Panzer IV in the context of Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun

The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Germany with support from Romania and Italy, while the Soviet Union took up defensive positions throughout the Crimean Peninsula. The Axis offensive routed the Red Army and enabled the three-year-long German occupation of Crimea.

Beginning on 26 September 1941, the German 11th Army and the Romanian Third Army and Fourth Army were involved in the fighting. They were opposed by the Soviet 51st Army and elements of the Black Sea Fleet. After the campaign, Crimea was occupied by Germany's Army Group A, with the 17th Army as a major subordinate formation.

A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II, which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification is not actually based on weight, but on tactical usage and intended purpose; for instance the German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank has a mass similar to contemporary Allied heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II (the German Panzer IV, the Soviet T-34, and the American M4 Sherman) were all medium tank designs. Many of the medium tank lines became what are called main battle tanks in most countries.

Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its General Staff number A15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the Second World War. Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made important contributions to the British victories during the North African campaign. The Crusader only saw active service in Africa but the chassis of the tank was modified to create anti-aircraft, fire support, observation, communication, bulldozer and recovery vehicle variants.

The first Crusader Mark I tanks entered service in 1941 and though manoeuvrable, they were relatively lightly armoured and under-armed. The following Crusader Mark II had a maximum armour of 49 mm (1.9 in). The main armament for the Crusader Mark I and IIs was a 40 mm Ordnance QF 2-pounder gun; the following Crusader Mark III was fitted with a 57 mm Ordnance QF 6-pounder gun at the expense of one member of the crew in the turret. This variant was more than a match for the mid-generation German Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks that it faced in combat. As part of the 1st Armoured Brigade, the Crusader was to prove vital during the Second Battle of El Alamein, at the siege of Tobruk and in the Tunisia campaign.

The Croatian Armed Forces united the Croatian Home Guard and the Ustaše Militia in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) for around five months from 1944 to 1945. It was established by the fascist Ustaše regime of Ante Pavelić in the NDH an Axis puppet state in Yugoslavia during World War II.

The Croatian Armed Forces was reorganized in November 1944 to combine the units of the Ustaše and Domobrani into eighteen divisions, comprising 13 infantry, two mountain, two assault and one replacement Croatian divisions, each with its own organic artillery and other support units. There were also several armoured units, equipped in late 1944 with 20 Panzer IIIN and 15 Panzer IVF and H medium tanks. From early 1945, the Croatian divisions were allocated to various German corps and by March 1945 were holding the Southern Front. Securing the rear areas were some 32,000 men of the Croatian Gendarmerie, organised into 5 Police Volunteer Regiments plus 15 independent battalions, equipped with standard light infantry weapons, including mortars.

The Sturmgeschütz IV (StuG IV) (Sd.Kfz. 167) was a German assault gun variant of the Panzer IV used in the latter part of the Second World War. It was identical in role and concept to the highly successful StuG III assault gun variant of the Panzer III. Both StuG models were given a tank destroyer role in German formations and tactical planning in the last two years of the war, greatly augmenting the capability of the dwindling tank force available to the German army on the Eastern and Western fronts.

The Jagdpanzer IV / Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer, literally "hunting tank") designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III). Guderian objected against the (in his eyes) needless diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the StuG III was still more than adequate for its role.

Officially, only the L/48-armed vehicle was named Jagdpanzer IV. The L/70-armed vehicle was named Panzer IV/70. In this article, both versions are referred to in general as Jagdpanzer IV, except in the variants and surviving vehicles section.

The Flakpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" (Whirlwind in English) was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier Möbelwagen self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.

The Flakpanzer IV "Ostwind" (East Wind in English) was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier Flakpanzer IV/2 cm Vierling Wirbelwind and produced at the Ostbau Works plant.

The Panzer IV's turret was removed and replaced with an open-top, hexagonal turret that housed a 3.7 cm Flak 43. In addition to its intended role as an anti-aircraft weapon, the fast-firing gun was highly effective against light vehicles. While a closed-top design was preferred, this was precluded by the amount of smoke generated by the gun.

The Sturmpanzer (also known as Sturmpanzer 43 or Sd.Kfz. 166) is a German armoured infantry support gun based on the Panzer IV chassis used in the Second World War. It was used at the Battles of Kursk, Anzio, Normandy, and was deployed in the Warsaw Uprising. It was known by the nickname Brummbär (German: "Grouch") by Allied intelligence, a name which was not used by the Germans. German soldiers nicknamed it the "Stupa", a contraction of the term Sturmpanzer. Just over 300 vehicles were built and they were assigned to four independent battalions.