First question
is why paint the miniature? (I didn’t, Ray did but that’s not the point), why
is the miniature on sale from a manufacturer?, why buy it? I suppose I like the disturbing but true and it’s only a metal miniature, this scene happened a lot as a deterrent
to others and some say kept the German army together in the later stages of the
war.
There were a
lot of examples of battlefied justice throughout the centuries for example English
drumhead court martials (I believe first documented in the Peninsular War 1807,
the term arose from the use of a drumhead as an improvised writing table) but is the miniature is justied or just disturbing?
I have
included some other examples of battlefield or otherwise justice miniatures.
Feldgendarmerie units were generally given occupation duties in territories
directly under the control of the Wehrmacht. The duties policing the areas behind the front lines,
ranged from straightforward traffic control and population control to
suppression and execution of partisans and the apprehension of enemy stragglers.
But by 1943
as the tide of war changed for Nazi Germany, the Feldgendarmerie were given the task to maintain discipline in the Wehrmacht. Many ordinary soldiers deemed to be deserters were summarily executed by Feldgendarmerie units. This earned them the pejorative Kettenhunde (chained dogs) after the gorget they wore with their uniforms. The arbitrary and brutal
policing of soldiers gave them the other nickname Heldenklauer (hero-snatcher) because they screened refugees and hospital
transports for potential deserters with orders to kill suspected malingerers. Rear-echelon personnel would also be checked for
passes that permitted them to be away from the front.
I may never use the miniature in a game but I still bought it though, apologies if the images disturb but it did happen!
The miniature is from CP Models and the Feldgendarmerie are from AB figures.
Execution of a German soldier caught in a US uniform in WW2 around the time of the Battle of the Bulge I believe.
The execution of Catherine Howard.
English Civil War justice I think from Redoubt Miniatures.
Guillotine set from Foundry Miniatures.