German tanks crossing borders of an occupyed country probably France 1944.

German armor

Intended originally to give fire support to the lighter tanks. Although its role would change as the war progressed, it was the only German tank to stay in continuous production over the course of the war. It too was relatively rare in Poland in 1939, with only one platoon in each Panzer battalion (although once again 1. Panzerdivision and Panzer Lehr had more). By the Battle of France each battalion had a full Mittlere Panzerkompanie equipped with Panzer IV tanks. 

[High Resolution]

Panzer IV D [HR]

Mittlere Schutzenpanzerwagen fur 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24, Stummel. [High Resolution]

Sd Kfz 251/9 C was developed as a close support weapon for Panzergrenadiers to give the heavy firepower that was some times needed to pry out the most determined enemy. When a new design of half-track was put into production the C model was replaced by the new D model to create the Sd Kfz 251/9 D.

StuGs and other fully tracked assault guns could not always be available when the Panzergrenadiers needed them. Combining the already proven Sd Kfz 251 half-track with the short 7.5cm tank gun created a simple solution.

They were quickly issued to heavy gun companies of Panzergrenadier Regiments where it first saw action on the Russian Front in June 1942 (Sd Kfz 251/0 C version) when two prototypes were issued for testing. They were successful and a further 150 were ordered.

It was soon named affectionately among the troops as Stummel (stump) because of the guns short length.
It carried 52 rounds of ammunition for the 7.5cm as well as 2 Machine-guns for air and close protection with an ample supply of ammunition.
