DUKW

While we wait for Beach Assault, which will include special rules for landings, we can still enjoy simulating minor fights using these fantastic amphibious vehicles. To better appreciate the nuances in the rules we also advise the use of Vehicle Upgrade.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
After the defeat of the Third Reich in Russia, the Americans were in a dilemma. Should they let Stalin gradually occupy Europe with the spread of communism that would inevitably follow, or land in France and Italy, threaten the German motherland and at the same time check the advance of their ally, taking all the risks that that choice implied? Both solutions had a very dangerous flip-side. After a good look at the situation, the Americans opted for invasion. With the precedents of other sea-borne invasions in mind, it was immediately obvious that the key to success was a fleet with vehicles that could re-supply the bridgehead by linking the ships moored off-shore to the beach. After experimenting various options the final decision fell on an amphibious truck that was derived from a model designed by the General Motor Corporation. The basic idea was simple: minimise the supply of spare-parts, using the same, standard, parts; have a vehicle which could move large amounts of material on, round, and through, the water without having to re-position the load. As soon as 1942, special training camps were set up which were dedicated to these strange new vehicles that were difficult to manoeuvre but which had so impressed the American High-Command. Their baptism of fire came during the war in the Pacific where the first units were used. Encouraged by the results, entire companies were prepared to collaborate with the army during the planned landings in Sicily. The Companies were divided into a Command Group, a maintenance section and three platoons. Each platoon comprised 12 DKW organised in three operative sections, each of these sub-divided into a command vehicle (with an M36 machine-gun and an M2 .50 cal. anti-aircraft gun) and three standard DKW. Atmospheric conditions limited the use of these vehicles during the landings but their unique characteristics proved vital in many situations, lending more prestige to their record. At Salerno, they proved without any doubt that their versatility would allow constant re-supply even in dramatic conditions. After the experience and great successes of the Italian front, a new challenge was on the horizon: D-Day. 19 companies were made ready for the occasion, of which 12 went to Omaha and 7 to Utah Beach. Their use at Pointe Du Hoc remains memorable, where the Rangers assaulted a coastal fortress high up on a cliff, using fireman's ladders mounted on the vehicles themselves. Forgetting for one minute the normal routine duties they performed to guarantee supplies in Normandy, they were again to be centre-stage during the crossing of the Rhine where they played a fundamental role.