Who We Are

We are a group of people who portray soldiers of the Red Army of WW2 from the period of 1943 to 1945.
During WW2, the fight against Nazi Germany was conducted by many nations, but of all the nations, there were three that contributed the most to the defeat of Nazism.  Those three were the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. 
  The largest army of the three nations was that of the Soviet Union, and was known as the Red Army of Workers and Peasants, or RKKA.  The RKKA started combat with Nazi Germany when Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.  Although the RKKA had been the leader in the world in the numbers of tank and mechanized troops in the 1930's, Stalin's purges had decimated the leadership of the RKKA with his purges in the late 1930's, and the efficiency of the RKKA was reduced to near-paralysis. 
  As a result, the German armed forces were able to inflict severe damage and huge losses on the RKKA during the first two years of the war.  As the RKKA recovered from these setbacks, and built up its strength, it reformed and reorganized its tank and mechanized forces along the lines established by its forward thinking leaders who had pioneered its rise before the purges.
  This rebuilding of the RKKA, combined with experience gained from battle, produced the most awe-inspiring armored and mechanized combat force in the world.  Often called "The Soviet Steamroller", from 1943 on, the RKKA ripped the guts from the German army in the largest tank battles ever fought in WW2, and in history. 
  Our club, the 20th Guards Mechanized Brigade, portrays one of these late-war mechanized formations, that fought its way from the battle of Kursk through eastern Europe, and ultimately to defeat Nazi Germany in the German homeland itself. 
Vast amounts of equipment, vehicles, supplies, rations and raw materials were shipped to the Soviet Union by the United States and Great Britain during WW2.  The Soviet Union streamlined their supply operations and efficiency by channeling the lend-lease equipment to mechanized units.  Thus the mechanized units were built as much as possible with United States and United Kingdom-built armored vehicles, trucks, weapons, communications equipment and other supplies. 
Our club portrays a typical mechanized formation of the RKKA by the same method, wearing RKKA uniforms of the period and equipping ourselves as much as possible with vehicles, equipment and other supplies that are known to have been shipped to the Soviet Union under the lend-lease program.  We use RKKA regulations to guide our actions, eat traditional Russian army rations, drill and operate as much as possible speaking the Russian language, and do our best to portray the real 20th Guards Mechanized Brigade as it was in WW2.

We portray a Combat Patrol of the Advance Guard of the 20th GMB.

We do it using Universal Carriers, British and American trucks and Jeeps
We currently have two jeeps and a CMP C15A truck that are restored and running, and have four Universal Carriers, two Ford G8T trucks and one Ford 099 T truck that are either undergoing or awaiting restoration.  Members of the club also have a large selection of WW2 communications gear, mess gear and other equipment as well as light and heavy weapons to complete our portrayal of the 20th GMB.
  This is a hobby for people who participate.  It is not an online discussion group.  Members are required to acquire their own personal uniforms, gear and weapons, and to attend club educational, training and historical reenactment events.  If you live in Texas or the southwest region of the US, and are interested in becoming a member, contact us!