From Newsgroup: soc.history.medieval

Fighters go head-to-head with swords and axes
Competitors from 30 countries duel it out medieval style

Two fighters battle during the International Medieval Combat
FederationrCOs world championship at Sp|+ttrup Castle in Sp|+ttrup, Denmark, on Thursday. (James Brooks / The Associated Press)

By JAMES BROOKS The Associated Press

SP|yTTRUP, Denmark rCo With swords, axes and shields, competitors from 30 countries are going head-to-head in the grounds of a Danish fortress in
a modern version of old-fashioned battle.

The International Medieval Combat FederationrCOs annual world championship roared into gear in northern Denmark this week. First staged in Spain in
2014, it features armor-clad competitors fighting with 14th-century
medieval weapons. But itrCOs also a modern combat sport with safety rules
and sporting conventions.

rCLItrCOs historically inspired,rCY combat federation spokesperson Kamila Studencka said. rCLItrCOs a mix of modern techniques with historical ones.
We have something between full combat sports and fencing.rCY

And while the swords and axes are blunted, the battles are anything but harmless reenactments. Studencka said some competitors are attracted by
rCLthe violence,rCY while others prefer the technical aspects of
face-to-face duels.

rCLSome people like the friendship and being a team member rCa to be a part
of something bigger,rCY she added.

This yearrCOs championship is being held in the shadow of Sp|+ttrup Castle,
a formidable Danish fortress that was completed around 1520.

The event has drawn fighters from 30 countries, including the United
States, Canada, China and Brazil.

Brazilian competitor Rodrigo Sinckevicius, who traveled with a team of
eight from S|uo Paulo, said he previously competed in jujitsu and other
mixed martial arts, but when he first saw this kind of medieval combat,
he rCLcouldnrCOt believe it.rCY

rCLPeople falling and grabbing and the sound of the steel cracking, itrCOs like something that you cannot fake,rCY added the 33-year-old, who works
in sales back home.

The four-day championships, which opened Thursday, see competitors
battle in one-on-one rCLduelsrCY made up of two one-minute rounds each. Opponents are eliminated after hitting the ground three times or when
they submit. If neither happens, marshals declare a winner based on
points scored.

There are also chaotic mass-team events, known as rCLBuhurt,rCY in which up
to 10 competitors on either side participate.

Martin Gill, from Milton Keynes, England, said he first got involved rCLto
hit someone in the face with an ax.rCY

rCLThis had that kind of niche appeal to it, that people were willing to consensually come up and say, rCyYou can hit me in the face with the ax,
as hard as you can,rCOrCerCY the 37-year-old geotechnical engineer said.

The IMCF says fighters wear thick, shock-absorbing padded garments
beneath the armor to distribute the force of impact, and that fights are strictly controlled by trained marshals who enforce the rules of
engagement. It says that overall injury rates are comparable to those in mainstream full-contact martial arts.

Gill said almost everything the competitors wear, including his 66-pound
suit of armor, is historically accurate. Some outfits and fighting
techniques are informed by the writings of 14th-century Italian knight
Fiore Dei Liberi and German fencing master Johannes Liechtenauer.

rCLWe follow manuscripts as best we can,rCY said Gill. rCLEverything is legitimate techniques from all of their writings throughout the 14th century.rCY

Nearly 600 fighters are taking part in this weekrCOs championship. The
sport, an unflinching blend of mixed martial arts, fencing and
historical reenactment, has been growing in popularity.

Competitor Alex King, a 37-year-old financial crime specialist from
Shoreview, Minn., said that when he first started three years ago, there
were just 10 or so members in his local team. Now there are over 50.

rCLIn America, itrCOs definitely growing, with the short videos you see now highlighting the sport,rCY King said. rCLA lot of people have become interested.rCY

The last big event in the U.S. featured over 40 teams, he added.

Men and women compete in separate events. Miisa Kaivos, a 27-year-old bartender from Helsinki, Finland, said the womenrCOs side of the sport is
also rCLdrastically growing all around the world.rCY

rCLItrCOs amazing to see,rCY said Kaivos. rCLItrCOs always nice to come to these
events and fight each other, and have that awesome girl power.rCY
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From Newsgroup: soc.history.medieval

"a425couple" wrote in message news:Tb29S.464465$khyb.400477@fx44.iad...

Fighters go head-to-head with swords and axes
Competitors from 30 countries duel it out medieval style

------------------------------
The modern version can be seen not far from here, without the expense of flying to Ukraine.
https://www.americanheritagemuseum.org/ https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-war-dark-tourism-russia-invasion/33767624.html

I'd need more practice steering a clutch and brake lever bulldozer before trying a tank.

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From Newsgroup: soc.history.medieval

"a425couple" wrote in message news:Tb29S.464465$khyb.400477@fx44.iad...

Fighters go head-to-head with swords and axes
Competitors from 30 countries duel it out medieval style

In an account by Herbert McBride who actually enjoyed WW1 he describes
trench raiding which they officially did to capture prisoners and
unofficially volunteered for to relieve the boredom. These were machine gunners but the only part of their guns they took were barrels to use as clubs. In a confined trench gunfire was too likely to hit your own men and they needed both hands free, so the fighting went medieval, clubs and blades in the dark. He carried a .45 ACP under his tunic to protect it from mud.

The Germans would set up flags as tempting trophies in front of the trench, protected by barbed wire and rifle booby traps. Apparently mainly other Germans tried to take them, he got one at the cost of a bullet-nicked
finger.

https://www.amazon.com/Rifleman-Went-War-Herbert-McBride/dp/1517731828

The completely opposite experience of a German:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_of_Steel
It was on Gutenberg but now it comes up only in German.

Appropriate to R.A.M.: https://www.amazon.com/Flying-Fury-Years-Vintage-Aviation/dp/1935149105

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From Newsgroup: soc.history.medieval

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:114ba1b$e3dk$1@dont-email.me...

"a425couple" wrote in message news:Tb29S.464465$khyb.400477@fx44.iad...

Fighters go head-to-head with swords and axes
Competitors from 30 countries duel it out medieval style

In an account by Herbert McBride who actually enjoyed WW1 he describes
trench raiding which they officially did to capture prisoners and
unofficially volunteered for to relieve the boredom. --------------------------------------- https://www.thearmorylife.com/medieval-wwi-trench-weapons/

Artillery was a greater and more frequent danger than infantry charges, so normally the front line trench was only lightly manned by observers and the majority of the force was better protected in a grid of trenches and dugouts to the rear, defense in depth. Capturing a front line trench was relatively easy, holding it almost impossible because the attackers couldn't be resupplied across no-mans-land. Thus a bulldozer inspired the tank which
could cross it.

WW1 was much more mobile in other areas such as the Middle East and Balkans. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/edmund-allenby https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45878
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51746
And of course T.E. Lawrence.

https://michaeltfassbender.com/nonfiction/the-world-wars/battles-and-campaigns/rommel-at-caporetto-1917/
"Infantry Attacks" is a great adventure story.

Rommel kept notes for a WW2 sequel but was implicated in the plot to kill Hitler and forced to commit suicide. The notes stop abruptly a few months before, when he may have begun his involvement. https://www.amazon.com/Rommel-Papers-B-H-Liddell-Hart/dp/0306801574

How the war might have continued if Rommel took over is interesting to speculate on. Otto Skorzeny the commando leader happened to be in position
to take control while Hitler recovered but pleaded for someone else to
replace him.

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