The German Naval Infantry were mostly late-stage war units assembled from Navy personnel. At that stage of the war -February/March 1945-, the surface boats of the German Navy could no longer venture out to sea, and German ground forces needed additional man power desperately, so many sailors were incorporated into the Wehrmacht. Two divisions were constituted that I am aware of, the 1st and 2nd Naval Infantry Divisions. A third one -the 11th- was in the process of being formed, but never fully materialized and it was disbanded before the war was over. The Naval Infantry troops fought in Northern Germany, as might be expected given the fact that these units were formed close to ports, and that at that time, all fighting took place within German territory. The performance of the German Naval Divisions was generally poor, given their lack of proper training in infantry tactics. Naval Infantry units were more effective under fortified conditions as was the case in the defense of the fortified port of Swinemünde by an adhoc force of sailors and Army personnel. One unit of German Naval Infantry troops which was properly trained for ground assaults and was effective in its role was the Marinestosstruppkompanie, a group of 230 men which was used in raids such as the attack on Westerplatte, the occupation of Gdynia, and the battle of the Hel Peninsula.
Mars German Naval Infantry
Another set that I have not seen manufactured before. Not sure if these guys are meant to represent the Marinestosstruppkompanie, or whether they were surplus sailors which had been repurposed as ground infantry, as was the case with the Luftwaffe Field Division. In any case, it is an interesting and unique set. In terms of the sculpting, this set is pretty decent, although the poses could be a bit more dynamic.
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