The adventures of the 305th Pioneer Battalion are progressing, although I have just got through the formation and their training, plus their occupation duties in some very nice parts of France. Frankly they're on holiday, with only the stand to after the attack on St Nazaire interrupting what is so far a lovely war, but they are aware they will soon be going East. It was an interesting side light to see how the Battalion has started to transit from Static to Active status. Initially they lost a few Officers and NCOs to units allocated to the first assault on Russia, including their CO. There was genuine shock felt when they heard he had been KIA, along with a couple of other transferees. Then when they were starting to train for Russia they received an influx of fitter and more experienced troops and some of the more sedentary officers have been shifted sideways to other Static units. It's an interesting contrast to the British approach, where they tended to keep the Battalions together. Its a bit strange to think of contrasting this phase with what is to come, and that fact they mostly have about 9 months to live. The other thing that has struck me is the change in tone and style in this book compared with the other Jason D Mark book I have, Island of Fire. In comparison, because the subject is just a single unit, Into Oblivion is a more personal book, concentrating on individuals much more.
I also have to explain the other reason for my lack of progress painting etc. My darling wife has made a very reasonable request that her office \ craft room be redecorated. This has however involved moving the current contents out while we paint and re-carpet. The contents of the room are now distributed through the other rooms on the first floor of the Kommissar House, but this means the door to the loft, aka my man-cave, is blocked by a pair of stacked filing boxes about head high. Sadly there is no other way in, so thumbs are twiddling. Hopefully this will be resolved soon, in fact I'm waiting for the carpet layer to arrive as I type, and once the carpet is down I can get everything back in there and normal service may resume. meanwhile I'm reading Into Oblivion and playing a bit too much World of Tanks
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