Development of the Stug III

The very roots of the Sturmgeschütz (“assault gun”) could be found within Von Manstein’s “Sturmartillerie” concept. It had been already found, back in World War One, that the Sturmtrüppen lacked an effective way to deal with pillboxes and fortifications on the spot. There was no way at the time to bring to bear a standard howitzer or artillery piece for direct fire, but by 1918 all projects to remedy this died out. This is a translation of an original German document that started the development of StuG IIIs, as an assault artillery infantry support weapon (Stumartillerie). Notice that their main role was to take out enemy machine gun posts. They were not to be used as normal artillery. Their ability to fire indirectly at targets was removed. They were restricted to fire in direct line of sight at targets within 4 km using high explosive shells. (Just before the outbreak of war, they were given armor piercing shells to take on enemy tanks that were within 500 m) On 16 June 1936, 2.GenStbH (2nd Department Of the General Staff of the Army) answered in a memorandum: 1.) We agree on the technical development of a Sturmgeschütz (assault gun) and on its tactical commitment. 2.) It seems to point out the following distinctive features to the divisional artillery in order to give the Waffenamt (German Army Weapons Agency) simple and clear demands for the development of the assault gun: a) The task of the Stumartillerie is to destroy enemy machine-gun (MG) positions. This task will be performed within the scope of the infantry attack and at firing ranges of maximum 4km. Thus it is a weapon of the infantry and does not have to perform artillery duties. Therefore, there is no need for shooting ranges of 7 km or being fitted with indirect sighting devices. b) At the same time, the Stumartillerie has to totally fulfill the tasks for which it is currently under development. Thus double development work will be avoided. In June 1936, the Inspektorate des Artillerie authorized the Heeres Waffenamt to design a vehicle in accordance with the following specifications. Mount a 75 mm (2.95 in) caliber gun Provide a traverse of less than 30° Provide enough elevation to reach a 6000 m (3.7 mi) range in indirect fire The gun had to offer armor piercing capabilities sufficient to deal with any tank at 500 m (550 m) Armor specifications must include protection against 20 mm (0.78 in) AP shells at the front and small arms elsewhere A total height less than a standing man To be based on an existing chosen chassis