http://imageshack.us
The reenactors camp (green outlined). There is enough place for military tents, field kitchen, and even for an army latrine
http://imageshack.us
Entrance to the fort area (blue outlined)
http://imageshack.us
The entrance.
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| WorldWar2.ro Forum > Reenactment > The reconstruction of Arges River Battle |
| Posted by: Kepi April 29, 2006 07:06 pm |
| Because the fortifications are again focused on this Forum, I seize the opportunity to give some details about the project on the Arges Battle Reconstruction that will happen on the 2nd of September at 1-2 Batteries, near the Mogosoaia Fort. On the satellite image I outlined the different areas. http://imageshack.us In the red area only the reenactors access will be allowed, because it will be arranged as a stage set with trenches, barbered wire works, HMGs nests, field guns. On this terrain the two opposite forces: the Allies ( Romanians, helped by Russians and a few French ) will “fight” against the Central Powers armies (Austro-Hungarians, Germans, Bulgarians and Turks). This will be a good opportunity to present the public (staying on the stalls - yellow outlined - to be protected from the blank fire and pyrotechnical effects), some aspects of the WW1 warfare, to better understand the epoch and the circumstances under which the soldiers lived. A short commemorative ceremony for the soldiers who bravely fell for their countries will be held in the end of the show. In the afternoon the public could visit the reenactors camp – outlined green - (in which they will live two days under military field conditions), the fort ruins -outlined blue -, will see the demonstrative stands of weapons, equipment, will learn about the Bucharest forts history, etc. Reenactor groups from Hungary , Czech Republic, Austria, Great Britain, Bulgaria heave already confirmed their participation. I think about 100 reenactors (Romanians and foreign) will be present. They will come with their uniforms, equipment and edged weapons and the Military Museum will provide the fire weapons (mostly Mosin-Nagant rifles and Maxim HMGs) and the blank ammunition. The show will be seasoned with pyrotechnic effects. |
| Posted by: Kepi April 30, 2006 06:37 am |
| I attach some images of the reconstruction show area. The photos are taken outside the area because the place is usually closed in order to keep it clean and avoid garbage scattering. The Battle reconstruction area (red outlined), that will be a restricted place for the public. http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us The dogs are the place mascots. http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Kepi April 30, 2006 06:50 am |
| Some other photos: http://imageshack.us The reenactors camp (green outlined). There is enough place for military tents, field kitchen, and even for an army latrine http://imageshack.us Entrance to the fort area (blue outlined) http://imageshack.us The entrance. |
| Posted by: Cristian April 30, 2006 01:19 pm |
| What about the homeless dogs? They can attack the reenactors, and real wounded people can be sent to hospital. Remember the japanese poor fellow killed downtown Bucarest. |
| Posted by: Wings_of_wrath May 01, 2006 05:33 am |
| Well, if Kepi says those are the firing range "mascots", I'm sure they'll think of a method to control them during the actual event. I mean, even the building I live in has its devout guardian in the shape of a mottled brown stray. The people in the building give him food, and in return he acts as an early warning device as well as means of armed assault... However, if we tell him to do something like go to a certain place and stay there, he usually does like told. Another point would be the pyrotehnics. On New year's eve, the above mentioned animal was terrified out of its fur by the blatant abuse of fireworks by the people in the building, and dared not show its nose for a full three days afterwards. If that is the case, I immagine 100 rifles and a few field cannons would have roughly the same effect in relation to the dogs in the photos. Now, for a further few questions, focusing more on the actual fort than the reenactmant (before we even think of going into WW1, we must fight the War of Independence... twice, on 9 and 13-14 may.... ) I know this battery is used as an army firing range, likewise for the 15-16 Battery and 17th Fort (Domnesti). I also know, that the 14th and 15th Forts (Broscarei and Magurele) still function as military units (for the Gendarmerie) and the 3rd fort (Otopeni) is part of an Army Signal Corps unit. Also, the 3-4 Battery is sometimes used as training grounds for the BAT (SRI's Anti-Terrorism Brigade). Keeping all this in mind, what exactly is written on the yellow sign in the pictures? Is it "keep out - offenders will be shot", or more likely "keep out- offenders will be bitten"? But jokes apart, the distance from the fence to the trees in the background looks larger in the sattelite photograph than in your pictures, and I must say the whole place looks awfully cramped. Will there be enough room for the fortified lines? What will happen to the fence during the event? Will it be teken down and reinstalled afterwards? And, most crucial, will we be digging the trenches ourselves like real WW1 soldiers would have done, or will somebody else see to it? |
| Posted by: Kepi May 01, 2006 07:00 am | ||
The homeless dogs are always a problem in Romania. The dogs you have seen in the photos are the shooting range guards. When we came to take the photos, they barked us (one of the female had cubs), smell us, they begged us some food ( as they are accustomed with the officers’ families who sometimes picnic in that area) and finally accepted us. Of course, these dogs will be isolated during the September event, especially because it will be a lot of noise and many people (including foreigners) will participate. |
| Posted by: Kepi May 01, 2006 03:48 pm | ||
http://imageshack.us The yellow sign has the surprising warning “Dangerous working area” (“Zona de lucru periculoasa”) and maybe it refers to the dangerous unprotected ruins of the Fort. As I told in my previous post, sometimes people of the Otopeni military unit with their families come there for picnics and this could be a warning for those who are tempted to investigate the underground vestiges. The terrain is the Otopeni military unit property and Colonel Ceraceanu said that he recently surrounded and cleaned it from garbage and other modern constructions debris. It is not very large (about 50 x 100 meters) but it has a variety of relief (plane with an easy slope to the right, on the fort proximity) and vegetation ( a few trees, some bushes and meadow). The whole space/stage must be visible for the public. Colonel Ceraceanu intends to clean the area outside the perimeter, including the access road from the Ring and he will borrow some metallic stalls from a local stadium. They will be installed outside the fence. So the whole show area will be visible for the public. The fence will not be taken down because it’s a safety barrier between the public and the dangerous area on which the reenactors will fire blank ammo, and (small) explosive charges will be detonated as pyrotechnic effects. It is no time to dig trenches and I wonder if Colonel Ceraceanu, who already kindly accepted to cut some brushes, according the needs of the battle scenario, and to provide any assistance we need for the show, will also accept to hole his picnic/recreation area. But I’m sure that the set will be most suggestive for a WW1 battle reconstruction. Afterwards, this is only a small scale demonstration of the WW1 warfare. The program of this event is as fallows: • Friday 1st September, by 6:00 PM - arriving of the reenactors on the Fort Mogosoaia camp (Batteries 1-2); • Quartering, equipping in WW1 attire, heaving lunch; • Commemorative march in Bucharest down town, from the Royal Palace to the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, in Park Carol, where a short ceremonial will be held (8:00 to 10:00 PM); • Coming back to the Fort Mogosoaia camp, taps (by 11:00 PM); • Saturday 2nd September: reveille (6:00 AM), gym training, camp arranging; • Breakfast (7:30 AM); • From 8:30 AM, weapons delivery, military training, the rehearsal of the reenactment show; • 12:00 AM – 1:00 PM, dinner, blank ammo handover; • 1:00 – 4:00 PM – military commemorative ceremonial, drill and shooting demonstrations according the WW1 regulations ( foreign guests could make demonstrations of their armies drill), the reconstruction of the Battle of Arges River, with blank fire weapons and pyrotechnic effects, final march and praise for the fallen soldiers; • 4:00 – 7:00 PM - visit of Fort Mogosoaia and historical exhibitions organized by the Military Museum, visit of the re-enactors quarters, militaria fair, etc. • 7:00 – 10:00 PM - lunch and comradeship party; • 11:00 PM - taps; • Sunday 3rd September: reveille (6:00 AM), gym training, camp arranging; • Breakfast (7:30 AM); • About 8:30 AM the reenactors are leaving for their homes. As you see, the public access will be allowed only on Saturday 2nd of September, from 1,00 to 7,00 PM, when also the demonstrations, the battle show and the Museum stands could be seen. In the rest of the time the reenactors will live under field conditions and military discipline for two days. |
| Posted by: mihnea May 03, 2006 12:22 pm | ||
What is the exact date of the event, as you got me confused?  Is it 2nd or 9th September?? "gym training"!?? You're probably referring to physical training (PT), right? |
| Posted by: cipiamon May 03, 2006 01:58 pm |
I might be missing out something, but can WE be the soliders?  or do you need to be mamber of a reenactment society or to have the some of the equipment??? |
| Posted by: Kepi May 03, 2006 04:16 pm | ||||
You’re obviously right. It’s my mistake. The right date of Arges battle reconstruction is 2nd of September. I already corrected my post. I just copied an old program on which was written a later date for this event. I just don’t know how to translate “gimnastica de inviorare” in english. |
| Posted by: Kepi May 03, 2006 04:50 pm | ||
Unfortunately the reenactment movement in Romania is not too large. Now we can range about 13 reenactors (11 privates and NCOs + 2 officers) for the 6th Dorobantzes Regiment, 3 reenactors of the 4th Artillery Regiment (from Ploiesti), and maybe a few other enthousiasts who say that they would like to join us. The reenactors are willing to make or acquire uniforms & equipment and get (hopefully in the future) weapons. To make a kit is not easy or cheap, and usually reenactors help or lend each other items surplus or borrow from the Museum (if the Museum has available repros). For the September show I don’t think to gather more than 15-16 uniformed (and trained) reenactors. For the rest of “Romanians side” I rely again on Colonel Ceraceanu’s good will and do hope to have another 10-15 extras (real soldiers equipped with WW1 prop uniforms, borrowed from some cinema studio). It’s very important to have at least 30 Romanians to “fight” the Central Powers armies (their reenactors will come with their own uniforms and equipment). It seems that about 10-15 “Russians” (played by Czechs and British) will join us. Coming back to your question, any help is most welcomed. If the respective volunteer could also bring some equipment stuff, it’s better. On the other hand, the reenactors (real or volunteers) should involve and observe the whole reconstruction program, including to live two days in a camp on military basis. A first contact could be established during the Museum’s Open Gates of 13th-14th of May. |
| Posted by: rix May 09, 2006 06:20 pm |
| We will be there (Museum’s Open Gates of 13th-14th of May. ) |
| Posted by: cipiamon May 09, 2006 06:29 pm |
| Is there a certin hour? |
| Posted by: dragos May 09, 2006 07:20 pm |
| For Museum's "Open Gates", please report here: http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=3228 |
| Posted by: mihnea May 09, 2006 07:21 pm | ||
The action starts at 10:00 and ends at 14:00 but the museum closes at 17:00. EDITED: I haven't seen what dragos written when I posted. Sorry |
| Posted by: cipiamon May 11, 2006 11:17 pm |
| Reenactment video secvence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZFRp3nWlh8&search=ww1 I hope our reenactemt will be far better then this "joke".... |
| Posted by: mihnea May 12, 2006 09:47 am |
 There are many bad examples; and many farbs in the world, especially in USA.But that is a good example of what not to do. |
| Posted by: RHaught June 27, 2006 03:28 pm |
| Well beside WWII, I also do a WWI AEF impression with the Great War Association. Here is the link to it, check out the pics. We have to build and keep up our own section of the trenches plus build bunkers, lay wire, etc. http://www.great-war-assoc.org/ |
| Posted by: Cristian July 18, 2006 03:17 pm |
| Some snapshots taken by Mihnea during one of reenactors meetings.Notice the young "hybrid will-be reenactor"! http://img20.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=21563_Vlad_la_fortul_Mogosoaia_496lo.jpg http://img43.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=21573_Reg_4_artilerie_Ploiesti_386lo.jpg |
| Posted by: Dan Po July 30, 2006 09:43 am |
Unfortunatelly, at 2 september I have to be at a wedding  No way to come. But pls consider me for the next event  |
| Posted by: New Connaught Ranger August 21, 2006 07:00 pm | ||
Hallo cipiamon Looks like the guys in the video trailer were trying their best at their re-enactment, all groups have to start somewhere, hopefully, you or another member of the Forum will be filming "The reconstruction of Arges River Battle" so members of the Forum can post some constructive critisicm. Anyway good Luck with your efforts. Kevin in Deva |
| Posted by: Claudiu1988 August 22, 2006 10:00 am |
| I am interested in the weapons. Where did you get them and how much did htey cost? Who is in the phots because I am interested in knowing them because I think I will be there on the 2nd of semptember. |
| Posted by: mihnea August 22, 2006 12:03 pm |
| All the Mosins are from MMN, the rest are owned by those that appear in the second picture, in foreground. |
| Posted by: Von Maybach August 24, 2006 04:47 pm |
| Can someone provide more detailed informations regarding the location of the place ( the fort ) ? - a map and so on. And, also important - how can you get ther ( besides a car , I do not have one :| ) - is there a bus line or something ? Thanks. |
| Posted by: Kepi August 24, 2006 07:53 pm |
| Please find here enclosed some details concerning the commemoration and Arges River battle reconstruction. The Military Museum staff and reenactors are working hard to prepare this show. Colonel Ceraceanu’s men started to clean the terrain and the fort area and raise the camp. We checked the weapons (almost 60 rifles, 5 pistols, 3 HMGs, 3 “Puteaux” 75 mm field guns, dozens of fire crackers, etc.), acquired the blank ammo (6,000 7.62 x 54 cartridges, 100 9 mm “Parabellum”) and 600 .22 cartridges for Geco rifles (it will be possible to fire in the shooting range), etc. I think they will make a lot of noise. Unfortunately, because of the Francophony Summit the mayoralty cancelled any street march starting from the 1st of September. This surprising decision also affected our intention to organize a commemorative march through the streets of Bucharest, from the Royal Palace square to the Grave of the Unknown Soldier in Park Carol. So, on Friday evening only a small commemoration ceremony will be held in Park Carol, in front of the Grave of Unknown Soldier. On Saturday, 2nd of September, at 11.00 AM, will start the demonstration and reconstruction show. For security reasons, the audience will see the show from outside the barbed wire wall, on the elevated stalls. After this show, at about 01.00 PM, the public will enter in the fort area and visit the small exhibitions set up by the Museum, Colonel Ceraceanu’s men will install a real telegraphic line, will visit the Fort, the reenactors camp, will fire in the shooting range, will eat the traditional military meal {pork and beans) and will drink beer and refreshments. The access is free. Interested people could come with the personal car, the public transport: Maxi-taxi “Chibrit-Buftea” from “Chibrit” square, RATB bus 304 from LAROMET (stop “CFR Centura”). From the National Military Museum 4 army buses will leave at 10.00 AM towards Fort Mogosoaia. http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Kepi August 29, 2006 12:24 pm |
| http://imageshack.us This is the poster of the show. We hope to have nice weather on the 2nd of September, with no rains or some hot temperature. |
| Posted by: Wings_of_wrath August 29, 2006 06:34 pm |
| Well, here are some pictures from the meeting on Saturday morning. As you can see, this was not supposed to be a "full dress rehearsal" (unlike the ones this week, that will include ammunition and extras, as well) so the uniforms are quite fragmentary and mismatched: http://imageshack.us The grass was still wet from the night rain, so after the troops were assembled and accounted for, we set out to do a little "off road" marching: http://imageshack.us Having meandered around the field for a bit, we came back to the starting positions to engage into a few exercises of shooting and grenade throwing, as well as the always popular Bayonet Fencing Drill, from which the following shots are extracted: http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Dénes August 30, 2006 03:06 am |
| A short note about the event published in the 'Adevarul' daily: http://www.adevarulonline.ro/2006-08-30/Actualitate/batalia-de-pe-arges-reconstituita-dupa-90-de-ani_196545.html Gen. Dénes |
| Posted by: Victor September 01, 2006 06:07 am |
| The four Army buses that leave from the museum at 10 AM are open for everybody or just officials? |
| Posted by: cipiamon September 01, 2006 12:30 pm |
| If they wanna do this right, they should inform the public what happened then, the exact situation, and secondly put those ww1 mustaces on some soliders |
| Posted by: Cata92 September 02, 2006 10:40 am |
| The Show turned out pretty good, here are some photos. http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Cantacuzino September 02, 2006 12:05 pm | ||
And more action pictures http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG] http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: refaim September 02, 2006 12:57 pm |
very nice photos indeed, i was on the event too and after that i got to play with a mosin-nagant weapon and with one of the machine guns.....  |
| Posted by: romrail September 02, 2006 03:44 pm |
I was also there. I couldn't take photos of the actual fight (my camera battery decided to get dead just when the show started)  .I was surprised of how well organized was the event taking in account that is the first major reenactement held in Bucharest. What I can't undestand is the oppinion of some journalists (just looked at 6 o'clock news on a TV that I don't want to name). They totally ignored the sacrifice of those that fought in the Arges Battle, they completlly ignored the efforts that where involved in today's reenactement. Instead they preffered to emphasize the fact that "we made a mock of ourselves" by recreating a lost battle. They even tried to say that we'll get our revenge in tonight's football match. This way of describing the actuall facs that happened today in Mogosoaia's fort makes me sick. I was expecting a totally opposite reaction, especially from the media. If they made such bad comments about the event, why they bothered so much to take so many shots and why they didn't retreat away from the fence (those that where there know what I'm talking about) and leave the field open for those who came there because we felt proud of the event and tried to take shots by squeezing the cameras trough the fence or by just trying to aviod them in order to be able to take our pictures. |
| Posted by: Victor September 02, 2006 04:23 pm |
Yes, the journalists were a big problem. They blocked the view for those who were really interested in the event, failed to respect the moment of silence held for the soldiers killed during the war and even got involved in the reenactment (see photo below, where a Antena 1 reporter decided to take an interview to a Bulgarian soldier in the middle of the action). What was even worse is that the reporters didn't even bother to listen carefully to explanationms given before teh event and Prima TV announced that the Romanians battled the Bulgarians and the ... French. More photos tomorow. |
| Posted by: romrail September 02, 2006 04:42 pm |
And some pictures from the event: The reenactors start to gather at the battle site.  Machine guns are loaded with ammo.  The romanian defenders.  The bulgarian attackers.  Grenade launch training.  Bayonet fight training.  The bulgarians are also using bayonets.  The battlefield covered in poisoning gas.  And the gas masks. |
| Posted by: romrail September 02, 2006 05:03 pm | ||
Looks like someone missed history classes. The French where our allies. |
| Posted by: refaim September 02, 2006 05:45 pm |
| yes, yes, the reporters were a real pain in the ....... at one point as the people were listening to what it was said there, one of the reporters started screaming at another reporter something like (da-te ba mai incolo)....I have one question....who invited the reporters to this event? |
| Posted by: ANDI September 02, 2006 10:34 pm |
| Yeah...same old problems with the Media...Are you surprised? Let us get down to the subject. The action was good considering is the first of this scale in Romania. I hope there will be more events like this in the future... I was there allright and indeed there were some figures that did not belong to that place, Media, some spectators....but besides them were veterans, real enthusiasts, people who really appreciated that effort. Congratulations to the romanian men and women who participated and to those who had supported them. Congratulations to the bulgarians. I think (using other forums example) that we should start meetings (once a month, for eg.) to have a cold or hot drink and discuss various topics. |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 03, 2006 06:16 am |
| The event was great, congrats to all involved in this wonderfull reconstruction of Arges River Battle ! Unfortunatelly the media is needed at such events, I agree they are a pain in the back but next time maybe the organizers can tune them down and impose certain rules for the media. Pics will soon follow - hopefully today. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:12 am |
The last preparations: the Romanians troops |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:13 am |
The last preparations: the German troops. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:14 am |
The last preparations: the German artillery. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:15 am |
The last preparations: the Romanian defense line. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:17 am |
It started. The 6th Dorobanti Regiment Mihai Viteazul marches by. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:19 am |
... followed by the Bulgarian 18th Infantry Regiment. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:20 am |
The guy with Adrian helmet is a French reenactor. Notice the equipment. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:21 am |
Our friends the journalists and their priviledged postions.  Note: the photo was taken from behind the barbed wire fence. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:23 am |
Cristian and his MG team. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:24 am |
 |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:25 am |
The 6th Regiment after completing the field training demonstration. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:27 am |
Another view of the journalists and the common enthusiast (which I won't name ) |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:28 am |
The troops assumed their positions. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:29 am |
The fighting broke out |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:30 am |
 |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:31 am |
The Romanian atillery fires |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:32 am |
The Romanians come out to engage the enemy on two different directions. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:33 am |
 |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:34 am |
The Central Powers counterattack. Here, a detail of the Bulgarians. |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:35 am |
 |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:36 am |
The battlefield... |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:37 am |
The veterans |
| Posted by: Victor September 03, 2006 08:38 am |
The entrance in the Mogosoaia Fort. |
| Posted by: dragos September 03, 2006 08:01 pm |
| My pictures: http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m175/dpusca/Mogosoaia/ |
| Posted by: Klemen September 03, 2006 09:43 pm |
Great photos, thanks! But I failed to notice any Austrian or Hungarian reenactors. Were there none there to re-present the k.u.k. Austro-Hungarian Army???  p.s. As for the annoying journalists: Perhaps we should start doing with them what coalition and insurgent troops are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. This would teach them a lesson or two. |
| Posted by: Cristian September 04, 2006 05:43 am |
| Press comments http://www.cotidianul.ro/index.php?id=6803&art=17181&cHash=6e4c363315 http://www.adevarulonline.ro/2006-09-04/Actualitate/sute-de-oameni-la-batalia-bucurestilor_197061.html http://www.romanialibera.ro/editie/index.php?url=articol&tabel=z04092006&idx=18 |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 04, 2006 09:00 am |
| I am sorry to say this but those from Cotidianul are real idiots... Too bad such 10th hand reporters are allowed to write articles - especially about important historical events. |
| Posted by: Claudiu1988 September 04, 2006 10:09 am |
| You are right only stipid people can write such things. |
| Posted by: ANDI September 04, 2006 10:15 am | ||
No,apparently there were no austrian or hungarian reenactors. Apart from the bulgarian reenactment group there was only a french reenactor with proper equipment (a pitoresque figure anyway). |
| Posted by: mihnea September 04, 2006 12:01 pm |
| Here are some of the pictures I took Friday: Going to buy a snack... http://imageshack.us Looking for some good quality products. http://imageshack.us Waiting in line http://imageshack.us Trying to pay with a credit card http://imageshack.us Going to the camp with all the goods. http://imageshack.us After eating, a short nap is always welcomed... http://imageshack.us Here is the article from gandul, not only that it presents the Romanians as inferior because they lost the fight, they also don't know math. http://img125.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitledaw0.jpg Has any body seen the commemoration in Park Carol, Friday evening? |
| Posted by: Cristian September 04, 2006 04:41 pm |
| Despite the malicious press comments, one thing remains :FRIENDSHIP http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Cristian September 04, 2006 04:46 pm |
| See pictures from the event, posted by our bulgarian friends http://snimka.bg/album.php?album_id=60094 http://www.traditsia.com/forum/showthread.php?p=14043#post14043 |
| Posted by: Cristian September 05, 2006 04:12 pm |
| The event in the bulgarian press. Maybe Sturmpionier can translate http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Sturmpionier September 05, 2006 05:25 pm |
| Sure Club "Traditzia" displayed fighting spirit in Romania The members of club "Traditzia" from Veliko Turnovo won the ovations during the reconstruction of the capturing of Bucharest. The historical battle was played on a big ground in the Romanian capital (actualy ot of Bucharest - my edit). They were invited from the Romanian military ministery. The people form Veliko Turnovo (actualy not only form Veliko Turnovo- my edit) represented 18th infantry regiment. The members weared orginal (actualy replicas - my edit) uniforms which they have restorated and also carried exact replica of the regimental flag. The reconstruction was in memoriam of 90 years of the capturing of Bucharest. In the so mentioned battle the bulgarians are part of the Romanian enemies Germany, Austro-Hungary and Turkey. They together fought against France, Romania, Russia, Serbia and England (It seems that the stupid journalists are not only in Romania ) "We were exceptionally well welcomeed ", said Vurban Tenev- the president of the Veliko Turnovo branch of club "Traditzia" . " The Romanians demonstrated great respect and freinship to us as we were representatives of the Bulgarian military ministery." The reenacting show was 3 hours. The Bulgarian army fought with the Romanians and after two assaults entered in Bucharest. More than 5 000 people watched the show. "They applauded us a lot and they were delighted by our skils and spirit. After the reconsturction many of them came to congratulate us. We heard comments as "Now we know why the Bulgarian army captured Bucharest during the war. " " In the center of Bucharest was a special ceremony in front of the monument of the unkniwn soldier. "I was very sad that on one Bulgarian journalist or a deputy of our embassy in Romania came to us" said Vurban Tenev. Specially for the bulgarian reenactors was open in the rest day the Romanian Military historical museum. Club "Traditzia" is invited to participate in the reconstruction of the delivering of the Samara flag in Ploesti, in May, next year. |
| Posted by: Kepi September 05, 2006 05:39 pm |
| Well, the Event of Fort Mogosoaia is over. This extremely difficult project tormented us a lot during the last weeks. It was not easy at all to gather so many persons, to select and check rifles and HMGs that didn’t fired from decades (it was a whole story to find the right Maxim HMG ammo belts), to provide the blank ammo and prepare the pyrotechnical effects, to train the “german” and romanian troops (extras) according the german and romanian WW1 drill regulations, etc. etc. We had no idea about how long this show should be and if we will have any public. According our registered “tickets” it seems that more than 2,000 people have participate at this event. Unfortunately because of the burden schedule there was no time to make a general rehearsal of the show (with the Bulgarian squad, the extras and the commentary/music background). The special effects technician just finished to set the explosives and had no time to train the guns crews. The HMGs simply refused to fire on automatic mode even if we used the original ammo belts. Cristian could tell you more about this aspect. It seems that the public liked this demonstration despite the deficiencies. The mass media was more reluctant and emphasized especially the bulgarian-romanian “conflict” as a prelude of that night football contest. Many critics came from the patriotic defenders who consider a bad idea to reconstruct a “lost battle”. They don’t understand that our intention was to commemorate the fallen soldiers and not to celebrate a WW1 victory or defeat. I have to note the Bulgarian squad participation. They belong to the “Traditsia” association branch of Veliko-Tarnovo, and keep the traditions of the 18th Infantry Regiment “Czar Ferdinand” which bravely fought in the Balkan wars and WW1. They were well trained and had the experience of several similar shows (mainly with the Independence War subject) organized every year in Bulgaria. Their national association had more than 300 members, with branches in almost al Bulgarian towns. Our group has only 15 registered members and is two years old. A solitary French reenactor and collector, the famous Titus, well known from the Militaria Magazine issues in which he portrayed WW1 soldiers from two decades, has seen our notice in the July issue of Militaria Magazine and decided to participate dressed in a splendid M.1915 Poilu original uniform. He said that the event was a success – as this kind of combat demonstrations are difficult to organize in the West because of the high costs. He very much appreciated the enthusiasm and the friendship of the participants. Unfortunately, other foreign groups cancelled their participation only a few weeks before the event, mainly because of the distance (it’s not easy to travel in a big country with no motorways). We also lost the opportunity to ask the support of the Director of the Hungarian military museum of Budapest, who visited the National Military Museum and is very familiar with the reenactment movement, to help the Hungarian reenactor groups with some mean of transport. So, we didn’t have any austro-hungarians in our “battle”. We also must to mention Colonel Ion Ceraceanu’s enormous support for this project. Without his enthusiasm, we would be not able to cover the huge expenses asked by the logistic facilities (full equipped military tents and field kitchen, location, manpower, etc.). Unfortunately for us, he was recently promoted as chief of the signal troops in the romanian army. Even if he is now also the chief of the 48th Signals Center, he is not the direct commander anymore, so he will not be directly involved in any possible future events. I don’t know if this experience will be continued in the next years, but I think that as long as we would not have a strong reenacting movement, with hundreds of enthusiastic participants who might explain to the ignorant people what are the main reasons of these events: the praise for the past time fighters, the commemoration of the tragic moments of the history, the reconstruction of soldiers’ every day life and the respect for antique sites and Militaria items as an attempt to save them from the loss and forgetfulness, it will be very difficult to further develop such projects. |
| Posted by: Kepi September 05, 2006 06:00 pm |
| Some aspects from Friday 1st of September commemoration, in Park Carol, at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier. http://imageshack.us Before the commemoration… http://imageshack.us The 30th Guard Regiment platoon ready for the drill demonstration. http://imageshack.us The 30th Guard Regiment torch carriers. http://imageshack.us The drill demonstration. http://imageshack.us The commemorative march. http://imageshack.us Saluting the Unknown Soldier. http://imageshack.us Carrying the honour wreaths. http://imageshack.us The Grave of the Unknown Soldier. |
| Posted by: SiG September 05, 2006 07:30 pm |
| Hello! I was allso at the reenactment and I am, like most other forumists, very desapointed in the way the media coverage of the event. However, I was able to find one article whice is IMO better written (and does not pan the Romanians for loosing the battle). Enjoy: http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_60993/romania_a_intrat_in_razboi___.html As for the actual event, I can't say very much because it's the first such event I see and I didn't know what to expect. To Kepi I can say that the number of spectators vas definitely greater than his estimate. I for example arrived a bit late and didn't get any "ticket" and I think there are other people in my situation. I think that if such an event is organized again, more people ill come, because now those who attended it for the first time will know what to expect and they will bring along some of their friends. After reading your comments, I realized the difficulty of organizing this event. But some of the "goofs" (like the machine gun jamming) actually added tho the realism of the battle. The only really hilarious moment I can remember is when one shot of the cannon would cause two explosions. Everybody around me laughed at that. (But I figured out it must have been the "off map" artillery .I allso think it was a nice touch of realism that the Central Powers soldiers/reenactors were more experienced than the Romanians (which is historically accurate for 1916). In the end, I wish to congratulate everyone involved, and I'm looking forward to the next event. |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 05, 2006 08:22 pm |
| Kepi, first I want to congratulate you again - you did a splendid work in organizing all this ! In fact me and other forum member are considering of joining this reenactment thing as mountain troops About the MG not firing - at the event were present 2 friends from Finland who came to visit Romania, one of them told me they still have in the army depos lots of Maxims but cannot use them in staged battles due to the fact that blanks have less recoil then real bullets thus the gun gets jammed, maybe this helps. PS: I still don't have the pics from the event, when I get them I will post here. |
| Posted by: dragos September 06, 2006 04:25 pm |
| Several video clips from the action here: http://82.208.178.234/Mogosoaia/vid/ |
| Posted by: mihnea September 06, 2006 05:48 pm | ||
The Maxim 1910 used in the reenactment had a strange behavior so I'm trayng to explain it to everybody and I hope to combat some of the critics. I was present at all of the trials on thursday, friday and saturday morning so I know what I’m talking about. Firstly both MGs were fitted with blank firing adaptors but from what I heard they weren't made to specifications (the hole that allows the escape of gasses was too big therefore the pressure in the barrel was not able to completely reload and rearm the weapon). Secondly the original Maxim ammo belts are made from cloth that becomes hard after many years, thus making the reloading procedure very hard, the loading of the ammo belt was complicated by the fact that the blank ammo is shorter and blunter than the normal ammo. Finally many of the blank cartridges didn't react at the first percussion (they were duds) for example when we tested the rifles one rifle had 4 misfires out of 5 however all of the worked at the second percussion. In my opinion the temperamental action of the MGs was caused by the blank adaptors this would be the only explication to there odd firing rate sometimes jamming after one round other times after 10 rounds. A good example of the temperament can be seen in short video clips posted by dragos above. |
| Posted by: mihnea September 06, 2006 07:18 pm |
| One brave soldier... http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us The photos are from here: http://www.diginews.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=363&st=40 and here http://foto-quest.blogspot.com/2006/09/instructia.html |
| Posted by: Kepi September 07, 2006 05:13 am |
| A fair presentation of the event in “Observatorul Militar” – “Reconstituiri”: http://www.presamil.ro/OM.htm |
| Posted by: Kepi September 07, 2006 12:20 pm |
| For this event Colonel Ceraceanu asked Castel film studios to make a dummy gun over one of the fort side turrets. http://imageshack.us As you see in the photo, the turret and gun has nothing to do with the end of 19th century artillery cupolas. The props maker was probably influenced by some WW2 classical movies of the 1960s or 1970s, such as “The guns of Navarone”. http://imageshack.us The gun “fires” on the wrong opposite direction. |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 07, 2006 01:31 pm | ||
I had a hard time trying to immagine the shape of the defences because of that. |
| Posted by: Wings_of_wrath September 10, 2006 10:04 am |
Well, the turret would have looked something like this: This is a drawing of the Grusson turrets test-fired at the military polygon at Cotroceni in 1885, but the actual ones fitted to the fort would have had inner workings more closely mirroring the Mougin turret, although the distinctive "turtle shaped" cuppola and the lowering mechanism remained. Mougin turret, also test-fired at Cotroceni: (both pictures come from http://www.lignemaginot.com/ligne/armes/tourelle/f1885.htm)  Of course to make an even better visual image, here's a picture of a similar cuppola used in the "Kaiser Wilhelm II Feste" built in Alsace in 1893, from their official site http://www.mutzig.net/ http://imageshack.us edit: typos |
| Posted by: SiG September 10, 2006 09:44 pm | ||
He he! I see you caught me in the picture too! I'm the one with the orange T-shirt. |
| Posted by: romrail September 11, 2006 07:45 pm | ||||
He caught me too in the picture. I'm the "ugly guy" standing near the gun barrel and having a cola bottle in one hand and the digital camera (which just went dead) in his other hand. |
| Posted by: gunman September 19, 2006 07:20 pm |
| It's made in the wrong position because it's for the spectators. It's used just to look more realistic |
| Posted by: Klemen September 21, 2006 09:48 pm |
| There was a similar reenactement event taking place in Komaron on 15th and 16th September 2006, which included also some our reenactement groups (IR 87 and a Sturmpatrouille from GbSchRgt. Nr 2). As you can see "our boyz" had the Hungarian huszars on the run. I am sure this will "please" many Romanian visitors on this forum URL: http://prohereditate.com/gallery2/v/GSR2/Komarom+15_-16_9_2006/ |
| Posted by: mihnea September 21, 2006 10:12 pm |
| Hmm I thought that there was going to be no battle this year at Komarom otherwise, I think, instead of the Hungarian hussars there would have been Romanian troops... |
| Posted by: Kepi September 22, 2006 06:20 am |
| The “6th Dorobantzes” group was also invited at this show. Unfortunately, because of lack of financial resources until a few weeks before the final date the organizers were not sure if the show will be organized or not. Because of our full involvement in the Arges River battle reconstruction, and the unavailability of the greatest part of our members for the last week-end, we finally decided to cancel our participation at Komarom. It’s a pity because we would like very much to participate as we have very nice memories about Komarom 2004. We hope next year it will be a better cooperation between the hungarian and romanian reenactment groups, with the help of the military museums of Budapest and Bucharest that coordinate these events. |
| Posted by: Klemen September 22, 2006 08:59 pm | ||||||
Don't you worry, Mihnea. Our boyz would most likely kick your boyz as well, so this year you have spared yourself the embarassment and let the Hungarian huszars to go through this phase. He He He!
What I am sometimes bothered at these reenactment shows is the lack of real authentic scenery. I mean in most cases they demonstrate the usage of weapons, horses or attack charges - that's fine. But I (as well as many others I presume) would really like to eyewitness one day for example a reenactment of a trench warfare - a demonstration of a common attack from a World War trench on a fortified enemy position. I came to a conclusion that many people, especially young ones, have not a faintest idea how it was being squezzed in a small, narrow-size, water-fulled attack trench, where you lived like a rat. Just a suggestion.
I have a good friend who works in the Hungarian Military Museum in Budapest and I have once asked him about the relations with the Romanian Military Archives and Museum (exchange of personnel, records, archive documentation etc.) and from what I sensed from his reply he has said like it could be much better. Glad to hear that some things are finally moving in the right direction, though. Speaking of which Kepi did you receive my PM from a couple of weeks ago?  |
| Posted by: mihnea September 22, 2006 09:43 pm | ||
He He! in 2004 K.u.K. IR 87 fought on the Romanian side manning two MGs (probably as deserters  ) also they had an important role in some unplanned events... So they have just cleared there record at Komarom. EDITED I know this is way off topic; so I propose that the last few messages should be moved to a different topic. |
| Posted by: Cristian September 23, 2006 05:09 pm | ||
Where is located this museum in Bucharest? |
| Posted by: Klemen September 23, 2006 08:16 pm | ||||
He He He! I apologise. I meant BUDAPEST. I was probably reading Kepi's post and the word Bucharest sub-consciously stayed in my mind.
K.u.k. IR 87 has never deserted!! Unless of course if you have "persuaded" them to join you with some bottles of excellent Romanian wines. Then they reconsider to swtch side. |
| Posted by: Cristian September 24, 2006 09:18 am |
| http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 24, 2006 09:46 am |
I got the pics I made at the event now I'm editing them and when I finish I will upload. Untill then here are someof my favorites:  and a brave soldier:  |
| Posted by: Cristian September 24, 2006 10:19 am |
| http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: sid guttridge September 25, 2006 07:50 am |
| Hi Guys, I have never been a re-enactor, but I have observed several re-eanactments in the UK. Given how recently the passtime has been founded in Romania, and how scarce publicly available resources are, yours seems to have been of a good standard and the interest on this thread in your post-match analysis bodes well for the future. Congratulations. Cheers, Sid. |
| Posted by: Cristian September 25, 2006 06:13 pm |
| http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Cristian September 26, 2006 09:39 am |
| Waiting for the battle! http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Jeff_S September 26, 2006 08:19 pm | ||
It may not be the blank adaptor, but the blank round itself. If your blanks are like US military blanks, the powder charge is significantly smaller than in a live round. Fire an M-16 on automatic with blanks, and you're lucky if you get two rounds off before it jams. It was exactly the same problem you described... the bolt does not go back far enough to reliably move the next round up into the chamber. The blank adaptor keeps people down range safe, but it also keeps all the carbon in the weapon, rather than letting it be blown out. We always had problems getting troops to actually shoot their blanks, rather than just finding a convenient tree and emptying their clip by hand. 5 minutes of fun playing Rambo just wasn't worth 2 hours cleaning weapons. Sound like a great event! I've been a reenactor (English Civil War) here in the USA, and I know it takes a lot of work. My compliments to all who made it happen. |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 27, 2006 05:36 pm |
Here's are some more I like     http://www.d13-th.com/photos/?mode=2&offset=&limit=12&dir=Events/2-sept-2006_reenactment&name=2-sept-2006_reenactment (there is a total of 152 photos) |
| Posted by: mihnea September 27, 2006 10:25 pm | ||||
Some of the pics are extraordinary...
The blank adaptor is there (in this case) to create a bigger pressure in the barrel and compensate the smaller power of the blank. The blank adaptor is a small device that is screwed at the end of the barrel reducing the diameter of the barrel, but the gasses are exiting the barrel going straight ahead, not deflected to the sides. PS The blanks were pretty powerful, they hade a sensible recoil compared to the Geco (.22) rifles that had no sensible recoil with live rounds. |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu September 28, 2006 11:19 am |
http://www.d13-th.com/photos/?mode=2&offset=&limit=12&dir=Events/2-sept-2006_reenactment&name=2-sept-2006_reenactment    |
| Posted by: gunman September 28, 2006 03:23 pm |
| Here's me http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Cristian October 11, 2006 12:15 pm |
| Our bulgarian reenactor friends just participate to an other event. See pictures here http://snimka.bg/album.php?album_id=67040 |
| Posted by: Kepi October 23, 2006 04:26 pm |
| Our common reconstruction event of Fort Mogosoaia (1st-2nd September 2006) was also presented in the November issue of the famous French “Militaria - Magazine”. http://imageshack.us http://imageshack.us This is a good advertising for our futures shows. |
| Posted by: Wings_of_wrath October 23, 2006 11:55 pm |
| Well, well... That certainly is some good news, and we can only hope it gets more reenactors from Western Europe to come to our shows. We should restage the Mogosoaia event this year also, maybe changing places this time... |
| Posted by: dragos October 24, 2006 07:36 am | ||
I see they used one of my photos http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m175/dpusca/Mogosoaia/?action=view¤t=IMG_0250.jpg&refPage=40&imgAnch=imgAnch41 |
| Posted by: Kepi October 24, 2006 08:32 am |
| Right! It’s my fault! I have copied all the photos I found on this subject in order to make an archive. I succeeded to amass almost 1000 photos of the event, from different sources, and I put them, in chronological order on a (in fact two) CD. It’s very interesting to see the same sequence from different angles, shot by different photographers. When I selected the 5-6 photos for this short article, I took them from the whole archive and I forgot to mention the initial authors. I ask you apologize for this omission. |
| Posted by: dragos October 24, 2006 08:54 am | ||
No problem. I was just surprised. |
| Posted by: SiG October 24, 2006 06:26 pm | ||
One of the newspaper articles posted in this thread mentioned the plan for a ww2 reenactment in Hungary on 25 October. Does anybody know more about this?
from: http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_60993/romania_a_intrat_in_razboi___.html |
| Posted by: Kepi October 26, 2006 05:40 am |
| No way. This is one of the typical journalists’ innovations. Probably the author of the article learned that on 25th of October was planned an exhibition at the Military Historical Museum of Budapest. From almost 10 years there is an agreement between the military museums of Bucharest and Budapest, to “exchange” temporary exhibitions. These are usually inaugurated about 15th of May (the Hungarian armed forces’ day) in Bucharest and about 25th of October in Budapest. This year the MMN exhibition was about the everyday life of the Romanian soldier in WW1. See the poster: http://imageshack.us Unfortunately there were no plans for any “battle” show in Budapest. I think the people of Budapest saw enough street fights (including with a WW2 T-34 soviet tank) during the last days. http://imageshack.us http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1771780.htm |
| Posted by: Cristian October 27, 2006 07:24 pm |
| http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000539lh4.jpg |
| Posted by: Cristian October 27, 2006 07:30 pm |
| http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Cristian October 27, 2006 07:50 pm |
| http://imageshack.us |
| Posted by: Dénes October 28, 2006 07:28 am | ||
There is a funny story related to this picture. A couple of protesters stole a WW 2-era tank, from an outdoor exhibition, put it in motion and drove it towards the wall of riot police. As you may imagine, they got really scared. Obviously, this must have been a premeditated act, as you cannot simply start a 60+ year old tank and drive it. They say that the driver, an old man in his late 60s, was a revolutionary from 1956, who actually drove tanks in the revolution. I found this quite a brazen (and unique) fact Gen. Dénes |
| Posted by: Cristian October 28, 2006 10:24 am |
Our reenacting plans included , for the future, to search, buy and restore such old vehicles and use them for reenacting purposes. What answer we can hear, now, from the authorities for such idea?  |
| Posted by: boonicootza October 28, 2006 11:02 am |
| Here is a video with the tank in Budapest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zndUB0zOdU |
| Posted by: Messerschmitt August 06, 2007 10:08 am | ||
Where can one buy this magazine? |
