The M4 Sherman medium tank was regarded by many as the workhorse of the US Army during World War II. In fact, virtually all of the Allied armies employed the Sherman in their armed forces, including the British, who developed an upgunned variant called the "Firefly". Eleven different US plants manufactured six basic models of the Sherman, and by June 1944 over 49,234 battle-ready vehicles had been produced. While it was no match for the German Panther or Tiger tanks, the Sherman soldiered on, using its weight in numbers to wrest control of Europe from the Wehrmacht.

Early Shermans mounted a 75mm medium-velocity general-purpose gun. Later M4A1, M4A2, and M4A3 models received the larger T23 turret with a high-velocity 76mm gun M1, which traded reduced HE and smoke performance for improved anti-tank performance. The British offered the QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun with its significant armour penetration but a significant initial (later rectified) HE shortcoming to the Americans but the US Ordnance Department was working on a 90mm tank gun and declined. Later M4 and M4A3 were factory-produced with a 105mm howitzer and a new distinctive mantlet in the original turret. The first standard-production 76mm-gun Sherman was an M4A1 accepted in January 1944 and the first standard-production 105mm-howitzer Sherman was an M4 accepted in February 1944.

This particular 1:50 scale replica of an US M4A3(76)W Sherman medium tank was attached to B Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, 9th Armored Division then deployed to Luxembourg in 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-1/2-inches
Width: 2-inches

Release Date: January 2020

Historical Account: "The Luxembourg 'Alamo'" - The Battle of Clervaux or the Battle for Clervaux (in English sources, Clervaux is occasionally called by the German name Clerf) was an opening engagement of the Battle of the Bulge that took place in the town of Clervaux in northern Luxembourg It lasted from December 16th to 18th, 1944. German forces encircled numerically inferior American forces, primarily from the 110th Regiment and the 109th Field Artillery Battalion, and quickly forced them to surrender. The battle has been referred to as the "Luxembourg Alamo".

Clervaux was the first tank battle of the Ardennes offensive and ended in total disaster for the Americans, who permanently lost nearly 60 tanks while the Germans lost only four. The U.S. 707th Tank Battalion was wiped out, losing 46 tanks destroyed and six damaged out of 34 M4 Sherman medium and 18 M3 Stuart light tanks. U.S. infantrymen lacked morale and unit cohesion, with the force at Clervaux surrendering at the first sight of German tanks and only 100 troops out of an entire regiment offering serious resistance.