Fall 2013 Battle is Next Weekend Nov 2-3!

We're one week away from the GWHS Fall battle at King's Crossing. Be sure to fill out a battle form which you can download here from gwhsww1.org. The battle fee is $20 and can be PayPal'd to treasurer@gwhsww1.org.

Lineup will be at 9:00 AM and we will begin battle at 10 sharp. Please be on time and ready for the safety meeting at 9. We plan on fighting late into the night. All pyro except flares are allowed.

Some of us should be arriving Friday afternoon for some last minute sandbagging and camping. We'll likely have dinner at Tony's Grill so come on down early!

-Clayton

Brusilov Offensive Event, September 27-29

The Great War Historical Society will be hosting an Eastern Front event based on the Brusilov Offensive this September at the King's Crossing site.

As Legion Russe fought on the Western Front in France, we will not be participating in the event as a unit. However there are two other Russian units with which members may join up. The first is the 195th Infantry Regiment. Modifying the Legion Russe uniform to comply with standards for the 195th will be the most easy, as the only required changes are as follows:

• Blue pogoni with a '195.' cypher stenciled in yellow. Optionally, no pogoni may be worn.

• Mosin cartridge pouches, either leather or of canvas. One or two may be worn.
• Canvas
• Leather
• No French equipment, including Y-straps, bidon, musette, M2 gas mask, and lebel/berthier ammunition pouches. Adrian helmet is the only exception and must be worn.

Dig Day July 27

There will be a formal dig day tomorrow, July 27 at King's Crossing.

Dig it! March 9

Who: YOU

What: DIG DAY

When: 8 AM March 9 2013

Where: King's Crossing

Why: Because digging is our trade.

The back hoe will be out, the sun will be nice and warm, the air clean, and the trenches and shell holes bountiful. Come out to dig with us as we break ground at King's Crossing!

We will need you, your shovels and picks, sand bags, and 2x4's for making trench ladders. We'd also like to put together a separate fund for the Russian legion to have our new funk hole dug out, also with back hoe. The unit secretary will be happy to take your rubles. If you have any questions, email legionrusse.gwhs@gmail.com

Be there or be a Trotskyite!

Spring Offensive

 

GWHS SPRING TRENCH BATTLE

MARCH 23 & 24, 2013

KING'S CROSSING

Comrades! Once again it is time to sweep the snow from your boots and return to the field as we commence our Spring offensive against the Germans. For love of Motherland and Tzar!

 We will be returning to Kings Crossing this Spring, now that the site is available. We will also be sending in a backhoe the first weekend of March and will be having dig days every weekend in March leading up to the event.

Russians Encamped on a Riverbank

Thanks, Frank!

Autumn Battle 2012 [updated]

Save the Date!

The GWHS autumn battle has been scheduled for the weekend of November 2 through 4. Mark your calendars and get your kit together!

Please remember there will be no pyro allowed. This means no flares, no ground charges or grenades.

The event is scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 11:00am. Participants are welcome to arrive Friday night to camp and may camp Saturday night, leaving on Sunday morning. Site fees for this event will be $25.00 per member. Registrations may be made through our Paypal account or by sending a check or money order to treasurer Chris Michaelis.  [see the GWHS website] Cash payments may be made at the event. There will be no early registrations for this event, and all members who choose to walk-on receive the same pricing. Any non-members wishing to attend must join the GWHS and pay dues of $20 as well as the site fee. This is a GWHS sanctioned event intended for members only.

It is very likely to be stupid cold since this is a higher elevation than King's Crossing. Please plan accordingly. Small propane cook stoves are permitted, campfires are not. Dress warmly and plan for cold nights.

Portable toilets will be provided by the landowner and are included in the site fees.

Russian Bivouac, 1904

June 30 Dig Day #CANCELED#

June 30 Dig Day is cancelled due to a fire a couple of weeks ago.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Russian Soldiers in France

from an Unknown Russian Film

Hurry Up and Wait!

UPDATE!: The Spring Battle has been rescheduled for May 19. As there will be no trenchworks in place at that time, fighting will be limited to daylight engagements only. Some of us will go out Friday and dig some rudimentary fox holes and fighting positions.

The Spring trench battle, which was originally planned for the weekend of March 31 to April 1st, has been postponed due to the move to the new site. All of the details with the land owner have yet to be worked out, so the GWHS board decided to push the date back. The text of the announcement is posted below.

As you all are aware there have been many changes in the past few months that have caused the board to take actions in a swift manner. This weekend the board sat down to discuss the future of the club in light of these changes. The following are results of that meeting which affect all members of the GWHS. Please note that our utmost concern is the continuation of Great War reenacting and preserving the club as a whole.
In order to be best prepared and to use the club funds in the wisest manner, the board has decided to postpone the planned March 31st-April 1st battle. The board has been working on a contract with the landowner to ensure that the events which drove us from Ozena will not be repeated at King's Crossing. After much discussion and thought, we have decided to make sure we have the best possible deal for the GWHS which protects the members, the integrity of the site, and the materials we have purchased and installed on there. Since the contract has not yet been approved by the landowner and ourselves, the board feels that at this time, we must postpone the battle until such a contract is in place.

Due to the postponement of the Spring battle, please note that the upcoming dig day for March 10th will be cancelled. As soon as we have a working contract in place, new dates for the battle and future dig days will be scheduled.

This has been a trying time for the board, and I hope you all can be patient with us. We hope to have this situation resolved very soon. We are currently seeking legal counsel to protect the organization and sincerely hope that the membership can support us through this small hiccup in the schedule. If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at ------------. I look forward to hearing from you and hope we can all work together to make 2012 one of our best years ever.

Sincerely,
Adam Matthews

Боже, Царя храни! / God Save the Tsar!

Russian

Боже, Царя храни!

Сильный, державный,

Царствуй на славу, на славу нам!

Царствуй на страх врагам,

Царь православный!

Боже, Царя, Царя храни!

Transliteration

Bozhe, Tsarya khrani !

Sil'niy, derzhavniy,

Tsarstvuiy na 'slavu, Na 'slavu nam !

Tsarstvuiy na strakh vragam,

Tsar pravoslavniy.

Bozhe, Tsarya khrani !

English translation (literal)

God, protect the Tsar !

Strong and majestic,

Reign for glory, For our glory !

Reign to foes’ fear,

Orthodox Tsar.

God, protect the Tsar !

Spring Battle 2012

The GWHS Spring Battle is scheduled for March 30-April 1 2012. As the event draws closer please pay attention to this thread for any road condition updates.

NOTE: GWHS battle events are not postponed or cancelled due to weather. An event will only be postponed or cancelled due to unsafe road conditions.

[I'll update this post as necessary, or you can follow the original post on the GWHS forum here.]

Order No. 1

Order No. 1 of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies
to the Petrograd District Garrison

March 1, 1917

To be immediately and fully executed by all men in the Guards, army, artillery and navy and to be made known to the Petrograd workers.

The Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies has resolved:

1. In all companies, battalions, regiments, batteries, squadrons and separate services of various military departments and on board naval ships committees shall be immediately elected from among representatives of the rankers of the foregoing units.

2. In all units which have not yet elected their representatives to the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, one representative from each company shall be elected. All representatives, carrying appropriate identity cards, are to arrive at the building of the State Duma by 10 a. m., March 2, 1917.

3. In all their political actions, units are subordinated to the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and their own committees.

4. All orders issued by the Military Commission of the State Duma shall be carried out, except those which run counter to the orders and decrees issued by the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

5. All kinds of weapons, namely rifles, machine-guns, armoured cars and so forth, shall be placed at the disposal and under the control of the company and battalion committees and shall by no means be issued to the officers, not even at their insistence.

6. In formation and on duty, soldiers shall strictly observe military discipline; however, off duty and formation, in their political, civic and private life, soldiers shall fully enjoy the rights granted to all citizens.

In particular, standing to attention and obligatory saluting off duty shall be cancelled.

7. Likewise, officers shall be addressed as Mr. General, Mr. Colonel, etc., instead of Your Excellency, Your Honour, etc.

Rudeness towards soldiers of all ranks and, in particular, addressing them as `thou' shall be forbidden. Any violation of this rule and all cases of misunderstanding between officers and soldiers shall be reported by the latter to the company committees.

This order shall be read out in all companies, battalions, regiments, ship crews, batteries and other combat and non-combat detachments.

Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

Written: March 1, 1917
First Published: March 1, 1917
Source: An Illustrated History of the Great October Socialist Revolution: 1917; Moscow, USSR, 1988.
Translated: Unknown
Transcription/Markup: Brian Baggins
Public Domain: Soviet History Archive 2005. This work is completely free.

Pre-1917 Russian Recordings

Major Russian labels (index)

Inspection Display

I've used Google Translate (very imperfectly!) on the page from the Soldier's Notebook that details how a soldier's items are to be laid out for a formal inspection. For some reason, the shelter half seems to be listed twice.

Click to enlarge.

Выкладка вещей на инспекторском смотру // Layout of things on show of inspector

1. место нижн. чина. // Soldier's place..
2. Патронташ // bandoleer (not shown)
3. Ранец или вещмешок. // Satchel or rucksack.
4. Шинель  // Greatcoat
5. Записная книжка // Planner notebook
6. Полотнище палатки. // Shelter-half
7. Вещевой мешок // duffel bag
8. Мешок с мелочью // coin purse
9. Пузырек с маслом // Oil bottle
10. Шпилька /// pin/spike
11. Протирка /// wiper (this seems to be a bore swab for the Three-line rifle)
12. Отвертка // screwdriver
13. тканью с перьями // cloth 'with feathers'. (I think this is a towel or handkerchief)
14. Щетка. // Brush
15. Сало в коробочке // bacon, or lard in a box 
16. Чарка. // Cup
17. Веревка палатки // Tent rope
18. Полустойка и прикол. // Tent pole (lit. pole-stand) and stake.
19. Две рубахи // Two shirts
20. Подштанники // Drawers
21. Гимнастиу. рубаха // Gymnasterka
22. 2 п. портянок.// 2 pair foot wraps
23. Башлык и баклага (где положены) перчатки (и галстук в л-гв.) // hood and gloves
24. Котелок и баклага // Kettle and canteen
25. Сапоги.  //  Boots
26. Полотно палатки (послано)// Canvas Tent

Update 1/3/2011

Порядок укладки

Укладка вещей в следующем порядк - 1) мешок с 2 1/2 сухарей 2) рубахи, 3) подштанники, 4) портянки, 5) принадлежности к винтовке,

6) принадлежности для чистоты и опрятности в мешочк, 7) рукавицы, 8) соль и 9) мешок с 2 1\2 ф. Сухарей.

Order of Placement - Stacking items in the following order: 1) bag with 2 1/2 rusks on it 2) 2 shirts, 3) drawers, 4) footcloths ) 5 rifle accessories, 6) grooming accessories in  the bag, 7) gloves, 8) saly, and 9) bag with 2 1/2 lb. biscuit.

Fall Trench Battle Dates

In an effort to aid in everyone's event planning, the Board has decided on the following date for the Fall Battle:

November 5-6, 2011

Please note that this is earlier than the usual date set on the third weekend of November.

The reason for this is quite simple in that we're attempting to avoid the disruption caused by the weather with last year's Fall Battle event. While this doesn't guarantee perfect weather, it will greatly increase our odds (plus I won't have to watch the weather reports and try to make sense of them as much).

Please note that the weekend of November 19-20 will be our rain/snow back-up date.

Original GWHS Forum Post 

A Priceless Photo-Documentary of Old Wars

from English Russia: http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2011/05/12/a-priceless-photo-documentary-of-old-wars/

Notes on War and Peace

"A Frenchman is self-assured because he considers himself personally, in mind as well as body, irresistibly enchanting for men as well as women. An Englishman is self-assured on the grounds that he is a citizen of the best-organized state in the world, and therefore, as an Englishman, he always is unquestionably good. An Italian is self-assured because he is excitable and easily forgets himself and others. A Russian is self-assured precisely because he does not know anything and does not want to know anything, because he does not believe it possible to know anything fully. A German is self-assured worst of all, and most firmly of all, and most disgustingly of all, because he imagines that he knows the truth, science, which he has invented himself, but which for him is the absolute truth."

Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Russian WWI Era Postcards

http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/07/28/wise-postcards-that-used-to-be-made-in-russia/