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Armor in Action #14
Sturmgeschutz III in Action /Armor in Action/2014
Sturmgeschutz In Action
50 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
6 people want to read
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July 19, 2025
When I saw this book at the thrift store, I knew I had to get it. When this book came out in 1976, I remember seeing it at the Hobby store and coveting it- seriously. It's number 14 in the "In Action" series from Squadron/Signal- and it was the creme de la creme of Modeling/Wargaming resources for WWII Vehicles in the 70s and 80s. Author Bruce Culver, one of the publisher's authors on WWII Vehicles, and his illustrator, Don Greer, give us the story of the German "Assault Guns" - originally direct fire cannon for supporting infantry units- later in the war a potent Anti Tank weapon as the Third Reich was on the Defensive. Each successive version of the weapon- basically a 75mm Cannon set in a superstructure on a turretless Pz III Chassis- is depicted here- shown in several b/w pics - and discussed. Then there is a great colour plate section in the middle- with silhouette paint schemes of samples of each version in typical form in the field. It's a package that's a little dated now- but still a very useful resource for its market.
The Russians, French, and British used slow tanks for supporting infantry- but building turrets is expensive- and the Nazis wanted a big bang for a little buck outlay. The Wehrmacht solution was to put a bigger gun on the chassis- and accept the reduced traverse potential. This worked well enough when the guns were used as bunker busters, and trench clearers- tasks that called for low velocity cannon. When fighting tanks- the "StuGs" as they were known were successful at first- when they had bigger guns than most of the tanks they faced- but fell behind as weapons and tanks developed over the passage of the whole war. There are good reasons the assault gun concept has largely been replaced on modern battlefields. This is a good way to get the story of this AFV in a short format, but may pale before more modern resources with more colour content.
There are no adult themes and no graphic violence passages, so this is a fine book for the Junior Reader over 12/13 years with a historical interest. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, the intended market- it's a dated but useful resource. The Gamer gets a lot of good background information on a key weapon of WWII- as well as those colour plates for painting guidance. The modeler gets a tonne of photos of this weapon- key information on how various versions differ from each other- and those colour plates are good for these guys too. The Military Enthusiast gets a good introductory resource on a vehicle that figures large in just about any discussion of Wehrmacht and Waffen SS tactics. I'm glad I snapped up this historical document- and think the 1976 me would approve of this review.
The Russians, French, and British used slow tanks for supporting infantry- but building turrets is expensive- and the Nazis wanted a big bang for a little buck outlay. The Wehrmacht solution was to put a bigger gun on the chassis- and accept the reduced traverse potential. This worked well enough when the guns were used as bunker busters, and trench clearers- tasks that called for low velocity cannon. When fighting tanks- the "StuGs" as they were known were successful at first- when they had bigger guns than most of the tanks they faced- but fell behind as weapons and tanks developed over the passage of the whole war. There are good reasons the assault gun concept has largely been replaced on modern battlefields. This is a good way to get the story of this AFV in a short format, but may pale before more modern resources with more colour content.
There are no adult themes and no graphic violence passages, so this is a fine book for the Junior Reader over 12/13 years with a historical interest. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, the intended market- it's a dated but useful resource. The Gamer gets a lot of good background information on a key weapon of WWII- as well as those colour plates for painting guidance. The modeler gets a tonne of photos of this weapon- key information on how various versions differ from each other- and those colour plates are good for these guys too. The Military Enthusiast gets a good introductory resource on a vehicle that figures large in just about any discussion of Wehrmacht and Waffen SS tactics. I'm glad I snapped up this historical document- and think the 1976 me would approve of this review.
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