Bolt Action | German Volksgrenadier | 28mm Metal Unit

Formed around a core of veteran troops and armed with the new StG44, the Volksgrenadiers headed to battle in defense of their homeland. After suffering significant losses in both Operation Bagration and the Normandy campaign, the German Army created some 78 Volksgrenadier divisions from Autumn 1944 onwards.

Volksgrenadier divisions participated in key battles such as the Battle of the Bulge, the defense of the Siegfried Line, and the final battles in Germany on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. These divisions should not be confused with the Volkssturm, which was an entirely different, poorly equipped, and under-trained unit made up of older men, the very young, and those unfit for regular military service.

Several Volksgrenadier divisions, especially those composed of "jobless" Wehrmacht personnel drawn from the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe, displayed high motivation and morale. This resulted in surprisingly good cohesion and military effectiveness against the combined Allied armies.