The Panzer III was one of the most numerous German tanks of the war, and was the mainstay of German armoured forces when they invaded France and the Low Countries, then later Russia. It was well armoured for the time and equipped with the 5cm KwK 38 or 39 L/42 cannon, the N variant having a 7.5cm KwK 37 cannon.

Containing a single Sd.KLfz 251/1 „neue” ausf D half-track, the 'Late’ version of the Hanomag, this easy to build, yet remarkably detailed, plastic boxed set gives your Panzergrenadiers mobility, a degree of protection and the supporting firepower of their MGs for and aft.

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 Königstiger (officially named the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B or Sd.kfz 182) more commonly known as the ‘King Tiger’ or ‘Royal Tiger’ by Allied troops, was a development of the fearsome Tiger I tank. Its introduction to hostilities in 1944 caused significant problems for the Allies but ultimately it saw action too late and in tew fewer numbers to have a game-changing impact on the war.

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…

Germany’s aggressive campaigns of conquest ensured that her armies would fight in many countries far from the fatherland and in starkly contrasting terrain and weather conditions. German soldiers were well-equipped for their venture into Europe, and later North Africa, but found themselves ill-prepared for the bleak, freezing and unforgiving Eastern Front. When the Russian armies failed to collapse, the Wehrmacht found itself caught out on the Russian plains, freezing, literally in many cases, to death.

Specialist training bred hardened fighters and the Gebirgsjäger (mountain infantry) were regarded as elite alongside Fallschirmjager. Gebirgsjäger originated from the Alpenkorps of WWI, where they were used to defend the mountain passes from their Italian equivalent, Alpini.

Always at the forefront of the fighting, the Waffen-SS were well-equipped, even as the supply of new materials and weapons became more of an issue for the Third Reich as Allied bombing campaigns pummelled German industry.

As Hitler’s military machine unleashed their devastating assault on Poland in 1939, the SS were still in the process of transitioning from political to military organisation, becoming the Waffen-SS (armed SS) and the military wing of the Nazi party.

They played a vital part in Greece campaign – most notably during Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete. This pyrrhic victory would be the last time the Fallschirmjäger dropped from the skies en masse – Hitler forbade such actions after the horrific losses they incurred taking the island.

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.

Formed around a core of Veteran Troops and armed with the new StG44, the Volksgrenadiers head to battle in defense of their homeland!