"The French had first used Goumiers in Morocco in 1908, when they raised irregular forces to help them ‘pacify' their new territory. They proved to be very effective, and helped to maintain order over the following decades. In 1942 they had played very little part in the war so far, but with fresh Allied landings in North Africa and the collapse of Vichy French forces, the Free French wanted to create an army to help in liberating their own land, and that would include the Moroccan Goumiers. They first went into battle in December 1942 in Tunisia, and thereafter in various parts of the Mediterranean, especially in Italy, where they were crucial to the Allied advance on Rome. Their behaviour in Italy against the civilian population darkened their reputation, but they moved on to be a part of the invasion of Southern France and the drive through Austria and Germany until the end of the war in Europe.
When French forces were being created in late 1942, it was the US that provided the uniforms and weapons as well as some support services. As a result many Free French Forces looked very like US troops, but the Goumiers had one item that really made them stand out from any other soldier, and that was their large hooded djellabah, which all but one of these figures is wearing. The rest of the uniform is covered by this garment, but is likely to be supplied by the US, as is the webbing these men have, as well as the American M1917A1 helmet. Those without a helmet wear a turban, and many also wear a cheche around the head. The officer also wears a djellabah, but is actually French and he wears a normal kepi, boots and leggings while the men appear to wear sandals. The appearance of these men varied depending on the availability of supplies, but this is about the most famous image of these men, so an obvious choice for such a set…"
Plastic Soldier Review
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"Any army needs a nerve centre where decisions are made, and the means to communicate those decisions to the troops. The Zvezda Art of Tactic game system clearly needs a headquarters component, and this set provides this for the British Army.
The most widely-used means of tactical communication was the field telephone, and this set provides a figure kneeling next to his, which is the common Type F, Mk II model. He lifts the handset as if passing it to an officer. Another very common means of communication was simply to send a messenger, called a ‘runner' in the British Army, and perhaps that is what we have with the first pictured figure in this set. Of course, in fact he is just an ordinary infantryman at attention and saluting, but the role of runner would make sense here. The third man is clearly an officer, nonchalantly holding his pipe while pointing with his cane. Lastly there is another officer, looking through binoculars and holding something such as a map or orders perhaps. As a headquarters and communication centre this little group make a lot of sense, and the poses are very nice. They are primarily intended to be grouped together on a single game base as seen here, but are also provided with separate bases as shown in our photo…."
Plastic Soldiers Review
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Armand
's brother-in-law has been able to leave the hospital after his cancer operation.
