MPP Games "Battle for Kursk"
By Rich "PBjunkie" Struth
November 18th, 2005
The Battle for Kursk brought German and Russian troops together
in the largest armored engagement in history. The opposing sides
had been fighting each other for years and both knew it would
come down to one decisive battle. Both armies were determined
to win this battle no matter what the cost so Russian tank production
increased while the German obsession for technological war machines
produced the Panther and Tiger tanks in hopes of regaining the
initiative.
Saturday morning marked the first offensive by the German troops
at Bear Claw Paintball. General Mike "Castro" Anderson
had ordered every German division to attack the Russian base (Kursk)
at the stroke of noon. The Red Army was caught off guard while
they were still fueling their tanks and getting their troops in
position for their initial offensive. At 12:05 PM the first sound
of paint splattering against the Russian base could be heard.
The Russian General Al Price ordered his 1st armored division
west to Moscow Hwy in order to counter the German Tank offensive
headed towards Kursk. As the Russian T-34's approached Lutovo
contact was made with enemy tanks. Tank Commander Tim "Brain"
Harrelson ordered the first salvo to be loaded as he personally
took control as the gunner of the lead tank. As the turret lined
up with the enemy tank a huge explosion rocked the surrounding
area and a second later the turret of the German tank was smoking.
The German's countered quickly by positioning troops to the east
with Panzerfausts and satchel charges. Although the Russian infantry
was able to eliminate most of the anti-tank infantry the Germans
managed to eliminate the Russian Tanks after 2 of their tanks
were destroyed.
The 1st of 3 Tank battles located on the fields of Prokhorovka
took place Saturday afternoon at 5 PM. The Russian Tank division
completely annihilated the German attack as one tiger and panther
could be seen smoldering off in the distance. Soon after, the
Russian tanks were ordered back on to the playing field to help
support the infantry in eliminating as many of the enemy as possible.
At one point the lead Russian tank drove up onto Moscow Hwy and
in the distance they could see a very tall German (Ron "Hammer"
Harrison) with a Panzerfaust hiding behind a tree preparing to
launch a rocket on them. Luckily the Russian support infantry
flanked him and were able to shoot him in the back repeatedly.
General Mike Anderson knew he was loosing the tank battle early
on so he organized and focused his German infantry into completing
on-field missions and dominating the Russian infantry throughout
the day on Saturday while General Al Price was having trouble
organizing his troops and heavy armor which put them behind by
1,500 points at the dinner break.
Just before the dinner break, Mark "Wheels" Anderson
organized the Tank Olympics, which was a contest to determine
the best tank attending the event. A bunker was placed approximately
30 yards away and each tank was timed on hitting the bunker with
their main gun by sitting in place, moving and approaching the
bunker. The winner of this event was the German Tiger owned and
operated by the Blackhearts Scenario Team. Second and third place
went to the two Paintball Charleston tanks.
Sunday morning arrived and as scheduled the 2nd Tank battle occurred
on the fields of Prokhorovka. The smoke was thick with burning
debris from the prior battle the day before which clearly showed
that the Russian tanks had superior distance and accuracy with
their main guns. This inevitably produced the same result as the
Russian tanks eliminated the German's for the second time in a
row. Taking note of this, the German tank commanders Adam "Raptor
Boy" Kirby and Daniel "Rembrandt" Paz would adjust
their strategy for the final battle of the scenario.
The final tank battle occurred at 12 PM sharp on Sunday. The
Russian tanks maneuvered in a way that equaled the same strategy
of the prior battles but they used it to trick the Germans and
turned inward going right up the center of the battlefield soon
after the first German tank was sighted. Upon sighting the Russian
tanks Adam and Daniel knew they had to get close to have any chance
to destroy the Russian tanks; they came straight up the middle
of the battlefield as fast as their massive German Tiger could
go.
The German gunners Superman and Unkus fired several salvos which
missed left and right of the lead Russian T-34. The third round
hit the enemy tank dead center and soon after the ammunition stored
in the tank was exploding throwing shrapnel all over the battlefield.
The Germans annihilated the Russian tanks in the final battle
of Kursk.
The last infantry battle happened near Trosna and there were
at least 100 infantry on each side launching a massive barouche
of paint, which literally covered the trees and grass in yellow.
The Russians lead by Iceman were able to push back the Germans
and invade Belgorod (German Base) just prior to the end of the
game but it was not enough to overcome the point deficit.
Awards:
For the Russians, General Al Price
X.O.: Kim & Richard Jesser, Glenn Prosf
Best Referee: Tyler
Most Valuable Player(s): Doug Swift, Iceman, Bill Foste
Most Valuable Team(s): Code 3, KOH, Knights
Purple Heart: Doug Swift
Sportsmanship: Ryan Prost, Doug Swift
Special Service: Kim Jesse, Slay Tee, Chris Sejuar
For the Germans, General Mike "Castro" Anderson:
X.O.: JJ "Princess" MacDonald, Bobio Mckemie
Best Referee: Gary Hampton
Most Valuable Player: Melody Gruber, Kiblie Aris, Gage Bolden
Most Valuable Team: Nitro, TN Ridge Runners & Bad Karma
Purple Heart: Michael Condit
Sportsmanship: Sewer Bates
Special Service: Mario Maresco, Ron Brown, Ron Harrison, Blackheart
Tank Crew
I would like to thank Ben and Bonnie Torricelli from Millennium
Paintball Productions, Robert and Susan Juengel, the owners of
Bear Claw Paintball and the top notch Paintball Scenario Teams
that played in this event. You were all great sportsmen and it
showed!
Thanks to our sponsors: Tippmann Sports, RealAction Paintball,
GameFace Paintball, Pro-Team Products, Jet City Specialties, Indian
Creek Design, Custom Products, NXe, Hammerhead, Hoffman Apparel,
SCOTT USA, Richochet 2K and PBjunkie.com. Cash award for best
tank courtesy of Bear Claw Paintball and Millennium Paintball
Productions.
