Sturmartillerie: Spearhead of the infantry (General Military) Hardcover – August 23, 2016

I have been a WW2 history buff for almost 40 years. My collection of books is huge but this book is my favorite. The layout from development to combat history is superb. Good balance of text and photographs. Enough technical info to keep the techies happy but written well enough that I couldn't put it down. Worth every penny!

Good overview. This Osprey series gives what you expect - good text, nice period photographs and excellent artwork.

thank you

Very nice quality book balanced text/pics. Good solid background and info on the Sturmartillerie.

This was a reasonable book, but the author spent to much time on the war's strategies and not enough telling us about the vehicles. It often mentions that success came though the tactics the German soldiers used but with no mention of what these tactics were. However for anyone interested in the sturmartillerie it it worth buying this book.

Good history of the Sturmartillerie, but little information on the tactical doctrine. There are a number of interviews with veterans that help in the latter regard. The editing/translation was weak.

I mainly got this book for the pictures, but I was surprised by the amount of precise technical and historical data, from the ammunition development to the unit strengths. And yes, there are a lot of interesting, surprisingly good quality pictures (some new, some previously published in "high end" titles), especially from the early years to 1944 - each followed by detailed captions with the Sturmgeschütz type and the unit.The book also discusses in detail how the assault gun design was improved throughout the war (based upon troop reports, critique) and how it was being replaced by more "effective" tank destroyers. I guess, cost-effective would be the right term in some cases: especially, the thinly armoured and cramped Jagdpanzer 38(t) was not welcomed by the Sturmartillerie units, in times when Germany was running low on everything - especially trained manpower.Overall: "Sturmartillerie: Spearhead of the infantry" has enough reports, references, pictures to keep any StuG-enthusiast satisfied for a while. Now, the only thing that prevents me giving full marks is the lack of footnotes, important in a history book with numerous citations. The end war chapter was also brief, but "The East - Facing the 'Josef Stalin'" was an interesting read on how six Sturmgeschütz were able to destroy nine T-34 and five IS-2 without any losses of their own.ContentsIntroduction 6Chapter 1: The Birth of the Sturmartillerie 18Chapter 2: Sturmartillerie: Creation and Organization 44Chapter 3: Assault in France 58Chapter 4: The Balkans and Barbarossa 84Chapter 5: To the Gates of Stalingrad 120Chapter 6: Stalingrad and Beyond 166Chapter 7: Sturmgeschütz: Questioning the Concept 212Index 284

This book provides a very good overview of this weapon from every angle. It starts off with a theoretical and historical analysis of why this weapon was thought necessary. During the First World War direct artillery support for advancing German troops (i.e., to overcome strong points like bunkers and machine gun nests) could only be in the form of artillery drawn up with the infantry. This was far from ideal in that a towed gun was very vulnerable and that mobility was inadequate. Infantry supporting artillery on an armoured platform would be able to overcome both of these problems though. Hence the theoretical genesis of this weapon.The book then goes into how this played out at both a high level and on the battlefield itself. On the high level, how this weapon system did support the infantry (in beginning of war its primary use) but how it also came, as the war progressed, to be used more and more in the anti-tank role. On the battlefield level the book provides very good after action and other reports from the field that show, in an excellent manner, how the weapon should best be used and optimal (and non-optimal) operating conditions and tactics. For example, these weapons were at their best when there was strong cooperation between them and supporting infantry. It was also important that they be used, at minimum, at a platoon level or, ideally, company level strength level. Being used individually usually lead to disaster. They also were not to be used as tanks due to their lack of turrets.The author also discusses, as well as tactics, organizational structure changes through the war, logistics such as ammo and fuel refueling equipment and support, the physical characteristics of the weapons themselves and how they changed over the course of the war (both as a result of lessons learned as well as due to increasing shortage of equipment as the war progressed), various types of ammunition, production figures for both the different types of vehicles and different ammunition types, combat losses and enemy tanks destroyed and a whole plethora of other details. In addition, the book is beautifully illustrated with many contemporaneous black and white photographs (typical of Osprey publications).In short, the book provides a very comprehensive overview. Very, very good from this perspective. This would make it very interesting for anyone but the specialist (who may know most of this). But even a specialist would probably learn a few things as there are numerous original documents that have been translated from German that are not in that wide circulation (i.e., German high level documents on the development of this weapon, tactics, after action reports, etc.). Highly recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in this weapon system.There are a number of reasons why this reviewer, however, grants this book a four-star rating instead of a five star. The most serious involves the lack of footnotes. This is a real shame as the author has made very extensive use of original documents. This is very typical of Osprey Publishing books but is definitely a policy that needs to be revised.Other problems are more minor. For one, the book spends a lot of time discussing and analyzing physical characteristics of a variety of Sturmartillerie but the book lacks color and black and white plates that illustrate how even specific models developed over time and how model types differed from each other. Nor are there any cutaways or illustrations of interiors of vehicles showing the perspective from driver’s, gunners, etc. positions. There are also no maps or illustrations to accompany after action reports or discussions on tactical doctrine. These, too, would have been very helpful.There was also little discussion on training of crews, especially relating to how they were trained to operate as an integrated unit as well as training grounds that made use of pop up targets, etc. Last but not least the book makes extensive use of German nomenclature that is not well known by non-speakers as opposed to the more common English terms for many vehicles (i.e., Hetzer is referred to by its German title) hence the reader, even those with beyond a novice’s knowledge level on these weapons, may become at least temporarily lost.Nevertheless, despite these weaknesses, still a book that is highly recommended.

this book is still definitely worth getting, even if you already have all the other big Stug books. It has enough new info to make it worthwhile. It has a lot of official german reports and assessments that i havent seen before, and these covered lots of interesting topics: uparmouring; ammunition; supply; the begleit company; schurzen...and more.A useful addition to the genre, a good starting book for those getting into the subject, and enough new detail for nerds. The photos are a good selection too, with enough new images.

i really enjoyed reading this book. it had a good mix of technical, historical and operational information. The layout was very logical and flowed nicely throughout the book making it a pleasure to read. the many photos and illustrations fitted in well with the text too. Definately worth buying if you are interested in German Stugs or armour or even if you are just interested in WW2 as this was such an important vehicle for the german Army, especially as the war progressed and tanks became so expensive in terms of resources that stugs were built instead to eke out those scarce resources.

5 star if not for the absence of any maps

Excellent coverage of this important German vehicle.

you cant keep a good stug down