Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. The vehicle was a leading weapon of the Sturmartillerie, a branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry in infantry, panzer, and panzergrenadier units. StuGs were very successful in their intended support role and destroyed, among others, many bunkers, pillboxes and other defences. Destruction of enemy tanks was its main priority, however, and it is estimated that by 1944 StuG battalions had destroyed 20,000 enemy tanks.
The StuG is not generally considered to be a true tank because it lacks a turret. The gun was mounted directly in the hull, in a casemate-style fashion, with as low a profile as was possible to reduce vehicle height, and had a limited lateral traverse of a few degrees in either direction. Thus, the entire vehicle had to be turned in order to acquire targets. Omitting the turret made production much simpler and less costly, enabling greater numbers to be built. The lower vehicle height was meant to give a "StuG" designated vehicle a significantly shorter vertical profile as compared to contemporary tanks, making the StuG more difficult to hit and easier to protect in hull defilade.
Most assault guns were mounted on the chassis of a Panzer III (which had become obsolete as a tank) or Panzer IV, with the resultant model being called either a StuG III or StuG IV respectively. The StuG was one of the most effective tracked vehicles of World War II, and over 10,000 of them were eventually produced.
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