Published on
23/06/2026 - 15:22 GMT+2
According to the German Federal Agency for Real Estate, finds of this kind usually yield only isolated remains or vehicle parts. In this case, however, workers came across an almost completely preserved assault gun, a rare relic from the final months of the Second World War in north-west Germany.
The vehicle discovered is a StuG III assault gun, one of the Wehrmacht's most-produced tracked vehicles. Unlike conventional tanks, the vehicle did not have a rotating turret. Instead, the gun was fixed pointing forwards, meaning the entire vehicle had to be moved to aim.
At the time, defence group Rheinmetall built more than 9,300 of these vehicles, and the gun was very popular. Production continued until the final weeks of the war and only ended in April 1945. The assault guns were used primarily to destroy enemy tanks.
