Sturmpanzer IV infantry assault gun, German 216th Sturmpanzerabteilung, Anzio - Italy 1944
Italia Stupa
Sturmpanzer IV (nicknamed Stupa) self-propelled infantry assault gun of German 26th Panzer Division during counter-offensive against Allied invasion force at Italian Anzio beachhead, Spring 1944.
1.35 1980s-era TAMIYA model kit, airbrushed in African Yellow base color with crisscrossing Forest Green lines. Also was first time I used modeling putty to create parallel Zimmerit lines on hull surface used to prevent attachment of enemy magnetic anti-tank mines.
With harsh lessons from 1942-1943 Stalingrad street battles in Soviet Union, Germans armed Stupa with low velocity 150mm howitzer designed for urban combat in destroying multi-storied buildings and city blocks.
Allied Anzio offensive was suppose to outflank and trap bulk of German forces in central Italy, but faulty execution and conservative ground leadership resulted in entire invasion force being trapped in narrow beachhead for 4 months as Germans launched multi-pronged counter-offensives, only Allied air power and offshore naval batteries prevented full military catastrophe.
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