Invasion!

Hey Folks,

Greetings again from Watertown.  The town's motto is, "There's always something happening in Watertown" and it's absolutely true.  This weekend the town was invaded by Axis and Allied troops for the 12th annual World War II re-enactment.  Two battles (at 1200 hrs and 1430 hrs) were fought on the town square.  Spoiler alert- the Allies won both of them. 

It really is amazing what this little town pulls off on a regular basis.  The best thing though is that it doesn't get so commercial that it loses it's character or credibility.  All of these events are free to the public.  This one in particular was only attended by 50 or so locals.  The ladies and troops dressed in period clothing for the re-enactment actually outnumbered the spectators.  The event was put on not for profit but just for the enjoyment of the participants and education of the spectators.  Not one vendor was in sight and in the end Main Street was rolled back up until next time. 

The participants actually arrived the night before and camped next to the railroad pavilion.  Each side, Americans and Germans, set up period accurate camps and braved a low of 17 degrees.  Yeah, these are die-hard re-creators.  When I arrived shortly before the big battle they were gathering for briefings, still keeping close to the campfires. 

The 12 noon start of the battle had to be delayed a few minutes until the local bank on the square closed for the day.  No shots could be fired until then due to the risk that the goings on would be a diversion for a potential robbery.

After "Mr. Drysdale" gave the all clear, the invasion began.  The Germans had taken a position behind the library and Vance law office and the Americans occupied the square.  After an impressive assault with machine gun fire and even artillery, the Allies were pushed back all the way past the pizzeria, almost to the hardware store.  The Germans, while in the process of taking down the Stars and Stripes, were attacked from their flank and the square was liberated by the Allies.

German camp

Provisioning from the Highway 70 grocery store

American camp

Preparing for battle

Guys and gals

Briefing

The Axis troops arrive...

...then the Allies

The battle begins

The Stars and stripes are captured

Counter attack

The German commander surrenders

Old Glory returned to her rightful place

Like I said, there's always something going on in Watertown.   Weekend after next, the square will be transformed into the North Pole complete with workshop, elves and the Big Man himself. The Polar Express excursion train will pull into town from Nashville and Santa will hold court.  Margo and I will not be here for that one as we'll be at Mom and Mel's for Thanksgiving, but I'm sure the local kids won't miss it for anything.