Anyone with even a remote familiarity with the beginning of World War II has heard of blitzkrieg or "Lightning War." This concept, introduced to the world by Hitler's Germany, is defined by coordinated and concentrated attacks by both air and land forces. In specific reference to land forces, the blitzkrieg battle doctrine requires that infantry move along with tanks to exploit and secure breaches opened by the punch of the armored force. In order for this doctrine to be tested and employed, it was recognized that infantry transport needed to be advanced from horses to another mode capable of keeping pace with the new7 fast-moving armor. This need was filled by a new type of vehicle based on the Hanomag 3-ton chassis (SdKfz 11) and was developed into the Mittlerer Gepanzerter Mannschaftskraftwagen (medium armored transport vehicle) during the mid-thirties. The Sonderkraftfahrzeug (SdKfz) 251 or "Mittlerer Schutzenpanzer-wragen, (SPW)" as it became known, was one of the most numerous vehicles in the German arsenal during World War II.
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