The Dodge WC series (nicknamed "Beeps") is a prolific range of light 4WD and medium 6WD military utility trucks, produced by Chrysler under the Dodge and Fargo marques during World War II. Together with the 1/4-ton jeeps produced by Willys and Ford, the Dodge 1/2‑ton G-505 and 3/4‑ton G-502 trucks made up nearly all of the light 4WD trucks supplied to the U.S. military in WWII -- with Dodge contributing some 337,500 4WD units (over half as many as the jeep).

Contrary to the versatility of the highly standardized jeep, which was mostly achieved through field modification, the Dodge WC‑series came in many different, purpose-built, but mechanically uniform variants from the factory, much akin to the later family of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. The WC series evolved out of, and was part of a more extended family of trucks, with great mechanical parts commonality, that included open- and closed-cab cargo, troops and weapons carriers, (radio) command, and reconnaissance cars, ambulances, carry-alls, panel vans, and mobile telephone installation and (emergency) field workshop trucks.

The Dodge WC series were essentially built in two generations. From 1940 to early 1942, almost 82,400 of the 1/2‑ton 4x4 Dodge trucks were built -- initially called the VC series, but the great majority, from 1941, in the WC series, and in more variants. Contrary to what Dodge's nomenclature suggested, the 1941 WC models were a direct evolution of the 1940 VC models, retaining the U.S. Army's G-505 Ordnance Corps Supply Catalog number.

This particular 1:43 scale WC 56 command car was attached to an unidentified unit that was used in the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Sold Out!

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

Historical Account: "The Battle for Paris" - The Liberation of Paris (also known as the Battle for Paris and Belgium; French: Liberation de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from August 19th, 1944, until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on August 25th, 1944. Paris had been ruled by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Second Compiegne Armistice on June 22nd, 1940, after which the Wehrmacht occupied northern and western France.

The liberation began when the French Forces of the Interior -- the military structure of the French Resistance -- staged an uprising against the German garrison upon the approach of the US Third Army, led by General George Patton. On the night of August 24th, elements of General Philippe Leclerc's 2nd French Armored Division made their way into Paris and arrived at the Hotel de Ville shortly before midnight. The next morning, August 25th, the bulk of the 2nd Armored Division and US 4th Infantry Division entered the city. Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison and the military governor of Paris, surrendered to the French at the Hotel Meurice, the newly established French headquarters. General Charles de Gaulle arrived to assume control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. It was a major turning point in controlling Nazi forces and leading the resistance into Germany.