The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, 1/4‑ton, 4x4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503, were highly successful American off-road capable, light military utility vehicles. Over 600,000 were built to a single standardized design, for the United States and the Allied forces in World War II, from 1941 until 1945. This also made it (by its light weight) the world's first mass-produced four-wheel drive car, made in 6-figure numbers.

The 1/4-ton jeep became the primary light, wheeled, multi-role vehicle of the United States military and its allies, with President Eisenhower once calling it "one of three decisive weapons the U.S. had during WWII."With some 640,000 units built, the 1/4‑ton jeeps constituted a quarter of the total military support motor vehicles that the U.S. produced during the war, and almost two-thirds of the 988,000 light 4WD vehicles produced, when counted together with the Dodge WC series. Large numbers of jeeps were provided to U.S. allies, including the Soviet Union at the time. Aside from large amounts of 1-1/2 and 2-1/2‑ton trucks, and 25,000 3/4‑ton Dodges - some 50,000 1/4‑ton jeeps were shipped to help Russia during WWII - against Nazi-Germany's total production of just over 50,000 Kubelwagens, the jeep's primary counterpart.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a US Willys Jeep that was used by General George S. Patton Jr, commander of the US 3rd Army. Pre-order! Ship Date: February 2025.

Dimensions:
Length: 2-1/2-inches
Width: 1-1/4-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Ole Blood 'n Guts" - By February, the Germans were in full retreat. On February 23rd, 1945, the U.S. 94th Infantry Division crossed the Saar River and established a vital bridgehead at Serrig, through which Patton pushed units into the Saarland. Patton had insisted upon an immediate crossing of the Saar River against the advice of his officers. Historians such as Charles Whiting have criticized this strategy as unnecessarily aggressive.

Once again, Patton found other commands given priority on gasoline and supplies. To obtain these, Third Army ordnance units passed themselves off as First Army personnel and in one incident they secured thousands of gallons of gasoline from a First Army dump. Between January 29th and March 22nd, the Third Army took Trier, Koblenz, Bingen, Worms, Mainz, Kaiserslautern, and Ludwigshafen, killing or wounding 99,000 and capturing 140,112 German soldiers, which represented virtually all of the remnants of the German First and Seventh Armies. An example of Patton's sarcastic wit was broadcast when he received orders to bypass Trier, as it had been decided that four divisions would be needed to capture it. When the message arrived, Trier had already fallen. Patton rather caustically replied: "Have taken Trier with two divisions. Do you want me to give it back?"

The Third Army began crossing the Rhine River after constructing a pontoon bridge on March 22nd, two weeks after the First Army crossed it at Remagen, and Patton slipped a division across the river that evening. Patton later boasted he had urinated into the river as he crossed.