New set: "`Got mit uns` - Fallschirmjagers in Italy 1943-44" in 35th from D-Day Miniatures...

We have new photos of the just released set from D-Day Miniature Studio of their latest set & single figures of Fallschirmjäger receiving directions from a priest in Italy/North Africa in WWII. We look at the soldiers & the figures in our preview...

New set: "`Got mit uns` - Fallschirmjagers in Italy 1943-44" in 35th from D-Day Miniatures...

D-Day Miniature Studio has a few new figure sets & accessories for us this month. The Fallschirmjager from the Tunisian and Italian thatres are the subject. Today we look at a scene of soldiers on a bike, getting directions from a priest. We will look at them, but first a little about the scene & the soldiers with the gear & uniforms shown below...

The subject: Fallischirmjager in North Afrika / Italy, 1943/4.

In July 1942, the Ramcke Parachute Brigade was dispatched to North Africa to bolster the Axis war effort. Later that year, the Brigade played a pivotal role in the 2nd Battle of El Alamein in late October. The Brigade successfully seized a British supply column, acquiring much-needed trucks and supplies to aid their retreat westward.

A typical German paratrooper in tropical uniform. Tunisia, 1943

Between November and December 1942, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 5th Parachute Regiment were airlifted into Tunisia to safeguard airfields and establish defensive positions around the city of Koch during the Allied Operation Torch. The 11th Parachute Pioneer Battalion, led by Major Rudolf Witzig, soon followed, consisting of 716 men. The unit took up defensive positions west of Tunis, engaging in a series of intense battles with the Allied spearhead.

November 1942, Tunisia, North Africa. Men of 2. / Fallschirm.-Pi.-Btl.1 with motorcycles. Rightmost is a self-propelled gun Semovente M42 75/18

The unit had received specialised training in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, which ultimately led to the last parachute drop in North Africa. However, the operation proved disastrous due to the inexperience and poor training of the pilots. The Fallschirmjäger were dropped too far from their targets, and many were captured by British patrols as they landed.

November 29, 1942. Depienne in Tunis - Hauptmann Hans Jungwirth (in tropical "Ramcke" cap) of I./FJR5 with other german paratroopers and a captured British paratrooper, Corporal Gavin Cadden

On December 26, 1942, a separate operation was launched, in which the Parachute Company of the Brandenburg Regiment was transported by gliders to destroy British bridges and supply routes. Unfortunately, this mission also ended in catastrophe, with many gliders being shot down or destroyed upon approach. The majority of the paras involved in the operation were killed. In July 1942, the Ramcke Parachute Brigade was dispatched to North Africa to bolster the Axis war effort. Later that year, the Brigade played a pivotal role in the 2nd Battle of El Alamein in late October. The Brigade successfully seized a British supply column, acquiring much-needed trucks and supplies to aid their retreat westward.

German paratroopers from I. Bataillon/ Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 3 (scorpions insignia on right sleeve) on the motorcycle BMW R75. Note the use of Heer M40 caps with the Army eagle at rider and soldier in sidecar. On the front of the sidecar is tactical symbol Lehr-Bataillon

Between January 17 and May 18, 1944, the Fallschirmjäger played a pivotal role in the Battle of Monte Cassino, a crucial Allied objective in their push towards Rome. At the beginning of 1944, the German forces had established a strong defensive position along the Gustav Line, anchored by the Rapido-Gari, Liri, and Garigliano valleys, as well as the surrounding peaks and ridges. Monte Cassino, a historic abbey founded in AD 529, dominated the nearby town and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys, and was initially left unoccupied by the Germans. However, repeated artillery attacks on Allied forces led their leaders to believe that the abbey was being used as a German observation post, and it was subsequently targeted for destruction. On February 15, American bombers dropped 1,400 tons of high explosives, causing widespread damage to the abbey and surrounding area. Despite this, the Fallschirmjäger were able to occupy the rubble and establish strong defensive positions, rendering the raid ineffective.

Fallschirmjager w/ R75 motorcycle, Italy, 1943-1944- MG 42 on the side car

Between January 17 and May 18, the Monte Cassino defenses were assaulted four times by Allied forces, with the final attack involving twenty divisions along a twenty-mile front. Although the German defenders were eventually driven from their positions, the battle came at a devastating cost, with 55,000 Allied casualties and an estimated 20,000 German killed and wounded.

German Fallschirmjäger crowd onto a motorcycle with an MG 34 for a photograph, Tunisia, March 1943

The Figures:

Sold as singles, two pairs, a three-set, and a set of five figures, these new 1/35th scale figures from D-Day Miniatures look pretty good from the painted-up versons we have seen. Here they are now...

Catholic Priest

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No. 35249

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

One resin figure included

Price: €18 Euro

A resin figurine that reproduces a priest of the Christian Catholic Church. This figure can be used for many types of general dioramas of various parts of Europe from World War I and World War II to the present day, especially in Italy, France, Spain, and other countries with large Catholic populations.

Priests wear plain clothes called cassocks with upright collars and distinctive hats. The model is posed holding a wicker basket full of apples in her left hand and raising his right hand towards the line of sight.

 German Fallschirmjager Italy / Tunisia 1943-44

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No #35251

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

One resin figure included

Price: €18 Euro

This figure of a German Fallschirmjäger, seen at rest from fighting in Italy in 1943-44, or perhaps in Tunisia, North Africa, in 1943 during World War II. Seen without his helmet or hat and with a bandaged head, he is wearing a camouflage parachute smock, wide tropical pants, standard airborne boots, and carrying an MP40 submachine gun on his back. He is posed, standing with the left foot resting on the sidecar of the motorcycle in the scene (you will have to provide your own bike if that is what you want to use). He has a flare pistol in his right hand and binoculars in his left, so not far from the action in this pose.

German Fallschirmjager with a Priest, Italy 1943-4

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No. 35243

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

Two resin figures in this set

Price: €35 Euro

Two figures in a set, with these two including the German paratrooper asking for directions on the Italian front in 1943-44 and a Catholic priest giving him directions. Combined in a set of two figures, making this a slightly better value set than buying each item individually.

German Fallschirmjager BMW R75 Rider, Italy 1943-44 / Nord Africa 1942-43

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No. 35252

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

One resin figure

Price: €18 Euro

This figure depicts another German Fallschirmjäger fighting in Italy or in Tunisia, North Africa, in 1943 during World War II. The model is posed sitting on the seat of a BMW R75 motorcycle with sidecar, holding a map in his right hand and pointing at something with his left hand. He is wearing the typical Fallschirmjäger airborne helmet with goggles, a tropical tunic and trousers, and airborne boots. Of course, the BMW R75 motorcycle depicted here is not included.

German Fallschirmjager Sniper at Rest, Italy 1943-44 / Nord Africa 1942-43

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No. 35254

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

One resin figure

Price: €18 Euro

Next, we have another German Fallschirmjäger, this time a sniper from World War II. Shown in Afrika gear, he could be from either the Italian or Tunisian theatre in North Africa in 1943. He is sculpted in a resting pose with legs crossed, leaning against the sidecar, or on anything else you care to show him in. He is not locked into the scene you see here. He is shown wearing an airborne soldier's helmet, tropical shirt and pants, a Kar98k rifle with a sniper scope in his left hand, and a bandolier hanging from both shoulders.

German Fallschirmjager NCO - BMW R75 Sidecar Rider, Italy 1943-44 / Nord Africa 1942-43

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No. 35253

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

One resin figure

Net Price: €18 Euro

Sold as a single figure in resin, this German Fallschirmjäger NCO is depicted as a man fighting in Italy or Tunisia, North Africa, in 1943. Although not sold with the BMW R75 motorcycle, he is sculpted to fit inside one, and his body language shows him seeming to be listening in to a conversation while holding a cigarette in his right hand. He is wearing a tropical visor hat (also known as a Hermann Meyer hat) with goggles, an Air Force Fliegerbrüse, tropical trousers, and airborne boots.

Africakorps Soldiers at Rest Nord Africa 1941-43

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No #35246

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

The set contains three unassembled resin figures

Net Price: €51 Euro

This set of three figures in unassembled resin includes two soldiers riding a BMW R75 motorcycle with a sidecar and one soldier resting against the sidecar. Sold as a pair at a slightly cheaper price, these two were selected as they suit each other in gear & body language.

German `Got mit uns` - Fallschirmjagers in Italy 1943-44 (BMW R75 not included).

by D-Day miniature studio

Kit No #

1/35th scale

Sculptor & Box art: Pawel Krasicki

The set contains four unassembled resin figures

Net Price: €69 Euro

Sold in a set of five, the Preist & Fallschirmjagers are seen in Italy or North Africa in mid-WWII. They go very well together in body language, subtle changes in gear, and clothing. They look like they are actually interacting with each other, which is lost on many figure makers nowadays. They are sold in this set at a slightly cheaper price than buying them all singularly. A very nice-looking set that will fit your dio from that time and place very nicely.

If you would like your own copies of these figures, you can order them via the D-Day Miniature Studio website.