As the sun sank past the Allied viewpoint overlooking Firebase Charlie, the restless enemy could be heard, atop the hill that once was the great airfield of the Germans. As their chatter grew, we could tell our time in Firebase Charlie was coming to an end.
There was darkness. Then a big boom filled the night air, followed by the sounds of the untold number of troops slowly marching down the slopes of the airfield. The starting pyro was so loud, it sent shockwaves through the pit of your stomach.
A pocket of about 15 Germans awaited their doom in the forest, on the right flank. They set up an L-shaped ambush. They waited, in the dark, for the approaching Allies.
Then it started.
An endless barrage of red pop up flares. They type that goes up 200 yards, then slowly falls
back to earth, letting loose an evil red filtered light, cutting through trees and casting eerie shadows across the wooded battlefield. The enemies came so close, they walked on top of you. With the taste of victory in their mouths, like zombies they headed towards Firebase Charlie. After the first wave went by, you could hardly move.
MOVE! Every time a pop up went, the chances of being seen got greater. The next wave was coming--bearing many million candlepower spotlights. All around I heard the Germans shooting, and then I heard them call themselves out, overwhelmed by the Allied firepower.
I knew my time was up.
I leaned up out of the small depression I had made by pure pressure of my body. To get any closer to the ground, I would have had to cut the buttons off my uniform. I spun, and shot several Allies in the back! Then I turned my marker up the hill and opened up on the light-carrying personnel.
"Friendly fire?! ALLIES you IDIOT!" came shouts from the first batch I had shot.
I grinned, and kept shooting. How many of them left the field? I have no idea. I guarantee at least one did--me.
I only got hit eight times, and I am not going to complain about the hits. I did what I needed to so, and so did they.
Re-entry After re-entering the game a bit later, I went with comrades into Firebase Charlie. I fought from there. In the night I could see occasional night fire, tracer rounds flying up and out of sight. Awesome. My friend Kenneth Haggard found me. We shot a combined total of about a case of paint.
We figured we did our share of keeping the Allied players' heads down, and were about to leave when we noticed a lone light coming up out of the creek bed. We heard mumbling, but we could not make out what it was. Later on I found out it was the dang French, asking Germans to surrender, and if they did, they would get a free croissant. Wish I would have heard them, because I didn't have any chow the whole day. That's just my luck.
Later, a German sniper snuck down there and got one Frenchman to surrender. The other was still in the tank and he pointed out you needed a bazooka to kill the tank. Well, the German did not have a bazooka so he left, without a croissant, mind you. Those dang, sneaky French.
The base was overrun, but a handful of Germans were still alive when the battle ended, so the points went to the Germans.
That was an awesome night battle, and I am glad it is over.
General Bill Bailey has served as commander of the German forces at Oklahoma D-Day for several years. He writes from Springfield, Missouri. 
