Panzertruppen, Arnhem, 1944

In September 1944, after the successful landings on Normandy, the Allies decided to launch another big-scale assault, code-named “Operation Market Garden”, this time aimed to liberate the Low Countries in a decisive strike against Nazi Germany that hopefully would end the war as early as possible.

Surprised by the scale of the attack, the German forces were initially overrun by the Allied assault but the attack lost momentum because of the delay in the capture of some strategic bridges. By the final and decisive moment of the campaign, the capture of the bridge at Arnhem, the Germans were reorganized and managed to launch a decisive counterattack with superior numbers, artillery, and armored vehicles that crushed the scarce but brave resistance on the bridge by the British Airborne troops. This counterattack made the whole operation fail and the Allied forces had to retreat. The war would last seven months more.

Our bust portrays one member of the Wehrmacht mechanized forces, a “panzertruppen”, wearing the classic panzer jacket and an M43 field cap. The uniform can be painted in several combinations of tones, including splittermuster camouflage.

Note: This is a resin miniature kit that requires assembly and painting.