Walking Radioman--single WWII American GI figure in overcoat
$49.00
Item Number: BBA102
Walking Radioman
This GI is ‘humping’ the SC-300/BC1000 man-pack radio usually reserved for infantry platoon headquarters. This radio set was known as the ‘walkie-talkie’, while the hand-held SCR-536/BC611 was nicknamed the ‘handie-talkie’. Radiomen usually carried a lighter weight personal weapon: sometimes a 1911 Colt Automatic .45 pistol or, more commonly, the M1 Carbine as is shown here.
"Hitler’s Last-Ditch Gamble"
The German offensive into Belgium in December 1944 was a final, almost suicidal attempt by Adolf Hitler to catch the Western Allies by surprise, split them apart, and, perhaps, force them to seek a separate peace with the Nazis.
Only the stubborn willingness of some brave American units to stand and die prevented a major enemy breakthrough in what had been a quiet and peaceful stretch of the Allied line. This mighty struggle, which later became known as ‘The Battle of The Bulge’, ranks as the largest and most important battle ever fought by the U.S. Army in all of WWII in any theatre of war.
More men, vehicles, supplies, equipment, aircraft, and military effort went into this important battle than any other in American history. It was bigger than Gettysburg… more extensive than the Normandy Landings… and even larger than the 1990 Gulf War. 31 American divisions, fully one third of the entire U.S. Army during WWII, saw action in this battle.
Over two months, from December 16, 1944 until January 25, 1945, nearly 20,000 Americans were killed--almost as many as in all of the 80 days of fighting from the D.Day Invasion until the battles in the Normandy ‘bocage’ ended in August 1944. ‘The Battle of The Bulge’ is the story of men frozen and fighting in the most appalling winter conditions as the snow piled up around their foxholes while enemy artillery splintered the forests above them that provideded shelter. Their dogged determination in the face of a fanatical foe brought Hitler’s offensive finally to a grinding halt before forcing them back into the crumbling remains of the once vaunted and much-feared Third Reich.
Here are the latest reinforcements to K&C’s U.S. Army ‘Winter Warriors’…
As per our other ‘Bulge’ GI figures previously issued last year, these new reinforcements are wearing their web fighting order on top of the standard ‘Enlisted Man’s’ wool overcoat complete with brass buttons. This full-length, double-breasted overcoat was worn throughout the last winter of the war although a tad cumbersome when water-soaked or when the long skirts got caked with mud it was still generally well-liked by the troops themselves. Especially in the bitterly cold, freezing winter found in the Ardenness in December 1944.
Released in JULY 2023.
