| HesseCassel | 06 Feb 2012 6:23 p.m. PST |
What would be the coolest unit to make with a dozen LW Stug IVG, all with Schurzen? Could be famous for the battles they fought, their snappy paint scheme and/or their famous leaders. Love the model, thinking of doing a bunch, uncertain about their history. |
| Mako11 | 06 Feb 2012 6:49 p.m. PST |
I seem to recall a unit in the Battle of the Bulge, of Volksgrenadiers, supported by StuGs. A company of them, or more, if I recall correctly. Granted, the men were old, or not in the best of health, but reportedly armed primarily with MP-44s to help give them a bit more punch. That'd work, and they'd probably be riding on brand new StuG IVs. |
| skippy0001 | 06 Feb 2012 9:14 p.m. PST |
Wasn't there a american infantry division that had Stugs and Panzerfausts? The number was in the 80's..or am I just daft? |
| Nick Bowler | 06 Feb 2012 9:46 p.m. PST |
See the wikipedia entry on Stug's. link At the bottom is a link to a large document with pictures of surviving Stug's. I chose to model my unit after one of the Stug's pulled out of a bog, still with the original paint! |
| TankGuy | 06 Feb 2012 10:31 p.m. PST |
667 Stug Brigade, 10 June 1944. Unit symbol: Unicorn Rampant. Had 6 batteries. Destroyed 1000 Soviet tanks by 29 Oct 1943. Fought in Russia 41-42 as 667 StuG Battery. Formed as StuG Abteilung 667 on 28 June 1942. Brigade destroyed summer 1944 but combined with StuG Brigade 254. Retained name. Moved to West Front and fought near Aachen. As a brigade it would have a recon platoon and escort company. |
| McWong73 | 06 Feb 2012 11:13 p.m. PST |
Nice choice, where did you get the info? |
| 11th ACR | 06 Feb 2012 11:22 p.m. PST |
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| NigelM | 07 Feb 2012 4:47 a.m. PST |
This may give a bit of inspiration; link |
| Etranger | 07 Feb 2012 7:17 p.m. PST |
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| SECURITY MINISTER CRITTER | 08 Feb 2012 12:29 a.m. PST |
And yet they still lost the war… |
| GarrisonMiniatures | 08 Feb 2012 7:10 a.m. PST |
Americans equipped a unit of cavalry armed with lasoos. Very effective at tripping up Walkers. |
| Lion in the Stars | 08 Feb 2012 11:00 a.m. PST |
Especially when one end of the lasso is anchored to a 30-ton Sherman tank! |
| Martin Rapier | 09 Feb 2012 8:02 a.m. PST |
Thats why they have legs and not tracks, cuts down on the steel used. |
| Canuckistan Commander | 10 Feb 2012 9:03 a.m. PST |
It was the 83 Infantry Division nicknamed the "Ragtag Circus" because everyone rode, staff cars, kubelwagens, Motorcycles, everyone had or shared a ride. |
| bgbboogie | 10 Feb 2012 9:36 a.m. PST |
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BlackWidowPilot  | 08 Apr 2012 2:30 p.m. PST |
It was the 83 Infantry Division nicknamed the "Ragtag Circus" because everyone rode, staff cars, kubelwagens, Motorcycles, everyone had or shared a ride.
They rode *anything* they could get their hands on, whatever it may have been as long as it had wheels, including a *fire engine* the GIs were apparently rather proud of having "acquired" during their race to the Rhine.
I recollect reading how due to the confused nature of the front by 1945, German troops fleeing the US advance were literally racing the Allied units for the last remaining bridges over the Rhine trying to escape, and sometimes ran right into advancing US columns that had gotten ahead of the retreating German units(!) One such incident involving the 83rd "Ragtag Circus" was a German Army staff car that blundered into the advancing GIs. They were stopped by a burst of SMG fire, and without wasting any time, the appalled German officer and his staff were hustled out of the car and off towards the POW pens, while a bunch of GIs piled into the still running car filling it to capacity, more jumped onto the running boards, and off they went in their nice, new ride, joining the rest of the moving "Ragtag Circus" heading for the Rhine!
Leland R. Erickson
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| Lion in the Stars | 08 Apr 2012 3:50 p.m. PST |
Ah, yes, American 'ingenuity' at it's finest. Anything not nailed down is fair game. Tell a grunt to find a bazooka, he might come back with a Sherman flamethrower! |
| BlackWidowPilot | 08 Apr 2012 6:07 p.m. PST |
Tell a grunt to find a bazooka, he might come back with a Sherman flamethrower!
Or something a whole lot BIGGER:
Gawd, I do love Yankee Ingenuity!
Leland R. Erickson
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| Pizzagrenadier | 09 Apr 2012 7:51 a.m. PST |
I love the 83rd. I remember reading how Patton was a little irritated that one of his "leg" infantry divisions had acquired enough wheels to give his armored divisions some competition. It's a unit I want to model some day. Corgi makes a 1940s fire engine, there are some decent 1930s and 40s trucks out there, and with a few German staff cars and other civilian type vehicles you probably could model the "rag tag circus" pretty well. |
| Gary Kennedy | 09 Apr 2012 8:15 a.m. PST |
The 2nd Oxf & Bucks LI acquired their own fire engine in the latter stages of the Normandy fighting, but being polite gave it back when they returned to the UK. Nothing to do with Stugs I know… Gary |
| Grandviewroad | 09 Apr 2012 5:53 p.m. PST |
Gee, I sure hate to change any post back to the original topic…but: I've some books coming to the library from inter-lib loan on the 197 and 276, plus Sturmgeschuetze vor! Assault Guns to the Front by Franz Kurowski and 7000 Kilometers in a Sturmgeschütz by Heinrich Engel. If either turn out spiffy, I'll post something. Gv |
 miniMo  | 10 Apr 2012 10:48 a.m. PST |
My google-fu is failing me. Any recommended books on the 83rd? (I bet they would have rode a StuG if they caught one, and then they'd be the coolest SuG unit evah!) |
| BlackWidowPilot | 10 Apr 2012 12:21 p.m. PST |
IIRC the Red Army used a number of captured Stugs repainted with fetching red stars… I suspect Gv is going to find what he's after with those volumes of actual combat histories of Stug units… Hmmm.. been looking for an excuse to paint up some more Stugs… one can never have too may Stugs…
Leland R. Erickson
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