Weldonkrieg:  The official site of the WWII reenactment

Weldonkrieg Daily Talking Points

 

The daily talking points were written for the 2014 event. These were a seres of topics that were posted on the facebook group page.  They have been updated to reflect changes for the 2016 event.  

 

#1. Alcohol:

 

HRS rules and the Weldon Spring site do not allow alcohol on the installation. We know many events say "no alcohol" and then someone makes a pretty penny on the recycled beer cans after the event. The policy at many events is "No Alcohol...*wink wink*"

 

At Weldonkrieg, when we say no alcohol, we do mean --->no alcohol<---. If we find it, we will ask you to put it away. If we see it a second time, we will ask you the leave the event/site. We don't want to have to do this, but we also have to enforce the rules. Please don't put us in this position to ask you to leave. We understand you may want to have a beer with your friends you see a few times a year. I get that, but it isn't worth risking the loss of the site for future events.

 

Take it off the installation and please don't get stinkin' drunk and create a problem for a local business or more importantly...*us*. Also please don't wear your German tunics into local restaurants. We want to maintain good relations with the locals too. As I said, I understand why you may want to drink and have one with your friends, but we just can't risk losing the site again.  We have worked hard to get it back, so please work with us 

 

2. Fires

 

Fires will be permitted at Weldonkrieg but they must be in an above ground fire pit of some sorts...like a commercially bought above ground fire pit, a 55 gallon drum on bricks (either cut down or as is).

 

The key here is when the event is over, there is no evidence there was a fire at the site. As long as that is the end state, then we are going to fine with it. We have no issues with tent stoves/heaters as long as they are watched and you have a fire extinguisher nearby. There will be no in the ground firepits dug at Weldonkrieg. There is a wood pile located not far from the bivouac sites that can supply you firewood, but it is a "do it yourself" wood pile.

 

The wood will need to be cut from the trunks and branches at the pile, so you will need a hand or chain saw to do this. Heck, we could even get one of those big two man saws and have a SS versus Heer "saw off." Think of the possibilities...Ok...I digress... So..as long as there is no evidence of the firepit when you leave, and we don't burn any tents down, fires are permitted at Weldonkrieg.

 

3.  Non-participants

 

Weldonkrieg is not the place for your family vacation. The only people staying on site should be the registered participants. There should not be any non-participants or "camp followers" on the site during the event, minus someone getting picked up or dropped off.

 

The only non-reenactors on the site should be the vendors (although many are reenactors), and the various military units training on the site. We know that as small children, the idea to go walk the "Nuclear waste adventure trail" sounds like an ideal family get away while you are out defending the fatherland.

 

We don't have an issue with your family spending the weekend in St Louis...we just don't want them at Weldonkrieg. Besides, we don't have an extra US halftrack to corral all of those toddlers in a period correct ad hoc daycare. Seriously...don't bring your family to Weldonkrieg....it just isn't the right place for them.

 

4.  Pets and animals

 

Please do not bring your pets to this event. Also this event will not have any horses. The Army rules prohibit us having any animals on site and we don't know what you would do with them there anyway.  As much as we love our pets they must stay home. The event is just not equipped to deal with animals. So..... Please leave Fluffy, Fido, Mittens, Trigger, Duchess and my friend Flicka at home. They just have no place at Weldonkrieg....

 

5.  Parking

 

Parking is going to be an issue at Weldonkrieg. We expect to have over 300 reenactors attending and throw in the 50+ expected military vehicles and that leaves a large parking footprint. We are working with the site we have, not the site we wish that we had. We have to fit parking into the spaces that exist, try to preserve relative authenticity, not damage the site any more than we need to and be safe all at the time. This means we will not make people happy with the parking situation, but it is what it is.

 

We have three designated parking areas, and we are going to assign people to these sites based upon where they are staying: The ones in the barracks using the parking nearest the barracks. The Germans are using the parking lot nearest the German camp, and the allies are using the parking lot closest to their camp (which is 2-3 blocks away). There is also trailer parking which is 1/4 mile to the west and some near the gate too. We just ask that you work with us.

 

This is our intent: You arrive and go straight to registration. You will check in at the event registration and then the allied and axis CPs (in the same area). From there you can go occupy your area in the barracks or campsite. Our intent is for you to unload and then move your vehicle to the parking lot. If you have a trailer, you may want to wait to unload off the trailer until your gear is dropped off first. Then you can go offload it near the trailer area, park your truck and trailer there, and drive your WWII MV back to the camp.

 

Our intent is to park the WWII MVs near the campsites or in designated lots near the campsites, but not modern vehicles. We are trying to keep the camp areas as modern vehicle-free as possible, so this may mean a little walking back and forth to the lots if you need to go to town etc. We hope that most everyone comes for the weekend and stays put.

 

Also, we need cooperation with using your assigned lots and not parking around the campsites. The lots are not going to give you rockstar parking by any means (especially for the allied camps) but it is what we have to offer you based upon the site. As I said, we have the one we have, not the one we wish we had. Cooperation, prior planning and good packing lists of all the things you need will make this go better. If you plan to run into town 5 times during the event, our system will frustrate you.

 

6.  Captured weapons and equipment

 

Our intent is to create a west front tactical for the fall to winter of 1944 time era in Western Europe. This means the weapons, equipment and vehicles should be standard to the German, US and Commonwealth armies of that period.

 

We can always find an exception or a picture that shows X used Y during this period, but these are nearly always exceptions. To preserve authenticity and avoid crazy exceptions, we are keeping the weapons to standardly issued weapons made by the same country as the reenactor's impression.We could debate this ad naseum and show Russians with Bren Guns, Germans with M-1 Carbines, Charlemagne with a Piper Cub...but that isn't what this thread is about; It is to set standards for a event.

 

If you want to debate correctness of a captured weapon, go to the Axis History forum or some gun board and talk it up, but not here.This also means no jeeps with nat-zee flags on them, kubels with stars on them (But..but...but..it was in The Monuments Men!), PPSH's, Slovakian potato guns or those little Mattel M-16s that went vroom vroom when you pulled the trigger. Weren't those some sort of a blue color? Ahh the memories...We are trying to keep it simple.

 

I am aware that most of the German tanks taken out on D-Day were French captured tanks. If you want to bring your Char-B with a Balkan cross on it, we can talk about it more. We just don't want the easy substitutes for US or German weapons that are cooler, fire faster, or are cheaper. The US side should be pretty easy to police as long as we have no M1As, AKs or AR clones show up (But...but..but.. it looks just like a MP-44!).

 

We are putting this out there because we have reenactors coming from as far away as San Diego for this, so we have to standardize our standards. Isn't that Standard SOP to standardize standards? That's what we are trying to do with this post.Keep it simple, correct to your country of impression and correct to the time period and we will all be one big happy group of Weldonkriegers.

 

7.  Don’t drink (most) of the Water

 

As my title of today’s talking point demonstrates, there are some water issues at Weldon Spring Training Site. The site was one of the most toxic waste sites in the US for many years and the government spent 4/10ths of a BILLION dollars cleaning it up. You will see the big containment cell as you drive in. It is 7 stories tall and 20+ acres wide. Those are your tax dollars at work. When you come into the site, the big white behemoth is best landmark to the event site in case you get lost too. In fact, if anyone can’t find the site, I just gave you something to locate it with.  

 

There are two potable water points on the site. One is near the gate and the other is near the serving building in the allied camp. This water comes from the local community water system and not wells at the site. They are safe. There are faucets in the barracks, in the shower building etc but they are all clearly marked…do not drink. You can wash yourself with them, brush your teeth (spitting it out afterwards), clean gear and items with it, etc but do no drink it.

 

I don’t know what might happen if you do drink it, but I suspect one of two things: 1. You will eventually get sick 2. The Zombie apocalypse that my students obsess about will start during Weldonkrieg. I would go with the first one.This is my suggestion: Bring your own water: If you have any plastic water jugs, fill them up and bring them to the event. You could also buy a case of water and keep it in your tent or near your bunk. We have water at the site but it is not convenient, especially for the Axis troops and barracks dwellers.

 

The Allied troops have a water spigot in their bivouac site, which is the trade off for the parking being further away. The Germans have to deal with water issues for their rockstar parking. We are even Steven with that one. If you bring your own water, this won’t be an issue all weekend.  If you plan accordingly and remember the water issues when making your Weldonkrieg packing list, this won’t be an issue.

 

8. Hauling trailers:

 

We are expecting 50+ WWII military vehicles, and that means 50+ towing vehicles and 50+ trailers. That’s a big footprint, especially when you add in the 50 military vehicles to go with it. As we stated earlier, parking is going to be an issue and helping us by parking your trailers in the designated areas will make life easier for everyone.

 

We have two areas set aside for trailer/towing vehicle parking: The warehouse area and the gate area. The warehouse area is about ¼ mile down the road past the tent pads and has enough space to accommodate all of our needs. There is a grass area to the south of the warhouse, and a concrete pad to the north of it. The north side as a number of TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) containers arranged in a manner that must make sense to the warehouse staff, although it might appear more random to us.

 

We want to fill the south area first, and leave the concrete area for the larger vehicles that may sink and get stuck in the grass area.The second area is the parking lot near the gate. We are going to try to have the Jagers and Railsplitters park their tow vehicles and trailers up there to keep the other lots open for participants. What we are trying to do is keep the parking lots near the camps open for single vehicles. By the time we get all of our barracks dwellers and campers in those lots they may be near full. When our Ramada Rangers and Day Trippers then come in, we want to have spaces left for them.

 

We are hoping that when you come to the event, you come to stay for the weekend. That will help with parking because the lots will get all messed up with people parking in odd directions after a few at the Hauserhoff.

 

Also, please remember we aren’t trying to make your lives difficult, but are trying to herd 3-400+ cats, their associated military vehicles and gear into safe, authentic and fun tactical. If you work with us we will work with you.

 

9. Access to the training areas

 

We don’t own the site. It is owned by the US Army Reserve and we are guests at the site. If you have worked at all with the Army regarding training sites, you know there is an elaborate process for reserving space, controlling space etc. The Army does dangerous training all the time, so controlling who goes where is a big deal.

 

We only have access to SOME of the training areas lined up for the day Saturday and the morning on Sunday. We can’t just got tooling around the training areas whenever we want. This isn’t Weldon Springs State Park. There is a very active rifle and pistol range near the back of the training site and it gets used quite often by different governmental agencies. The Army unit we are sharing the site with will also be using the rifle range and conducting land navigation on Saturday. We don’t want to get a report of a Second Lieutenant trying to read a map in an intersection and getting ran over by a halftrack.

 

Also, some sites, like the Power Plants 1 and 2 (aka “The Factories” in reenacting speak) are fenced off due to contamination issues, asbestos, etc. If you have any thoughts about climbing a fence, stop them right there. Sure, the inside of the buildings look like the zombie apocalypse has come, but admire them from afar…on the outside of the fence. If we catch people “checking out” the training sites on Friday without permissions from the four key event staff, we will show you the gate. If you climb a fence and are inside any off limits areas, we will show you the gate. There will be no first time offense. Someone could get hurt out there and we won’t even know where they are. That’s not good. Update  October 2015:  The factories are gone.  The remnants of them were being removed at the 2015 event.   

 

On Friday, everyone needs to stay in the cantonment area. If you are more than 50 steps beyond the cantonment area, then you are out of bounds on Friday. We are planning a leader’s recon for Friday and we will coordinate with the training site staff to do this. If you are a designated commander or senior leader of the Allied or Axis chain of command, then you will be invited to this. We haven’t set a specific time for this, but will put it out to the people who need to be involved.

 

So…stay in the cantonment area on Friday and Saturday after the battle. Don’t go wandering around. I know there are lots of cool ruins and buildings on the site. Many you won’t sleep well on Friday night with excitement thinking about seeing the legendary SS redoubt but we will do our best to get you there on Saturday.

 

PS: I was just kidding about the second lieutenant trying to read a map and getting ran over by a half track. We all know 2LTs can’t read maps!  

 

10. The Gate

 

Weldon Spring Training Site is normally a closed installation, in that access is controlled at all times.  Right now there is some construction going on, which makes it a little more open than normal, but for our event the construction people will be gone and the site closed off again.  We have to control access to the installation and can’t just leave the gate open.  In 2018 the outer gate was left open all the time and the inner gate was padlocked.  We unlocked it and left it that way until the end of the weekend.  

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There are four big reasons why:

 

1.  Physical Security:  There is a lot of US Army property on the site and it needs to be protected.

2. Poachers are known to hunt illegally at the site.  The last thing we want during our event is a poacher seeing movement in the bushes and taking a shot at us.  If we hear poachers are anywhere near reenactors, we will stand down the reenactment until we clear the area.  It’s not worth someone getting shot.  It just isn’t worth the possible harm that could be done.

3. Cheapstakes:  There are known to be a few cheapstakes in the hobby who will try to slip into the event, skip registration and sneak into the field.  I bet they would even try to get a free chicken dinner off us too.  Running this event is a massive undertaking for us planners, and there is also a lot of money involved.  It is $25 with a dinner included.  Come on people…

4. Getting sued:  Someone who sneaks into the event and skips registration is also the first person standing in line to sue us when they get hurt.  This is the type of person who is just used to taking advantage of others in small and big ways.  Everyone needs to have a registration card, which means they signed their waivers.

 

11.  Hair

 

I am still not sure after 33 years of WWII reenacting why hair is still an issue amongst participants.  It never ceases to amaze me how someone will spent $3,000 on an spot on uniform and weapon, and then have the personal grooming look of the guitarist of the Doobie Brothers, circa 1978.  Hair is one of the most easily fixed authenticity issues yet it is one of the most neglected amongst some. I know most people know this, but some don’t:  Hair grows back! 

 

This is how we are going to handle standards hair at Weldonkrieg:  It starts at the gate with the gate people checking your hair. 

 

I know a lot of people are coming from different reenacting groups and regions, so we wanted to get these standards out there.  I know someone of the more vivid reenacting stories of people blowing themselves up have happened at Weldon back in the 70s, but we just can’t go there now.  So…read what we put down here and if you have any questions, contact us.

 

12. Cell Phone Reception

 

I know we are all supposed to be immersed in 1944 but life’s requirements to support WWII reenacting, like jobs, families and BFFs requires us to stay connected during the event.  Because of the encroachment of the community on the site, cell phone reception isn’t too bad, certainly much better than it was in 1975. 

 

Those of us used to being on military bases, know the challenges of cell phone reception.  This past summer at Ft McCoy, my cell phone was virtually useless unless I was at the PX or McCoys Community Club.  This is why I am dedicating this post to cell phone reception. 

 

If you are used to being connected 24 x 7, going on to a military installation can be a throwback to the pre-cellphone techniques of staying in touch.  We can only draw upon our experiences out there and the carriers we have.

 

This is what we can tell you from our experiences at Weldon:

 

AT&T: 

Tim:  I use ATT&T for both my iPhone and my internet hot spot.  Both worked flawlessly in the cantonment area and in the vending building when we had a meeting there.  I had my iPad connected to the hot spot and it had zero issues.   Once you get into the field it gets spotty.

Earl:  Earl uses AT&T on a Samsung and reports hit and miss service.

 

Sprint:

Dave:  Dave uses and iPhone with Sprint as his service.  He has hit and miss service. 

 

As for charging, there are outlets in the buildings.  There are power outlets in the serving building in the pavilion in the Allied camp, although we aren’t sure they are on.  The large number of chemlights hanging from the ceiling suggest there may be an issue with the power.

 

So…there you go…that’s what we know.  Please warn your family and friends that you may go “off the grid” while at the event.  Be pleasantly surprised if you get good service and don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work. 

 

14.  This is a bunch of garbage

 

Garbage is a planning factor for any large events.  We have a simple rule for garbage:  Those who create it are responsible for disposing of it.  There are two dumpsters near building S40 (the shower building) near the front gate that are available for our use to get rid of your trash.  I suggest units bring their own cans or have their own system for trash.  We will have a few cans at key points that we will manage, but remember this is our event too. Who wants to spend the whole weekend hauling other people’s garbage?  Not us…

 

Also, if we have a policy of no alcohol at the event, we don’t want the dumpster full of beer cans.  Please review the alcohol policy and let’s make sure we don’t have any issues with bottles, cans and etc for alcohol.  This could get us banned from the site. 

 

So deal with your ~trash~, don’t get ~trash~ed and don’t ~refuse~ to deal with your ~garbage~.  Plan for it, take care of it, and everything will be great. 

 

15.  Getting settled into billeting and bivouac sites:

 

Everything at Weldonkrieg should start with checking into registration.  It should not take too long to get through registration, and then you check in with your Axis or Allied CP, and then you can occupy your billeting space or bivouac ite.  This is how each of them will work:

 

Billeting:  Once you are cleared through your CP, then head over to the barracks, which is about 100 feet from registration.  One side will be marked allied and one axis. We will try to mark beds with unit names on them so you bunk near your friends.  Please do not occupy the private rooms without permission.  We have been saving them as a female option.  If they aren’t needed then we can open them up, but we don’t want to have to kick someone out after them moving in.

 

Allied:  We are going to need an approximate footprint of what you are bringing (e.g. 2 GP mediums, 45 shelter half tents and a fly).  As for the commonwealth section, that will be more up to your chain of command.  We will just make sure you get in the designated area.

 

Axis:  The unit sites are going to be plotted and marked with signs in advance.  Members of the Jagers will escort to place units as they arrive.  

 

16:  Clearing the site:

 

Clearing is a huge deal with any military post, and Weldon is no exception.  I can’t enumerate the hours I spent conting and recounting piles of sheets trying to clear an Army post.  If we do this well, all of us organizers will be heading down the road by 1300 for a night of well-deserved R&R. If this is done poorly, we may have to go back another day to straighten it up.  I suspect the last place we will want to be after that Sunday is Weldon.

 

Billets:  Please pick up your personal belonging and try and leave your areas as neat and orderly as possible.  Sweep around the beds and it would be great if someone could help with the latrines too, and getting the trash down to the dumpster.  A good mopping will help too after everyone is gone.  We will go through it after everyone leaves.  If someone trashes their corner and leaves it a mess, we may have to consider your unit as “not housebroken” and required to bivouac next year.  I don’t want to have that conversation with anyone.  Big boy rules apply here and clean as you go. Take care of your stuff and be courteous to others, and it will all be good.

 

Bivouac site clearing:  Please leave your site as you found it.  All trash should be gone, no evidence of your fire pits, any excess wood restacked on the wood pile, and no ruts.  We will clear your site and you are on your merry way.

 

We want to make this go quickly because we know people are traveling extremely long distances.  If there are

any issues you might know about in advance, ask us on Saturday so we can get them resolved before the morning.  We can do a lot more with a lot more warning.

 

17: Barracks Impressions

I know when people attend events with barracks, there is usually a desire to have a "barracks impression." The is where someone uses some interesting items them have picked up to create a reenacting feng shui karmic bliss of a sterile barracks space. While I totally appreciate the original Totenkopf matching Jaegermeister shot glass set, there just isn't a place for them in the Weldon barracks.

The Weldon barracks have two big rooms, two small rooms and two restrooms. The bed space is just a bed with two drawers under them. There is no wall locker or desk... just the bed and mattress. There is no lock on the drawers, and all units are in the same space together.

 

 If you have a valuable belonging, leave not secured in your car or don't bring it. You might bring a folding chair but once you get beyond that, there isn't space for it. You are living out of your luggage.

 

So...keep your valuables and firearms in a secure location....it will have everyone griefhave two big rooms, two small rooms and two restrooms. The bed space is just a bed with two drawers under them. There is no wall locker or desk... Just the bed. There is no lock on the drawers, and all units are in the same space together.

If you have a valuable belonging, leave not secured in your car or don't bring it. You might bring a folding chair but once you get beyond that, there isn't space for it. You are living out of your luggage.

So...keep your valuables and firearms in a secure location....it will have everyone grief.

 

18: Minors at the event

 

I firmly believe good people, regardless of age make for good reenactors.  I have seen 45 year olds do just as stupid stuff as 15 year olds.  The only difference I see for those under 18 are caused by the different legal status of minors.  Anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor under the law. 

 

Anyone under the age of 16 should not be at Weldonkrieg, unless they just happen to be in the car when you are getting dropped off or picked up at the event.

 

For those that are 16-17, they can participate as long as a parent or guardian is on the site, and the registration papers are endorsed by the parent/guardian.  The minor should be under the control of the parent or guardian at the event. 

 

Does that mean they are watching the minor every second at the event?  Of course not…but they should have an idea what they are up to.  In the field, it means that the parent or guardian should be part of the same unit or company.  They don’t have to be with them every second, but they shouldn’t be too far away either.  

 

Also, the parent or guardian should be ready to deal with any negative consequences caused by the minor, just as an adult should be prepared to deal with any misconduct they do themselves. 

 

Also, just be aware those under 18 cannot legally have tobacco products in the State of Missouri, so please do not offer it to them.

 

19:  No chicken formations or tank rides…

 

We will have enough military vehicles at Weldonkrieg to equip a WWII battalion, and we have at least 6 armored vehicles.  Armored vehicle tracks don’t have a nerf setting for WWII reenacting and they will smush you just as flat as they did WWII. 

 

As a general rule, do not stand anywhere near an armored vehicle unless you are talking to the crew or have eye contact with them.  They may be sitting in gear, so all it would take for them to move is releasing the clutch pedal, which takes less than a second to do.  The driver, who has the field of perspective of a couple of inches through their portal, has virtually no way of knowing who is near the vehicle.  The tank or track commander should be assisting the driver by providing an extra set of eyes, but they might not see you either.  You could be within a second of getting crushed if you stay close to a tracked vehicle.

 

One this that I see over and over again at reenactments is “The Chicken Formation.”  The Chicken Formation is when a gaggle of reenactors stand behind a running vehicle to use it as armored cover. If you read period training manuals, they discourage this because armored vehicles will draw fire, most of which will bounce off and hit something nearby, like *you.* 

 

In reenacting it is totally unsafe because of the conditions I described above.  I know at the Ottawa, KS I had a couple of my guys do this, and I had to jump on them.  It seems like a natural thing to do…big metal steel bulletproof thing…cover.  The real situation is counterintuitive because of safety issues and them drawing fire.  I have added a few pictures of reenactors doing this.  I am not trying to pick on anyone, by doing it, but just to illustrate the action I am talking about. 

 

Another issue we don’t want to see is tank rides at Weldonkrieg.  We have no issues with people inside the armored vehicle, but putting people on the outside can be very dangerous if they fall off.  Best case, they just hit the ground, which is no small fall of a few feet.  The worst case is they fall off and get reduced to the thickness of cardboard. 

 

I know some will say, but they did this in WWII, so why can’t we do it.  The US Army doctrine has the tank crew adding ropes for the riders to hold on to during their ride.  I have never seen a reenacting tank crew add any ropes, either. 

 

So…no chicken formations and no tank rides and all should go well.  Having armor is awesome at events but also it creates a certain amount of risk that we all have to deal with.  Education and good supervision should make this not an issue later this month. 

 

20.  Radios

 

1. Don’t just bring a radio and assume it will work without doing coordination for the channel.  Talk to your company commander and see what they are using, and get synched up with them.

2. Don’t use a channel that isn’t assigned to your unit.  You might be on someone else’s frequency.

3. Don’t monitor or mess with other people’s networks.  I view this as a pretty serious offense and it could lead to event expulsion.  If we are going to have a good and effective tactical, we have to talk to our units. 

4. Also, in the event of an emergency, we have to have our networks function.  Get off your radios and let us manage the crisis. 

 

Someone thinking they are Bletchely Park or the Abwehr gathering information to use against the enemy, or messing with their radio networks is not cool at Weldonkrieg.  We just won’t tolerate it.  Some people have invested a lot of money in gear so they should be able to use it.  The BC-611 replicas (FRS units inside) are around $140.  How angry is someone going to be to have some kid thinking it is cool and funny to walk on their coms?  I think the answer is very angry. 

 

Usually this kind of behavior leads to retaliation and then all of our networks are trashed.     This isn’t about winning or losing but having a great experience.  If this were real, I would have my TRQ-32 radio jamming trucks all over the German networks shutting them down, but it isn’t.  So…coordinate and cooperate regarding radio networks.

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21.  Partisans:  This is a western front event of uniformed armed forces.  While we do know there were many western front partisans fighting the Germans (hiding C-4 in French Bread etc) this is really something for Weldonkrieg.  While I do find females in partisan garb rather hot, it's just not the kind of event we do at Weldon.