German officers were capable and often experienced leaders. Junior officers were trained to undertake the role of their immediate superiors, enabling them to use their initiative to take control of situations when necessary. The Afrika Korps (DAK) proved this through consistent victories as well as elusiveness in retreat.

Adolph Hitler’s aggressive campaigns across the world ensured his troops would face the enemy in all environments and climates. None were more unforgiving than the harsh winters on the Eastern Front or in the Italian hills and mountains.

Germany, like many nations, made use of existing tank designs to make self-propelled guns and tank destroyers. The Jagdtiger was a colossal example of this practice – the Germans wanted to upgrade the much-feared Tiger II by mounting the 128mm Pak 44 cannon into a purpose-built armoured casement atop the lengthened King Tiger Chassis. 150 units were ordered to tackle the ever-encroaching Soviet armour – the Pak more than capable of tearing through Allied armour.

The Sturmgeschütz (StuG) III was a well-armed and armoured vehicle based on the tried and tested Pz.Kpfw III chassis. Manned by the artillery originally, as it was considered a mobile howitzer, it went through many variants during WWII, and indeed was one of the few German AFVs to serve throughout the war on all fronts.

Perhaps a more famous adaptation was the Opel Maultier „Mule” half-track. Introduced in 1941 following the dire Rasputitsa conditions of the Eastern Front that had brought the entire army to a stand still. This conversion, utilizing the track system of the obsolete Panzer I, gave the German army a very competent all purpose mover and it would see action through out the rest of the war.

After the the initial spectacular success of the German invasion of Russia in 1941 the invasion slowed to a crawl as the weather and hard fighting ground down their formations. Desperate to shore up the front seven regiments were formed of non-flying personnel taken from the German air force, the Luftwaffe. These regiments were equipped with standard infantry weapons, and sent to quieter areas of the front to gain experience.

German officers were capable and often experienced leaders. Junior officers were trained to undertake the role own immediate superiors, enabling them to use their intuition to take control of situations when necessary.

The Panzer Lehr Division (armoured training division) was built in 1943 from the veterans of the North Africa, Sicily and Italy campaigns. These highly experienced troops formed the core of this training and demonstration unit and as such was considered an elite formation from its inception.

Originally developed as an anti-aircraft weapon, the Flak 37 8.8cm (or Eighty-eight as it became known by Allied troops) had a high muzzle velocity to allow it to reach the higher ranges modern bombers were capable of at the time. This would make it an exceptionally deadly anti-tank weapon as many Allied tank crews would learn to their peril. The 88 could also be deployed as a conventional artillery piece – as one infantryman noted, the 88 was 'anti-everything’…

Most commonly known as the Panzer 38(t), this light tank was originally a Czech design – the LT vz. 38 – which fell under the Third Reich’s control when Germany occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938. The 't’ in its designation relates to the German for Czech – tschechisch.

The Fallschirmjager instead acted as elite infantry serving in all theatres in which Germany fought. Supported by two weapons with a high rate of fire – the deadly MG42 general purpose machine gun and the Granatwerfer 34 8cm medium mortar – they were respected by the Allies for their fighting ability and honourable actions.

A conversion of the SdKfz 251/1 AusfD with two flame projectors mounted on the sides designated 251/16. The 2 main flame projectors were backed up by the usual shield-mounted MG34 or MG42 and an additional portable (albeit still attached by pipe to the halftrack) smaller calibre flamethrower which could be used by dismounted infantry. The crew would don protective headgear from full hoods to heavy scarves and goggles. Plenty of conversion opportunities here!

Fighting to stave off the massed assaults of the Allies on the Eastern and Western Fronts, these battle- hardened German soldiers are armed with the deadly Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle. Providing dogged resistance from hedgerows and shattered towns, they fight for every inch of land conquered by the Third Reich…

The world’s first paratroopers to be used in large numbers, the German Fallschirmjager were at the tip of the spear when war broke out in 1939. They led daring assaults on strategic targets, such as the fortress at Eben Emael, enabling the following panzers to overrun Europe.

Panzergrenadier units in armoured half-tracks, trucks and field cars helped the infantry to keep pace with their armoured brethren. By the time of the invasion of Russia in 1941 the panzergrenadiers had equipped their troop leaders’ half-tracks with the standard anti-tank gun of the day – the 37mm PaK 36. By replacing the front machine gun with this useful light gun the panzergrenadier units could rely on a modicum of fire support as they charged swiftly across the battlefield, supported by their platoon’s personnel carriers.

Containing a single Sd.KLfz 251/1 ausf C half-track, more popularly known as a 'Hanomag’, this easy to build, yet remarkably detailed, plastic boxed set gives your Landsers mobility, a degree of protection and the supporting firepower of their MGs for and aft.