Beginning in the mid '30s Germany sought to improve the mobility and mechanization of its Army. One of the more important requirements of its ambitious development program was the adoption of a standard military chassis which would optimize cross country mobility. Among the different versions that were proposed, the medium off road passenger cars, four wheel drive platform, built by Opelwerk and Auto Union found favour. The Wehrmacht used them in various configurations as troop transports, as tow tractors and in reconnaissance roles. The Kfz.12, built by Horch (Horch was part of the Auto Union group together with Wanderer, Audi and DKW), proved to be very reliable and robust in any operating environment due to its simple but effective design.