A concept that was fully embraced by the German army in WWII was that of the infantry assault gun or the Sturmgeschütz (better known to most of us by its shortened 'StuG' title). These vehicles were intended to act mostly as highly mobile anti-tank guns and so the need to provide a turret was not there. These guns could be moved in elevation and had some azmuthal traverse, but the latter was quite limited. The basic reason for this was to provide a low profile as the StuG was able to be most effective in ambush operations.

The vast majority of these vehicles were based on the Panzer III chassis and almost all were built new, though a few were rebuilds of earlier vehicles. Later in the war, there were some based on the Panzer IV and a very few were built on Tiger chassis. These latter vehicles were more of a mobile mortar than a proper StuG.

We have all come to rely on Concord to provide a wealth of photographs on the particular subject and this one is no exception. There are  hundreds of clearly printed and interesting pictures of these vehicles  within the 72 pages of this book. Enough to provide diorama inspiration for years to come.

The author has provided a brief introduction to the type as well as a breakdown of the differences between the different variations that were produced as the war progressed. This information is carried through to the captions of the photos, starting with their first use in 1939 up until those produced at the end of the war. In the center of the book are eight pages of large, full color profiles of various vehicles shown in the photos, a real boon to modelers and superbly drawn.

Overall an excellent book on a subject that I know draws a lot of interest. One that I enjoyed reading and can highly recommend to you as well.

July 2008

Review book courtesy of www.dragonmodelsusa.com . Get yours at your local retailer or ask them to order it for you.

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