The M7 Priest is the iconic Allied self-propelled howitzer, and served with distinction throughout World War II. It entered combat for the first time at El Alamein with Montgomery's Eighth Army, and saw action in every major campaign thereafter, through Sicily, Italy and Normandy to the final battles in Germany.Originally based on the M3 Lee/Grant medium tank, and later on the M4 Sherman, the Priest was the most widely manufactured vehicle of its type in World War II. The M7 saw service with all the major Allied armies, including US, British, Canadian and Free French forces, and inspired its own derivatives in the form of such vehicles as the British/Canadian Sexton and the M12 155mm GMC. This book tells the complete story of the M7 Priest and its derivatives, from design and development to deployment during and after World War II.