Penza, 14 August 2016. PenzaNews. Reenactment of the battle of the Napoleonic era was held in Penza within the second All-Russian military-historical festival “Field of Mars” held on Sunday, August 14.

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The event, which brought together the historical reenactment clubs from Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Samara and Voronezh, was held on the field next to Proezd Budishcheva street in Shuist district.

Visitors were met by the volunteers with the bright flags of the Russian military-historical society, which helped to avoid getting lost. Also, young people explained to drivers, where there are free parking spaces.

At the festival square, there was a shopping arcade, where they sold items made of wood, wicker baskets, knives, icons, Cossack clothes and decorations.

There were food stalls. Entrepreneurs roasted meat at 120 rubles per 100 grams. The area was equipped with tables and chairs to accomodate the guests of the festival.

Also, there were two barrels of free drinking water which were a center of attraction due to the heat, even though the sky was overcast.

In addition, ashooting range was organized.

Deep in the fiels there was a camping ground rebuilt totally under the charte of the beginning of the XIX century, where the representatives of the warring armies prepared for battle. The way to the ground was blocked by two members of historical reenactment group.

The territory of camping ground had tents, freshly-made wooden tables with different things of the time long gone, including shining samovar with a bunch of bagels. At the tables there sat warriors using the last moments before the battle to eat, smoke a pipe and straighten their clothes. They cooked a meal on the fire. There were also women and children in th camp, both and among “soldiers” and “civilians.”

The battle reenactment was preceded by a prayer service in memory of those killed in the battle, which was attended by members of historical clubs and the audience.

Then the deputy chairman of the regional government Yuri Krivov and Dean of History and Philology of the Belinsky Pedagogical Institute Oleg Yagov addressed the audience with a welcome speechme speech.

After that, historical club members started the battle reenactment. They presented peasants, grenadiers, and lancers who opposed the detachment of the French army together. The battle went on with variable success and “victims” on both sides.

Initially, the action took place quite far away from the audience, standing behind the protective tape, but then moved so close that clods of land from explosions reached the guests, which caused cheer of the public.

Children were particularly emotional sitting on the parents’ shoulders or on the ground in front of the tape. Young spectators divided the soldiers into “good”and “bad” at once, accompanying their actions with delighted or dejected whoops — depending on the situation.

The battle ended with the victory of Russian soldiers.

The commentator, who explained to the audience what was happening on the field, noted the courage of troops on both sides, showing respect to the events of the past years.

The audience welcomed the “reviving”fighters with thunderous applause. All military units lined up in one line, and then suddenly, shouting at the same time attacked the guest crowd, bringing a lot of emotions to the visitors.

According to some viewers, the only distracting aspect that did not allow fully immersing in the atmosphere of the Napoleon time, were quadrocopters circling the battlefield.. Many noted that buzzing and flashing devices made it feel like a science fiction film.

Part of the audience left after the fight, and others moved to the camp to take pictures with the soldiers and see the performance of “Kozachia zastava” ensemble.

Men in uniform sang old songs and danced. Their performance found great response among the audience, who clapped and sang along standing in a semicircle.

Then the program of the event continued — members of the equestrian club “Metelitsa” presented trick riding techniques. The visitors watched both experienced and very young riders, boys and girls. They showed different tricks in the saddle and rode over obstacles — a striking part of the performance was the jump over one of the young members of the club, who was lying on the ground. Also experienced riders chopped branches and bottles of water as they moved on horseback.

Rostelecom became the partner of the event.