Guard duty in the Bulge came with a strange new fear: the man approaching in a GI overcoat might be a German. As part of the offensive, Otto Skorzeny sent English-speaking commandos in captured American uniforms and jeeps behind the lines to seize bridges and sow confusion — Operation Greif. Only a few dozen got through, but the rumor of them did more damage than the men. Suddenly every sentry challenged every stranger, and a password wasn't enough; guards demanded things only a real American would know — a state capital, a baseball score, who won the World Series. The GI on watch here is peering into the dark wondering exactly that: friend, or a very good fake?

Wrapped in a heavy wool greatcoat with his rifle held ready, the sentry stands cold and still, eyes on the approach — the very picture of the long, freezing, nerve-stretched watch. He anchors a checkpoint scene: post him with A Pair of G.I.s at a roadblock, watching for the returning Four Man Patrol and challenging the Saluting GI coming in. A crossroads guard post in the snow — signpost, sandbags, a wary sentry — is one of the most atmospheric small dioramas the Bulge offers.

Model: BBA116 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set