Breaking the stagnant trench warfare of World War I was high on the minds of military planners on both sides. The Germans developed the innovative Stosstruppen or infiltration tactics, but these failed when faced with built up strong points. The war ended before Germany could adequately solve the problem, but it was taken up again during the rearmament of the 1930's. The Department of the Inspector for Infantry requested an armored vehicle capable of providing support for infantry in 1936. This initially met with opposition from the armored proponents, who wanted all armored vehicles to stay with the new panzer divisions. However, the need for an armored vehicle that could knock out pillboxes and other strong points was genuine. Daimler was asked to prepare designs based on the Panzer Mark III chassis, with Krupp to design the superstructure and armament. The result was the Gepanzerter Selbstfahriafette fur Sturmgeschutz 7.5cm Kanone Ausf A (Sd K& 142), or Sturmgeschutz III A, or StuG III Ausf A for short. The prototype appeared in 1937, but did not go into production until January 1940. Due to the pressing need to build panzers, only 30 were produced by May 1940. The StuG dispensed with a revolving turret, instead housing a short 75mm in a low, thickly armored sloping turret. No machine guns are listed as being carried on this model. It had a combat weight of 22 tons and a crew of four. Since very low numbers were available for Case Yellow, the invasion of France, they were grouped in individual batteries of six. The first to see action was Battery 640, serving with the Grossdeutschland infantry regiment. It was a success. More guns were ordered. Improvements went into Models B, C, and D. E was the first model to list a machine gun, though it is probable that earlier models were retrofitted. Production increased to the point that by the start of Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, there were eight assault gun batteries and several independent batteries with both the army and the Waffen SS. Model F carried a longer 75mm StuK40 L/43 or L/48 in response to requests for more punch to deal with the numerous Russian tanks, especially the heavier T-34 and KV-1 series. Their low silhouette and thick armor made them ideal vehicles to maul Russian tank attacks on infantry. The longer gun was so successful that 699 L/48 equipped models were produced between March and December 1942. There were 3000 built in 1943. The final model to carry the 75mm was G, which began production in December 1942 and continued to March 1945. Later models were constantly upgraded with heavier armor, side skirts to defy hollow charge weapons, Zimmerit paste and even six inches of concrete on the top compartment. Machine guns increased to two, and internally loaded grenade projectors for smoke or antipersonnel charges were added. The line between Assault Gun and Tank Destroyer (panzer jager or jagdpanzer) blurred during this time, and a new model on the Mark III chassis, the 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze 42 was produced in October 1942. This Assault Howitzer carried a 105mm StuH42 L/28 howitzer and over 1200 were produced until February 1945. This model was to return a supporting role to the Assault Gun, in essence providing support to the supporting Assault Guns who were now too busy killing tanks to provide infantry support. There were several other variants on the Mark III frame, including StuG III (F1), which carried a flamethrower, Sturminfanteriegeschutz 33B, which held a 150mm Stu 1 G L/11 infantry gun in a higher, boxier frame, and a Munitionspanzer or ammunition carrier version. The Russians captured several Mark III's and modified them with their own 76.2mm anti-tank guns, having a rectangular superstructure, but capturing the essence of the assault gun, which they later copied in their SU series such as SU-76, SU-100, SU-122 and SU152 models. The final German design never left the drawing board. It would have mounted an 88mm gun in a more rounded hull. The excellent Mark IV chassis was used to replace the StuG III when Mark III facilities were heavily bombed. Krupp halted production of the Mark IV tank in December of 1943 and began fitting the chassis for a lengthened StuG superstructure the following month. The result was the Sturmgeschutz IV, also fitted with the 75mm StuK40 L/48. A version carrying the 75mm PaK L/48 was redesignated Jagdpanzer IV. Employment of StuGs in battalions was successful, so the StuG IV's were sometimes used in independent Assault Gun brigades. Over 1100 StuG IV's were produced by March 1945. Designers were asked to come up with an Assault Gun design that could flatten a house in three rounds. The result was the Sturmpanzer IV The Assault Tank, known as Brummbar or Grizzly Bear was also built on the Mark IV chassis. They sported a large high superstructure that had angled sides. The main weapon was 150mm StuH43 L/12 howitzer and it carried two machine guns, one hull mounted. The frontal armor was 100mm thick and its gun was carried in a ball-like mount unlike the current Saukopf or pig's head mantlets of the panzers and assault guns. Over 300 of these formidable weapons were produced. They arrived in mid-1943, unable to participate in many assaults, but easily living up to their savage names on defense. The Tiger I frame offered possibilities to designers who were constantly being prodded by Hitler for bigger and bigger weapons. The turret of the Tiger I could not hold the long 88mm PaK43/2 L/71 antitank gun, so Porsche came up with a design that placed the gun on an elongated rectangular superstructure that sat over the rear of the Tiger I chassis, the gun being steadied on a bipod. This meant that the whole vehicle had to be turned to change targets. This became the Ferdinand, for Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. Originally designated a Sturmgeschutz, it was rushed into production and 90 were ready for the Kursk offensive. They failed miserably, most notably because they had not been fitted with machine guns and were easy targets for infantry. It was redesigned and was then designated the Elefant, a jagdpanzer. The last production model to bear the "Sturm" appellation was the Sturmmorser Tiger. This massive weapon was also based on the Tiger I chassis. It housed a huge 380mm rocket projector offset in its sloped rectangular hull. Originally designed for a 210mm mortar, the giant rocket projector was picked instead. The firm of Rheinmetall-Borsig had developed the weapon as an anti-submarine device for the German Navy. It was, like the Brummbar, a weapon that had no role. Originally designed to reduce fortresses or obliterate troop concentrations, the front armor was 150mm. 18 units were produced and went into 3 six-vehicle companies, 1001, 1002, and 1003. The heaviest Assault Gun of all at 65 tons, it defended the homeland at the end. The other sound chassis, that of the Panther tank, was used in a variety of wartime roles. In late 1944, plans were made to mount a 150mm StuH43/1 howitzer on the Mark VI frame, with the preliminary designation of Sturmpanther, but the war ended before production could began on this no doubt deadly assault gun. Having proven its worth from the start, the Assault Gun concept was carried to its logical extremes, both as an infantry support weapon and a dual-purpose assault gun and tank killer. Had the war gone differently, German inventories would have seen more production of ever-larger weapons on heavier platforms. Assuming that the Sturmpanther had been produced, the next step would have been a concept of assault gun on the titanic E-100, or even the Maus chassis, rolling fortresses of steel. Back to Table of Contents -- Against the Odds vol. 1 no. 3 Back to Against the Odds List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by LPS. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com * Buy this back issue or subscribe to Against the Odds direct from LPS.