The StG 44 (full name: Sturmgewehr 44) is a German 7.92 mm automatic carbine from the Second World War. The first prototypes of this weapon were made in 1942, and serial production continued in the years 1943-1945. In its course, approx. 430 thousand jobs were created. pieces of this weapon. The weight of the weapon with a full magazine is approx. 6 kg, and the total length with the stock is approx. 94 centimeters. The initial velocity of the bullet fired from this rifle was up to 690 m / s, and the theoretical rate of fire - up to 470 rounds per minute. The range of the so-called the effective shot did not exceed 400-500 meters. Design work on the StG 44 started in 1942 and was aimed at developing a de facto completely new class of small arms that would combine the advantages of a submachine gun with a traditional repeating rifle. Therefore, the aim was to maintain the highest possible rate of fire, but with good accuracy and effective shot range. In fact, from the very beginning of the work, it was assumed that the new weapon would use a 7.92 mm intermediate cartridge. Ultimately, a highly successful small arms weapon was created that meets virtually all of the initial assumptions. Moreover, the cost of producing a single StG 44 was not very high, which made the weapon quite suitable for mass production. It is also worth noting that the StG 44 was still used after World War II - among others by the GDR militia. You can risk a statement that the StG 44 is one of the first automatic rifles in the history of mass production.
Panzergrenadier is a German term for a formation of panzer grenadiers, i.e. infantry units trained to fight in close cooperation with their own tanks. This term was officially used in 1942, when infantry divisions were renamed grenadier divisions and motorized infantry divisions into panzer grenadier divisions. It is worth adding that in the years 1937-1942, the Schützen Regiment was used to describe the infantry regiments serving in armored units. Theoretically, the basic equipment of armored grenadier divisions was to be armored half-tracked transporters, especially Sd.Kfz.251, but due to insufficient production, these infantry were often transported by trucks. As a standard, an armored grenadier division consisted of three infantry regiments, two battalions in each regiment and numerous support units, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft, sapper and communication units. Self-propelled guns, such as the StuG III, were often used in these formations. It is worth adding that the armored grenadier divisions were formed not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the Waffen SS - for example the Totenkopf Division or the Hohenstaufen Division.
The first paramilitary unit to have the abbreviation SS (German: Schutz Staffel) in its name was the personal protection of the dictator of the Third Reich called Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, which was officially formed in 1933. From 1934, the SS was an independent formation headed by Heinrich Himmler. With time, further SS units were formed, including the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the SS-Verfügungstruppe. It is worth adding that the latter was trained similarly to regular Wehrmacht infantry units. On a relatively small scale, SS units were used in combat during the fighting in Poland in 1939 and in the French campaign in 1940. The first units intended from the beginning to fight at the front were created in mid-1940, giving them the name of the Waffen SS. Initially, they were recruited on a voluntary basis, also among non-German people, but over time, compulsory recruitment began to apply. Within the Waffen-SS, many divisions of different combat value were formed. Nevertheless, a few of them (e.g. the 1st SS LAH Panzer Division, the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division or the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division) can be considered elite units, with very high combat value and often equipped with the best available equipment. They demonstrated their considerable advantages not only on the Eastern Front (1941-1945), especially during the battles near Kharkiv in 1943, but also during the battles in France in 1944. Another thing is that the quality of the commanding staff of these units was in many cases debatable, and many Waffen-SS soldiers committed war crimes during World War II.