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Stug III laden with tarpin on upper hull, guarding German armor column (inc. Tiger tank, Hummel assault gun, SdKfz 251 halftrack with small armor turret, assorted wheeled vehicles) assembled on mud-racked terrain of eastern Ukraine for defense of Tarnopol (also written Ternopil) city, Spring 1944. Stug III has old-style trapezoid gun mantle based on its shape, stacked spare road wheels and crates in rear, tarpin used to break up vehicle shape and prevent rain seepage into crew cabin via gun mantle mount. Tarnopol - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnopol
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Soviets called this mud-soaked morass the Rasputitsa (Slavic for Mud Season), which can be either a thick non-viscous mud which clings to and can jam mechanical components. Or it can be a mud slurry the depth of which can swallow heavy armor vehicles such as Tiger tank above up to its driver visor and side fenders. For this Ostfront condition, Germans designed special tracks for armored vehicles, extensive use of fully-track and half-track transports, even large diameter wheeled vehicles to transverse this terrain (ex. Skoda-built Rad Schlepper Ost). Rasputitsa - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasputitsa
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Major Soviet roads in WW2 were hard  surfaced dirt roads, barely conducive for regular military traffic during Summer months, but Winter Snow - Autumn Rains - Spring Thaw brought forth such mud-mucked morass shown above. Since this condition impacted Germans and Soviet alike, German took advantage of Spring thaws to reinforce their meager defensive positions before next Soviet drive. Tarnopol was a major road junction in eastern Poland. After great military disaster befallen upon German Army Group Center in Summer 1944, this city became a salient in Soviet lines, hence targeted for next offensive.
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Poles and Soviets fought a 1920 border war over Tarnopol regional control, ending with Polish victory (recall that Polish calvary were elite echelons within WW1-era Austro-Hungarian Empire, with Poland independence in 1918, the Poles brought home their calvary forces and assumed immediate regional power status). With Soviet WW2 victory in 1945, she settled old scores by annexing 20,000 square miles of eastern Poland (Tarnopol included), hence current city belongs to Ukraine nation. Polish-Soviet War 1919 to 1921 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Soviet_War
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Inset 1 : Tarpin-laden Stug III, Panther tank, and Landser (infantry), assembled on Italian roadside circa 1944. Stug III bolted spare tracks on front glacis and hull side for additional protection. Infantrymen worn Army splinter pattern jackets over their trench coats, camouflage consisted of disruptive green - brown - tan design. Developed in 1932, original German designation was Buntfarbenaufdruck (multicolored color print), but was changed to Splittermuster 41 (splinter sample 1941). This camouflage type mainly worn by Heere and Luftwaffe soldaten (soldiers), Waffen-SS personnel worn their own distinctive camouflage patterns derived from SS military research departments. German Wehrmacht Splinter Pattern - www.zeltbahn.net/wh_camo.htm
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Rollover : ( Rollover JPG link ) Number 201 Stug III in winter white-wash camouflage, applique armor on front glacis, knocked-out Soviet T-34 tank in background. Since Stug Panzertruppen wear proper winter attire, timeframe should be 1943 on Ostfront. Winter white-wash was method of camouflage application, German frontline depots furnished its armored crews white camouflage paint in concentrated paste form. Crews instructed to dilute paste with gasoline (or via European term Petrol) for sturdy application. But given dire need to fuel its vehicles, most German crews diluted paste with water, hence gave paint a chalk-like appearance which would begin to flake or rub-off within a few weeks. How to paint Winter White Wash Finishes - www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=36
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Inset 2 : White-wash Stug III traversing winter Soviet plain, its commander and loader protruding out  respective hatches also worn white-washed helmets to blend with environment. Stug mounted regular tracks, but Germans quickly discovered harsh Ostfront conditions severely hampered their armor movements. Hence two special tracks introduced for Ostfront : 1) Winterketten, 2) Ostketten.
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Winterketten (winter tracks) introduced in 1942 for Ostfront snow-bound winter conditions. These were spade extensions attached to triangular extension bars onto regular tracks, protruding out from cleat edges. Its drawback was individual spades broke off after continual usage, thus rectified with Ostketten track design.
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Ostketten (east tracks) introduced in 1944 to navigate the Rasputitsa (mud-soaked morass) during Ostfront Autumn rain and Spring thaw conditions. These were not spade extensions with triangular extension bars, but complete set of wider tracks with single piece track base extending beyond cleat edges. Ostketten Track - www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/ww2prod/ww2prod35019.htm
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Inset 3 : One of few surviving postwar Stug IIIs, this one belongs to Russian Republic Kubinka  armor museum south of Moscow. Although camouflaged in winter white-wash, vehicle operating in summer conditions, hence drive sprocket access panels on front glacis are opened to prevent transmission overheating and ventilate crew compartment. Stug installed with Winterketten (winter tracks) which are protruding spades giving greater traction on snow/mud-bound terrain. Building a Bergepanzer III with Panzerbergeanker (Ostketten sample) - ipmslondon.tripod.com/modelingarticles/id16.html
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Most of WW2-era armor vehicles can be found either in operational order or on display in military museums worldwide, such as Kublinka in Russia, Aberdeen in US, Bovington in UK, Saumur in France, and Paderborn in Germany.
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