The U.S. Army’s Tactical and Technical Trends (Vol. I, No. 11: July 1943) quoted Red Army sources,

The Germans make extensive use of self-propelled guns as assault artillery. Their most important mission is to destroy the opposition’s antitank and heavy infantry weapons… Assault batteries, which are assigned a limited number of targets, have the mission of supporting the attacks of the infantry, and of destroying the opposition’s heavy infantry weapons and strong points disclosed during the attack. In supporting tank attacks, the self-propelled artillery assumes some of the normal tasks of heavier tanks, including the destruction of antitank guns.

While the German Army was largely a horse-drawn army, the Germans focused, and relied on, armored vehicles for speed, mobility and shock.

There was a lot of trial and error and few countries got it right the first time but there’s a case for saying that the Sturmgeschütz was one of the few World War II projects that really did work. More reliable than most, as an assault gun it was just what the infantry wanted; as a Panzerjäger its results speak for themselves. It proved a stable platform for upgunning with the long L/48 main gun and went on to be linked with as many as 30,000 tank kills. Above all, like the best of the Allied vehicles, it was straightforward to manufacture and was built in quantity.

Following on the heels of Simon Forty and Richard Charlton-Taylor’s book, Panzer Crewman, this book continues their well-documented and easy to read format on another crucial WWII German armored vehicle series that served in all theaters of war the German forces were committed. Like the book’s predecessor, this book’s title is a little misleading. While Sturmartillerie Crewman, does focus on the Germans in the Sturmartillerie, Sturmgeschütz, and Panzerjäger, it is also an excellent primer and one-stop shop for history of Germany’s World War II Sturmartillerie vehicles, tactics, uniforms, organizations, and how they were employed from the first offensive battles to the grinding defensive battles on three fronts. The book focuses on the Sturmgeschütz (StuG III, StuG 40, StuH 42, StuG IV and other variants), the three types of Panzerjäger (PaKSf – antitank gun mounted on self-propelled chassis; Sturmgeschütz, and designated Panzerjäger vehicles), and Selbstfahrlafetten (SPG-self-propelled gun).

The Reichswehr started looking at self-propelled (SP) guns to accompany infantry attacks in 1927. The concept gained traction in 1925 and was further codified in a 1936 directive. There was a definitive separation between tanks and Sturmartillerie “that tanks were there to break through the enemy infantry zone and use their speed to reach the areas behind, while Sturmartillerie was to fight alongside the infantry.” It was also noted that “Sturmartillerie vehicles must be able to engage enemy tanks, using their strengths – low height and suitability for ambush – rather than depend on armor as a defense.”

German Sturmartillerie was often subordinated to their more famous Panzer brethren. Ironically, the Sturmartillerie were trained as artillery first, often resulting in more accurate firing, particularly the crucial first shots. This book, and the authors, do an excellent job of not only factually telling a succinct story about this essential mobile artillery, but also their crewmen, and their exploits. They also do some myth busting which does nothing to further their glory, but instead shows determined men committed to their cause, first in their belief of their future, then to each other as reality set in. The authors are true to the Casemate Illustrated series with a concise, professionally researched and presented book on a complicated and much misunderstood subject. Using period photographs, illustrated pages, tables and immaculate references, this book provides the reader with a truthful look at Germany’s Sturmartillerie and the men who crewed them.

Sturmartillerie Crewman is composed of the following chapters:

• Timeline of Events
• Panzer Helfen Dir! (Armor Helps You!)
• Introduction
• Sturmgeschütze in France, 1940
• North African Interlude
• StuG Crew Titles
• Unternehmen Barbarossa
• Panzerjäger
• Panzerartillerie
• The Battle of Normandy
• Operation Bagration
• Self-Propelled Guns
• The Battle of the Bulge
• Repair Services
• The Soldier
• Training
• Uniforms
• Medals and Awards
• The Vehicles
• Sturmgeschütze
• Panzerjäger
• Panzerartillerie
• Ammunition
• Communication
• Camouflage
• Crew Duties
• Higher Command
• Gun Crew
• Life in the Line
• The Units
• Sturmgeschütze
• Panzerjäger
• Panzerartillerie
• Mobility
• Winter
• Tactics
• Firing Positions
• Conclusion
• Further Reading

• Index

This book is exemplary in many regards. Besides the plethora of information outlined above, the amazing photos (several in color), highlight the resourcefulness of the Sturmartillerie. The anecdotes are particularly noteworthy and put a human element during armored warfare. From the Crew Duties section,

His (gunner) training promoted Auftragstaktik; he was told his commander’s intention – what the mission was – but not the specifics of how to do it. That was up to him.

An often-overlooked part of any mechanized army is the maintenance and the men who maintained the vehicles. As a testament to mechanic’s ingenuity and creativeness,

Repairs that were necessary were almost always dealt with at the front – usually at workshops which could deal with as many as 30-40 tanks whose repairs might take as long as two weeks, depending on how long it took to get spare parts if they couldn’t be cannibalized from more badly damaged vehicles. Less than 10 percent of damaged vehicles went back to the manufacturers for repair.

Modelers cannot help but have a lot of inspiration for their models, vignettes, and dioramas from this book. The Sturmartillerie vehicles are laid out well, crew positions identified, stowage shown per the manual and photographs in the field, armor and armament, Zimmerit and schürzen, types of ammunition used, communication gear, camouflage, and the wide varieties of terrain and climatic conditions the vehicles operated in. The uniform section alone is fantastic for figure painting. This is a must-have reference book for any strurmartillerie vehicle or crewman figure painter.

A part of the Conclusion sums up the book well,

And through it all were the crews, who had to think like infantry while acting as artillerymen. Their role as Sturmartillerie was multifaceted, requiring the ability of a gunner, the wherewithal of a Panzermann, the infantry awareness of a Panzergrenadier, plus a fair does I-Dienst maintenance knowledge, coupled with tactical astuteness, leadership ability, initiative, and communication skills. The manuals weren’t written when the first SPGs rolled off the production lines, and in many cases the crews learned on the job, at all times underwritten by resourcefulness and bravery.

The Sturmartillerie Crewman will find a place next to the earlier released Panzer Crewman and The German Infantryman on the Eastern Front.

This book is worth your hard-earned hobby money, and I know it will be reference material for a lot of upcoming projects.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS-USA for providing the review sample.