executing a perfect combat roll over the faux barb wire around the command shack at Sim, barrel tagged the structure and flipped the flag! One of Team Boxer’s younger members who witnesses this event commented that it looked like our team captain was running, tripped, and accidently flipped over the wire… sprawling out near the command bunker. It be nice to get confirmation as to which version is correct.

At this point I walked into Sim behind a wave of cheering Warsaw Pact Troopers. I walked up to the command bunker and announced over the command net that the Warsaw Pact general now stood at the center of Sim City.

At that point I cannot tell you what bases we held or what the score was, but it was one of those moments that will stick in my mind for a long time to come! While standing at the Sim Command bunker I ran into Rude Dawg. Rude Dawg has a very laid back nature (or so it seems to me), kind of good old boy meets surfer dude. He just smiled, nodded, and gave me a fist bump as the game ending rocket went off. What a perfect way to end the game!

What a game! It had eveything. Even though we did achieve a GREAT victory, NATO really recovered on Sunday to put up one heck of a fight.

First let me get a big round of appluase and cheers and let me extend my deep gratitude to Ferg and Lee Ann. I have said it before and I will say it again. They run a first class establishment, they care about the players and they care about the game. We have to remember that this is also a business for them. How many of us have been to events where the game producers and or field owners only concern was collecting their money?

Ferg and Lee Ann are true ambasadors and caretakers of the game. Was everything perfect? No, but what ever complaints we have pails in comparison to the experience they provide for us and at a great value as well. Those of us who attended ION know what high entry and paint fees are like.

Great job guys and thanks for all you do!

Next let me give a BIG SHOUT out to the Men of Team Boxer (my paintball Family). Brothers none of this happens without you! You are the well spring from which any sucess I have as a General springs! You are the foundation. But I must single out our Team Captain, Runaway for the support he provides me. Not to mention he is one of the best small unit tactical leaders I have ever scene in or out of the military. He is my personal Gunny Highway!

I also need to give a hug to my man David "Seoul" Kwan, who for the second big game helped me run the command post. Seoul, you are my right hand and my left. You helped me keep things straight. Thanks!

To Dread, Bro it is always good to see you and I'm sorry about Big Boxer flipping, I'll talk to HoyBoy about his lead foot. Also, BigUps for helping with the radios. MAn when are you going to make Boxer official!

And to Ninneref, for his unselfishness in accepting the role as Wolf's radio operator!

To the Core Unit Commanders and their teams, Dave "9D" Thompson and Capital Offense, Jeremy "Lurch" Byrum and EPIC UNIT, Ted "The Hun" Pellech and Recon-1, Eric "Lifer" Brooks and AFC, Chris "Werewolf" Molles, Bill "Greenman" Ford, and Rodney of ODX.

You guys are the BOMB! Literally! One of you once said that a scenario general is nothing without good team captains... you are right, except that you guys were great! Special props needs to go to Werewolf, you really stepped up big time bro and laid it down. You were truly my Most Valuable Core Commander.

And to my friends at Capital Offense, you guys are so much a part of the Boxer sucess that it would be hard to explain to those who dont know us. On top of that you guys are beyond a doubt one of the most DOMINANT scenario teams in the country. Now that may be unfair since I have only been exposed to teams on the east coast, but if there is better than you then my hats are off to them because they must we way off the charts! You guys simply deserve every award you win, period, end of story!

Now there were many teams on the Warsaw Pact and EVERY team delivered something to our victory, there is no way that it could have been as dominant if not for that. But I just need to holla at a few hard charging ballers.....

Forefront, what can I say. You guys deleivered on eveything we asked you to do and more. I am more than glad you were able to make the trip from Jersey. I REALLY hope you can make it next year!

SOVA, yall are for REAL! These cats out of Virgina are hardcore, diciplined ballers. They lay waste to all in front of them but more importantly when asked they stepped up into a leadership role and made big time contribs to our victory. In every game phase these guys played a decisive role.

TangoAlpha2, Wingman and his crew was deeply involved in the early planning and took on some difficult missions. I truly appreciated your patience and understanding as well as your ability to deliver the goods. Without you Bravo falls on day one. Great Job guys.

The Rats and Krisis, wherever you show up you have an impact, which is why I placed you with 120th guards taking on the mission of taking Holiday and Duckett. Your on field agressiveness and initiative make you a force to be reckoned with!

Rogue Cell, as a former Rogue I hope you know you guys hold a special place in my heart! Rogue has become one of the most consistently predicatble teams when it comes to a high level of paintball performance! You guys simply deliver the goods! Outstanding work on the western side of the field and with the base security during the night phase.

42nd Legion and Chaos Parade. For the first time in Fulda Gap we actaully fielded the Czech Paratroopers and you guys played a pivotal role in helping secure the souther half of the field both on Saturday and Sunday. Your willingness to go where needed, do what was required gave me great flexability as a commander once you entered the game. Excellent work!

There are so many teams to thank that this AAR would run on for ever. But you all deserve big props!

Well I'm done brothers...

See ya next year and points in between!

Kent "X-Man" Jones
Team Boxer
8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army, Commanding

Invasion of Normandy (I.O.N) AAR

Well, after recovering from 18 hours of driving (going and coming from PA) I am finally getting around to writing about Boxer's participation in Skirmish U.S.A’s Invasion of Normandy 2008 or I.O.N for short.

Last year, I.O.N. set a world record for attendance at a paintball scenario / big game with a paid attendance of 4300. However, due to issues controlling such a large crowd they decided to limit this year’s game.

If 3100 paid players can be called limiting!

However, before I get to the game let me provide some background on how Boxer arrived at I.O.N. If you have read my blog or posts in various paintball forums you will know that Team Boxer has forged a very close working relationship with team Capital Offense, one of the premier scenario teams on the east coast, captained by Dave Thompson.

Sometime after Fulda Gap 2007, Runaway (Boxer team captain) had a conversation with Dave about Boxer attending 1 or 2 Capital Offense games in 2008, at which point Dave suggested I.O.N since it was a major date on their schedule given their sponsor Planet Eclipse would be there in force. Also, Dave wanted to take advantage of our superior command and control assets to support his team’s effort. While Run knew we would not be able to bring a large contingent he figured we could put together a small communications detachment to act as Capital Offense’s command post. Subsequent to that, Dave mentioned us to the Allied Forces commanding general, Phil (aka Silence), who then asked if we could provide communications for the entire allied command. We readily agreed, seeing a great chance for networking and exposure outside of the North Carolina.

With those simple interactions, Team Boxer had stepped into a critical role as the communication detachment for the entire (1500+) allied team! This included providing radios for the command post and 10 company commanders, developing a communications plan, providing training to the command staff, setting up and running the command post, and ultimately becoming a key part of the tactical decision making process within the CP.

With the decision to attend made, we polled the team and identified 3 other Boxers (in addition to Runaway and myself) and 1 guest who wanted to go. But at the end of the day the Boxer contingent to I.O.N ended up being Runaway, SeoulBro, Sonic X an myself.

On Friday morning, Runaway and Seoul met us at my house; we loaded up my van with our gear and got on the road. Being the SUPERIOR trucking professional he is, Runaway stepped up and took on the driving duties all by himself. Thanks Run! That was huge because I am NOT a big fan of long distance driving (I don’t think Seoul is either). The trip was uneventful except for Sonic-X’s constant “Are we there yet?”

We arrived at Skirmish at about 7:30 pm where we linked up with Dave and his crew. We check in, picked up our paint and set-up our tent (although we had reserved a hotel room). At 8:30 we met with Phil and all the Allied company commanders to distribute the radios, conduct a brief communications overview and radio check. I must say Phil is one of the most organized generals I have ever worked with. I mean, given you are commanding 1500 people you better be! But he was very organized and had a plan for what he wanted to do. Although somewhat young looking, can you say Doogie Howser, Phil has a very professional approach and demeanor. In fact both Runaway and I speculated if he had any military experience. He reminded us of many a baby faced lieutenant we knew during our time on the point tip of the spear.

With that initial business out the way, Dave invited us to dinner with Capital Offense. While at dinner I received a call from home stating my mother, who has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) disease wasn’t doing to well and that I may need to come back. Talk about letting the air out of the balloon! I let the guy’s know what was up and told them that myself and Sonic-X (my son) would get on the road first thing in the morning.

Not wanting to ruin the trip for Runaway and Seoul we asked Dave if he and his team could help with making arrangements for the 2 remaining Boxer’s to get home after the game. They’d need a ride to the nearest car rental or airport. Being the great folks they are, Dave and his guys (and gal, can’t forget Lady Lisa!) stepped up and said they do whatever it took.

Once again, thanks guys! It’s good to know someone has your back when the chips are down. We sat down to what was for me a gloomy dinner. However, alls well that ends well. After back and forth calls with my mom’s caregivers, paramedics ect… they were able to stabilize her and there was no need for us to leave. GAME ON! I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the meal, during which we got into a discussion about the top 5 films of different movie genres. With some people showing their youth by not knowing movies like Bridge over the River Kwai or the original Rollerball! And Dave you’re crazy if you think you can include Major League as one of the top 5 sports film ever! It isn’t even in the top 5 baseball movies!

With the evening concluding on a positive note we headed back to the hotel for a good nights (albeit short) sleep at about 1 am.

The next morning, Runaway was the first to rise (he always is). We got up, cleaned up and donned our subdued digital camo with Boxer patches facing front! We also noted that with this game Seoul would qualify for his Boxer Tab (see Ranger Tab). Congrats Brother Boxer!

Given the game started at 12 pm, we had ample time but we wanted to make sure that we were at the field early enough to get on the field, set-up the command post and start taking radio checks from the companies at 11:45.

When we arrived at the field we stopped at the Capital Offense’s bivouac to park and break out our gear. In addition to our personal equipment and command post gear. All of which needed to moved down to the CP which was on the field of play. As always, Dave and the gang provided a helping hand to move our gear down to the field. When we reached the field entrance we had to wait for Phil to get permission from the referees for us to occupy the CP. When he game back with said clearance he also informed us that someone had desecrated our command post with fish heads and feces! Now we don’t know who would do such a thing but it was an early indication of the type of bad sportsmanship we would see throughout the rest of the week-end.

While waiting for clearance to hit the CP we topped off our HPA tanks and chronoed. Since the entrance to the CP was located by the chrono station and the HPA fill station was nearby we were able to get our act together pretty quickly. One thing of note is that with 3100 people I was worried that the HPA fill lines would be crazy! As it turned out it wasn’t a problem at all. The fill station was located at the entrance to the field, just off the invasion beach. They had both 3000 and 4500 fills and about 6 or 7 self serve stations for each. At no time did I see any type of line form and players could top off their tanks at their convenience.

We were finally able to get into the Command Post at about 11:20. This gave us 25 minutes to get our gear set up. Since we wanted to use ION as a rehearsal for our Fulda CP we really went farther than we had ever gone before in terms of gear. In addition to the map table brought by Silent (the Allied General) we brought 2 dry erase boards, dry erase markers, a clip board and writing pads, in addition to a water cooler, a chair and a cot.

Silent’s map table was very, very cool and something we plan on imitating, but that's all I can say on the topic otherwise I'd have to kill you (wink, wink Silent). Needless to say it was a very efficient and effective system!

We used one dry erase board to track each company’s status and the other board to track OpFor intelligence. However, the battle situation was so fluid that tracking OpFor positions and intel became a challenge (it changed to often), so we ended up using the second board to track ongoing and future missions. Since there was always 2 or three missions ongoing at any one time this turned out to be very helpful. Although there were a number of radio and telephone communication channels used by Allied forces we were responsible for running the main Allied command channel used by Phil and the company commanders.

This was a great experience for us because it gave us a chance to work out many things for our own command post in the future. We were able to see what worked and what did not. I think this will be huge at Fulda!

At 11:45 am we started taking radio checks from the companies. Let me say from the start, given we had never worked with the teams and commanders involved before these guys were on the ball with way they operated on the radio net. With just a little training they adjusted nicely to using alpha-numeric call signs and giving very crisp situation reports. This really reduced the radio confusion and chatter one might normally expect. Silent asked the commanders to report in every 30 minutes, which most did without problem. This was critical as it gave us very good situational awareness about both our forces and the OpFor’s forces. That combined with EXCELLENT recon work would prove very critical, especially on day two when we had to make up a big points deficit.

At 11:00 am the game kicked off. Silent and his command staff had gone to the beach area to oversee the initial landings. If you have never heard close to 3100+ paintball markers firing at once, let me tell you. There was this sudden ROAR that began to build in intensity, over which you could barely hear the yell’s and screams of the players assaulting the beach. Seoul went down with his camcorder to tape some of the landing. When he came back all he could do was shake his head in awe.

The beach assault would rage into the mid afternoon and would in fact turn out to be the critical part of the game. The Allied force could not get off the beach because of the heavy German fire coming from the tree line. I was told later on that the previous year the Germans had complained that they did not have adequate bunker coverage facing the beach. So this year they heavily fortified the tree line, including working out overlapping fields of fire! They had bunkers and at least 2 double A-5 gun positions which were concealed behind netting. Now I did not see this for myself, but given the way the Allies got hammered on the beach, it made a lot of sense.

The bottom line, coming out of the beach phase, which ended at 2:00 pm; the Allies were behind 20 to 0, nil, zip. That’s right; they had been completely locked out of the scoring during the initial phase of the game. This would prove crucial as we would eventually lose the game 108 to 90! Of course the rest of the first day did not go much better.

With the beach phase over the fight moved into the woods as the initial missions began to start. There were two types of missions in this game; a flag flip or prop retrieval. Flag flip missions required that one side move to a designated location on the field, find the flag station and then flip it to their color (red for the Allies and blue for the Germans). They then had to hold that position until the points were counted on the hour.

I didn’t quite like the way they did prop retrievals (but I may have misunderstood the scoring so if I am wrong someone please correct me). The mission would direct us to a location on the field to find a prop. It wasn’t clear to me that we always knew what we were looking for. Also, I think you had to located the flag station and turn it to your color. As with the flag flip at the hour the points would be counted at which point the referee would hand you the prop, which you then had to return to your CP.

However, what I did like was that Silent had all of the missions and their locations at the start of the game which he mapped out in very efficient time coded maps. This allowed us to plan our operations to maximize points and our actual positions on the field. This really came into play on day two when we basically crushed the Germans on the mission side all day long. We stacked our forces so that they could leap from one mission to the next. This also allowed us to effectively manage manpower by pulling companies for rest and re-supply during the day. Phil had set specific rally times for the companies so they knew when they had to be back on line ready to go. The Allied general was extremely organized and prepared.

However, as I was saying day one was all about the Germans as we never recovered from the shellacking we took on the beach. It was clear the allies were somewhat demoralized. But we kept fighting best we could, scoring missions wherever possible. This also was key, as it kept the score within reason.

During the first day several things became evident. First, the Allied general was one cool cat! He stayed cool all day long even when he was getting his hat handed to him. He effectively managed and motivated his staff and company commanders. I especially liked the way he used his command staff. They really had a good grip of what was happening on the field. Of special note was the Intelligence Officer, Travis Stitt. He operated just like the S-2s and G-2s I’d had seen during my time in the crotch. He was a fixture in the CP providing critical information about the field, OpFor positions and movements, friendly positions AND his intel was always ON POINT!

I never met the recon teams working for him but they did one hell of a job and they were always responsive. Need eyes on target? Travis would make it happen and we start getting real time intel. Not to mention the recon teams were able to score some flag points themselves.

All that said the highlight of the day was a massive German push against the Allied CP in the late afternoon. There are crisis moments in every conflict when you know things can turn on a dime and this was it for the Allies. With our forces dispersed, the German commander had shrewdly massed his forces for a major push. Actually we could see it developing based on intel coming from the Allied recon teams but with our forces scattered the way they were it was going to be touch and go.

The attack started up around the opposite end of the beach away from the allied CP. Allied recon units began reporting a large mass of Germans moving from that direction. We tried to rally our forces but with several companies off the field and others out on missions we were left with the base defense team (Team Deleware) and those troops who were recharging at the Allied respawn site. We began making urgent calls to get companies back on the field but the attack hit before we could fully muster our forces, and boy DID IT HIT!

I don’t know quite how many German’s were in on the attack but it seems like the entire 1500 were hitting the base. Runaway would later say he had never seen anything like it. He described the oncoming German wave as a huge, dark shadow moving along the ground. It was OUTRAGEOUS!

The roar of paintball guns was incredible! This is where I have to give MAJOR PROPS to Team Deleware. They were base security throughout the game. Now everyone knows most paintballers want to be in on the action! They want to be where the paint is flying heaviest. But this team patiently and dutifully stayed to their mission and guarded our CP. Needless to say, you didn’t want to approach the CP without being clearly identified because these cats shot first and asked questions later. But I was really impressed by their discipline. However, when the time came these men laid down some SERIOUSE paint and was the backbone of the CP defense, especially their captain who stood like the Rock of Gibraltar in the center of the defense. He rallied our troops and formed an impenetrable defensive wall. You could hear his voice booming over the roar of battle. Impressive, truly IMPRESSIVE!

The Germans pushed within feet of our CP, their goal to take down the American flag that flew out front. Several Germans attempted to grab the flag but were cut down in a crossfire of paint. At this point the a referee told Phil that he could retrieve the flag and pull it into the CP but that it had to be put back out before the points check point.

Now for those of you who know our team captain Runaway this will not be a surprise. Both he and Seoul grabbed their markers and joined the line. Runway flipped into command mode and began rallying any stray players he could find. But as our defense was pushed back and the situation grew tighter Runaway decided to make his move. After being told we could pull the flag back into the CP several American troopers tried to retrieve the flag but were cut down (just like the Germans). Seeing this Runaway, put down his marker and made his dash for the flag. How he was not hit I don’t know but he was able to get the flag and return it to the CP. As he crossed into our lines the Team Deleware team captain gave him a big bear hug.

While this was happening I was on the radio rallying our companies. Juliet Company had just completed a mission and was about 70 strong. Seeing an opportunity, I began to maneuver them so that they would come in behind the German force. It would be the classic hammer and anvil maneuver. Phil ordered that J Co attack directly towards the CP. Man I felt like I was in a movie! Only thing missing was Phil ordering the artillery to fire on our position. Every so often the J Co commander would report his position as he maneuvered his force behind the Germans. I was on the radio excitedly encouraging him. “Come on Juliet Co! It’s up to you!”

Like the cavalry in those old John Wayne movies J Co crested the (proverbial) ridge and hit the Germans from behind. This broke their attack and the Germans began retreating back through the beach. It was one of those moments that sends chills down your spine.

Through it all Phil (aka Silence, the Allied General) was calm and cool, managing the command staff and the fight. German paint is impacting the outside of the CP tent and my man calmly goes about his business getting the job done.

To be honest the rest of day seemed anti-climatic after we beat back that attack. The Germans had made an all out push to over run our CP and failed. Plus we picked up a few mission points to boot.

During the night phase, which lasted until 10:30, our friends at Capital Offense brought their after dark skills to the front. Using their night vision to score some much needed points. When it was all said and done we ended the day down by 30 points or so. Given the beating we took in the opening phase, Phil was still positive that we could come back. His optimism would prove correct (almost)! Tired and worn out the Boxer communications detachment headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

We woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go. We got dressed and left the hotel at about 7:30. With the game starting at 9:00 am we wanted to make sure we got into the CP early. This turned out to be very fortuitous because when we go to the field we realized we had left the radios back at the hotel! Sh@l!T!

Man I tell you, Murphy sticks his head up at the worst moment! Runaway jumped backed into the van and head off to get the radios while Seoul, Sonic, and I broke camp and got the gear ready. Let me tell you those were some nervous minutes, by 8:30 Runaway still had not returned and we were getting very nervouse. Game on was at 9 and we still needed to re-issue the radios to the company commanders! 8:40 no Runaway and we can't reach him on his cell. Seoul looks at me and says get your stuff ready, as soon as Run arrives you get the radios down to the field and we’ll finish packing up the van. 8:45, there’s the van turning onto the field! Phewww! Now that would not have been the way to start the day. As soon as Run stopped I grabbed the radios and headed down to the field. Just in the nick time, the allies were beginning to mass at our respawn point. I was able to redistribute the radios to all the remaining Co commanders and get a radio check!

With that small disaster averted we moved into the CP and settled in for the rest of the day. From the very start things were very different. There was certain crispness in the radio calls of the companies that seemed to say this game was not done yet! Right off the bat we were accumulating mission points. One right after the other, we were collecting points in bunches. The thing to know was that the missions had different point values ranging from 1 to 3 points with one 5 point mission and a 7 points for the final battle. This would play a critical role in our strategy for the day.

One of the key things Phil did was to focus our efforts on the 2 and 3 point missions, only shooting for the 1 point mission when the opportunity arose or when recon could easily make those points. Of course, we tried to get all the points we could, but having a prioritization was key. The other thing he did was that he looked at the map and the way the points were laid out and put in place a rolling plan that allowed our units to move from one points phase to the next without having to reposition. This allowed us to use an economy of force approach that gave us the chance to send companies off the field without losing combat power. His approach concentrated our forces available at any one time. The highpoint of this approach was mid-day on Sunday when during the 5 point phase for Paris. I forget the exact time, but it was the only phase that had just 1 objective. This was big for us!

During the preceding phases we had leaped frogged 4 companies through various objectives so that as we came to the Paris points phase we were able to move what was left of 4 companies into Paris. I can still remember the cheer that went up in the CP when we asked for a headcount of the number of troops on the objective, and the answer came back “150 friendlies.” We knew then the Germans would not be able to take that objective away from us. During the course of the next hour so that force was whittled down, but because we had been able occupy the objective with a large force the Germans were in a no go situation.

This was also important because it allowed us to take 4 companies off the field in preparation for the final battle, which would be worth 7 points. At this point we were feeling pretty good. If we good win the final battle we might still pull off a great come back!

However, prior to the final battle there were one or two point phases to get through, so we began to retrograde our remaining forces in Paris to get as many points as was possible while at the same time looking towards the final battle and keeping those 4 companies in reserve.

Our strategy seemed to be working great. Even as we were exhausting the 4 companies still on the field (coming from Paris) we were resting the other 4 remaining companies while still scoring points. It was at this time that the Germans launched another massive assault on the CP. What were they doing! Were they making an all out gambit to clinch the game! The command staff started to discuss bringing in the 4 companies we were resting to defend the CP. But something just did not add up to me. Why would the Germans make a big push now? Especially after what happened the day before and with the big 7 point battle coming up. While they were applying pressure it was no where close to what it had been like the day before. I could hear it in the volume of fire. Seeing that we could hold, I recommended to Phil that we bring in our reserve companies in a defensive position around the CP but not have them engage the Opfor. Looking at the map I realized that as we had retrograded from Paris we had left our far left flank open with only one small company (Alpha) and a few recon units. Was the Opfor trying to draw our attention away from a back door attack?

Alpha requested to join the fight that was occurring in the Hood and in front of our CP; I think they got bored just sitting in a screening position. We reluctantly agreed, but I asked Travis to keep his recon team out there as they were now our only eyes on that part of the field.

With Phil’s blessing, one by one I briefed the reserve company commanders as to how we expected the final battle to unfold. I placed one company, I believe it was Tango, on our left flank to guard against an attack out of the west and had the other company move into position on the right side of the CP.

The Hood was the final points phase before the final battle so we decided to reinforce with the other 2 reserve companies (Charlie Co (led by Capital Offense) and I don’t remember the other). Looking at the map we were still in good position. That’s when the fickle game gods struck! For some unknown reason all of our forces in the Hood were told by the referee’s they had to leave! When the call came in over the radio we all looked at the speaker like it had just turned into a mound of fire ants. What the hell! Phil jumped up an immediately began to talk to the head referee to find out what was going on while we tried to get our people to hold their positions until we received clarification. But the damage had been done! All of our forces had left the Hood and the Germans had moved in right behind them. In effect our left flank had collapsed!

For several minutes we tried in vain to make sense of what had just happened but no adequate explanation was ever forthcoming. I don’t know that Phil was ever given a reason for why our team was kicked out of the Hood. This was just one of several incidents on Sunday that would leave a somewhat bad taste in my mouth about the event and the field.

Looking at the map again my eyes drifted over to the far western side of the field and sure enough Travis’ recon team began to report on a large German force moving in that area. Was this a coincidence or some sort of conspiracy? We’ll never know. But I find it very convenient that right as the anchor of our left flank (the Hood) collapses due to a referee’s call, German forces start popping up, moving towards that exact area from the western side of the field.

With the fall of the Hood there was no more thought of holding our remaining two companies in reserve for the beach battle. We had to throw them into the fight in front of the CP just to keep from being overrun and to deal with the Germans attacking from the west. We basically formed a defensive line stretching from our respawn point curving, past the beach tree line, around in front of the Hood and moving out towards the north west.

Then another crazy thing happened. Apparently, some knuckle heads on the German side were shooting marbles instead of paint. The day prior an allied player had been knocked out by a marble shot. Well just as all of the above was happening another allied player had was taken out by another marble! By this time there was no sense in staying in the CP so all of us (Boxer) left Phil to man the radio while we got our guns and went out to join the final 30 minutes of the game to do whatever we could to rally the troops.

All of a sudden the referees start yelling “CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!” It took several minutes but they were able to achieve a break in the action (somewhat). As our forces began to back away from the line I saw a group of referees and several players huddled around the body of the baller who had just taken a marble to the head. He was not moving at all… I watched for several seconds more then turned back to organizing the allied forces. I don’t know whether they had to carry the player off the field or if he (or she) was able to do it under his (or her) own power, but that really summed up the sportsmanship we had seen throughout. I’ll comment on this at the end.

The thing was, while the Allies were pulling back from the area where the player was down the Germans where filling in. Then all of a sudden, without warning the Germans open fire further pushing back the stunned Americans. I stopped one of the referees to ask how that happened and was told that the cease fire was local only to the immediate area of the downed player but that the game was still on all over the rest of the field. I stood there shocked at his explanation! I had heard the call for cease fire go up and down the line not just in the area of the downed player. Further more the logic didn’t make sense. Why then the call for cease fire across the field? Also, if the cease fire was local why were the Germans allowed to take advantage of the situation?

Okay, okay, I’m not big on conspiracy theories and managing a game of 3100 people spread over several hundred acres can be a daunting task, but the whole situation didn’t sit right with me. A year ago I was at Camp Blanding for Viper Productions’ F.E.A.R game when a similar down player incident took place. In fact it was one of the players from the team I had come with. We had been instructed in the pre game brief that should we see a red flare go up that meant that there was a player down somewhere on the field and that the game was to come to a halt. Every player no matter where they were was to take a knee and wait until the all clear was given. Now this game had roughly about 600 to 700 players and I'm not sure how big the playing area was, but that game came to a stop and the referees were on anyone who had not taken a knee. If they managed to do that there, I believe the ION game producer and the referees could have managed something similar. Certainly in the immediate and surrounding areas were the player went down.

By this time there was no hope of pushing the Germans back although we tried. Using a bull horn I tried to get the Allied players to move to Germans left and then push, hoping to achieve a momentary surge that we might exploit but with les than 15 minutes left there was no hope of organizing such an effort far less pushing the Germans back far enough for it to matter.

The game ended with one last final indignity. As the final horn sounded and the referees began yelling cease fire I got on the bull horn and began telling the Allied players to cease fire and move off the field, which they did for the most part. The Germans on the other hand, in a fit of joyous outburst (I guess) began a pogrom of shooting. I mean their level of fire after the end of the game seemed higher than during those final minutes accompanied of course with the obligatory yelling, screaming and hooting. The thing was they were not firing into the air (as one might expect). A deluge of paintballs pelted Allied players as they moved off the field. In one disturbing incident I saw one of the referees running at the Germans yelling for them to stop firing. He must have taken several hits because I saw him violently throw his clip board at a bunch of German players. They just laughed and fired a few more shots.

I have played paintball for many years and in several states. I have never seen anything like that. You hear about the isolated incidents in the papers (paintball drive buys and such) but to actually be in a game where it takes place was sort of a shocker! Playing in the Carolinas, I have become accustomed to a certain level of sportsmanship. I have participated in games that did not have referees and depended on players honor and integrity. The Milsim test game at Command Decisions is a perfect example. And while I have seen tempers flare, the occasional wiping, or even instances of blatant overshooting this was just beyond the pale. The thing about ION was that there was a consistent thread of these types of activities throughout the game, starting with the fouling of our CP. Blatant and consistent overshooting, wiping and playing on on a scale to befit the 3100 people playing. Just plain meanness and viciousness, with people loading their hoppers with marbles, pepper balls, and re-balls. HEAVY overshooting. This wasn’t just poor sportsmanship it was in some cases CRIMINAL!

There were several incidents involving our friends on Capital Offense. One at the end of the night phase where a group of Germans bum rushed several Capital Offense players after the referees had called the game, shooting up the group as they move off the field. On another occasion, a Capital Offense player had his EGO damaged by a shot marble. In yet another incident a Capital Offense player had his position attacked by German players throwing a tree branch at him.

When I lived in Pennsylvania I played Skirmish from time to time (this was in the mid to late 90s) and I never experience these types of players or incidents. Of course Skirmish’s prices were high then too, but the players were cut from a different cloth. More like the players I know in the Carolinas today. So this was definitely a shock and a disappointment to me. I don’t think I will personally attend ION again or make an effort to play at Skirmish unless I hear they have taken tangible steps to prevent this. Of course, it may be out of their hands and this activity may be a function of a certain type of person from the New York/New Jesersey tri-state area that are attracted to this game, which is a shame because I met a number of talented and honorable teams and players from that area who were just the opposite.

However, except for those issues the game was quite fun. I thought the Allied side really showed heart in almost coming back. Phil, his command staff, and his company commanders deserve a ton of credit. You did a great job pulling it together and almost making it happen!

Phil when you general your next game, don’t hesitate to call on Boxer for support. As long as it isn’t at Skirmish.

Big shout out to Travis and his recon teams. You guy’s were OUTSTANDING and a big reason for our day 2 rally. I’m looking forward to Travis heading our recon effort during Fulda Gap 2008 (http://www.fuldagap.com/ ).

Runaway, Seoul, and Sonic-X: You guys were great travel mates and I really enjoyed the road trip. Of course Sonic-X is my son and he had no choice!

Runaway, once again you demonstrated yourself to be a talented and selfless leader of men. You shifted seamlessly between being a radio operator and getting out here and leading the charge when it was required. As always it is an honor serving as your XO and being your friend.

SeoulBro, my brother! I know you learned a lot during this trip but you stepped up and did what needed to be done. You never complained nor did you develope an attitude about anything we asked you to do. You showed what it means to be a REAL TEAM PLAYER and a TRUE BOXER. I’m looking forward to you being an important part of the command staff at Fulda.

Sonic, you’re my son and I love you dearly, enough said!

Bottom line, the MVP was about Boxer and the work we did as a TEAM. Nothing more and nothing less!

To Dave and my PEOPLES Capital Offense. What can I say that I haven’t said all ready? If I say to much more people might get the wrong idea!

As always, you guys ROCK! You made us feel a part of the Capital Offense experience. You brought us in, integrated us with your team, hooked us up with Phil, and were just plain GOOD (no GREAT) friends to us. Your hospitality is without bound and I thank you for it. That is why my MVT is as much about the Boxer / Capital Offense partnership as it is about anything else. You guys were the ones that brought us to the table and put us in a position to contribute. Not to mention you guys were once again a key cog in the machine! THANKS! THANKS! And more THANKS!

If I missed anything or anyone please forgive me, this thing has gone on too long all ready. So let me say adieu, until next time.

See ya out there!

X-Man