The Battle of the Bulge was won, in its first desperate days, by small groups of men making their own decisions. The German assault shattered the American front and cut headquarters off from the units it was meant to direct, leaving isolated squads, platoons and companies to fight where they stood — holding a crossroads, a village, a stretch of woods long after any order to do so had stopped reaching them. Time and again it was a sergeant or a lieutenant who decided to stay and fight, and those scattered stands bought the days the Allies needed to bring up reserves. The American army's habit of pushing decisions down to its junior leaders paid off when the top of the chain went dark.

The set is a command node in miniature: a prone radio operator hunched over his field radio, handset to his ear and aerial raised, an M1 Carbine beside him for the lighter load a signaler needs; and a kneeling squad leader glassing the ground through binoculars, a Thompson in his grip that marks him as a senior NCO or officer. Together they are the eyes, voice and decision of a small unit. Wire them into the chain of command — up to General Patton at the top, across to the Walking Radioman carrying the net forward, and down to the Four Man Patrol they are directing. Every good Bulge diorama needs its command post.

Model: BBA097 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 2 piece set