MAJOR GOTTFRIED GEISSLER. Assault Guns were employed in every theater of war, in burning heat and icy cold, they fought in the high north on the Artic front as well as in the furnace of the North African desert. They helped the infantry in the west, in the Russian expanses and in the Balkans, and in the final Battle for Germany. They did their duty up to the last day of the war. In hindsight it may be said without any false or unhealthy arrogance, but with justified and genuine pride, that the Sturmgeschutz with its Panzer III chassis and a battle canon ranging from L/24 to L/48 in length, delivered exceptional performance and proved to be one of the most outstanding fighting vehicles of the Second World War. Seen from the tactical-technical side, it is remarkable however, that every Panzer model also had a Sturmgeschutz variant. That speaks for itself and is more convincing than any orator's slick tongue could ever be. The enemy feared the German Sturmgeschutz. Russian tank soldiers were instructed and issued orders to avoid duels with the StuG's. Such an order would certainly never have been given without in-the-field experience and without an introduction written in the enemy's blood. Major Gottfried Geissler, a stellar individual of Sturmgeschutz Brigade 185, amassed amazing kills in the beginning phase of Operation Barbarrosa with his short barreled StuG III. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 21 August 1941, one of the first StuG Commanders so honored for this award at the early stages of the invasion. The date of 21 August 1941 is recorded in a page of honor in the battalion's history. The star of Sturmgeschutz Brigade 185 was shinning at its brightest. The seamless combination of the experten and his weapon of war "The StuG" proved more than a match for the soviets in the opening theater of this war. And Major Gottfried Geissler duly cut swathes through the soviet's defense system. From June 22 to September 22 1941, his Battalion had destroyed the following in the Eastern Campaign: 173 guns, 39 mortars, 122 anti-tank guns, 45 tanks, one armored emplacement, one armored cupola, 11 bunkers, 2 aircraft, 265 prime movers, trucks and cars. Never the less, in the years after the Second World War, these weapons disappeared from the military picture. The Sturmgeschutz in the relatively brief period of their existence, proved itself to be and reigned supreme the armored fist of the infantry. And it was amply demonstrated in the invasion of the Soviet Union in Major Gottfried Geissler, the caliber of a hero with this Assault weapon of multiple virtues. Sturmgeschutz Abteilung 185 was attached to the 3rd Panzer Division, together with Panzerjager Abteilung 521, with both these units often fighting side-by side in Russia with distinction in 1941-42. The latter unit having its own unique unit insignia which consisted of a white shield "Jagermeister" emblem. The combination of both these formidable and feared Assault units added an impact in the psychological sphere upon the soviets, with their equally deterrent effect. Always striking armored battling blows against the hated Bolsheviks which smashed mercilessly the mass equipment of the Red Army with incredible rapidity. Was an experience that guaranteed to make an old man out of the youngest Russian.
