Marder Zug

A beautiful IFV named after an adorable weasel-thing!

The Marder is Germany's first home grown Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Capable of carrying 6 infantry men in addition to its three many crew, the Marder is armed with a 20mm Rh 202 autocannon, a MG3 Machine gun, and an optional Milan Missile mount.

In Team Yankee

Das Stats

The Marder is a mediocre option for your West German Army.

Like other transports, armor is not its defining factor. With a Front armor of 3, the Marder can deal with small arms and some autocannons from the front, but the moment the enemy gets to your side, expect your expensive murder machines to turn into flaming wrecks. And all that is without facing dedicated Anti-Tank Weapons, like MBT guns or ATGMs.

You get very few of them, and the autocannon has Anti-Helicopter. Unfortunately, the West Germans already perform light anti-armor rather well with Leopard 1s. Consider using the Marder for its intended mission: supporting infantry or anti-helicopter duties when no other units can.

Unfortunately for the West Germans, the Marder has been dethroned by the YPR-765 and the AMX-10P. Expensive and passable, it cannot compete with the superior firepower of the YPR-765 or the cost-effectiveness of the AMX-10P.

IRL

So pretty ...

The Marder technically could count as the West's first response against the BMP vehicles. In comparison the West Germans forsook the large caliber cannon for a smaller 20mm gun with a high angle and rate of fire. Protection was heavy for the time, designed to defeat 30mm autocannons, making the Marder weigh twice as much as a traditional NATO APC - why it's ended up with worse armour values than an M113 is anyone's guess. The design has seen 5 service upgrades, and serves as the base for Light tanks, SAM systems and APCs. The Germans are phasing out Marder in favor of the Puma IFV which, in true German engineering fashion, weighs as much as T72.