24 Ryn.tyk.psv./Stu.40 (StuG III Ausf.G in Finnish Service)

Republic of Finland (1943-1959)
Self-Propelled Assault Gun – 59 Operated

Before the outbreak of the Winter War with the Soviet Union, the Finnish armored formations mostly consisted of old and obsolete tanks not suited for combat against more modern opponents. However, starting in 1943, they acquired a small amount of StuG III assault guns. They proved their worth during the heavy fighting in 1944 against the overwhelming Soviet offensive. With the acquisition of a second batch of 29 StuG III, these assault guns would remain in active service within the Finnish Army up to the end of the 1950s.

 

Finland’s Early Struggle to Survive

Following the collapse of the Russian Empire in the First World War, Finland emerged as an independent state. While it did not have great relations with the neighboring Soviet Union, Finland’s two decades of existence proved rather peaceful. This changed drastically, when on 27th August 1939, the secret meeting between German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov resulted in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This non-aggression pact had secret protocols dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, which directly affected Finland. The Germans agreed to let the Soviets occupy former territories that had belonged to the Russian Empire. After September, the Soviets were in the process of occupying the Baltic states under the pretext of defending against a possible German attack. These countries were too small to offer any real resistance to the Soviet demands.

The Soviet Union then demanded territorial concessions from Finland, particularly the lease of the Karelian Isthmus and other areas near Leningrad. The Finns were reluctant to comply, leading to unsuccessful negotiations. When diplomatic negotiations failed, the Soviet Union launched a military offensive against Finland on 30th November 1939. This was the start of the Winter War that lasted until March 1940. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Finnish military, with their knowledge of the terrain and effective guerrilla tactics, inflicted significant casualties on the Soviet forces. The harsh winter conditions also worked to Finland’s advantage. Despite the valiant resistance, the Finns were eventually forced to seek peace negotiations with the Soviets. The war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Moscow on 12th March 1940. With a short yet costly war for either side, roughly 10% of Finnish territory was ceded to the Soviet Union, including the Karelian Isthmus. Still, Finnish military officials knew they must be prepared for a future conflict, and armor would continue to play a role in the war to come.

A Necessary Evil

While never formally a member of the Axis powers, Finland did allow the Wehrmacht access to Northern Finland. Finland later signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was initially an anti-communist pact between Germany and Japan, with other minor nations signing throughout the war. Before this, relations had already been established, which was convenient for both nations, as Germany could stage their military in Lapland and other areas of Finland for Operation Barbarossa. In turn, Finland would be granted the military assistance they needed. However, this ended all support, both material and political, from the Western Allies. Several nations initially remained sympathetic to the Finns regardless of their relations with the Soviet Union, as they were still a small nation of 4 million people forced to cede territory to a much larger one. The Finns had a predicament, yet Nazi Germany was providing direct assistance and modern equipment. The Western Allies on the other hand, had mostly provided their old stock. On 22nd June 1941, Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union began, assisted by some Finnish forces. Three days later, the Soviets staged air raids against nearby Finnish cities, thus beginning the Continuation War.

Finland never sought to gain any additional territory from the conflict, only to regain control of what was initially lost during the Winter War. The Finnish position in the conflict led to mixed reactions from the Allied Powers during the war. While the United States kept diplomatic relations with Finland until 1944, the United Kingdom declared war against them within months of the onset of the Continuation War. Although mostly a symbolic gesture, this declaration paints a stark juxtaposition, with the Finns successfully using the Hawker Hurricane and other aircraft produced in Allied nations against the Soviet Union.

With captured vehicles from the previous conflict, they formed the Panssaridivisioona (Eng. Armored Division). This division was equipped with some 150 tanks. The vast majority were obsolete T-26s and a few more modern T-34 and KV-1 tanks.

Hoping to modernize some of the captured equipment, the Finns created a self-propelled vehicle by reusing the BT-7 tank chassis in 1943. The original turret was removed and replaced with a new enlarged one armed with the 114 mm (QF 4.5 in Mark II) howitzer. In total, 18 such conversions, known as BT-42s, were made and allocated to the Rynnäkkötykkipataljoona (Eng. Assault gun battalion). While their main armament was effective against fortified positions, by and large, these did not make any real tactical difference, especially against enemy armor. To force the inevitable ebb and flow of the conflict in their favor, Finland also purchased six Landsverk self-propelled guns from Sweden.

StuGs in the North

Having no other effective solution to deal with the Soviet tanks, the Finns turned to Germany for help. After examining German inventory, the StuG III was seen as the best and cheapest solution. Before these were shipped, the Finnish crews had to be sufficiently trained to operate them. In June 1943, a delegation of 14 officers and 22 men arrived at the German artillery training center at Jüterborg. The Finnish crews underwent two different training courses that lasted five weeks. The first group was trained to operate the StuG IIIs, while the latter was instead taught necessary maintenance and repair skills Once the courses were complete, the men were sent back to Finland to train new crew and maintenance personnel in August 1943. The following month, another Finnish group was sent to Germany.

In the meantime, the deliveries of the first StuG IIIs began to reach Finland. This bulk purchase, titled Acquisition Treaty 1189, included 45 StuG III Ausf.G, but only 30 were actually delivered. They were also sold to Finland at a markup of roughly 150% of the initial production cost.

Time of Delivery (1943)	Number Delivered
6th July	10
10th August	8
3rd September	12
Total	30

Sturmgeschütz concept

During the Great War, German infantry formations were supported by towed artillery. For German Sturmtruppen (Eng. Stormtroopers), which depended on mobility, the vital towed artillery proved to be slow and inadequate for supporting the troops in taking more fortified enemy positions. After the war, German Army tactician, General Erich von Manstein, proposed using highly mobile, well-protected, and well-armed self-propelled artillery. This new weapon would provide infantry with mobile close-fire support during combat operations. These were to be an organic part of standard infantry divisions, at a battalion strength of around 18 vehicles.

Due to Germany’s general lack of industrial production capacity during the 1930s, it would take years to complete the prototypes. The Germans were also forbidden by the Versailles Treaty from developing and producing tanks. Hitler, when he came to power in 1933, publicly denounced the Treaty. The development of these vehicles was also hindered by conflict between the different branches of the German Armed Forces. Eventually, it was decided that these vehicles would be put under the direct supervision of the Artillery. These vehicles would be known as Sturmgeschütz III (Eng. assault gun vehicles), but were generally known simply as StuG III.

To speed up the development, it was decided to reuse many elements of the Panzer III vehicles. The design was very simple and consisted of a new superstructure armed with a short-barrel 75 mm gun placed on the Panzer III chassis. While the first prototypes were completed in 1937, it was not until 1940 that the initially limited production actually started. Once pressed into service, the StuG III proved to be an excellent infantry support vehicle. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Germans noticed that their available anti-tank weapons were almost useless against the Soviet modern tank designs (T-34 and KVs). To address this problem, in 1942, the Germans introduced a new StuG III armed with the longer 75 mm gun that was more effective as a tank destroyer. As production of the StuG III shifted more towards the anti-tank role, the Infantry was left without a proper support vehicle. To address this, a new version of the StuG III armed with a 10.5 cm howitzer was introduced in 1943. Both versions would remain in production until the war ended, with over 10,000 being produced, making them the most numerous German tracked armored vehicle of the war.

In Finnish Hands

The Assault Gun Battalion had begun to receive its first vehicles the day prior to the final shipment’s arrival on the Finnish mainland. These had the 7.5 cm StuK 40 gun and were a mixture of early and mid-production G models. The vehicles of Treaty 1189 all had the bolted block-style mantlet, and several came with bolted-on nose armor and butt-welded rear armor, and others with fully welded 80 mm frontal armor, and interlock-welded armor at the rear. This first batch also had the early machine gun configuration with a shield for the loader, as well as rubber return rollers. The rubber return rollers varied by production, and not all G models had them as rubber was in short supply depending on time and location. At least one of these, ‘Ps. 531-17’, was built off of a Panzer III Ausf.M.

After familiarization with the vehicles, the new Finnish crews were to undertake a period of training, however, this was hampered by a general lack of ammunition for this purpose. The assault guns were delivered lacking spare parts, so one, StuG III, ‘Ps. 531-13’, was dismantled upon arrival to act as a spare parts vehicle. ‘Ps. 531-13’, incidentally number 13, was subsequently nicknamed “unlucky”.

More StuG IIIs were delivered in the middle of 1944. Germany was enthusiastic to sell Finland more StuG IIIs considering the Soviet offensive in the Karelian Isthmus beginning in early June 1944. Selling these vehicles to the Finns meant they could turn a profit and not risk German soldiers in the process of hindering the Soviet war effort. Orders were given that Finland was to receive 10 Panzer IVs and 15 StuG IIIs per month, limited to 40 Panzers IV in total, but no limit on the latter. This resulted in 29 StuG IIIs, delivered between five shipments, all by boat.

Time of Delivery (1944)	Number Delivered
29th June	5
2nd July	7
6th July	3
3rd August	6
6th August	8
Total	29

The late-middle and early-late G models were all delivered with Zimmerit paste, steel return rollers, and the later “Saukopf” or “pigs head” mantlet, additional armor for the commander’s cupola, as well as hatches for the loader that opened to the side. The Saukopf mantlet was cast and provided better deflective properties than the bolted-on flat mantlet. Additionally, these models came with holes for both mounting a remote-controlled machine gun as well as a grenade launcher for defending from infantry at close range. However, the vehicles were delivered with these holes patched or plugged, as these extra armaments had not arrived in time. The Finns used the plug for the remote-controlled machine gun to weld on a stand for their own DT machine guns.

Name

In Finnish service, these vehicles were designated as 24 tonnin rynnäkkötykkipanssarivaunu Sturmgeschütz 40 – 24 Ryn.tyk.psv./Stu.40 (Eng. 24-tonne assault gun tank Sturmgeschütz 40 G). It should not be surprising that the crews referred to them simply as Sturmi. Some of them even gave their own vehicles female names (usually of one of the crew’s fiancé or wife), which were painted above the driver’s vision port.

As for each vehicle’s designation, “Ps.” is an abbreviation of the Finnish word “panssarivaunu”, or simply “tank”. Although these were assault guns, all Finnish armored vehicles had a “Ps.” designation, regardless of classification. All of the StuG IIIs delivered had a serial number beginning with “Ps. 531”, the “531” identifying it as a StuG III, and the final two numbers between “1” and “59”, noting which specific vehicle in order it was.

Modifications

Before being issued to the troops, the StuG IIIs were transported to the Finnish tank center at Varkaus. The Finns performed several modifications. First, they replaced the Germans MG 34 with captured Soviet 7.62 mm DT machine guns instead. These were operated by the loader, who was protected by a large folding machine gun shield. The original size of this machine gun port was enlarged by the Finns, possibly to give a greater firing angle.

To create more storage space, the rear-positioned spare road wheels were repositioned to the superstructure’s sides. In their places, a large storage box was placed. This also acted as extra appliqué armor. The 30 mm of armor was still relatively thin at this point in the war. Somewhat surprisingly, the Finns removed the Schürzen side protective skirts. This is quite unusual, given that they offered additional protection against Soviet anti-tank rifles. It is possible that the Finns realized that such loosely attached skirts would easily fall off in the rough terrain in this part of Europe and preventively removed them.

Organization ​

The StuG IIIs were allocated to the assault gun battalion in late 1943. The surviving BT-42s were relocated to the newly created Erilliselle Pansaarikompanialle (Eng. Detached Armor Company). Major Eric Åkerman was appointed as the commander of the assault gun battalion. Some of the officers were experienced fighters, who had previously seen service on the Eastern Front as part of the Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS (Eng. Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS). The remaining crew were taken from the artillery branch.

According to the original Finnish plans, they were supposed to obtain 45 StuG IIIs. Of these, 34 were to equip the assault gun battalion, serviced by 310 personnel. These were divided into three 11-vehicle-strong companies. The companies included one command unit with two vehicles and three three-vehicle strong batteries. Lastly, one vehicle was reserved for the battalion HQ. In reality, only 22 vehicles could be spared for this battalion. Of the remaining vehicles, four were allocated for training and the remaining four were stored for spare parts. While the Germans occasionally sold armored vehicles to their allies, spare parts were often not included or given in limited quantities.

For resupplying with ammunition and recovery of damaged armored vehicles, the Finns acquired Büssing-NAG 4500 trucks, two half-tracks, an unspecified number of Kübelwagen, and possibly even a few other soft-skin vehicles. These were delivered in early 1944.

Markings

The initial vehicles were all delivered in Dunkelgelb camouflage, but repainted in various patterns using the Finnish three-color scheme. The Finnish wilderness had far different colors to blend with compared to what the Germans initially painted the StuG IIIs for. The actual shape of the camouflage was largely left up to the troops. Finnish three-color consisted of light gray, moss green, and sand brown. Shades of these three colors varied greatly, not exclusively a Finnish characteristic but the nature of paint manufacturing. Most paints produced are within a certain margin, which is why, for example, Olive Drab on US vehicles from this same period varied greatly, yet was still “correct” when in different shades.

	Light Gray
	Moss Green
	Sand Brown

Finnish crews painted two different styles of camouflage on their StuG IIIs. The first and more prolific generally had more curved edges and defined lines, with brown and green covering the majority of the vehicle, and the light gray making up only around 20%. This extended to the road wheels as well, something less commonly seen on armored vehicles from this period. The less common kind of camouflage pattern was more of a patchwork paint job, with “wet” lines. The first 30 StuG IIIs delivered all had some variation of these patterns.

The standard markings was a Hakaristi (haka-hook, risti-cross), commonly referred to as a swastika, on either side of the casemate. The Finnish Hakaristi is often conflated with the swastika used by Nazi Germany. The Hakaristi was not derived from the swastika of the Third Reich and had been used in Finland since 1918. It is still in limited use in some aspects of the Finnish military. The Hakaristi was black with a white background to give a shadow-like look. Some StuG IIIs would also have a Hakaristi painted on the front hull in the center, rear of the hull, also centered, and on top of the mantlet for the block-mantlet variants. The marking on the mantlet acted as an identifier for friendly aircraft. Most vehicles had their serial number (i.e. ‘Ps. 531-XX’) painted in white on a small metal plate, either on the front of the superstructure, or on the driver’s side rear, and sometimes in both places. Additionally, some vehicles were individually named at the liberty of the crew, and some crews even pasted photos of women and celebrities on the outside of their vehicles. Overall, StuG IIIs were never “over the top” and most of the examples that have been photographed look relatively similar to one another, with a few minor cosmetic differences.

In Combat

German Operated StuG IIIs in Finland

StuG IIIs were not the only assault guns that saw service in Finland. The Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 303 (Eng. Assault Gun Battalion) was part of the Armeeabteilung Narwa (Eng. Army Detachment Narva) dispatched to Finland in June 1944. There, they supported the Finns until September 1944. The 122 Infanterie-Division also saw action on this front and had 10 StuG IIIs in its inventory. While the German Air Force provided vital parts in the Finnish defense, their ground counterparts rarely engaged the Soviets. They only managed to destroy a few Soviet tanks before being relocated from Finland.

The Renewal of the War in the North

Following the recapture of lost Karelian territories, the Finns realized that they neither had the personnel nor resources to conduct any major offensive into the Soviet Union. As a result, they halted any further offensive operations. Although delivered as early as 1943, the StuG IIIs did not begin to see combat until around a year later, during the Soviet offensive in June 1944. The Continuation War remained relatively stagnant during this interim period of 1943-44, with the Battle of Stalingrad resulting in a German defeat and withdrawal prior to the first delivery of StuG IIIs, and the Siege of Leningrad lifting before the second delivery. Even a plea for aid from the Germans for support for their offense toward Leningrad was in essence ignored, and the Finns remained passive. Instead, they prepared defensive positions and even demobilized older enlisted men in the hope of reducing the pressure on already overextended supply lines. For most of the war, the Finnish-Soviet front saw rather limited combat.

This changed drastically in 1944, especially after the Soviets managed to lift the siege at Leningrad. The Finnish Government, with the support of the Army, dispatched a delegation to initiate peace negotiations with the Soviets. The Soviet terms were unfavorable, demanding that the Finns return to the borders established in 1940, pay large war reparations, and expel the Germans from their borders. Eventually, these negotiation attempts failed, and the Finnish Government rejected the terms in April 1944.

The Finns hoped that the Soviets would concentrate on the war with the Germans and that they would have time to prepare. The Soviets, on the other hand, had other ideas. On 9th June 1944, an extremely aggressive and seasoned Red Army invaded, looking to reclaim territory lost during the opening stages of the conflict. Around 500,000 Soviet soldiers, including 800 tanks, aircraft, and the logistics to support them, attacked the south of Finland. Many of these tanks were of the T-34 variant, as well as KV-1s and some IS-2s. Finland, on the other hand, did not even have their full shipment of StuG IIIs yet, and only around 200 armored vehicles in total, around half of which were T-26s, a tank that was mostly outdated during the Winter War three years prior. Continuously falling back, the Finns eventually halted the Red Army at the Viipuri-Kuparsaari-Taipale Line until negotiations were held. In addition to their depleted armored formations, the Finns had at that time only around 308,000 personnel (the number varies between sources).

With superior firepower and numbers, the Soviets managed to break through the first Finnish defensive lines. In desperation, the Finns dispatched the Battlegroup Poruma (named after its commander, Colonel Albert Puroma) to halt the Soviet onslaught. The Assault Gun Battalion, with 22 StuG IIIs, supported this counterattack on 14th June 1944. The operation started with a small bombing raid followed by the armored elements late that day. The Soviets anticipated an armored counterattack and prepared their tanks, including T-34-85s and the massive IS-2. Despite this, the forward-positioned Soviet armored units were caught off-guard as they were preparing for a night’s rest.

The Finnish StuG IIIs attacked in the direction of the Kuuterselkä–Liikola road. The leading vehicle (Reg. Num. ‘Ps. 531‑19’ “Marjatta”), commanded by Lieutenant Mauri Sartio, spotted a group of idling T-34 tanks. From a close distance of 15 m, his gunner opened fire, knocking out the first tank. Two more tanks fell victim shortly after. The two remaining Soviet T-34s tried to escape but were taken out. Lieutenant Mauri Sartio’s vehicle was credited with destroying four of these vehicles. Due to problems with the gun’s loading mechanism, he had to retire from the frontlines, while a second StuG III was damaged by enemy fire, but survived.

As two vehicles were temporarily out of action, the 2nd Platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Olli Aulanko (‘Ps. 531‑6’ “Liisa”), was sent forward instead. Near Kuuterselkä, Lieutenant Aulanko’s vehicle managed to destroy an SU-76. Next, they encountered a T-34 that fired at the StuG III, but missed. The Finnish gunner had more luck and hit the T-34, destroying it. Shortly after that, ‘Ps. 531-6’ was hit, and the loader was killed. Despite that, the remaining crew managed to turn the vehicle around and hit the T-34. After this, the damaged vehicle had to be brought back to the rear. The remaining StuG IIIs managed to take out two T-34s and one KV-1.

On the morning of 15th June 1944, two StuG IIIs engaged and destroyed an unidentified Soviet tank (very likely an IS-2). On their way to reach Kuuterselkä, two T-34s and one SU-76 were taken out, but the Finns suffered two damaged StuG IIIs. By this point, the 1st Company only had one operational vehicle. As a replacement, the 3rd Company was supported by four vehicles from the 2nd Company. As they advanced toward Kuuterselkä, they encountered unsuspecting elements of the Soviet 35th Artillery Brigade. The assault guns attacked the Soviet artillery and caused great havoc. However, the Soviets quickly recovered and turned their guns to face the Finnish vehicles. While the Soviet defensive fire did not destroy any of the attacking vehicles, the Finns were forced to abandon their attack and retreat.

Later that day, one StuG III (‘Ps. 531‑15’) was hit by enemy anti-tank fire and the vehicle’s commander was killed, while the remaining crew managed to escape. Shortly after, a second vehicle (‘Ps. 531‑17’) was immobilized, as it was hit twice. The crew survived, and before they escaped, they destroyed their own damaged vehicle. Major Åkerman’s vehicle was also abandoned due to confusion. While the Major was not present, the vehicle came under fire. The crew wrongly assumed that their StuG III was hit and decided to abandon the vehicle. They did not have a chance to recover it, as it was captured by the Soviets. One more vehicle (‘Ps. 531‑1’ “Aune”), which was used by the 2nd Company’s commander, Captain Werner von Troil, was immobilized and had to be blown up to prevent being captured.

The last vehicle lost that day was Sergeant Erkki Halonen’s StuG III (‘Ps. 531‑24’). It advanced far ahead without any support. It encountered Soviet armor and, after a brief engagement, destroyed one T-34 and one KV-1 tank. The driver, at some point, made a miscalculation and the vehicle remained bogged down in mud, unable to free itself. As there was no help in sight, the crew had no other option than to blow up the stranded StuG III.

Despite the valiant resistance, the Finnish counter-attack failed in its aim to retake the lost ground. After two days of fighting, the Finns lost 627 men, 5 StuG IIIs were either abandoned or destroyed, and 3 more had to be repaired. The crews suffered 5 dead and 20 more wounded. The Soviets lost 1,404 men and 40 armored vehicles. According to Finnish combat records, 21 were taken out by the StuG IIIs. These included 16 T-34s (most being the older 76 mm armed version), 3 ISU-152s, and two KV-1s. One of the KVs may have been an IS-2 heavy tank. While the StuG III achieved great success, their overall effect on the Soviet offensive was marginal. The Soviets simply replaced lost vehicles from the vast stockpiles of armored vehicles in reserve, while any lost StuG IIIs could not be replaced, as Germany was not selling Finland any more of them, and any spare parts for damaged vehicles would mean cannibalizing other examples.

Further Improvements

In the meantime, based on their initial combat experience, the Finnish crews decided to upgrade the armor protection by any means possible, mostly for the models of the later delivery. Some of the crews added a protective metal plate above the driver’s vision port. Most of the front armor plates were covered in concrete on the later models, yet how effective this was is up for debate. It is often cited that concrete armor was more effective for crew morale than for stopping enemy fire.

Some vehicles received extra plates that were welded on weak points, such as around the gun or in front of the commander’s cupola. The crew added 15 mm-thick spaced armor plates (some 30 mm away from the hull’s side armor) that protected the hull’s sides. Lastly, on the superstructure’s sides, the Finns placed three heavy wooden logs on either side. While they offered a marginal increase of protection, they were more useful when a vehicle needed to cross bad terrain or was bogged down.

New Soviet Offensives

The Finnish StuG IIIs would see more action during the battles of Tali-Ihantala, starting on 25th June 1944, and Vuosalmi, on 4th July. Tali-Ihantala was one of the last lines of defense for Finland and they were desperate to hold it. Luckily for them, swampy terrain limited the attacking sides’ options for advance. In addition, in such conditions, it negated the Soviet superior numbers. This essentially meant that the Finns could predict where the Soviets would attack and set up defense positions there. Another vital part that helped hold the line was the arrival of the German Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey (named after its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Kurt Kuhlmey) air group with 33 Ju-87s, nearly 70 Fw-190s, and 8 Me-109 reconnaissance aircraft. Lastly, the Finns could employ the surviving StuG IIIs to deal with enemy armor.

Forest and wetlands presented excellent opportunities to ambush advancing enemy armor, and StuG IIIs were the ideal vehicles for the job. While lying in ambush, Lieutenant Börje Brotell (‘Ps 531-10’ “Bubi”) spotted an advancing ISU-152 self-propelled gun. At a distance of less than 300 m, the StuG III opened fire, hit, and pierced the ISU-152’s side armor. Being disabled, the ISU crew bailed out and escaped. Seeing no enemy in the vicinity, Lieutenant Brotell gave the order for the vehicle to slowly advance. They encountered a tank that was immediately targeted and destroyed. Shortly after that, three more Soviet tanks fell victim to Lieutenant Brotell’s StuG III. In the following battle, the Finns lost one assault gun, but managed to take out 24 more Soviet armored vehicles. On 29th June 1944, Lieutenant Brotell scored two more kills while defending the Portinhoikka crossroad.

The Soviet attack was temporarily stopped and some forward units were even encircled. But, in contrast to 1940, the Soviet troops were experienced and battle-hardened, so the Finns could not destroy these pockets of resistance. During this battle, the Finns could muster 46 StuG IIIs (26 were German-operated vehicles with little combat experience) and 23 tanks, while the Soviets had 280 tanks and 80 self-propelled guns. By the time his battle ended, the Soviets lost 210 armored vehicles. The Finns armor alone managed to take out 53 of them, losing only three vehicles in the process.

The StuG III would see action at Vuosalmi as well. Once again, Lieutenant Brotell saw action on 11th July 1944, managing to destroy a T-34. Two days later, two groups of five T-34-85s managed to break through the Finnish lines. Lieutenant Brotell’s vehicle destroyed three of them after an intensive fight. After this battle, the front slowly stabilized and the StuG IIIs saw little action. The Finns managed to hold the Soviet onslaught. By this time, according to S. J. Zaloga (T-34 Vs. StuG III, Finland 1944), the Finnish StuG IIIs had managed to destroy 61 T-34-76s, 4 T-34-85s, 5 KV-1s, 2 T-70s, 13 ISU-152s, and two unknown vehicles, possibly IS-2. Interestingly, Zaloga does not list any SU-76 known to have been destroyed by the StuG IIIs.

Below is a list of the kills achieved by varios crews:

Vehicle	Kills	Commander(s)	Additional Info
Ps. 531-3	2	Staff Sgt. Hyytiäinen	Destroyed in Nurmilampi, June 1944. Took 4 hits before being abandoned by the crew.
Ps. 531-4 “Lisbeth”	2	Sgt. Nertamo, Lt. Peltonen.	On display, see chart in “Surviving Vehicles” section.
Ps. 531-5	6	Cpl. Taponen, 2LT Ruokkola.	Knocked out in Vuosalmi, July 1944. Crew bailed out except the driver who was killed.
Ps. 531-6 “Liisa”	8	Lt. Aulanko, Cpl Taponen	Loader was killed in June 1944 after the vehicle was hit towards the roof. Back in service the same day with a hole in the armor. Currently on display.
Ps. 531-7	4	Sgt. Varitia	Used for spare parts in October 1944 after sustaining a hit. Used as target practice after the war.
Ps. 531-8 “Aili”	7	Lt. Peltonen, Cpt. Talvitie.	Command vehicle, currently on display.
Ps. 531-9 “Toini”	7	Lt. Kiuasperä	Used as target practice after the war.
Ps. 531-10 “Bubi”	11	2Lt. Brotell	5 kills achieved in one day on June 25, 1944. The most successful Sturmi, currently on display.
Ps. 531-11 “Airi”	4	Sgt. Kuismin	On display
Ps. 531-12	9	Cpl. Karukka, Sgt. Kuusisto	On display. Allegedly knocked out 2 ISU-152’s on July 12, 1944.
Ps. 531-14 “Vappu”	5	Sgt. Merivirta	In storage
Ps. 531-19	7	Lt. Sartio	Command vehicle. Currently on display.
Ps. 531-20	2	Cpt. Kumlin	Command vehicle. Currently in storage.
Ps. 531-24	3	Sgt. Halonen	Destroyed after advancing too far into enemy lines. Stuck on debris, destroyed by the crew.
Ps. 531-25	4	Sgt. Halonen	Used as target practice after the war.
Ps. 531-29	3	Cpt. Kvikant	Command vehicle. Destroyed in June of 1944.

Despite this victory, the Finnish Government feared that once the Germans were defeated, the Soviets would then focus all their might on occupying Finland. At that time, Stalin was more concerned with taking Germany out of the war, and many forces stationed near Finland were repositioned to Central Europe. So, in early September 1944, an armistice was signed. But this was not the end of the war for Finland, as there was the matter of the retreating German forces. What followed was a brief war with this former ally, known as the Lapland War. The Germans had destroyed essentially any and all bridges that the StuG IIIs could travel across by the time the Lapland War came around. While the assault guns were transported to fight the Germans, these vehicles could not ford any deep water, and therefore did not see any combat during this conflict. By late 1944, all remaining StuG IIIs had returned to the garrison. Ironically enough, the final armored engagement of the Lapland War was between a Finnish T-26E and a captured French Hotchkiss H38 from Panzer Abteilung 211, with the T-26E scoring the kill. The armored conflict in Finland began with outdated Interwar tanks and ended in a similar manner.

After the War

Finland found itself in a stable but precarious position after the war had ended. Still remaining neutral, the geographic location alone required the nation to maintain its military vehicles in a “ready” state in the event that a conflict were to arise again. Due to their neutrality, and resistance to the Soviet Union, the United States re-established diplomatic relations With Finland after the war, as they were severed in 1944. The surviving StuG IIIs remained in use for this strictly defensive purpose. Two vehicles (‘Ps. 531-21’ and ‘52’) were modified as training vehicles, with their armament being removed in 1956. These later had their Ps. numbers changed to ‘Ps. 631-1’ and ‘Ps. 631-2’ respectively. Around 1958, these vehicles were converted back to their original combat configuration. Additionally, in 1958, several Panzer IIIs were purchased from the Norwegian military with the sole purpose of keeping the remaining StuG IIIs in operating condition. This would prove to be largely unnecessary as, in 1959, the StuG III were declared obsolete by the Finnish Army. At that time, there were 45 StuG IIIs that were either put in storage or used as improvised stationary bunkers to guard strategic airfields.

Surviving Vehicles

Today, around 30 StuG IIIs still exist in museums, garrisons, and in private collections, in varying states. Some of these are displayed outside and therefore suffer cosmetic decay due to the elements. There remains at least one in operating condition at the Parola Tank Museum in Finland. Many others were destroyed as range targets after the war. As with many other pieces of military equipment, the StuG III was ephemeral, worth more as target practice than it was to preserve. However, over half of the Sturmis that served in the Finnish military still exist, which is a much higher ratio than many military vehicles during the war.

Surviving examples and their locations are listed below:

Ps. 531-4 “Lisbeth”	At the Finnish Armour Museum in Parola, in storage.
Ps. 531-6 “Liisa”	Repainted in questionable color scheme, on display at the Parola museum as of 2021, has been on loan to various other museums.
Ps. 531-8 “Aili”	Currently at the Reserviupseerikoulu museum in Hamina.
Ps. 531-10 “Bubi”	Repainted to original camouflage scheme, on display at the Panssariprikaati garrison in Parola.
Ps. 531-11 “Airi”	On display at the Panzermuseum in Munster, Germany.
Ps. 531-12 “Lea”	Currently at the Kuljetusvartikko, Kalkku.
Ps.531-14 “Vappu”	In storage at the Parola museum.
Ps. 531-16	Added to the Littlefield collection in 2016, Portola Valley, CA in the United States.
Ps. 531-18 “Kirsti”	In storage at the Parola museum.
Ps. 531-19 “Marjatta”	On display at the Parola museum, cosmetically restored.
Ps. 531-20 “Meeri”	Currently at a Finnish army depot.
Ps. 531-21	Currently at a Finnish army depot.
Ps. 531-22	Currently at a Finnish army depot.
Ps. 531-27	Used as target practice after the war, put up for auction by the Finnish military in 2007. Sold for €125,000. Rumored that it was possibly added to the Wheatcroft collection.
Ps. 531-31	Restored, currently located at the Maasotakoulu in Lappeenranta.
Ps. 531-33 “Marjo”	Restored to Summer 1944 layout, currently at the Karjalan Prikaati garrison, Vekaranjärvi.
Ps. 531-34	Currently located at the garrison in Kouvola.
Ps. 531-35	Currently at a Finnish army depot.
Ps. 531-38	Restored, on display at the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, Olbrichtplatz in Dresden, Germany.
Ps. 531-39 “Hellikki”	Restored, at the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung des Bundesamtes für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung in Mayener, Germany.
Ps. 531-42 “Milla”	On display at the Auto and Technik Museum, Sinsheim in Heidelberg, Germany.
Ps. 531-43	Currently at a Finnish army depot.
Ps. 531-44 “Maija”	Painted in a German camouflage scheme, on display at The Tank Museum in Bovington. On loan to the Tank Hall at HGM, Vienna, Austria.
Ps. 531-47	In storage at the Parola museum.
Ps. 531-48	In storage at the Parola museum.
Ps. 531-52	Located at the Panssarivarikko in Hattula.
Ps. 531-53	On display at the Parola museum.
Ps. 531-55	Destroyed as target practice, sold at the same auction as Ps. 531-27 in 2007. Possibly one of 2 Sturmis rumored to be in the Wheatcroft collection.
Ps. 531-57	Zimmerit redone and painted in Germany markings, on display at the Parola museum.
Ps. 531-58	Sold at the same auction as Ps. 531-27 in 2007. Possibly one of 2 Sturmis rumored to be in the Wheatcroft collection.
Ps. 531-59	Painted in winter camouflage scheme, at the Savon Prikaati garrison in Mikkeli.

Conclusion

The StuG III was an effective anti-tank weapon employed by the Finns during the war. With its low profile, decent armor, and powerful gun, it was able to pose a threat to nearly any Soviet vehicle employed on the battlefield. In the hands of Finland’s experienced and patient crews, it kept the Finnish tradition of an extremely high kill ratio. It was arguably the most potent anti-tank vehicle available to the Finnish military during the war, and remains an iconic piece of Finnish military history even today.

StuG III Ausf.G in Finnish service Technical specifications
Main Armament	7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48
Secondary Armament	1x 7.62 mm DT machine gun
Ammunition Stowage	54 rounds in reserve, additional ammunition stowed by crew in modified spaces.
Front Armor (incl. casemate)	80 mm, 21° slope
Rear Armor (incl. casemate)	30 mm 30° slope
Side Armor	30 mm 0-10° slope
Engine/Transmission	Maybach HL120TRM V-12 (300 hp @3,000 rpm)/ 6MT
Fuel/Capacity	Gasoline /310L (82 gallons)
Range	160 km (on road)/100 km (off-road)
Top Speed	40 km/h

Sources

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