“Ghosts of Bloody Nose Ridge” Battle of Peleliu Island
This time I was inspired by Brian Wildfong’s beautiful diorama “Ghosts of Bloody Nose Ridge” (1:35 scale), depicting a team from the 1st Marines returning from a patrol in the Umurbrogal Hills (aka “Bloody Nose Ridge”) on Peleliu Island.
“Ambush at Poteau”. St Vith 18th December, 1944
Early in the morning on December 18 1944 an American convoy of the 14th Cavalry Group was ambushed by SS-Kampfgruppe Hansen. With help from the heavy fog Hansen achieved complete surprise and forced the allies to abandon their vehicles and pull back to the town of Poteau.
D-Plus 3. USMC South Pacific, 1944
Freely inspired by a painting by the renowned military artist Michael Gnatek entitled “D-Plus 3 – U.S. Marine Corps, South Pacific, 1944”.
WIP “LCVP (Higgins boat) crew”. D-Day – June 6, 1944
Hauptmann of Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The Panzergrenadier Division “Großdeutschland”, also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of the German Army (Heer) that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
Feldwebel (NCO) of 1st Fallschirmjäger Div. at Montecassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by Axis forces during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The intention was a breakthrough to Rome.
At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido-Gari, Liri and Garigliano valleys and some of the surrounding peaks and ridges. Together, these features formed the Gustav Line. Monte Cassino, an historic hilltop abbey founded in AD 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys. Lying in a protected historic zone, it had been left unoccupied by the Germans, although they manned some positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey’s walls.
Repeated pinpoint artillery attacks on Allied assault troops caused their leaders to conclude the abbey was being used by the Germans as an observation post, at the very least. Fears escalated along with casualties and in spite of a lack of clear evidence, it was marked for destruction. On 15 February American bombers dropped 1,400 tons of high explosives, creating widespread damage. The raid failed to achieve its objective, as German paratroopers then occupied the rubble and established excellent defensive positions amid the ruins.
Between 17 January and 18 May, Monte Cassino and the Gustav defences were assaulted four times by Allied troops. On 16 May, soldiers from the Polish II Corps launched one of the final assaults on the German defensive position as part of a twenty-division assault along a twenty-mile front. On 18 May, a Polish flag followed by the British Union Jack were raised over the ruins. Following this Allied victory, the German Senger Line collapsed on 25 May. The German defenders were finally driven from their positions, but at a high cost. The capture of Monte Cassino resulted in 55,000 Allied casualties, with German losses being far fewer, estimated at around 20,000 killed and wounded
