The Sturmgeschütz, more specifically the Sturmgeschütz III (abbreviated to StuG III), was a German assault gun designed in 1940 and used by European Axis-aligned armed forces during World War II. The StuG III was essentially a mobile artillery piece used to assault enemy fortifications while supporting infantry. It used a Panzer III chassis, which provided up to 80mm armor, and it used a long 75mm cannon as its main armament, and a secondary MG34.