The Sturmgeschütz (StuG) assault guns

The Sturmgeschütz (StuG) assault guns were developed in 1936 as the German Army requested armored infantry support vehicles capable of carrying guns large enough to destroy opposing bunkers and other field fortifications. The development was done by Daimler-Benz AG, which mated 7.5-centimeter guns with the chassis of Panzer III medium tanks to come up with the answer for the German infantry. The first five examples were built in 1937, and mass production began in 1940. They first saw combat during the invasion of France and the Low Countries, during which StuG crews praised their effectiveness and low silhouette. The French campaign would also pose a threat for StuG assault guns, however. Much of the credit for the quick victory in France was given to fast-moving tanks, and thus Heinz Guderian and other like-minded generals were able to successfully lobby a limit in the production of StuG guns in favor of tanks. Despite the limitations, production would grow. At the start of 1942, factories were turning out only 45 units per month; by the end of 1942, the figure would grow to 120; by 1944, at the peak of StuG output, the highest monthly figure was 500. At that time, as Guderian became the Chief of the General Staff, he again limited StuG III production, this time placing a cap of 45 per month. Although StuG assault guns were initially designed for infantry support, the German infantry did not have the resources to re-organize its units to take in these new vehicles, thus they were assigned to the artillery organizations. The German Army artillery arm used them both as indirect and direct fire weapons, thus StuG would take on additional roles as tank destroyers, especially after they became equipped with the higher velocity guns, but they would still be used in their primary roles. To illustrate, between Dec 1943 and May 1944, StuG vehicles fired 315,280 rounds in combat, and only 16.3% of which were targeting enemy armored vehicles. In 1942, the variant design Sturmhaubitze 42 was developed; the StuH 42 vehicles were equipped with 105-millimeter howitzers, which re-focused their role as infantry-support vehicles. Between Oct 1942 and 1945, 1,211 StuH 42 vehicles were built. In late 1943, Germany began manufacturing assault guns based on the Panzer IV tank chassis; to distinguish the two different models, the StuG assault guns built on the Panzer III chassis were re-designated StuG III assault guns in early 1944, while the new Panzer IV-based ones were called StuG IV assault guns. In total, between 1940 and Mar 1945, 9,408 StuG III assault guns were built; this figure excluded StuH 42 production. StuG III guns accounted for 20,000 enemy tanks disabled or destroyed by spring of 1944.

American paratrooper Ed Shames of the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment recalled encountering a StuG III Ausf F/8 or Ausf G vehicle in Normandie, France:

As the [American M5] tanks came up beside me, I rose to my feet and trotted alongside, using them as a shield from the German machine gun fire…. Suddenly a couple of 75mm rounds went through the lead vehicle and into the tank directly behind it. The shots had been fired at point blank range and the lightly armored M5s didn’t stand a chance…. The third tank started backing out and as it did so I picked myself up and ran.

In 1944, the Finnish Army received 29 StuG III assault guns from Germany for use against the Soviet Union. Together with the 30 StuG IV assault guns also given at the same time, the 59 assault guns destroyed 87 Soviet tanks at the loss of only 8 StuG vehicles. After WW2, they remained in Finnish service until the 1960s. A few StuG III assault guns were also exported to other German-friendly nations such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Spain.

A number of StuG III assault guns were captured by Yugoslavian partisans during and after the European War. The Yugoslav Peoples Army used some of these captured vehicles until the 1950s. During the course of the war, the Soviet Union also captured a number of StuG III assault guns; some of the Soviet-captured examples were given to Syria, who used them during the Six Days War of 1967.

Sources:
Ian Gardner and Roger Day, Tonight We Die as Men
Steven Zaloga, M10 Tank Destroyer vs. StuG III Assault Gun
Wikipedia

SPECIFICATIONS

Ausf A (SdKfz 142)

Ausf E

Ausf F (SdKfz 142/1)

Ausf F/8 (SdKfz 142/1)

Ausf G (SdKfz 142/1)

StuH 42 (SdKfz 142/2)

Photographs