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Welcome to the 29th Infantry Division |
The 29th Infantry Division is a realism unit in the online World War II game, Darkest Hour: Normandy 1944. Realism is the conducting of a gaming group as close to real combat as possible.
Above, you will find our primary navigation menu with five links on it. For each of the links, a submenu is provided on the left of the page with related links.
For more information about the 29th, read our About page. | |
| Monday, August 9, 2010 |
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Dread Not by
Pvt. Reimer
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 BANG!
The training mannequin exploded into an instantaneous cloud of plastic fragments, throwing shards in all directions. Several dozen meters away the 2nd Squad of the 116th Regiment’s First Battalion’s Baker Company watched and listened to their Squad Leader as he demonstrated a trick which aided in throwing the F1 Grenade further. They were one of the three squads which made up Baker Company’s First Platoon. There were many such platoons, companies, and battalions, and the men in them came from all walks of life. Despite this, they all had something which tied them together. A bond of brotherhood. They all belonged to the 29th Infantry Division. The Fighting 29th.
"… and that’s how you blow up a Nazi. Any questions?" asked the squad’s leader, Corporal Merrill. The men shook their heads sheepishly to prove that they had understood the exercise.
"Good! Then it's off to the mess hall boys, let's get a good meal into you all," Cpl. Merrill herded his soldiers away from the range and towards the mess hall.
They had been training for months. They knew each other inside out, upside down and backwards. They had seen drill instructors come and go. They had run countless miles and done more push ups than anyone could count. And they were ready. They marched smartly in a column two abreast down the dry path towards their evening chow.
"I hate this English food, at least army cooks back in the U.S. of A. use real food." whispered Isham to whoever would listen.
"Ain’t that the truth…you know they put stuff in the food so we won't get distracted by the French dames?"
"That's ridiculous!!"
"That's English cooking."
The banter carried on until Merrill unexpectedly halted the column only half way to their destination.
"That's it! We are going to smarten up, 2nd squad! Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day and when we hit that sand I don't want any of you numbnuts building sand castles and helping the grass grow! No more chit-chat while we march. Private! Stop your rubbernecking!"
June 5th, 1944
1800hrs
Mess Hall
"Hey can I have your watch once you get shot?” teased Reimer to his Assistant Squad Leader, PFC Gaylord.
"You kidding me? If anyone's gonna get shot it's gonna be you and that big head of yours!"
Pvt. Farmer jumped into the verbal fray next, "At least it's a lot better than having a tiny head like yours PFC!" Farmer’s self-assured laughter shortly followed.
The conversation was abruptly interrupted, however, when a handful of mashed potato hit Pvt. Farmer in the neck. The table took its cue and exploded with laughter.
"All right guys, calm it down and bring it in." Cpl. Merrill gave each man a serious glance and then continued. "You all know what tomorrow is. I want every single one of you to be ready. That means tonight, take an hour before lights out and review your maps, check your equipment and clean your weapons. Sharpen your bayonets. After you've done all that, do it again. There's no room for error."
All eyes turned towards their respective boots as a very sullen mindset came over the men at the table. Tomorrow they would fight and not all would live. Tomorrow, everything they had learned in the last several months would come into play. Tomorrow, the battle to decide the fate of the modern world would take place. Tomorrow was quickly on its way.
10 Comments
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| Tuesday, July 6, 2010 |
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Charlie Company welcomes a new Officer! by
PFC Perdiew
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On the 27th day of June, the 29th Infantry Division was proud to welcome the initiation of Corporal Mills into the ranks of Commissioned Officers. It was also a day of joy especially among members of Charlie Company, as it was certainly a pleasure to see one of our most respected Squad Leaders move up the ranks.
Early on in his career, Pvt. Mills did not take long to begin climbing the latter. His skills were quickly noticed and he was promoted to Private, First Class in a little over two months. After serving as a PFC his recognized potential as a leader would eventually land him a spot in Squad Leader Training. His promotion was swift, taking only three months to pass into the rank of Corporal. The higher ups in his company would soon find that they made the right choice. Shortly after receiving his promotion, Corporal Mills was awarded the coveted Bronze Star for exemplary leadership and combat skills on the battlefield. As impressive as this was Corporal Mills soon proved that he was not done displaying his battlefield prowess, during 2nd Lieutenant Theel's Officer Candidate School (OCS) scrimmage, his combat skills earned him the Silver Star!
Corporal Mills, as a Squad Leader, commanded his men well. During drills he often pushed his men to gain not only better combat skills but better tactical skills as well. I for instance recall many a drill where I was forced to prime a grenade and throw it into a second story window at just the right time until I got it right. He maintained an open door policy with all who approached him, showing a great willingness to put his time and effort into every soldier that asked for it. Without the help of Corporal Mills, I myself would never have progressed as quickly with the Browning Automatic Rifle as I did.
Not only did Corporal Mills prove himself a reliable and skilled soldier on the battlefield but he also proved himself to be extremely devoted off of it. Since joining the 29th back in August 2007, he has gone onto hold seven different jobs. During his career he has served as a Steam Community Secretary, Enlistment Liaison, Standard Operating Procedure Planner, Faculty for the Advanced Infantry Training Corps, Assistant Drill Instructor, Drill Instructor, and finally, Chief of Signal Corps.
During his OCS scrimmage, Corporal Mills fought hard alongside the men he had gained the highest respect of. He ended up winning his OCS scrimmage with a handful of men and one tank to spare. By winning this important match, Corporal Mills earned the right to be counted among the best and brightest of the 29th Infantry Division.
Congratulations to 2nd Lieutenant Mills, our new officer of Charlie Company, 1st Platoon!
*Salute*
[right]
 [/right]
6 Comments
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| Tuesday, July 6, 2010 |
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Men on the other side - The German 352.ID by
SSgt. Ilo
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Many books have been written about D-Day. Many movies have been made. Yet rarely we see the Normandy invasion from the other side, the side of Germans. Facing the 29th Infantry Division on D-Day at Omaha beach was the German 916th Grenadier Regiment from the 352nd Infantry Division.
The 352nd Infantry Division was formed by the order of the German Army High Command. The order was issued in the Fall of 1943, due to huge losses on the eastern front. German Army High Command ordered the formation of ten new infantry divisions, made up of mixed personnel. These personnel consisted of conscripts born in 1926, German-related conscripts from Poland, Czech Bohemia, and occupied France. Ranking staff in these divisions consisted of both commissioned and non-commissioned officers from units disbanded due to losses on the Eastern front. These divisions were meant to be stationed in France and Belgium. They were supposed to be combat-ready by May 15th 1944.
The staff and supply elements were quickly set up, but the main body (Grenadier Regiments) lacked manpower and leadership all the way to the 6th of June. The training staff was pretty certain they would be sent to the Eastern front. This is why they trained their men to that goal. Huge problems came with the procurement. There was a serious shortage of ammunition, vehicles, equipment, heavy weapons, artillery gun sights, up-to-date infantry weapons, and even personnel. Only three live fire exercises were held with some Grenadiers not throwing a live grenade until the 6th of June. Drivers did not have any vehicles to train on, artillery crew could fire their guns, but couldn't fix them on a target without sights. Because of the dire food shortages in Germany, many of the conscripts were physically unfit to serve at 100 percent. They had to put 1500 Russian hilf-willige ("voluntary" collaborators) to the non-combat roles of the unit. Problems were immense. The Divisional Staff went to the extremes trying to make the Division ready, and by the 1st of March 1944, they did it. However, of the over 12,000 men of the division, 6,800 were combat troops, and they guarded a coastline 53km long.
On the March 15th 1944, the 352nd Division was ordered to take over the "Bayeux Coastal Defence Zone" also known as Calvados Coast. This information soon reached the Allied High Command but it was not passed on to lower echelons until the 3rd of June. The Germans worked hard on building up their defenses and training the men further. They managed to train the artillery crews, mine the beaches, reinforce bunkers, and build up the combat readiness of their companies. At D-Day, they really showed their worth. The 916th Grenadier Regiment faced the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions along with the 2nd and 5th Rangers on Omaha beach. Inflicted around 3,000 casualties and fought until they ran out of ammunition or were surrounded and forced to surrender. The regiment suffered huge losses on the 6th of June, as did all the other companies and detachments sent to reinforce them on the beach. In total, 1,200 Germans were wounded or killed. That was almost 20% of the total divisional combat strength. On the 7th, the division was forced to withdraw from the beach sector. It fought hard in the bogaces and most of the front-line troops did not get a meal or rest until the 10th of June. Furthermore, since the Allied planes controlled the skies, all movement was made on foot or by bicycles. Many of the units were cut down to small fragments and fought their own separate battles apart from the main body of the their division until they either made contact with it or were destroyed or forced to surrender. The 352nd Division made themselves a hard nut to crack at St. Lo, continuing to fight in the Falaise Pocket until July 30th when it was considered decimated and unfit for combat. On that day, the 352nd Infantry Division seized to exist. Remaining units and personnel were incorporated to other units in the area or sent back to Germany to be retrained, refitted, and reassigned.
The 352nd Division was rebuilt in September 1944 as a Volksgrenadier (Militia) division. It took part in the Battle of the Bulge, suffered casualties, and was then assigned to defensive duties until destroyed in combat again in March 1945. Some parts of the unit managed to escape over the Rhine and were reformed as a battle group in April. This outfit took part in small skirmishes and finally, on the 7th of May surrendered to the Allies at Darmstadt.
The Divisional emblem of the 352nd is a winged horse jumping over a fence. In a way, that is just what the unit did during the war. The 352nd, just like this winged horse, tried to leap over huge obstacles. Unfortunately all this was in vain, and just like with many other German units of the war, the 352nd has been more or less forgotten.
The war is made by politics, but fought by regular people. No matter what their flag is, we should always remember the people who died for their country and loved ones.
12 Comments
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| Monday, June 21, 2010 |
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In the Air as well! by
1Lt. Morra
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Long before Operation Overlord began on June 6th, 1944, there was a war being fought not on the ground, but in the air that would lead to it's success. The German Luftwaffe, between late 1943 and early 1944 found themselves with many planes but very little experienced pilots. Eventually this part of the equation would prove that quality over quantity prevails in most cases. When the Luftwaffe went up against the American 8th and 9th Air Force, it became all too painful that the Luftwaffe would not be able to stop the onslaught of American might through air superiority. This was a key to the Allied victory at Normandy between June and August 1944. This air superiority was based on both a qualitative superiority and a numerical superiority.
Earlier that year the German Luftwaffe had performed 3,672 missions which were known as sorties and lost 349 fighters. These sorties were flown against the American 8th Air Force whom at the time had flown approximately 18,000 sorties. Of those sorties some 8,000 or so were American heavy bombers which at this time were usually escorted by twice as many fighters. Not only were the Germans outnumbered, but were out classed as the aging German Bf 109 G and Fw 190 A were no match for the relentless Mustang. Due to the large number of American planes per sortie, they reported a loss ratio of 3.3% with most of those losses bombers and not fighters.
 By the time D-Day rolled around, the Germans had few aces left to counter the massive number of planes the allies brought to bear on them. For the most part, German aces had all to do to shake off six or so Mustangs that would chase after them when they would enter a conflict. One such ace was Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob, whom while commanding a JG 3 told tales of trying to out maneuver eight or ten Mustangs at once, all which were flown by young American pilots out to down a German plane for glory. It was that young lust for combat that the veteran pilot said was the only thing that saved him. He was able to get away only because the young inexperienced American pilots got in each others way as he twist and turned around small woods and church towers in low-level flight.
 Many on the ground during Operation Overlord owe their lives to the men of the 8th and 9th Air Force which reduced the amount of enemy planes in the air during that operation to practically none. This is just another example of how teamwork and dedication, like taught in the 29th here in Darkest Hour, leads to success.
Join the fight, join the 29th today!
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