U.S. Marine Advancing w/Rifle, Belleau Wood

This figure shows a U.S. Marine in the assault 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.

For an American WWI collector, Belleau Wood is the iconic battle: the engagement most associated with U.S. arrival on the Western Front, and the moment the Marine Corps's modern reputation was made. A figure from this action anchors any USMC-themed display or American WWI diorama. This one is sculpted advancing with rifle — a figure in motion rather than at parade rest, which makes him work alongside other figures in a scene rather than as a standalone display piece.

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, single figure boxed. Catalog number 13071. 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.