by Steven J. Zaloga.
Softcover (7.25×9.75 inches). 48 pages. 2026.
Subtitle: The Wehrmachts’s Prime Tank Destroyers
This overview covers the design and development of the Marder series of tank destroyers, which were not officially designated “Marder” until Feb. 1, 1944 (p4). All were basically repurposed aging or obsolete chasses with various anti-tank guns. The Marder I was based on a French Lorraine chassis, the Marder II on a Panzer II chassis, and a Marder III on a Pzkpfw 38(t) chassis.
The biggest and most successful conversion used captured Soviet F22 76.2mm AT guns and captured ammo. All Marders, while effective at the time, were phased out in favor of the STuG and Hetzer armored vehicles — although some were still being used in 1945. Other potential, but ultimately less effective successors than the STuG or Hetzer included the RSO and various AT guns mounted on halftracks.
As you’d expect from a Zaloga volume, lots of tabular data supplements the smooth text. As you’d expect from Osprey, lots of imagery.
The book contains 40 black and white photos, 1 color photo, 12 color camouflage profiles, and one color two-page action illustration as partially displayed on the front cover.
The usual excellence of a Zaloga booklet carries through to this volume in the New Vanguard series. Most Marders were deployed on the Eastern Front, but some appeared in North Africa, Italy, and the Western Front.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
