Sturmi is a Finnish Tank unit in Steel Division II.
Background[ | ]
Sturmgeschütz III was one of the most successful Nazi designs, both in terms of units produced - ca. 10 086 StuG III- and the number of kills. The G variant was the most numerous, with nearly 8 500 manufactured or converted from previous variants. Several StuGs remained in use in Arab countries as late as 1967, used against Israel in the Six-Day War.
The StuG III began its life as a fire support vehicle, intended to provide infantry units with direct fire support against enemy fortifications and armored units. Daimler-Benz was contracted to create such a weapon in 1936, with the first production units rolling off the assembly line in 1940. Mounting the short-barreled 75 mm StuK 37L/24 gun in a casemate-style hull mounted on the Panzer IIIF chassis, they debuted during the Battle of France. Subsequent iterations of the series, Ausf. B through E, focused on improving mechanical reliability and resilience, without altering its combat role. Everything changed with Ausf. F, which mounted the 7.5 cm StuK 40 L/43 and boasted thickened frontal armor, to allow it to effectively counter superior Soviet armored vehicles. From June 1942, the lengthened 7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48 was used.
The Ausf. G was the final StuG III model produced from December 1942 onwards, boasting an improved superstructure design and the addition of side-mounted Schürzen for protection against anti-tank rifles and shaped charge weapons. Late G versions mounted the Topfblende pot mantlet, which provided increased protection for the gun, giving it the distinctive pig's head (Saukopf) shape.
Assault Gun Battalion (Rynnäkkötykkipataljoona) of Panssaridivisioona received its first StuG IIIG assault guns in 2nd September 1943 with 30 delivered. Because of the the Karelian Isthmus Soviet offensive that started in 9th of June 1944 29 more StuG IIG were delivered. Since the normal machine gun were delivered with the Assault guns these were replaced by captured DT.
Leading elements of Assault Gun Battalion from Panssaridivisioona fought in the battle of Tali-Ihantala supporting 17. Divisioona.