Editing Jagdpanzer IV (section)

==Combat history==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1976-039-09, Ungarn, Jagdpanzer und Grenadiere auf dem Marsch.jpg|thumb|''Jagdpanzer'' IV with infantry support, Hungary, 1944]]

The ''Jagdpanzer'' IV served in the [[anti-tank]] sections of Panzer and SS Panzer divisions. The vehicle fought against Western Allied forces in [[operation Overlord|Normandy]] and the [[Battle of the Bulge]], and Soviet tanks and troops on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. It was very successful as a tank destroyer due to its low profile, accurate gun and good armour protection, but performed poorly when used out of role as a substitute for tanks or assault guns to support infantry. This was increasingly necessary in the later stages of the war from late 1944 to 1945, because there was often nothing else available to the badly depleted German armoured units.

[[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]] received several ''Jagdpanzer'' IV/70 from the [[Red Army]] after the war ended. They were officially known as TAs T4 in their army's inventory and were used until 1950 when they were phased out. German armour in Romanian service, including the Jagdpanzer IV, was replaced entirely with Soviet vehicles in 1954. 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). Most of these ex-German vehicles have been dug up recently, with some scrapped while others await restoration locally or abroad.

''Jagdpanzer'' IV aces include ''SS-Oberscharführer'' (Senior squad leader) [[Rudolf Roy]] from the 12th SS ''Panzerjäger'' Battalion of [[12th SS Panzer Division]], who was awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] for battlefield bravery and credited with 36 tank kills. He was killed by an American sniper while looking out of the hatch of his ''Jagdpanzer'' IV on December 17 in 1944 during the [[Ardennes Offensive]] in [[Belgium]], the last major German offensive on the Western Front.{{sfn|Fellgiebel|1986|p=366}}{{sfn|Számvéber|2018|p=168}}{{sfn|Bergström|2014|p=172}}

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. An innovative exception was the Swedish [[Stridsvagn 103]], more widely known as the "S-Tank".

Along with [[Panzer IV]]s and [[Sturmgeschütz III]]s, Syria acquired in the 1950s six Jagdpanzer IV L/48s.<ref>Naud, Phillipe (2011), "Les Blindes de Damas 1948-1967", in Steel Masters nº105, May–June, 2011</ref> These were used in the conflicts with Israel up until 1967 when most were either destroyed, abandoned on the Golan Heights overlooking Israel, or scrapped.