M10 Tank Destroyer
vs
StuG III Assault Gun
Germany 1944
Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Illustrator: Richard Chasemore
This 80 page paperback book is number 53 in the Duel series of books available from Osprey Publishing.
The Allies’ M10 Tank Destroyer and the Germans’ Sturmgeschütz (StuG) lll were the unsung workhorses of the northwest European battlefields of 1944–45. While their mission was not principally fighting one another, their widespread use ensured their frequent encounters, from the Normandy Bocage, to the rubble-strewn streets of Aachen.
The StuG lll was the quintessential assault gun, a low-slung, heavily armored, turret-less vehicle intended to provide direct fire support for infantry formations, whilst the M10 3in Gun Motor Carriage was originally developed as a tank destroyer. However, by 1944 the 3in gun proved ineffectual against the most thickly armored German tanks, and was consequently relegated to infantry support too.
Widely deployed in roles their designers had not envisaged, these two armored fighting vehicles clashed repeatedly during the 11-month campaign, which saw the Allies advance from Normandy to the heart of the Reich. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this is the story of their confrontation at the height of World War ll.
The contents of this book are;
- Introduction
- Chronology
- Design and Development
- Technical Specifications
- The Combatants
- The Strategic Situation
- Combat
- Statistics and Analysis
- Bibliography
- Index
The Duel series of books provides the reader with a comparison of weapons and how faired against one another. Duel 53 compares two of the most popular weapons platforms that were available during the later stages of World War II. These were two of the most damaging tank destroyers that were fielded during World War II. This book would be of special interest to the modeler, wargamer and diorama builder because of the large number of black and white photographs showing these weapons in action, the color drawings of the weapons and the short history provided of each tank destroyer.
