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September 13, 2008	Band of Brothers
	Official player count: Zwei hundert acht und sechzig (268)....which is amazing considering non-stop drizzle and rain. TONS of positive comments about this scenario. In particular, the fact that there were so many different missions that brought so much of the field into play. Check out the post game commentary on our Forum Page. Loved the impact the fighter strafing runs added to the game. We started Sunday developing motorized "aircraft" based on Lou's design and concept. Felt bad about how much walking Lou had to do, so we will have motorized units with 2 fixed forward firing guns. Hope we can get Lou to help us with the graphics. (his unit really looked great----except when it was all yellow) One plane will also have a tail-gunner and it will be able to fly bombing missions. When the aircraft is "hit" a smoke bomb will ignite indicating it has been destroyed. IF BOTH AIRCRAFT ARE IN THE AIR A "DOGFIGHT" CAN OCCUR. Brian has already figured out how to use the PTO on one unit to run a propeller....but we've rejected Booty's suggestion that we use a lawnmower blade for the prop.We will be testing these things at the Halloween game, and players will need to attend "flight school" before they can climb into the cockpit. World at War and Band of Brothers has encouraged us to develop many of the other areas of the field that have, so far, seen little use. Some will be in play for the Battle of Moscow scheduled for January 24, 2009. (Makes sense for the Germans to have to fight their way through a lot of the woods before finally getting to Moscow) THANKS again for a great day!

August 16, 2008	Ia Drang - RVN
	174 players and this battle REALLY did the actual conflict at the Ia Drang justice. I can't help but think if the lost platoon hadn't left 60 artillery rounds in the parking lot, many more of the NVA sappers would have been eliminated and prevented from overrunning the platoon by this artillery shield. American resistance was stiff, but just like at the real battle, American relief forces just couldn't break thru the entrenched NVA, and this doomed Lt. Herrick's guys. The NVA then concentrated on LZ X-Ray, and the 7th Cav firepower and artillery was holding them off. Eventually, the effect of 8 Americans flying in, 8 being flown out, and additional casualties accumulating in the med-evac area weakened the defense enough that Lt. Col. Moore had to call "Broken Arrow with NVA about 100 feet from the Marine HQ. When that rocket went off the NVA scattered like illegal Mexicans at an INS convention. With the American defense re-established, the 7th Cav was again holding firm against the NVA. At one point, 12-15 VC stormed down the hill towards the creek right into the rear of Hal Moore's HQ. It was a perfectly executed attack...that failed miserably when a copter, that the VC didn't see, landed on their left flank. 30 seconds and 1,800 paintballs later there were no survivors. Unfortunately, everything soon fell apart for the US because of one VC named Kyle Machuta. You can read all about it on our Commendations Page under Kamikaze patch winners. All you 7th CAV and NVA guys made this battle one for the record books!! With some fine tuning, I think this can become a Battlefront classic. Thanks for a GREAT day.

July 12, 2008	3rd Anniversary and Player Appreciation Day
	HOT weather, 167 total players, 80 pounds of pork, 66 pounds of chicken, 50 pounds of taters, 5 gallons of baked beans, dozen watermelons, 10 gallons of ice cream cones, (Thanks again Mike) hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks...guys hit this the food like a pack of great white sharks it was GONE a lot quicker than I thought it would be. I hear it tasted great and we are gonna have the chef back to cook for our Halloween Party October 25. This time we will double the estimate of food needed per player. We ran out of time before the Illegal Aliens game, but there must have been lots of trigger time during the games that were played. Over 230,000 paintballs went out the door...an average of 1400 per player. Because of getting the food and stuff ready, I was only able to ref the first Reichstag game and it was an all-time classic. With still 9 minutes remaining, things really looked hopeless for the last few guys surrounded inside the Stag. But they were dug in like a bunch of Alabama ticks, and white armbands kept going in (and coming out) of the Stag in a steady stream. Krauts fell short by only 2 minutes 16 seconds...but there is something to be said for holding that joint for 32 minutes and 44 seconds. I'm sure those of you who played Battlefronts signature game for the first time now have a lot more respect for the players wearing "der Reichstag Iron Cross".

June 14, 2008	Irish War of Independence
	IT RAINED AGAIN.....big surprise there, but 56 players still made for some great paintball. The Brits really had a hard time trying to handle the Irish. During the first game the Irish we very slow getting out of the starting blocks, but once they stopped the sneaking around and made it a stand-up fight, they captured and destroyed every British objective in just under 2 hours. The Brits were in a real hole for the second phase, needing to capture both Irish flags and keep both of theirs flying for the win. With about 30 minutes left in the 2 hour game, the Brits had both of their flags up, and they managed to take down the Irish forward flag, but the shamrocks regrouped and at games end they controlled all four positions. One bright spot for the Brits - Kyle Balluch winning the Kamikaze Patch (the Battlefront Medal of Honor) for his efforts at rehanging the Brit flag and capturing the Irish forward flag. Details on the Commendations Page. Nice going Kyle! You've joined a very elite Battlefront group - only 8 of these have been awarded in the 3 years we have been open.

May 24, 2008	Kelly Heros - Rerun
	Perfect weather and 86 players in attendence made for a great Kelly's Hero's rematch. Threw a couple of twists into this game where each American army group (Odd Ball and Kelly) was running all over the field trying to locate 16 different boxes with clues and hardware needed to make the howitzers go "BANG". There were some impressive fire fights between Americans when they started criss-crossing the city looking for ammo cans!! The Americans had a rough time during the first battle, securing only 7 of the 16 boxes. This left them with a lot to accomplish during the second phase, but they did quite well. Captured the remaining 9 boxes, nuked the town with the howitzers and captured 2 of the 4 flags surrounding the town. There was a point in time when the Americans could have captured the final two flags and taken the Bank, when they had eliminated all but 2-3 Krauts. One American saw the 2nd flag drop and said to the 15+ guys with him, "the flag is down...lets head for the Reichstag" and everyone took off like a shot. Problem was, the Americans still had 2 flags to drop, and they were supposed to capture the Bank.....not the Stag. A few seconds later, a respawn rocket went up and when the Americans realized their mistake and returned to the Bank....35 Krauts were there waiting for them. So victory to the Germans...but it was a GREAT game regardless. IF YOU CAN'T MAKE THE JUNE IRISH/BRITISH CONFLICT, MAKE SURE YOU ATTEND THE 3RD ANNIVERSARY GAME JULY 12TH. WE HAVE AN ITALIAN CHEF COOKING FOR THE PIG ROAST AND THE FOOD WILL BE GREAT!!!!!

April 19, 2008	The World at War
	Near perfect weather, 307 players and from everything I've heard it was a near perfect scenario. Can't thank Chappy, Ivan, Boot and all the others who helped put this together enough. JOB WELL DONE!! I wish I knew more about what happened on the field, but with a crowd this large I spent most of the day trapped in the administration building. Read the ARC Troopers Official Writeup on their site. Just over 500,000 paintballs went out the door, so I'm guessing there was lots of trigger-time during the game. Next "really big scenario" is Band of Brothers scheduled for September 20, 2008, but I think the World at War scenario will be tough to beat. Thanks to all for making this such a great season opener!!

March 22, 2008	World at War Tune-up
	Sunny all week and 7" of snow on game day. Gimme a break. Germans win the first two battles and the Americans beat the pants off the Krauts during the "objectives defense and control" scenario. Mission accomplished and we learned a lot about what changes will be needed for the World-at-War in April. At least three bridges will be added across Crab Creek between Heartbreak Ridge and the Marine HQ. The Red Cross area for the Marine HQ will be moved to the far west end of the field up on the ridge across the Crab. There will be additional bunkering below the Bank on Omaha to provide more cover to troops assualting that high ground. The Bank respawn will need to be relocated, and the flag station that was on the Radar Station will be moved across the creek and onto the new, and VERY strong, Artillery Platform east of the Remagen Bridge. Those five "point defense" flags scattered around the ruins that will ALWAYS be in play will make this one very interesting scenario. There will be one flag on the second floor of the Reichstag mounted OUTSIDE, and another one will be inside the Atlantic Wall on the east end of the platform. Can't wait for the April Game!!

February 23, 2008	2nd Annual Kelly's Hero's
	Game was set up for 2 hours and 30 minutes, and the Germans kept the Americans from even getting close to a Bank for 2 hours and 5 minutes. It seemed to take forever for the Americans to locate all three keys, but then again, they had to find 11 boxes scattered all over Battlefront to do it. Had to admit the assault on the first Bank was a very well coordinated pincer across Omaha Beach and from the 6th Panzer HQ. (Oberst Rommel would have been very proud!!!) After capturing the first Bank, the Americans found information regarding how to locate the second bank, which included taking rockets and nitro to the Artillery platform, and loading and firing a howitzer that showed them where the final clue was hidden. Great way to finish this scenario. The second Bank was located on the Reichstag 2nd floor, which met the final phase of this battle would be the Battlefront Signature Game....der Reichstag. Krauts were a little slow getting into defensive positions in the Stag and the Americans captured it with about 18 minutes left. All they needed to do was hold it until the game timed out and they would score all the loot in both banks. I think there were 5-6 defenders left...Victory to the Yanks 2nd year in a row!! Lots of compliments on the game format and a great game was played by all 82 players...AND WE ARE DOING THIS AGAIN IN MAY!!! I have some ideas on how to make the game even better. (didn't the Americans have to go through a minefield in the movie, and didn't Oddball's Shermans have to fight their through a German town and across a river to link up with Kelly??)

December 15, 2007	Toys for Tots
	The Marines couldn't believe how many toys they collected from 70 players, and their van was packed bumper-to-bumper when they left the field. The games were outstanding as always and I guess rabbits do better in the snow, because they were getting skinned the first two games. When the blizzard arrived for the third game, the wabbits demo'd all six buildings to win the over all day by 2000 points. The Marines would have won had they hung on for 2:30 more. Some of the more noteworthy items of the day: 1. The HARES capture Ms. Claus who, when alone with her captors, pulls out a pistol, caps a couple of bunnies and heads for the Marines. The HARES finally recapture her....and then conducted a body search!!! 2. The captured Elf trys to escape by half-drowning herself in Crab Creek. (I never saw anyone shiver as much as she did the rest of the day) 3. Six Marines were defending the Ludendorf when a HARE smoke bomb landed under the tower. The smoke filled the top of the tower and the defenders vacated the place at a gallop. 4. There was one Marine defending the ammo box in the 216th Tank Repair. He is standing in the doorway watching 15+ HARES standing around Ammo 2, the 6th Panzer, the Flak Tower, etc and nobody's doing anything. I asked the Jarhead if he was out and he said NO. You should have seen THAT fire fight! Rabbits got him, but not before 6-7 of them were heading for respawn. Just another day at the "Front". See ya'll at the New Years Eve game December 29th. Looks like the first game will be DER REICHSTAG. Did Kamikaze Kevin really catch his pants on fire??

November 18, 2007	ANZIO - Event
	There was snow and rain coming down at 8 a.m. so I thought everybody would skip this event, but the official player count was 106. The American LRRP's found the Kraut army first and they were able to drop two flags before the Germans could even fire a shot. Within 25 minutes, every German flag was down....and 20 minutes later every German flag was back up. By the time the first battle timed out five flags had again bit the dust and the Americans had a 500 to 100 point lead. The second battle started with all the Germans concentrated around their one remaining flag and the American forces scattered trying to defend all the flags they had captured. A double agent put both the Jap HQ and Ludendorf flags back up while the bulk of the Germans attacked Omaha and Suribachi...and soon all German flags again flew. Americans were not to be denied, and the Germans couldn't hold. They lost with the final score 1200 to 500 at the end of the day. We also had two VERY intense Reichstag games, (aren't they all??) and the first defenders were just 2 minutes 45 seconds away from winning the coveted "Reichstag Iron Cross", but once the Ludendorf falls and the enemy can close on the Fuhrer Bunker, things fall apart in short order. Great Day! Thanks again for comin' out.

November 10, 2007	NPPL / Hitman Paintball Challenge
	I wish EVERYBODY could have seen the look on Wingnut the Russian's face when we told him "a double agent just stole both briefcases and ran off to join Agent 47"!!! (The agents lost one guy who opened the wrong briefcase and got a good whiff of the Anthrax) The Russians were in a complete panic when they realized the I.D's of Mikhail and Yuri, and the location of their base was known. Their base flag was soon down, but the agent who dropped it (none other than Agent 47 himself) failed to run off with it. The Russians regrouped in short order, replaced the flag and kept both Mikhail and Yuri safe. End of the first game: Russians 300 Agents 200. Second game was dominated by the Russians and much of the success came from yet another double agent who accepted the 1000 paintball bribe and stole the agents file cabinet from the Reichstag. Until the betrayal, the Russians just couldn't capture the Reichstag. The agents protected Nika's hiding place from 3-4 attacks until the last 3 minutes of the game, but it was finally captured. (She didn't seem to mind the "interrogation" very much) Agent 47 was taken out and the Russian won 400 to 100. During the final game, both the Russians and the Agents captured the opponents most valuable base flag, but the Russian capture of the Agents forward base flag on Suribachi was the difference. Total players hit was about equal (580 points to 510) but the 200 point flag made the difference. Overall victory to the Russians and thanks to all for making it a GREAT contest. We can't say enough about the outfits!!!

October 27, 2007	Halloween Party
	What a great idea that Zombie game was!! One of those things we WILL play on a regular basis at Battlefront. I really think the remaining Humans could have won the second game if they hadn't let the Zombies chase them into the woods, which was out of bounds. Obviously, a lot of work went into the costumes....the Tampon was one of the most unique...and we won't even mention what George was. 45 was the official player count, and they eliminated 138 sandwiches and 13 pumpkin pies. In addition, 10,000 paintballs, 10 grenades, 10 smoke bombs and 5 Battlefront Memberships for 2008 were among the prizes. A good time was had by all and next up is the Hitman Challenge on November 10th.

October 13, 2007	Port Moresby - Kokoda Track - Event
	It was the most perfect day to play paintball ever in the history of the world...so don't ask me why only 60 players showed, and I have to admit I saw some of the most intense paintball ever played at Battlefront. Two players were awarded the Kamikaze Patch (the Battlefront Medal of Honor)and two others were recommended for the Iron Cross. The Japanese had an excellant strategy to capture their initial objectives. Five American flags had to be dropped and three other objectives had to be destroyed with satchel charges. The Japs sent a token force towards the Marine HQ to pin down as many Americans as possible while their main force made an east to west sweep to capture and destroy all the other objectives. They intended to link up at the Marine HQ catching the Americans in a pincer. It came very close to succeeding and five objectives were captured, but the American resistance stiffened and the first phase of the battle ended with the Japs up by 200 points. The afternoon phase required the Japanese to raise their flag at three locations to capture Port Moresby - the Radio Tower in town, the Bank and the landing craft on Omaha. All afternoon the Japs put the flags up and the Americans kept taking them down and with two minutes remaining in the game it all boiled down to the flag on Omaha. A mob of Japs overwhelmed Omaha and then hung the flag giving them a 100 point lead. With two minutes remaining, the Americans put together a "banzai" charge of their own that dropped the Japanese flag and secured the American win. A REALLY GREAT BATTLE!!

September 15-16, 2007	Warsaw and Barbarossa - Event
	WHERE DID ALL THOSE KRAUTS COME FROM??? The Russians and Germans dominated the first day, although during the first hour or so of the battle, the Polish had EVERY German flag down and all of theirs flying. At the end of the first day, the Russians prevailed, knocking down every Polish flag and every Russian walked off with 500 paintballs. Then comes day 2. With less than 5 minutes left in the game, the Poles capture the last German strong point at the Bank and have a very slim 100 point lead. (How about the one German inside the Bank with 15 Polish troops surrounding him....and he wasn't about to give up!!) The refs finally talked him into calling it quits and there wasn't another German to be seen anywhere. We were about to end the game because it looked like the Poles were unchallenged. We didn't, and with about 2 minutes left, and Poles standing all around the Bank and Airfield, GERMANS ATTACKED ON TWO FRONTS. Caught by surprise, the Polish defense quickly melted away in the face of 3000 paintballs, and the German advance didn't stop until the Bank, Ludendorf and Woods Tower had all been recaptured. Krauts won the battle with less than 90 seconds remaining. I still don't know where they were hiding before launching that final assualt....but it was somethin' to see!! October 13th is Kokoda Track. We are working on a new twist for this event. Air strikes will be part of the game, and the opposing team must shoot the aircraft down before an objective the planes are protecting can be taken...or the enemy troops must vacate any objective the planes are attacking to avoid becomming a bombing casuality. We are gonna test these planes out the weekend of September 29th. Paintball guns will be able to shoot them down....if you can hit them!

August 25, 2007	TET Offensive - Event
	The ARC Troopers produced and staffed the field for this event, where they turned Battlefront Paintball into Vietnam. Each side had their own Generals who received missions throughout the day while stationed in their command structures. Tunnel and Air Cav cards allowed each commander to insert troops deep behind enemy lines. Each General had snipers, combat engineers, medics and even an intelligence officer to help their cause. Reviews and writeups of this event can be found on our forums. The ARC Troopers have hosted the offical score, mission breakdown and intelligence debriefings on their site: ARC Troopers: TET Offensive Memoirs

July 28, 2007	2nd Anniversary Event
	Let's see...186 hotdogs, 127 hamburgers, 100 pounds of pork, 266 cupcakes, lost count of the number of watermelons...do the math and you'll see the 152 players for the day probably didn't leave hungry. Great turnout and lots of fun. Battlefront's signature game, Der Reichstag was first, and lived up to it's reputation as one of the most intense paintball games you can play. No Reichstag Iron Crosses awarded this time as the "Stag" fell in 24 1/2 minutes the first game and in just over 22 minutes on the flip. Center Flag was next and several refs recommended the Battlefront MoH (Kamikaze Patch) to one guy who ran unarmed, and half naked, from the Supply Dock to hang his teams flag and then escape untouched. That's the 2nd Kamikaze in less than 60 days and only the 6th patch awarded during the 2 years we have been open. I'm also getting lots of requests for another "Gettysburg" battle. I'm thinking we might make a Civil War battle the last thing we do at every event and award a special patch (Confederate Stars and Bars with the event date)to the winners every time. Some game fine tuning, and maybe a howitzer or two, and this could make for an interesting finale to the day. The crowd of spectators really got into the spirit of the thing too. What a great way to use up those last few paintballs without blasting them away on the target range. TET offensive in August is next and the ARC's are on point for this one. Rumor has it the refs will be playing this one!! THANKS AGAIN GUYS...and LADY'S

May 20, 2007	Pearl Harbor - Event - What If??
	Gimme a break with the weatherman already!! Called for rain all day and we got 2-3 drops, but 104 total players still made for a great battle. Phase I saw the Japanese and their spies make life an absolute mess for the Americans. The four flags located throughout the woods were all dropped and then kept down for the 30 minutes required to take them out of play. The flags within the town were a different story and both side kept re-raising their flags until the game timed out after two hours. The last American flag dropped just as the game ended, setting the stage for Phase II. Because the Japanese controled the entire island, it was up to the Americans to invade and attempt to recapture the flags still in play within the town. To win the overall battle, the Japanese had to have ALL THREE of their flags up at the end of the game. The Americans constantly assaulted Japanese positions from every point on the compass, at one point dropping the Ludendorf flag and capturing der Banc. The Japanese kept moving their forces to counter each American move, and used the artillery to scatter at least two American assaults. Bottom line was a Japanese victory that captured and held Pearl Harbor. I'm not sure if the tank that landed in Phase I ever made it off the field....mechanical problems, but it really looked good. Mike Badila, Sr. was awarded a KAMIKAZE patch for his charge to replace the Japanese Ludendorf flag. Only the 5th one ever awarded at Battlefront....check out the details on the Commendations page!

April 28, 2007	Four Pack - Event
	There is a bounty on weathermen where ever they can be found. Threat of rain dropped the player count from an expected 166 to 127 BUT IT WAS STILL A GREAT TIME!! After 4 battles, the outcome was STILL in doubt until the last 2 minutes of the Battle of the Bulge at 6:58 p.m. The Germans pulled the final 400 point Antwerp flag to secure the overall victory. The Germans lost Operation Torch by a score of 500 to 200 after early American successes captured 6 of the 7 objectives, but during Monte Cassino, the Germans were not to be denied. Americans threw themselves against extremely stubborn German defensive lines and were only able to capture positions worth a total of 100 points. (In this scenario, "Italy" proved to be just as difficult to capture as it was in WWII) The other 600 points stayed in German hands. Score at this point: Americans 600 Germans 800. Next came D-Day which if fast becomming a Battlefront signature engagement. Both sides were exhausted after the battle which was as close to a draw as possible. Tyler Hegedus was awarded the Iron Cross for his single-handed elimination of every enemy holding the Supply Docks. Totals after three engagements German 1100 Americans 1000, and the stage was set for the Battle of the Bulge for all the marbles. As expected, the Germans quickly captured the lightly defended American forward positions running their score up to 1200 points and they then set their sites on Antwerp for the win. German assaults were constantly mowed down because the Americans were holding "der Banc" complex overlooking Omaha (Antwerp) Several 20 and 30 man charges melted under a withering cross-fire. With only six minutes remaining, the Krauts switched their efforts to taking the banc before assualting Antwerp, and when it fell, even the arrival of Patton couldn't stop the one last charge that captured the last flag giving the Germans the overall win. WHAT A DAY! 290,000 paintballs fired by 127 players. We gotta do this again!

March 31, 2007	Buncha Guys
	Not bad for an open play Saturday that started with a few showers. Final player count was 76 and paintballs didn't stop flying until 5:10 p.m. How about that Russian guy who, during the second center flag game, ran up to the Flak Tower without a gun, planted the GERMAN flag by mistake? Without stopping to think about it, he ran around the Supply Depot, then back to the Flak Tower where he pulled the German flag and planted his own Russian flag WITHOUT A SINGLE PAINTBALL TOUCHING HIM!! Just another day at the "Front". Looks like April 14th will have a decent sized crew. About 38 scheduled in so far in two seperate groups.

March 17, 2007	BLACK HAWK DOWN
	The official player count for Black Hawk Down was 266. Excellent numbers when you consider how absolutely lousy the weather was. There is a ton of information about the games on the Forum, and we WILL do this again JULY 14, 2007!!

Feb 24, 2007	Kelly's Hero's
	When I arrived at the field the temperature was 1 BELOW zero, but that didn't stop 104 paintball fanatics from really getting it on at Kelly's Hero's. The battle to capture the second key at the Remagen Heavy Equipment Bridge was a classic, and the German resistance was so stiff, I wasn't sure the Americans would ever take the position. The third key in the Reichstag was no picnic either, (the Reichstag never is) and the German defense was so tough, Fets recommended one player for the Iron Cross (details will be on the Commendations page) The assault to capture the Bank followed, and I'll bet 100,000 paintballs were fired as the Americans and Germans locked horns during this 40 minute encounter. (I got hit by about 20 of them) We finally asked both sides if they wanted to discuss a truce and split the loot in the bank, and were promptly told, in so many words, to "mind our own business". The end result was the Americans captured the Bank, and all the prizes, in just under 2 hours. THANKS FOR A GREAT DAY and see you all at Blackhawk. There are some great pictures of this event on the FORUM.

January 27, 2007	Battle of the Bulge
	Player count was 113 for what was perfect weather for a Battle of the Bulge scenario. As always, only the finest paintball warriors attend these battles and this game was no exception!!You should have seen the look on the faces of the American players when, at the end of the mission brief, I said "by the way, there are about a dozen Germans spies standing in your ranks right now". Well, that's what happened in the real battle. Kudos to NEOSMUT for doing such a great job as the German spies! Their battleplan is at the end of this post. After the bridges were captured during the first scenario, the Germans positioned players to immediately assualt Antwerp as soon as Bastogne was captured. They didn't realize that their plan took Patton right out of the battle, and Antwerp was captured before George S. could get their. The rematch saw the artillery brought into play (Sarge eliminated every defender on Mt. Suribachi with about 7 rounds)and it looked like the attackers would again capture Antwerp. But stubborn defenses in Bastogne and on Omaha gave Patton time to arrive and meet the "banzia" charge by about 20 guys from the airfield head-on. At least 4 attacks were beaten back saving Antwerp in a classic Battlefront engagement. Here's how NEOSMUT made it happen during the first game: A spies story: Game 1 NEOSMUT began the game deployed at the Heavy Equipment Bridge. Our plan was to mount a fake defense and allow the German Army to capture the bridge with no casualties. Before the game started our team slipped a letter to German command detailing our plan and providing radio frequencies and call signs for communication. Unfortunately the German team had trouble moving to the Heavy Equipment Bridge. The plan also started changing when a group of walk-on players became suspicious of us and tried following us around. To counter we sent a 4 man squad across the field to draw off the suspicious Americans. The squads split off into two groups; one of the groups took fire and was eliminated while the other was able evade the American following them and proceed to bunker the defenders at the Marine HQ paving the way for the Germans to cross the river and take the flag. That the same time this was happening NEOSMUT players at the Heavy Equipment Bridge devised a plan to capture their objective. One of the players discretely switched arm bands as another distracted the Americans. When the Americans looked up they saw paint flying their direction from a German spy who then proceeded to raise the German flag over the Heavy Equipment Bridge! From there the German Army was able to pinch in and overwhelm the stunned Americans at the middle two bridges. With the bridges taken, the American furiously attempted to recapture the Heavy Equipment Bridge to avoid the artillery strikes. Unfortunately for them, they left the city with too few defenders. A squad of Germans moved from the Marine HQ and took the Ludendorf objective quickly. Then, without pausing the moved through the city capturing the Flak Tower. This cleared the way for members of the German team (Mike Jr., Ivan, Chris Chaos) to take advantage of the opening and spring from the Atlantic wall to the flag station to win the game. As American casualties stood in the respawn area waiting for the flare all they could do is watch them drop the flag and end the game.

Dec 30, 2006	2nd Annual New Years Eve Game
	A total of 186 players, absolutely perfect weather, and some of the most aggressive play I've ever seen combined to make this event one for the record books! Starting the day off with Battlefronts signature game "Der Reichstag" got things off to a wild start, and I was a bit concerned about throwing our 80 first time visitors into this chaos. With 60 German defenders standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the Stag, I expected a lot of Reichstag Defense Patchs to be issued. But the Russians were very aggressive, constantly advancing on two fronts and Stag fell in less than 15 minutes in both games. Tactical victory goes to the Red Team for holding out a couple of minutes longer than the Germans. I don't think I EVER saw so much friendly fire, and Mother Hen (our strawberry blonde photographer) took at least 20 hits from "the most color blind group of trigger-happy *%$#@ ever to play the game". Oh yeah, the only comments I heard from the new guys..."can we do that again" (I'm beginning to think all ya'll are nuts)... D-Day was next and we used two howitzers to drop a smoke barrage on Omaha to cover the American landing. I thought the Americans would need a compass to find there way through the smoke. Just like the real battle, it was extremely difficult to get off that beach, but the Americans did manage to capture the Airfield tower and fortifications. Another group used a flanking attack thru the woods to capture the Kraut flag at the new bridge across Crab Creek below Suribachi. The Germans defense stiffened and they held the town and their remaining two flags for most of the game, but a final push by the Americans captured the final two German flags with less than 2 minutes to go. The victory goes to the Americans on D-Day.... Next up was the always intense Center Flag game, and by this time we had 75-80 players on each team. Flags went up and down a dozen times during the first game by both individual suicidal efforts, or 7-8 man banzia charges. The first game was a draw, but the Germans did manage to win the replay.... Stalingrad finished the day with the Germans winning the second encounter just as it was starting to get dark. Sorry about running out of paintballs guys, but we really thought 336,000 paintballs would be enough for an event in the dead of winter. Especially since the most we ever used at an event before was 127 cases (254,000). WE WON'T RUN OUT AGAIN AND THANKS FOR MAKING THIS SUCH A GREAT EVENT.

November 19, 2006	Attack in the Solomons
	The sun came out for a while...the sleet came down for a while...Big Sarge's howitzer rounds came down ALL OVER THE PLACE. Weather kept the official player count at 92 for the Solomons scenario, but the combat was as intense as ever. The second scenario was the most intense with the Americans using their artillery very effectively allowing them to capture the 2 forward deployed Japanese flags, preventing the Japs from reinforcing. IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT RIPTIDE WAS THE GUY THAT PULLED BOTH OF THE JAPANESE FLAGS. (Some of the players have recommended him for the KAMIKAZE Patch, but this can only come from a ref. Must have been something extraordinary to see) Americans eventually overwhelmed the Japanese defenders and captured the airfield. The Japanese then had 20 minutes to "banzia" and retake the airfield. In classic Bushido fashion, they continued to charge thru the American artillery and guns opposing them, recapturing the American flag with only 3 minutes of game time remaining. I'll bet 20,000 paintballs were fired during this 17 minute engagement!! New additions to the field for this game were a second story tower built on top of the wall that surrounds the Bank, and 6 howitzers (3 for each team)launching rockets up to 500 feet down range. These howitzers were much more effective than we had expected. The first round Neosmut called in on the Ludendorf took out 4 Japanese (a 425 foot shot) and the first round the Japanese called in on the Duce hit the rear bumper taking out 2 Americans (a 390 foot shot). Sarge had a hit ratio of about 40+%, meaning every other round he fired took someone out. We have now figured out a way to salvo fire and rapid fire these battery's allowing 12-15 rounds a minute to be launched. The next D-Day, or Iwo Jima, etc scenarios will be insane!! Hope to use them for the New Years Eve event on December 30th. ALSO, CHECK OUT BEN SHINGLETON'S KAMIKAZE COMMENDATION

September 23, 2006	Operation Torch
	Some event pictures from NEOSMUT IT NEVER RAINED A DROP. The weatherman lied (as usual) and his claim that it was going to rain all day reduced attendance to about 130 players. Based on the comments from those at the game, this was a grand scenario. Congrats to Josh, who had the French Forces creating all kinds of chaos on the field. At first they assisted the Germans by defending the Seelow Heights, and once the Germans withdrew to fight the Americans, the French promptly abondoned the hill, entered the Reichstag, and advised the sole German defender to seek his fortune elsewhere. He did, and soon returned with 30 Germans and one Frenchman bent on recapturing the Reichstag. (The one French soldier that accompanied these German forces, stormed the Stag...and promptly switched over to help his countrymen fight the Krauts. TRUST THE FRENCH!!) While this battle raged, the German forces that had been successfully defending the western approaches to the Ludendorf were now too weak to hold. The Americans captured and held a forward German position in the woods and advanced their respawn point about 150 yards. This put the Germans between two forces and chaos reigned. As planned, 45 minutes into the scenario, the French had to choose between joining the Americans or the Germans, and to make it fair they had to be equally divided. The problems arose when all the French in the bottom of the Reichstag became Americans...and the four French defending the Reichstag second floor had to become Germans. A story for another day. At the beginning of the scenario, the Americans were given a map of the field outlining their objectives, and the location of the minefields. Once the American were taken to their jumping-off points, we then gave the German team 40 trip mines to place anywhere they wanted to protect their positions. Most of their flag stations were soon wired. The Americans had NO knowledge these extra mines were in play. After 2.5 hours, both side were really exhausted and the Germans managed to hold the Flak Tower and their HQ on Omaha Beach. Tactical victory for the Americans who captured three of the five objectives. Hope to have additional pictures of the battle up in a day or so.

August 20, 2006	Wake Island - Alamo of the Pacific
	The weather cooperated and a recond number of players showed up at Battlefront for this event, with several coming from Alexandria, VA and even a couple from Las Vegas, NV. At one point there were 75+ players on each team, and in the first scenario, the Japanese really showed their metal by taking heavy casualties during their continuous and determined assaults on Omaha Beach. They never quit. It took them almost 30 minutes to finally raise their flag over the airfield and advance their reinforcment area. Some of the most incredible action took place on Mt. Suribachi where determined Jap attacks captured the Marine Corps flag 4-5 times, and equally hostile Marines recaptured it every time, once with a 22 man attack and only 15 seconds of time remaining. There will probably be several Kamikaze and Iron Cross recommendations because of the intense action during this hour long battle. Although eventually captured, this was the last objective lost by the Marines during this scenario. Their defense stiffened and the 2 hour battle timed out with them still in control of the 4 remaining positions. There were some unfortunate problems with the rematch which will be corrected to prevent a recurrance on future scenarios. Live and learn....and we will. One positive outcome was that most players were able to fight on the recently opened and bunkered west end of the field where the Marine HQ is located. This new area effectively doubles the size of the combat area at Battlefront, and will make for some interesting battles in the future. Thanks for a great day and terrific action.

July 21, 2006	Private Group - Turning Technologies
	A private group reserved the field and played all day Friday. They played a total of 8 games and ended the day with two non-stop action centerflag games. There were atleast a dozen flag hangs each game, with both games going into overtime. Most of the players were first timers, but all them exhibited great sportmanship and enthusiasm.

July 15, 2006	FIRST ANNIVERSARY EVENT
	Another great day at Battlefront and I can now say I've seen EVERYTHING. In order to attack the Atlantic Wall where no one would expect it, one player had another ON HIS SHOULDERS lifting him up so he could blast away at defenders on the other side of the wall.They scattered big time once he opened up. The Germans really hung tough during the first scenario, losing only the Seelow Heights flag while successfully defending all of the other five objectives. The Germans reacted well to the sound of gunfire, and in spite of being assulted from three directions, they managed to successfully concentrate their reinforcements to repeal many determined American and Russian attacks, EXCEPT ONE. AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE WILL TOP THIS STORY. A 10 man German reinforcing squad came out of the 6th Panzer HQ at a gallop aimed at retaking the Seelow Heights. All their guns were blazing, but one guys still had his barrel sock on while firing full auto. The sock jumped off his barrel and snapped back launching three balls over his shoulder hitting his own teammate, who was behind him, dead center IN THE MASK. The guy hit in the mask then proceeded to accidently shoot one or two more Germans running ahead of him. This, plus all the balls flying from the Americans occupying the Seelow Heights, ended this assault in a big hurry. Craziest thing I ever saw, and nobody could stop laughing...

Sunday June 25	Real Action Scenarios Tournament
	The first Real Action Scanerios tournament on June 25, 2006 was won by ARC Troopers, a team of Battlefront members Josh Goodhart, Will Banner, Tony (TP) Pizzuto, Mike (GhilleMike)Testa and Mark (Ivan) Star. Line Scores: ARC 3-0, Evil Kids 1-2-1, Knights Bravo 1-1, Knights Alpha 0-2. The first game saw ARC defeat Knights Alpha in a fairly close game 90 to 40. The capture of one major 50 point objective was the difference. In the second game, Evil Kids, who evidently thought they were members of the Iraqi Republican Guard, lost by an astounding 170 points. They got there act together for round two, fighting Knights Alpha to a draw, and then defeating Alpha 3-0 in the tie-breaker game. The ARC Troopers vs Knights Bravo second game was also a close 3-2 win, with Banner, Ivan and TP cleaning up after Mike and Josh were hit early in the game. The game for all the marbles was ARC Troopers vs Evil Kids and ARC was not to be denied. They won the game 110 to 40, with much of the credit going to Tony Pizzuto who, according to his team mates "was the real work horse for the team, rescuing the POW, securing the Air Assault Bag, hanging flags and humping supplies". His team is recommending him for the Kamikaze Patch. A great day and we are looking forward to doing this again!

Sat. June 24	D - Day
	What A Day! Hard to believe, but between 180,000 and 200,000 paintballs were fired during the Omaha Beach assaults. Every time the ramps dropped on the LST's, wave after wave of Americans stormed the German right flank airfield, the Seelow Heights and Atlantic Wall positions. Because the American Parachute Infantry Regiment in the woods was eliminated almost immediately in the first scenario, it took almost an hour of extremely heavy fighting before the Americans were able to dislodge the Germans from their primary defensive positions and force them back to the Reichstag and Ludendorf bunker. When the first scenario finally timed out at 90 minutes, both side were exhausted but the Germans had managed to hold 2 of the 6 objectives giving them a tactical victory. In the second scenario, the Paratroops faired better and were able to support the Americans landing on Omaha by drawing Germans away from the beaches to help defend the Reichstag and Ludendorf. It still took the Americans 88 minutes to capture all 6 objectives, winning the scenario with only 2 minutes to spare. I know it's only paintball, but the players assaulting Omaha have to be wondering how the Americans could have possibly captured Omaha June 6, 1944.

Saturday May 20	Battle of Okinawa
	A cloudy day and the threat of rain didn't stop 75+ paintball combatants from getting it on at the Battle of Okinawa. The Japanese held tough during the first scenario, losing only their HQ and successfully defending the 5 remaining objectives. The Marines got their act together during the second scenario, concentrating most of their forces on each objective until they were captured in turn. Only the Japanese General's flag remainded uncaptured, but the General himself was dead. The smoke pouring out of the Jap HQ and the two towers that were "blown" left no doubt about the destruction of these objectives. Added a nice touch of realism and gave us some great ideas for the D-Day Scenario June 24th. As always, the Reichstag game was requested as the last event and the first group held the Stag for the required 20 minutes to win the Iron Cross Patch. (Josh and some of the guys now have 2 patches) Hope to see you guys on D-Day.....