STUG III CREW & INFANTRY SET

The beginning of the development of German self-propelled artillery can be considered in the mid-1930s, when the concept of creating an assault gun (German: Sturmgeschütz - in short StuG ) intended to support the offensive activities of the German infantry. Very often the author of this idea is considered to be the later field marshal Erich von Manstein. The first prototypes of such vehicles were created in 1937, and when they entered mass production, they received the designation StuG III. They were used for the first time during the French campaign in 1940. In the course of this campaign, the Bison guns (sometimes referred to as Sturmpanzer I) were also used, i.e. the 150 mm sIG guns mounted on the Panzer I chassis. During the further part of World War II, the German army introduced more and more perfect self-propelled guns on a large scale. The armored and mechanized units were equipped with vehicles such as the Wespe or the very successful Hummel, which allowed for a significant improvement in the mobility of artillery in these units. The StuG III carts were also developed and the StuG IV cart was introduced to production. At the end of the war, a small number of Sturmtiger vehicles armed with a 380 mm rocket mortar appeared.Panzergrenadier is a German term for a formation of panzer grenadiers, i.e. infantry units trained to fight in close cooperation with their own tanks. This term was officially used in 1942, when infantry divisions were renamed grenadier divisions and motorized infantry divisions into panzer grenadier divisions. It is worth adding that in the years 1937-1942, the Schützen Regiment was used to describe the infantry regiments serving in armored units. Theoretically, the basic equipment of armored grenadier divisions was to be armored half-tracked transporters, especially Sd.Kfz.251, but due to insufficient production, these infantry were often transported by trucks. As a standard, an armored grenadier division consisted of three infantry regiments, two battalions in each regiment and numerous support units, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft, sapper and communication units. Self-propelled guns, such as the StuG III, were often used in these formations. It is worth adding that the armored grenadier divisions were formed not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the Waffen SS - for example the Totenkopf Division or the Hohenstaufen Division.