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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. | |
| Saturday, December 10, 2011 |
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[Civil Affairs] The 400th Training Platoon by
2Lt. Perdiew
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Last Sunday, the 4th of December, marked a very special occasion for the 29th. The historic 400th training platoon (TP) started its journey at Fort Meade - the map that has housed basic combat training (BCT) since early 2008.
The 29th's BCT programme has a long history of providing fresh recruits their first glimpse into the workings of the 29th Infantry Division and successfully equipping them with knowledge and skills that extend far beyond the scope of our unit (from engine tricks to military etiquette).
Essential information regarding realism scrimmages and rifle technique is imparted through five days of instruction under the careful guidance of the Lighthouse Corps' Assistant Drill Instructors (ADIs) and Drill Instructors (DIs) and is often regarded as most members' fondest memory.
400 BCT programmes are an impressive feat that stand testament to the unending dedication of Lighthouse Corps staff, both past and present. One hundred weeks ago, Lt. Col. Wilson thanked and proposed that we all extend our gratitude to the ADIs, DIs, enlistment liaisons, secretaries and chiefs whose work has literally shaped the 29th as it is today - a notion reiterated in celebration of the 400th TP.
Notable TPs include the 153rd, which has given us two officers (Maj. Cooke and Cpt. Wheatley) and the 287th which brought us another two officers (1Lt. Jacobsson and 2Lt. van Schuuren) in addition to platoon sergeant Sgt. Lorbek.
Do you want want to be part of an organization that exemplifies honour, respect, and professionalism? Do you want to experience one of the finest realism units and BCT programmes? Don't take my word for it, go ahead and visit http://www.29th.org/enlist and see for yourself!
Written by: T/5 Kear - Publications Journalist
Edited by: T/4 Ionita - Editor in Chief
Approved by: 2Lt. Perdiew - Chief of Civil Affairs
9 Comments
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| Friday, October 14, 2011 |
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Juno Beach - History Made Real by
T/5 Bergstrom
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Recently, I participated in some excellent drills alongside the third Squad of Charlie Company's first Platoon (CP1S3) under Sgt. Moates and his Assistant Squad Leader, PFC Frank. The location for this drill was one that, as a Canadian, is well known to me: Juno Beach. As I advanced alongside the talented members of CP1S3 I saw in the broken cobblestone and shell-holed sandy beaches a moment of history suddenly brought back to life.
Juno Beach was one of five sectors chosen by the Allies for landing as part of Operation Overlord. Two brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division were tasked to land there in two subsectors, named Mike and Nan. Though the Canadian preparations were thorough, it was at Nan that the highest Canadian casualties were suffered. Within moments of arrival, the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada bore the brunt of Canadian losses while disembarking. One of the leading landing craft reported 10 out of 11 soldiers killed or wounded within moments of lowering the ramp. Indeed, over half of the landing craft were disabled or destroyed by underwater mines while coming ashore. Covering the beachhead, unscathed by the naval bombardment, were multiple machine gun nests and an 88mm gun emplacement, all manned by men from one of the two battalions of the German 716th Infantry Division. Facing off against this formidable obstacle was B Company of the Queen’s Own Rifles, who, due to drift and heavy fire, landed 200 metres off position and directly in front of the prepared defenses.
The original plan was for the Queen’s Own Rifles to advance with Sherman Duplex Drive tank support but, due to the stormy seas, these specialized swimming tanks could not be launched and had to wait until the landing craft could reach the beach. In the meantime, a small group of men succeeded in flanking one bunker and clearing it with grenades and small arms. Soon, a jammed rudder on a landing craft meant that one platoon landed even further off course and was able to outflank and destroy the 88mm gun emplacement. B Company was soon able to move up off the beach and into the town of Bernières-sur-Mer, as the tanks and reserve forces from Le Régiment de la Chaudière landed. Since the first men hit the beach roughly twenty minutes had passed. By the end of the day, the 3rd Canadian Division had pushed farther inland than any other landing force on D-Day.
In Darkest Hour, the mappers have captured Bernières-sur-Mer down to incredible detail. The famous hotel at Bernières-sur-Mer, along with the accompanying bunkers, has been recreated with great accuracy, as can be seen in many photos from the time period. The late arrival of the Sherman DD is recreated by its appearance after the initial capture of the bunkers at the beachfront. However, Allied armor was not a deciding factor at Nan sector on Juno Beach; instead it was the presence of artillery support from the largest invasion fleet in world history standing behind the Allies in their advance that helped break the back of German defences.
Darkest Hour provides the 29th and all players with realism and historical accuracy and it is in maps like Juno Beach that we can see the hard work has paid off. To the creators of Juno Beach and to Sgt. Moates, PFC Frank, and the rest of CP1S3, thank you for sharing with me a part of my nation’s history.
Written by: PFC Bergstrom - Publication Journalist
Edited by: T/4 Ionita - Editor in Chief
Approved by: 2Lt. Perdiew - Chief of Civil Affairs
11 Comments
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| Sunday, May 1, 2011 |
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[Civil Affairs] Captain Walker by
Cpl. Kear
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Retired Captain Walker
On the 11th of April Baker Company lost one of its finest commanding officers, Cpt. Walker, who led Baker for 8 months and 22 days until he was honourably discharged after a total of four years of service.
I had the privilege of talking with the retired Captain and discussing the events and milestones that shaped his career, before and during his tenure as Baker C.O., in order to publish this informative and hopefully enlightening retrospective on "Captain Eric M. Walker".
Originally a graduate of the 144th TP as Pvt. Eric W. Michael, he would swiftly assume the familiar alias of Eric M. Walker mere days after being assigned to CP2S1. Pvt. Walker served approximately seven months before leaving the unit. The 29th was centred on Day of Defeat at this time; and "it was a much easier system for realism as the game dynamics were simpler," reflected Cpt. Walker.
After some months of public play as "Priest" he re-enlisted as part of the 193rd TP and quickly rose to the rank of PFC in CP3S3 (which would later become BP1S3) before becoming CP3S2's assistant squad leader. In the wake of Cpl. Brewster's discharge PFC Walker passed his SLT and was promoted to Corporal alongside acquiring squad leadership of CP3S2 (later BP1S2). When questioned about his leadership ethos and style: "I pretty much took charge and went on my own path to see that those who served under me got the recognition and rewards they deserved. I always believed that being in a position of leadership my men always came before me, no matter the cost."
His successes with BP1's second squad and his accomplishments as the Chief of Lighthouse Corps attracted the attention of Baker HQ and saw him commissioned as 2Lt. Walker on December 17th 2008. Looking back on his OCS scrim: "I was the first officer to scrim in Darkest Hour and earn a commission, so it was all new - we all learned a new game in that experience; what can and can't be done compared to Day of Defeat." the scrim was held on the original (beta) version of St. Clement and Cpt. Walker admitted that it "...seemed far too chaotic than needed but apparently good enough to earn me a commission".
2Lt. Walker's command of BP1 was exemplar and although "never concerned with actually working for promotions or new positions, just keeping BP1 soldiers happy and active" he found himself promoted to company XO under Captain Wheatley. Cpt. Walker described the move as a huge shift "from tactical to logistical" and that "instead of being the primary problem solver, you pass it down to the soldiers under you with ways of solving it and hope they fill in the rest as per their own duties".
As Executive Officer his prime concern was assisting Cpt. Wheatley to ensure that Baker Company continued to prosper. Cpt. Wheatley's increasingly busy schedule meant that 1Lt. Walker would find his duties doubled as he was essentially de facto company commander. This role was concreted on July 19th 2010 as Walker was promoted to Captain and assumed command of Baker Company until April 11th 2011.
A well-earned retirement!
*Salute*
Written By: Pvt. Kear - Publications Journalist
Edited by: PFC Lamb - Assistant Editor, T/5 Ionita - Editor in Chief
Approved by: Cpl. Perdiew - Chief of Civil Affairs
6 Comments
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| Saturday, January 15, 2011 |
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29th ID Infantry School by
Pvt. Heck
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In the 29th Infantry Division, we have a number of offices in charge of different fields and projects within the unit. Now, Battalion S3 Captain Wheatley and the seasoned Baker Company, Second Platoon Drill Instructor Corporal Luffy, have announced the introduction of one of the biggest offices in the unit:
29th ID Infantry School.
While Lighthouse Office is in charge of training new recruits, and therefore the first department that a newly-baked 29'er will encounter; Infantry School is responsible for training members after they graduate from Basic Combat Training.
The most important field in which a new soldier has to practice is using his rifle. Up until now, when a Squad Leader (SL) deemed the skills of one of his squad members with the rifle good enough, he would recommend him for an Arms Qualification Badge (AQB). It was then up to the Platoon Sergeant to evaluate the soldier's abilities and award the AQB. Same goes for any other category of our Advanced Infantry Training program, namely Auto Rifle, Machine Gun, and Combat Engineer.
Infantry School does not seek to change this procedure, it merely wants to establish a benchmark in order to make sure equal standards apply to all of the unit.
Whenever an SL opts for one of his soldiers to receive an AQB, he will sign him up for a course in Infantry School. Usually there will be two courses a week, e.g. Rifle and Expert Infantry Badge (EIB) program. Those classes are to be seen as a final test, after that a soldier will receive his badge. By means of the standardized procedure every member of the 29th ID, especially each of his future leaders, will be able to estimate his skills and abilities.
While the "test" that the new office holds will play an important role in the future training process, Squad Leaders and Platoon Sergeants will remain in charge of the Advanced Infantry Training process as a whole.
Even though the new office is aiming for the entire unit to become qualified with a weapon and earn their EIBs, there is still a lot of work to be done. Corporal Luffy asked me to remind everybody in the unit to check the Battalion Support Staff thread for open positions in his offices. As soon as all Training Instructors have been chosen, Infantry School can go to work. Taking the earnest approach that is standard in our unit, curricula for the courses as well as pilot projects have to be done in order to assure a smooth and synchronized first month of Infantry school.
But what does Infantry School offer to a public player, thinking about enlisting in the 29th ID? Well, to be frank, a lot.
In our unit, we have an elaborate training system, that I consider to be one of the most interesting and exciting experiences in my gaming days.
After Basic Combat Training teaches a raw recruit all the tricks and techniques gathered by a community of almost 300 players, Infantry School will go a step further. For everybody looking to improve his gameplay systematically, learning from some of the best players in all of Darkest Hour, there can be but one option:
Go hit "ENLIST" and start your enlistment process.
2 Comments
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