U.S. Marine Advancing With Chauchat, Belleau

This figure shows a U.S. Marine Chauchat gunner advancing at Belleau Wood, June 1918 — the action that turned the Marine Corps from a small naval-security force into a name the German army recognized. Ordered to hold the line during the German Spring Offensive, the 4th Marine Brigade went on the attack instead, advancing across open wheat fields against entrenched machine guns, wire, and gas. After twenty-six days of fighting, they cleared the wood at a cost of nearly 5,000 casualties. The Germans reportedly called them Teufelhunden — Devil Dogs — a nickname the Corps still carries.

The Chauchat (CSRG M1915) was the AEF's squad automatic rifle — one to a squad, supplying the suppressive fire that let the rest of the Marines close on entrenched positions. It is the WWI predecessor of the role the BAR would fill in WWII, and a Chauchat gunner is a centerpiece figure in any squad-scene diorama from the period. This release is sculpted advancing with weapon at the ready — a figure in motion rather than at parade rest, making him a natural anchor for a Belleau Wood squad scene.

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, single figure boxed. Catalog number 13072. As with the rest of the W. Britain modern range, the painting is photographic-quality detail intended to read well in dioramas and display cases.