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DD395-The M5A1 STUART Bocage Buster
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Following the Allied landings in Normandy, American and British forces encountered the region's famous bocage—a maze of thick earthen banks topped with dense hedgerows that severely restricted visibility and movement. German defenders used these natural barriers to conceal anti-tank guns, machine-gun positions, and ambushes, making every advance slow and costly.
To overcome this problem, Allied engineers welded steel prongs—often fashioned from salvaged German beach obstacles—onto the fronts of tanks. These hedgerow cutters, nicknamed "Rhino" devices, allowed tanks such as the M5A1 Stuart to punch directly through the hedgerows instead of climbing over them, reducing their exposure and greatly improving mobility during the campaign across Normandy.
DD395 – The M5A1 STUART "Bocage Buster" is a distinctive addition to the D-Day collection, representing one of the ingenious battlefield innovations that helped the Allies break out from the Normandy beachhead. Displayed alongside DD397 – The Gold Beach Set and other Normandy releases, it recreates the challenging fighting that took place beyond the beaches as Allied forces advanced through the hedgerows toward the liberation of France.
Brand: King and Country
