It is the Tidecasters who conjure the phantasmal sea that allows aelf and aquatic beast to move and breathe as if they were in their own natural environment.
One of the most iconic pieces of hardware in US Military history, over 40,000 M3 half-tracks were produced during World War II with many thousands of similar models also being supplied to their allies.
Few fighting forces rival the hard-won reputation of the US Marine Corps. Showing their mettle during the island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific, and then to pushing the enemy back to their homeland, the US Marine had few equals in WWII. Facing the deadly combination of the fanatical Japanese enemy and the sweltering jungle conditions in which they fought, the US Marine Corps triumphed in actions which have become legendary – Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and more.
The M8 Greyhound was originally designed to replace the US military’s portee gun in an anti-tank role, but was quickly repurposed once it was realised that its performance against German armour was lacking. It found use as a popular and successful armoured car that served American and British armies well throughout the war.
During 1942, the British Army decided to keep their Stuarts away from tank-versus-tank combat and instead use them for reconnaissance. A number of Stuart variations arose, including the Stuart Recce, the Stuart Kangaroo and the Stuart Command. Making a conversion of these is easy with the new plastic Stuart. The Recce had the turret removed in order to achieve an improved speed and range, while the Kangaroo had been converted into an armoured personnel carrier.
This new versatile plastic kit can be assembled as either an M5 Stuart, M5A1 Stuart or an E7-7 Mechanised Flamethrower, and to boot is suitable for many a Bolt Action army, including US, British, Soviet and Chinese.
Based on the ubiquitous M5 Stuart light tank hull, the M8 75mm Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) provided much needed mobile artillery support to US assault forces. Replacing the M5 Stuart turret with a more spacious open-topped turret to house a short-barrelled M2 (and later the M3) 75mm howitzer and a mix of smoke and high explosive ammunition. A pintle-mounted .50 Cal heavy machine gun provided additional defensive firepower.
Actions that stir the blood and conjure images of highly-trained US paratroopers punching holes in the German lines in Normandy and later holding off overwhelming opposition in the Ardennes.
Formed from within the US Marine Corps in 1942 when the war in the Pacific was at a difficult juncture for the Allies, the US Marine Raiders were to act in a similar fashion to the British Commandos and other special forces. However, the war in the Far East was not the same as that in Europe or the Mediterranean and rather than fighting as small, lightly armed units deep in enemy territory the Raiders found themselves fighting alongside regular troops more often than not.
Due to the relatively short amount of time at the front, and particularly because of the constant influx of replacements, regular US infantry units never got quite as ‘seasoned’ as those of some other countries that lacked the American manpower, training and organisation.
Re-equipped with the new M43 uniform following the D-Day landings the US Airborne were ready to tack some of their greatest challenges of the war – Operation Market Garden and the Ardennes Offensive.
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.