Although caught unawares and ill-equipped by Hitler’s last gamble in the West – the Battle of the Bulge – embattled US troops won through whilst staving off the twin foes of the German offensive and the harsh winter conditions.
American forces started the war with no experience of combat and often with minimal training. Once exposed to the realities of warfare both officers and men learned quickly. However, the constant demand for troops meant that relatively Inexperienced offers could still find themselves leading men into action even at the end of the war. Both experience and promotion often came very quickly whether in Europe or the Pacific.
By the middle of the war the US Army could field legions of tanks and support vehicles, backed by the industrial might of the USA. Using their reliable M3 Half-track as a basis, they created the M21, a mobile mortar carrier that could keep up with advancing tanks and armoured infantry.This useful vehicle carried the simple but effective 81mm mortar, with 97 ready-use rounds, and crewed by a team of six men.
The M10’s M7 3-inch (76.2mm) anti-tank gun was a considerable improvement over the 75mm carried by the Sherman. The M10’s relatively thin 37mm of armour (and open-topped five-sided welded turret) on the other hand made it vulnerable to anti-tank weapons, so its main role became defensive, often firing from concealed positions.
The Sherman Tank was the main stay of the American army. The Break out from the Normandy beaches and the bocage could never been achieved without the armoured support. Although they had their weaknesses their impressive adaptability, firepower and large production numbers enabled the Allies to over power the Germans.
The Hellcat’s prodigious speed was attained by keeping it’s armour to no more than 1″ thick. Hellcat crews quickly took advantage of the vehicle’s speed to minimise the enemy’s ability to pierce its thin armour. Hellcats used their speed to outflank and penetrate the side and back of the heavily armoured German Tiger and Panther tanks.
The Idoneth Deepkin are a mysterious race of aelves who dwell within the oceans of the Mortal Realms, emerging from their watery seclusion to plunder the souls of land-dwellers – a grim harvest upon which their very survival depends.
At first they appear as spectral blurs in the ethersea, distant streamlined shapes that seem to materialise from nowhere. With powerful thrusts of their sickle-finned tails, the forms grow all too quickly as they launch their attack
Namarti Reavers provide the archers and scouts for the Idoneth Deepkin phalanxes.
He was the first of his kind, and is the last of the Cythai still alive. All Ionrach bow before him, their one acknowledged leader, the eldest and greatest of their race.
No troops exemplify the Idoneth Deepkin way of life more than the Akhelian Guard. Mounted atop Fangmora Eels, they fight in a loose formation ideal for rapid assaults and sudden retreats, typifying the hit-and-run style of war common amongst the aelves of the depths.
Guadalcanal. Tarawa. Iwo Jima. Okinawa. Just some of the legendary actions the US Marine Corps fought in – actions that have rightfully sent the USMC into legend.