The m.Schutz.Pz.Wg. (Sd.Kfz.251/9), nicknamed "Stummel", was an infantry support vehicle developed by Nazi Germany during WW2 in 1942. Learning from the lessons in the Eastern Front and with a surplus of 7.5 cm howitzers due to the Panzer IV and StuG III being refitted with more capable anti-tank weapons, the Wehrmacht decided to use the already proven Sd.Kfz.251 platform to mount this gun and use it as an infantry support weapon. Initially armed with just the cannon and a narrow range of fire, the vehicle proved unsatisfactory, but after being refitted with a new gun mount and a coaxial machine gun it was deployed in large numbers in the Eastern Front. It mostly served in Armored Recon Units and was used in areas were tanks couldn't support infantry due to poor terrain or weak infrastructure (like roads or bridges) that the Sd.Kfz.251/9 had no problem crossing, as a direct fire platform it proved very good, reliable, cheap to produce and maintain and it filled the need of a "bunker buster" vehicle in the Eastern Front.

This particular 1:32 scale replica of a German Sd. Kfz. 251/9 Stummel half-track saw action defending Hungary in 1945. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 7-inches
Width: 2-1/4-inches
Height: 2-inches

Release Date: July 2006

Historical Account: "Death Throes" - At the end of 1944, Hungary remained Germany's only satellite state, and was therefore necessary both in a political and economical sense - German industry needed the Hungarian oil wells located around the lake Balaton. On October 16th, 1944, Hungarian leader Miklos Horthy was destitute by the local nationalist party, Crossed Arrows. Any hope of a peaceful outcome for Hungary was lost - the battle would be a fight for death.

In late October, the Red Army started its offensive on Budapest. More than 1,000,000 men split into two operating maneuver groups rushing towards the city, planning to cut it off from the rest of the German and Hungarian troops.

On November 7th, 1944, Soviet troops entered Budapest's eastern suburbs, 20 kilometers from the city's old town. Curiously, very few inhabitants wanted to leave the city. On December 19th, after a necessary break in the action, the Red Army resumed its offensive. By December 26th, the road linking Budapest to Vienna was seized by the Soviet Troops, therefore encircling the city.

Budapest was a major target for Stalin. Indeed, the Yalta Conference was approaching and Stalin wanted to display his full strength to Churchill and Roosevelt. Therefore, he issued a directive to General Rodion Malinovsky, ordering him to seize the city as quickly as possible.

On December 29th, 1944, Rodion Malinovsky sent two emissaries in order to negotiate the city's capitulation. The emissaries never came back. This particular point is widely disputed by the Soviet Union, with some German and Hungarian historians arguing that the emissaries were deliberately shot down. Others believe that they were in fact shot by mistake on their way back. In any case, Soviet commanders considered this act as a refusal and ordered the start of the siege.