page_title: Wespe
section_title: Combat history
hierarchical_section_title: Wespe / Combat history
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.Polski: Niemieckie haubice samobieżne Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe Deutsch: Mehrere Panzerhaubitzen Wespe bei Fahrt durch Ortschaft in Rumänien.
context_page_description: The Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe, also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II, is a German self-propelled gun developed and used during the Second World War. It was based on a modified Panzer II chassis.
context_section_description: The Wespe first saw combat in 1943 on the Eastern Front. It proved very successful, and Hitler ordered all Panzer II chassis production be dedicated to the Wespe alone, at the expense of other projects, including the Marder II self-propelled anti-tank gun.
  The vehicles were allocated to the armored artillery battalions (Panzerartillerie Abteilungen) of Panzer divisions along with heavier Hummel self-propelled artillery. The Wespe brought greater mobility to the artillery formations of the panzer divisions.
  The Wespe proved reliable and highly maneuverable, but like contemporary self propelled guns such as the British Sexton and U.S. M7 Priest, had inadequate overhead gun crew protection. The Wespe was a considerably smaller target than either of these allied vehicles, but it also held less ammunition given it was based on a smaller chassis chosen based upon availability given limited production capacity for larger ones.
caption: Wespe howitzers move through a town in southern Russia
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