Sturmgeschütz

Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. They were widely used to provide fire support for infantry, panzer and panzergrenadier units. The vehicles were essentially tank chassis with a gun, usually a long-barreled 75mm, directly mounted on it. Due to not having a turret, it afforded the crew more space, allowed a larger gun to be used, but limited the traverse of the gun, requiring the whole vehicle to turn to aim at a target much of the time.

Throughout World War II, especially later in the war, Germany produced more assault guns than tanks. This was because they were cheaper and quicker to produce due to the lack of revolving turret and associated complex machinery and lacked ball bearings Germans had poor access to. Yet they were almost as effective as tanks and were lower. They also provided a use for obsolete tank chassis. Most assault guns were mounted on Panzer III and Panzer IV chassis, producing the StuG III and StuG IV, respectively. Other assault guns include Jagdpanzer IV, Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger, Hetzer, Brummbär, Sturmtiger and others.