The Army Book listing for the SD.KFZ 251/9 STUMMEL – it must be a mistake.

[Kar98k]

Following Steiner’s (@spartan18a) lead, I was curious what ChatGPT (AI) had to say, so for fun, I asked it this Question:

If I were to write a WW2 skirmish rule set for tabletop miniature gaming were one figure is equal to one soldier and one vehicle model is one half-track, should the SdKfz 251/9 Stummel be given a transport ability to carry soldiers into battle? And if so, how many can it transport?

Here’s the response I got:

Historically, the Stummel was built on the Sd.Kfz. 251 chassis and retained the basic fighting compartment, but the 7.5 cm gun and its ammunition consumed substantial internal space. Its crew was generally 3–4 men, depending on variant/source. The ordinary 251 was designed to carry a Panzergrenadier squad, whereas the 251/9 was primarily an infantry-support weapon rather than a troop carrier.

My recommendation:

For a one-figure-per-soldier skirmish game, I’d stat it as:

Sd.Kfz. 251/9 Stummel

Crew: 3–4
Transport: 6 infantry
Armament: 7.5 cm L/24 + MGs
Role: Infantry support / assault transport

Why 6?

A standard 251/1 could carry roughly a full infantry squad, but the Stummel’s gun installation, ammunition racks, and crew take up room that would otherwise be occupied by infantry. Six passengers gives you a meaningful transport capability without turning the Stummel into a normal APC.

Interestingly, Bolt Action actually gives the 251/9 a capacity of 8 men, despite acknowledging that it was primarily an infantry-support vehicle. That is a useful precedent, but I’d regard 8 as the game-friendly upper limit rather than necessarily the best historical abstraction.

There is also some evidence of disagreement over exactly how much usable passenger space remained: discussion around the Bolt Action model notes that the vehicle could physically accommodate several passengers, while other versions/configurations have little practical room once the crew and gun equipment are accounted for.

An even better solution for your rules

If you’re aiming for historical flavor without excessive restrictions, I’d use:

Vehicle Transport capacity
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 10–12
Sd.Kfz. 251/9 Stummel 6
Sd.Kfz. 251/10 8
Sd.Kfz. 251/22 0–4
Sd.Kfz. 251/21 0–4

The important distinction is that “transport capacity” doesn’t necessarily mean the vehicle’s intended tactical role was transporting those troops. A Stummel could carry a handful of accompanying Panzergrenadiers, ammunition bearers, assault troops, etc., while its primary job remained providing direct-fire support.

For a skirmish game, 6 is probably the sweet spot: enough to make the Stummel useful as an infantry-support vehicle that can bring a small assault element forward, but not enough to replace the 251/1.

If you want to be particularly faithful to the historical vehicle while still keeping the game playable, I’d actually consider 6 passengers + 1 dedicated ammunition bearer/loader who can count as crew as a special rule. That would make the Stummel feel distinctly different from a normal Hanomag.

(End of ChatGPT)

Interesting response that is clearly scraped from net (reason for a lot of AI slop), but there’s a point to be taken here. Should tabletop miniature games be designed to be 100% historical/restrictive, or should be a bit more relaxed for entertainment purposes? I found it interesting it listed the Sdkfz 251/22 (transport of 0-4), but no 251 Stuka Zu Fuss, so I followed up with this question, What about the sdkfz 251 Stuka Zu Fuss? and here is the response:

The Sd.Kfz. 251 with Wurfrahmen 40 (“Stuka zu Fuß”) is actually a much easier case than the Stummel.

The important point is that the Wurfrahmen was essentially an add-on rocket system mounted to a normal Sd.Kfz. 251/1. The standard 251/1 could carry up to 10 infantrymen, and the Wurfrahmen installation consisted of six rocket boxes—three per side—rather than replacing the vehicle’s entire fighting compartment.

So for your 1 miniature = 1 soldier rules, I’d recommend:

Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Wurfrahmen 40

Transport: 10 infantry

I wouldn’t reduce its transport capacity merely because it has the rockets.

The distinction I’d make is:

251/1: 10 passengers
251/1 Wurfrahmen 40: 10 passengers
251/9 Stummel: ~6 passengers
Other heavily modified 251 variants: capacity reduced according to how much internal space their equipment occupies.

The Wurfrahmen rockets were carried externally in six wooden/metal launch boxes, so they don’t consume the same sort of internal space that the Stummel’s 7.5 cm gun installation and ammunition do. The vehicle could therefore still function fundamentally as a Panzergrenadier carrier with a rocket-support capability.

But there’s an interesting rules opportunity

I’d give the Stuka zu Fuß a rule such as:

Wurfrahmen 40: The vehicle must halt and its crew dismount/operate the launchers to fire. It cannot fire its rockets while moving.

That’s much more historically meaningful than reducing its passenger capacity. Contemporary/model documentation describes the Wurfrahmen as a system where the vehicle was aimed at the target and the rockets were fired from the external launch frames; the crew could remain protected in the fighting compartment until preparing to fire.

For a skirmish game, I’d therefore make the Stuka zu Fuß essentially a normal 251/1 with 10-man transport capacity plus a powerful but limited rocket-artillery weapon.

If you’re building a complete vehicle roster, I’d be inclined to establish a standardized transport-capacity system for all the Sd.Kfz. 251 variants, because there are some fascinating cases where the historical crew/equipment arrangements make the obvious numbers surprisingly different.

(End of ChatGPT)

• This reply was modified 3 hours, 1 minute ago by Kar98k.

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