The German army learned the cost of a Russian winter the hard way. When the 1941 drive on Moscow stalled in the snow, the troops were still largely in summer field uniforms — winter clothing had been given low priority in the expectation of a quick victory — and frostbite tore through the ranks, disabling more men than Soviet fire in some units. Germany scrambled to catch up, even collecting winter coats from civilians back home, and from 1942-43 issued proper cold-weather kit like the padded, reversible parka this soldier wears. It came too late for the men who froze outside Moscow, but it kept the next winters' armies alive to keep fighting.

The figure stands to fire his 98k in the heavy winter parka, steel helmet low against the cold. Set him in a winter defensive line with the Grenadier Standing Firing 98k and, when the fighting turns costly, the soldiers Helping a Wounded Comrade — dug in against the U.S. Infantryman, Winter.

W. Britain model 25078. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.