This event was held at the Great War Assn. site near Newville, PA over the weekend of September 12-14. The site was harder to get to than usual due a massive Penndot bridge project which is going on the area. Having downloaded the new directions from the GWA website and taking the extra precaution of stopping for directions at the Minimart on the usual route, I had no real trouble following the detours. I got there around 4:00 PM Friday in a driving rain – a common theme for this summer’s events. Thanks to Patricia Patterson, Karen Emmons and Lou Siliazas for helping me set up the Russian squad tent. Even so, I was soaked to the bone by the time we were set up. Fortunately, the rain tapered off to a mist by daylight and was not a factor after that. 
In addition to the 193rd Rifles, the 3rd Rifles, 39th Guards 33rd Guards 13th Guards and possibly some other comrades (whose unit designations I did not get – please post if you read this) ably assisted by Poles and at least one Romanian (1945 scenario) represented the Allies. On the German side, there was a plethora of SS troopers, notably the LAH and also a number of fallschirmjagers. 
The GWA site is a great place for tacticals, as it features extensive trench lines, bunkers and other features which help make it easier to stay in the time period. While I have been to Newville on numerous occasions, I have never been there when the foliage was still summer green. It was quite a jungle. There is a huge amount of poison ivy growing around the trench sites, which was a concern for all.
The scenarios called for the Germans to defend, so the day was mostly spent trying to dislodge them from their entrenchments. The Allied trenches were off limits, so all action was on the German side of the property. The heavy foliage made visability difficult and was a real problem for our mortar team. Even when we had spotters, it was difficult to tell whether we were hitting anything. One German did tell me after the battle that we nearly got him three times with our mortar fire. That was gratifying. Saturday gradually became sunny and coupled with high humidity and the rough terrain, took a toll on the participants. By mid-afternoon, combatants were dropping out by ones and twos. By 1530, I had exhausted my supply of mortar rounds and my energy and returned to camp. There were skirmishes for another hour or so before everyone called it quits.
Overall, it was an interesting weekend with some definite highs and lows. The organizers did a pretty good job overall. Getting a little more info at registration would have been helpful. It was Saturday afternoon before we realized we had a portajohn in the woods behind our campsite. Knowing that would have saved the women in our group some long hikes. It also gives you some idea of the extent of the undergrowth. Still I had fun and will probably go back if they have it next year. We opposed some German forces that we don’t see all that often and got to experience a fairly large RKKA camp. I believe we had five of the big Russian squad tents! Additional thanks to John Pepper and Jeff Roncone for their contributions in addition to everyone previously mentioned.
Hopefully, Penndot will have the bridge work done by next September.
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