Tippinators Defend Strudleburg Warriors in the Woods V

Tippinators help defend Strudleburg at the much anticipated Warriors in the Woods V: Operation Rhino presented by Banshee Paintball was held at Mersey Road Paintball in East River Nova Scotia on May 6th 2007. Every year players expect bigger and better Warriors in the Woods event than the year before.

Constantly striving to exceed player expectations, Eric Fisher and Jennifer Washtock from Banshee Paintball, put on an extensively planning and meticulously prepared event that lives up to players' expectations. In only a few short years, Warriors in the Woods has become the premier scenario even in Eastern Canada drawing players and teams from throughout the Maritime Provinces.
Warriors in the Woods, known for elaborate field preparations, clearly defined player objectives and the use of massive amounts of pyrotechnics, has become such a popular event that the cap of 400 players was met, and registration closed, six weeks prior to game day. Such was the demand to attend Operation Rhino that a few enterprising players scalped their registration packages for more than the original price of $25.

In preparation for Warriors in the Woods, Mersey Road Paintball was transformed into a facsimile of Western Europe near the border between Holland and Germany. The 10 plus acre main field was bisected with two simulated rivers, each river having only two bridges that could be used as crossing points. After hundreds of hours of planning and dozens of hours of physical field preparations, game day arrived.

The 2007 edition of Warriors in the Woods V was set in Europe, 1944. The Allied wave of liberation is sweeping across Europe moving ever closer to their ultimate prize, Berlin Germany, and the complete destruction of the Nazi war machine. Feeling the unrelenting pressure of the Allied advance, the Axis powers have amassed a large quantity of their illegally obtained war booty in a modest museum in the small fictitious town of Strudleburg Germany. Local intelligence assets, followed up with reconnaissance patrols, revealed the location and contents of the museum to the Allies. As important as determining the museum location has been the interception of documentation stating the artifacts in the museum will be destroyed in place rather than fall into the hand of the Allied forces.

In an attempt to liberate the priceless artifacts, and have them returned to their rightful owners, the Allied high command prepared to execute Operation Rhino. During Operation Rhino, for the Allies to achieve victory they needed to attack the Axis held museum, just over the Rhine, and capture artifacts stored inside. The game would be declared an Axis victory if the Axis were able to retain possession of the artifacts at the end of the game or completely destroy all Allied players by overrunning the Allied insertion point.

After checking tank hydro dates, chronoing markers and listening to preparatory briefings by their respective Generals, the teams were ready to take the field. When both teams were in place, and ready to play, several large explosions marked the start of Operation Rhino. The use of pyrotechnics was continuous throughout the day simulated the whistle and explosion of artillery fire. These explosions coupled with the sounds of machinegun fire and tank tracks played over the loud speakers plus smoke pots ignited by the reffing staff at strategic points throughout the day, added an incredible amount of realism to the game and at time made communication between teammates difficult.