Sd.Kfz. 251 in the context of Sd.Kfz. 11

The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on 10 July 1941, by Germany's armed forces. Initially, the territory of Latvia was under the military administration of Army Group North, but on 25 July 1941, Latvia was incorporated as Generalbezirk Lettland, subordinated to Reichskommissariat Ostland, an administrative subdivision of Nazi Germany. Anyone not racially acceptable or who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, was killed or sent to concentration camps in accordance with the Nazi Generalplan Ost.

Sonderkraftfahrzeug (abbreviated Sd.Kfz., German for "special purpose vehicle") was the ordnance inventory designation used by Nazi Germany before and during World War II for military vehicles; for example Sd.Kfz. 101 for the Panzer I, and Sd.Kfz. 251 for the armored personnel carrier made by Hanomag.

The Reichswehr and its successor, the Wehrmacht began systematically allocating numbers to its vehicles from around 1930, including horse-drawn vehicles, cars and trucks, combat vehicles, and trailers. Sd.Kfz. numbers were assigned to armored, tracked, and half-tracked vehicles. Cars and trucks were allocated Kfz. numbers and trailers were designated with Anh. (Anhänger) and Sd.Anh. numbers.

The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) was an assault gun produced by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the most-produced German fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle, and second-most produced German armored combat vehicle of any type after the Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track. It was built on a slightly modified Panzer III chassis, replacing the turret with an armored, fixed superstructure mounting a more powerful gun. Initially intended as a mobile assault gun for direct-fire support for infantry, the StuG III was continually modified, and much like the later Jagdpanzer vehicles, was employed as a tank destroyer.