Elefant: First Jagdpanzer (?)

Again, you have to understand the timeline and the context. As organized in 1934, the Schnelle Truppen" included not only the Panzer, but also the Infanterie (motorisiert), the Panzerjäger, the Reiter (Cavalry), and the Aufklärungs (Reconnaissance) troops. The Artillerie did not want to be left out and to fulfill its requirement for an "infantry accompanying gun" based upon Great War experience, initiated development of the Sturmgeschütz. in 1937, which resulted in the first Batterien in 1940. It, like the Schnelle Truppen, was found to be extremely and expanded rapidly, so rapidly that Alkett was turned over entirely to its production by 1941, even though it was originally scheduled as a Panzer III mobilization factory. That led to quite a bit of friction between the Schnelle Truppen and the Artillerie, especially after Heinz Guderian became General Inspektrur der Panzertruppen. in February 1943.

The end result was a back and forth over unit designations as well as designations of the vehicles themselves. The Elefant not only went through various names, it was also classified as various things. Eventually, the Elefant was dubbed a Jagdpanzer and served in Panzerjäger units, as did all the other Jagdpanzer such as Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger, Jagdpanzer IV (in various variants), Jagdpanzer 38(t), and all the earlier Jagdpanzer that were originally designated as Panzerjäger aud Selbstafahrlafitte. Even the Sturmgeschütz were partly taken over by what was by then the Panzertruppen, when in spring 1943 Sturmgeschütz production was allocated to the Panzerwaffe for rebuilding Panzer divisions destroyed in the Stalingrad Campaign and for equipping the Panzer Abteilung in the reorganized Infanterie-Division (motorisiert), which beacme the Panzergrenadier-Division. The Artillerie lost more control in February 1944, when it was directed the reorganized Infanterie division would have a Sturmgeschütz Batterie (later confusingly designated an Abteilung) as one of the components of its Panzerjäger Abteilung, putting those too directly under the Panzerwaffe.

When the existing Sturmgeschütz-Brigaden began renaming as Sturm-Artillerie-Brigaden (by the addition of a Begliet or escort infantry company) it was almost as if it was a last desperate attempt by the Artillerie to maintain its control.