Der Krieg-- recollections of a virtual landser

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Die Erholung (oder: mein Blog lebt!)

Alright, I thought I'd finally turn my attention back to this old campaign journal of mine. But first, a recap of events: BFE Campaign 1 ended with Germany victorious and the 7. Fallschirmjäger marching on Moscow itself. Our excellent performances at the end of the campaign earned most everyone a new medal or two; to see mine (along with some other information you might find interesting), scroll down in the box to the lower left.

With the first campaign over, there was a - rather long - period of inactivity over the summer (wir waren auf urlaub. heh heh.), but the second official BFE-RO campgaign has now begun. Things are slow now, as we're only on our second scrimmage, but I expect people to get back into the swing of things before much longer.

We're also no longer the 7. Fallschirm. For the new campaign, we've adopted the name of the 11. Panzer Division, otherwise known as the Gespensterdivision or "Ghost-Division." You can read up on our historical counterparts here , at this excellent reenactor group's website, if you're so inclined. Of course, there's also a Wikipedia article as well.

Since we changed divisional names, I've also updated this site's skin to fit the "panzergrenadier" theme. I think I actually prefer this skin over the old one... maybe someday I'll get around to redoing the whole site. That'd be nice -- but I digress.

That's all I have for today. More to come soon, most likely after the campaign starts in full force.

--Traut.

Friday, April 08, 2005

Final Scrimmage/3.2

Well, well! Red Orchestra version 3.2 has been out for some time now, and, typical new-release problems aside, it's quite good. Now, of course, this means that the RO Battle for Europe tournament is ready to kick off, and it most certainly will -- but we've got one last scrimmage left to test everything out before it's time for the real deal. That scrimmage is tomorrow, and we'll be playing some newly-created 3.2 custom maps.. ah, what were they... Goldap and Hill-104, I believe, as well as the official map Barashka.

Hill-104's a tricky one, though. One of the last objectives (I say "last" because we, the defenders, invariably capture it last, if we manage to capture it at all) is a wrecked supply convoy that's actually some distance outside the bunker system that we have to defend. This means that some unlucky saps are going to have to charge down the hill we're defending, across no-man's-land, and try to defend a few inoperable Opel Blitzes against the red hordes. Heh heh. Sounds fun, actually; I'm hoping I get to lead that kampfgruppe.

--Traut.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Promotions redux, and RO 3.2

Okay, it's a bit late, but I should note that I've been promoted to Oberjäger, which is quite a jump in rank. Many thanks go out to the command staff for seeing fit to provide me with this opportunity. The only other promotion from this round that I've seen (and there are undoubtedly some that I haven't noticed yet) was awarded to MoFo, my former CO, who - if I remember correctly - was promoted to Feldwebel. Congratulations to him and to all the others who have advanced in rank.

On another note, RO 3.2 has been released, and is at this moment ending its limited-distribution period. For the past twenty-four hours or so, it's only been available to Fileplanet subscribers (which chafes a bit, yes, but I'm glad that RO is getting such positive press), but in a matter of hours it should be up on FP for all to download without restrictions...

--Traut.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

BATTLE REPORT - Scrimmage Eight

Maps:
Krasnyi Oktabyr, Ponyri, Kaukasus

Final Score (victor):
15-6 (Germans)

Well, we've recovered quite nicely from our recent defeats. Scrimmage eight was a decided victory for the German side, but more than this, we showed a great improvement in our ability to fight as a team. Squads were employed to great effect, and we easily bled the opposing force's reinforcements dry on many occasions (especially during the battles for Kaukasus). Interestingly, I was able to filch a sniper rifle from a fallen comrade at one point during the battle for that cursed Krasnyi Oktabyr tractor factory, and employed the thing to great effect. Too bad scoped rifles are so bloody rare, else I might be able to demonstrate my skill with them more often.

As an added note, I was able to fight for the battle's full eight hours this time, which was quite an experience.

--Traut.

Monday, March 21, 2005

BATTLE REPORT-Scrimmage Seven

To the soviets, I can say only this: well fought, comrades! Finally putting up some cohesive resistance, the bolsheviks stood firm in the face of repeated assaults and managed to turn the tables on us at last. Scrimmage Seven has ended in a close but well-earned victory for the soviet forces, one that I'm sure will strengthen both sides' resolve as we march ever closer to the commencement of real battles.

The release of Red Orchestra's version 3.2 is nigh, and with it will come what we've all been waiting for: the opening moves of the first official RO Battle for Europe tournament!

Well, that and the MG42.

--Traut.

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Scrimmage Six

Another week, another scrimmage-- for a little while longer, anyway. I actually missed this scrimmage, to be honest, as I had an obligation to attend to. But, from what I've heard so far, things went well for the 7th. We've really gotten our game together recently, demonstrating over and over a collective propensity for victory that has astounded me...

--Traut.

Saturday, March 05, 2005

Medals

Looks like it's time once again for another round of awards... hmm. It appears as if I've had both my Wound Badge and my Infantry Assault Badge upgraded to the "silver" level for my performance during the battle of Moltke Bridge (beams with pride). My bio - scroll down in the little box at the bottom left - has been updated accordingly. For anyone who's curious, Moltke Bridge is a sprawling urban map that lends itself to desperate engagements, with both sides inevitably being drained to 0% reinforcements in the last few minutes of the round...

--Traut.

BATTLE REPORT - Scrimmage Five

Frankly, there's not much to report on-- we did very well against the soviets for a few rounds (apparently our total victory in scrimmage four wasn't a fluke after all), but the BFE server began to have technical difficulties after a time. The server latency got so bad, in fact, that the scrimmage was postponed until next week, pending server maintenance or somesuch. Too bad, that... it was going much better than I expected.

All of the recent battles have been at times almost too easy, come to think of it. I've begun to wonder whether the soviets are really fighting to the best of their abilities, but I suppose only time will tell.

--Traut.