Leading a rifle platoon was one of the deadliest jobs in the U.S. Army. The lieutenant was expected to be up front — on his feet or crawling forward to read the ground — and infantry platoon leaders were hit and killed at rates well above the men they led, a company sometimes burning through several in a single campaign. The very things that marked an officer out, a Thompson instead of an M1, a map case, the gestures of giving orders, were exactly what enemy snipers watched for, and many officers stripped the rank from their helmets and sleeves. To lead here meant making yourself a target.

The figure shows that reality: an officer flat to the ground, Thompson M1A1 forward, working his platoon in the middle of a firefight rather than watching from behind it, in an M1943 field jacket, netted helmet and web gear. He is the command element of a small-unit assault diorama — set him with the Infantry NCO Shouting relaying his orders, the Company Officer at the next position, and the "Reporting In" radio team calling it back.

W. Britain model 25205. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single prone foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.