The height of the vehicle was not to exceed that of the average soldier.ĭaimler-Benz AG used the chassis and running gear of its recent Panzer III medium tank as a basis for the new vehicle. The gun mount's fixed, fully integrated casemate superstructure was to allow a limited traverse of a minimum of 25° and provide overhead protection for the crew. On 15 June 1936, Daimler-Benz AG received an order to develop an armoured infantry support vehicle capable of mounting a 7.5 cm (2.95 in) calibre artillery piece. The initial proposal was from von Manstein and submitted to General Ludwig Beck in 1935, suggesting that Sturmartillerie units should be used in a direct-fire support role for infantry divisions. Although the problem was well known in the German army, it was General Erich von Manstein who is considered the father of the Sturmartillerie (assault artillery).
The artillery of the time was heavy and not mobile enough to keep up with the advancing infantry to destroy bunkers, pillboxes, and other minor fortifications with direct fire. The Sturmgeschütz originated from German experiences in World War I, when it was discovered that, during the offensives on the Western Front, the infantry lacked the means to engage fortifications effectively. Initially intended as a mobile assault gun for direct-fire support for infantry, the StuG III was continually modified, and much like the later Jagdpanzer vehicles, was employed as a tank destroyer. It was built on a slightly modified Panzer III chassis, replacing the turret with an armored, fixed superstructure mounting a more powerful gun. It was the most-produced fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle, and second-most produced German armored combat vehicle of any type after the Sd.Kfz.
The Sturmgeschütz III ( StuG III) was an assault gun produced by Germany during World War II.
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