Hello all, I would like to make a dio of the ruhr pocket, specifically around paderborn or somewhere where the Germans put up a defensive line. I have a halftrack hetzer and a panther. The halftracks german btw. Any ideas. I have the halftrack laiden with infantry and the panther has grenadiers on it. Any help would be nice
Hi
To be honest I think you need to consider downgrading some of the troops to Volkssturm & Hitler Youth. Heres what Wiki says about the pocket
"Facing the Allied armies were the remnants of a shattered Wehrmacht, a few SS training units, and large numbers Volkssturm (militia units for aging men, including some World War I veterans) and Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) units, composed of boys as young as 12.
This was the end game for the Nazis. Maybe the Panther could be hidden in a ruined building as a static ambush? Or the Hetzer? I would consider maybe the halftrack being broken down and it being mended, possibly the hetzer/panther towing one another? You need to show that its the last gasp for these guys!
I was thinking the Panther halftrack and Hetzer would be coming down a road turning into a wooded area to join a defensive line that was being formed. I read that 80 or so tanks were in paderborn with training crews so the would be coming from there. They would go to a defensive line and be reinforcing it and even preparing for a counter attack if supplies are efficient enough.
The 272nd Volksgrenadier Division was a pretty hard player in this battle. They were made up of the 575th Volksgrenadier division and the remnants of the 272nd Infantry Division that fought in Normandy. Tough guys. It was a big operation and 300,000 troops were taken prisoner. Lots of options for depicting units. In addition to the above units, during this drive stood elements of the German 116th Panzer Division, 180th, 190th and 2nd Para Divisions. Yes there were Volksturm and HJ units and they played a big part in this battle, I think they are noticed more because of what they were made up of. There certainly were some hardened units here as this was an industrial area that if taken would destroy any chances of Germany enduring much more.
For Volksgrenadier would the uniform still be a camo? Or is it something else
Good picture of a Volksgrenadier here…lots of camo!
http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=DRF70073