GERMAN ASSAULT GUNS AND TANK DESTROYERS 1940 - 1945: Images Of War Series

1-212800

Another fine photographic history in the series. The WWII assault guns and tank destroyers deployed by the Wehrmacht are not as famous as tanks like the Tiger and Panther, but they were remarkably successful. As the conflict progressed, the German army had to find a use for its obsolete panzers, and this gave rise to the turretless Sturmgeschutz or assault guns designed for infantry support. From 1944 onwards they played a vital role in Nazi Germany's increasingly defensive war.

A selection of rare wartime photographs shows the variety of turretless armored fighting vehicles that were produced and developed - various models of the Sturmgeschutz III, the Sturmhaubitze, Jagdpanzer, Panzerjager, Marder, Hetzer. Often a lack of tanks meant that these armored vehicles were called on to fill the panzer's role, and they proved ideal during the Germans' defensive battles on the Eastern Front as well as in Italy and Normandy - they were instrumental in delaying Germany's defeat.