"In war there is no second prize for the runner-up."
- General Omar Bradley
The true Forces of Valor...the men that fought the battles, the men behind the machines, and the men that paid the ultimate sacrifice. These men came from every nation and every creed to battle on their countries' behalf. Unrecognized acts of heroism occurred every hour of every day across every battlefield all over the world.
The battles of World War II raged all over Europe and the Far East. From the harsh desert climate of North Africa to the rain soaked Western European Theatre to the extreme cold at the heart of Germany and Eastern Europe, the men of World War II fought bravely wherever they were and no matter what they faced.
This set consists of five US soldiers in various poses from the 82nd Airborne Division. Comes with sandbags and a variety of battlefield equipment. Sold Out!
Release Date: December 2008
Historical Account: On August 15th, 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the first airborne division in the U.S. Army. On that date, the All-American Division was redesignated the 82nd Airborne Division. The Division's first two combat operations were parachute and glider assaults into Sicily and Salerno, Italy on July 9th and September 13th, 1943. With two combat jumps under its belt, the 82nd Airborne Division was now ready for the most ambitious airborne operation of the war, Operation Neptune - the airborne invasion of Normandy. The operation was part of Operation Overlord, the amphibious assault on the northern coast of Nazi-occupied France. On June 5th-6th, 1944, the paratroopers of the 82nd's three parachute infantry regiments and reinforced glider infantry regiment boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders to begin the largest airborne assault in history. By the time the All-American Division was pulled back to England, it had seen 33 days of bloody combat and suffered 5,245 paratroopers killed, wounded or missing.
Following the Normandy invasion, the 82nd became part of the newly organized XVIII Airborne Corps, which consisted of the U.S. 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions. In September, the 82nd began planning for Operation Market-Garden in Holland. The operation called for three-plus airborne divisions to seize and hold key bridges and roads deep behind German lines. On September 17th, the 82nd Airborne Division conducted its fourth combat jump of World War II into Holland. Fighting off ferocious German counterattacks, the 82nd captured its objectives between Grave and Nijmegen. Its success, however, was short-lived because of the defeat of other Allied units at Arnhem. The gateway to Germany would not open in September 1944, and the 82nd was ordered back to France. Suddenly, on December 16th, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Ardennes Forest which caught the Allies completely by surprise. Two days later the 82nd joined the fighting and blunted General Von Runstedt's northern penetration in the American lines. |
