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.

In this article, both versions are referred to in general as Jagdpanzer IV, except in the variants and surviving vehicles section.

With experience gained during the initial phases of the Battle of Stalingrad, in September 1942 the Wehrmacht's arms bureau, the Waffenamt, called for a new standard for heavy assault guns: 100 mm of armor to the front, 40–50 mm on the sides, wider tracks, ground clearance of 50 cm (20 in), top speed of 26 km/h (16 mph) and the lowest possible firing positions.

Armament consisted of a 7.5 cm main gun firing Fixed QF 75 × 640mm R ammunition, originally intended to be the Pak 42 L/70.

This made them less mobile and more difficult to operate in rough terrain, leading their crews to nickname them Guderian-Ente ("Guderian's duck").

Early versions of the Jagdpanzer IV carried two standard (no modification made) MG 42 machine guns on both sides of the main gun mantlet/glacis, firing 7.92×57mm Mauser rifle ammunition through a firing port which was protected by an armored cover plate (with the MG 42 retracted) when not in use.

On 19–22 August 1943, after the Battle of Kursk, Hitler received reports that StuG IIIs performed better than the Panzer IV within the constraints of how they were deployed.

Later vehicles had three return rollers rather than the original four, and adopted the twin vertical exhausts typical of the late Panzer IV series.

The vehicle fought against Western Allied forces in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and Soviet tanks and troops on the Eastern Front.

Bulgaria also received Jagdpanzer IVs from both Germany and the Soviet Union (most coming from the latter post-war), and they saw limited service in the postwar Bulgarian military before being stripped of all engine components, dug in and turned into fixed gun emplacements on its border with neighbouring Turkey, as part of the Krali Marko Line (now fallen into disrepair).

[3][4][5] After the war, West Germany continued the Jagdpanzer concept with the Kanonenjagdpanzer, but few other fixed-casemate self-propelled guns were built in the postwar era.