This is my 1/6th scale kitbashed and weathered representation of a Battle of the Bulge US 82nd Airborne paratrooper, snapped in a photograph as he doggedly trooped off with his comrades to hold the northern shoulder around the vital St Vith crossroads against the advancing Germans. These soldiers fought with only light weapons against German SS armour in waist-deep snow, in blizzards, in near zero temperatures and in areas where heavy forestation and the almost total lack of roads presented problems that only men of stout hearts and iron determination could overcome.
In The Story of the 82nd Airborne Division, Major General James M. Gavin, commanding officer states “In brief, the 82nd Airborne Division, still awaiting reinforcements and much re-supply at its base camps in the general area of Reims, France, moved 150 miles with its first combat elements going into position in less than 24 hours, and the entire Division closing in a new combat area in less than 40 hours from the time of the initial alert. The division fought, stopped, and held against the best divisions the German leader, Field Marshal Von Rundstedt, could pit against it, protecting the North shoulder of the Allied line, preventing the German break-through from turning North to Liege, Belgium, and providing a safe area through which trapped Allied units could withdraw from the break-through area. This it did despite the fact that its lines at times stretched more than 25,000 yards. Then, turning to the offense, the Division set the pace for other units, forcing the enemy back through his famed Siegfried Line.”
In The Story of the 82nd Airborne Division, Major General James M. Gavin, commanding officer states “In brief, the 82nd Airborne Division, still awaiting reinforcements and much re-supply at its base camps in the general area of Reims, France, moved 150 miles with its first combat elements going into position in less than 24 hours, and the entire Division closing in a new combat area in less than 40 hours from the time of the initial alert. The division fought, stopped, and held against the best divisions the German leader, Field Marshal Von Rundstedt, could pit against it, protecting the North shoulder of the Allied line, preventing the German break-through from turning North to Liege, Belgium, and providing a safe area through which trapped Allied units could withdraw from the break-through area. This it did despite the fact that its lines at times stretched more than 25,000 yards. Then, turning to the offense, the Division set the pace for other units, forcing the enemy back through his famed Siegfried Line.”
