The Combat History of Sturmgeschuetz-Brigade 276

Hard cover, small format (6"x9"), 306 pages, 145 period photographs and approximately 10 maps and diagrams. This is the dramatic story of the unsung heroes of the Eastern Front of World War 2, the assault gun soldiers of the Sturmartillerie. Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 276 was one of many assault guns battalions formed to fight the onslaught of the numerically vastly superior Soviet Forces. They provided armored protection to the largely foot-bound infantry of the German Army. Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 276 was formed in the summer of 1943 and fought exclusively in the East until it was virtually wiped out in 1945 in northern Prussia. This history is written entirely in the form of first-hand accounts by members of the former battalion. As such, the reader is drawn into the world of the assault gunner, where cunning and tactical expertise were needed to slug it out with superior numbers of Soviet tanks. Always giving better than it got, the men of the assault artillery accounted for a large number of tank kills on the Eastern Front — far more than their numbers would indicate. Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 276, later redesignated Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 276 in early 1944, was one of the better Sturmgeschütz units, and produced a number of Knight’s Cross recipients. This is the story of the fighting men of Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 276, from the formation of the unit, through the bitter defensive fighting in the East and, ultimately, the story of their betrayal at the hands of the Swedes when they were interned at the end of the war. In addition to the exciting first-hand accounts of fighting on the Eastern Front, there are more than 140 photographs of the unit which are being published here in the English version of the book for the first time.