Introduction
Emerging from the motorized infantry (“Grenadiere”) of the mid-1950s, the mechanized infantry (“Panzergrenadiere”) formed the mainstay of the West German Army through and beyond the times of Cold War.
Seeing a lot of changes in structure and equipment over the decades, the Panzergrenadiere developed into a highly mobile and well armored asset with decent firepower.
In this article we will have a closer look at the structure, equipment and capabilities of the different battalion types in 1989 and how they can be represented in Fistful of TOWs 3.
Organization and equipment of the West German Panzergrenadier battalion
Since the foundation of the West German Army in 1955, there happened to be a lot of changes in the structure and composition of the forces. While smaller changes were made continuously, elemental changes were defined by the “Heeresstruktur” (literally: “army structure”). The 1980s were characterized by the “Heeresstruktur IV”, which was in effect from 1980 until 1992.
The structure of the Panzergrenadiere within this time frame was different depending on the type of brigade they were assigned to and also if it was the brigades’ first battalion or a subsequent. The two brigade types the Panzergrenadiere were deployed to are the mechanized infantry brigade and the tank brigade.
Organization
The core of the mechanized infantry brigades consisted of three mechanized infantry battalions plus one tank battalion. Main vehicle used by the infantry was the Marder IFV. But as there were not enough Marder available for the whole army, only the first two companies in each battalion received them. The third company substituted with the US-made M113, which was modified for German needs and renamed M113 G. Mechanized infantry brigades were issued the Leopard 1 tank.
The tank brigades fielded one mechanized infantry battalion only but three tank battalions. Not only did the tank brigades bring more tanks, the mechanized infantry too was equipped heavier. They received the Marder IFV throughout and did not substitute with the M113. The tank brigades also received the more modern Leopard 2. The first battalion (mixed tank) in a tank brigade exchanged two infantry companies for two tank companies and by that improved its offensive anti-armor capabilities. The second battalion (mechanized infantry) consisted of three mechanized infantry companies fully equipped with Marder IFV. Battalions three and four in these brigades were pure tank battalions, putting the Panzergrenadiere into a support role for this brigade type.
Equipment
When the West German Army was formed in 1955, the infantry was equipped with trucks until the late 1950s. The period from 1959 to 1962 then brought some substantial changes with introduction of the HS 30 IFV, the first fully armored infantry vehicle of the West German Army. Also from 1962 on, the M113 APC was introduced to motorized infantry which did not receive the HS 30 (yet). During this period, the infantry (“Grenadiere”) became a fully mechanized infantry (“Panzergrenadiere” literally: “armored infantry”).
The HS 30 though had a lot of problems and was quickly deemed unsuitable as an IFV. The result was the development of the Marder IFV, which was introduced to the troops from 1971. With the Marder IFV available, the infantry now finally had some impressive tool on their hands. The Marder was a well armored and very mobile platform. Its 20mm cannon was capable of fighting infantry as well as APCs and lightly armored IFV. Facing heavier threats, the Marder could utilize its Milan anti-tank missile system which was introduced from 1977 to 1979.
For a heavier anti-tank and support role, the Panzergrenadiere also had the Leopard tank available. Late 1965 saw the introduction of the first Leopard 1 models. The most modern variant of the Leopard 1 was the 1A5 model, which received the updates from 1986 to 1992. This last version of the Leopard 1 was finally retired and phased out in 2003. The Leopard 2 was introduced to the West German Army from 1979 and is in use until today in modernized versions.
Battalions in both brigade types also made use of the M113 based self-propelled 120mm mortar “M113 Panzermörser 120mm”. These were organic to the battalion and organized in a fifth company.
Battalion structure in Fistful of TOWs 3
For FFT3, the structure has been changed slightly to fit the game mechanics.
- Where present, the 5th company (SP 120mm mortars) has been moved to “base”
- In reality, each squad in M113 companies had one Milan ATGM assigned (total of 3 per platoon, 9 in the company). For easy implementation into FFT3, these have been merged into one Milan team with an additional M113G APC. It can be discussed if there should be one or two Milan teams for the company. Another way would be to create a new infantry type “Infantry /w ATGM” like it is available for the Russian forces for example and drop the extra Milan team. I though thought this solution would be too much of a change for the time being.
TOEs for each type of Panzergrenadierbataillon (short “PzGrenBtl”) is listed below.
Please be aware the list below does not portray the complete brigade organization but focuses only on the parts including infantry. Articles describing the full brigade organizations will follow and be linked here once available.
In mechanized infantry brigades (“Panzergrenadierbrigade”)
1st battalion (mixed mechanized infantry battalion)
- Base
- –
- 2x Mechanized infantry company
- 3x Marder IFV
- 3x Infantry
- 1x Tank company
- 3x Leopard 1
2nd and 3rd battalion (mechanized infantry battalion)
- Base
- 1x Panzermörser 120mm
- 2x Mechanized infantry company
- 3x Marder IFV
- 3x Infantry
- 1x Mechanized infantry company
- 4x M113 G APC
- 3x Infantry
- 1x Milan team
Stand inventory
1st battalion:
- 6x Marder IFV
- 6x Infantry
- 3x Leopard 1
2nd and 3rd battalion:
- 1x Panzermörser 120mm
- 6x Marder IFV
- 4x M113 G APC
- 9x Infantry
- 1x Milan team
In tank brigades (“Panzerbrigade”)
I have not yet finished building my tank brigades. Hope i can provide you some pictures soon.
1st battalion (mixed tank battalion)
- Base
- –
- 1 Mechanized infantry company
- 3x Marder IFV
- 3x Infantry
- 2 Tank companies
- 3x Leopard 2
2nd battalion (mechanized infantry battalion)
- Base
- 1x Panzermörser 120mm
- 3 Mechanized infantry company
- 3x Marder IFV
- 3x Infantry
Stand inventory
1st battalion:
- 3x Marder IFV
- 3x Infantry
- 6x Leopard 2
2nd battalion:
- 1x Panzermörser 120mm
- 9x Marder IFV
- 9x Infantry
Conclusion
Hope this article was helpful and enjoyable to read. As always, i am very happy to hear your opinion, questions or contributions in the comments.
Fistful of TOWs 3 is a fast playing miniature rules system for company to brigade sized games and bigger. Provided army and equipment lists cover World War 1 (equipment only), World War 2, the Cold War era, Vietnam War, Arab-Israeli Wars and many more. You can learn more about the rules system in my in-depth rules review of Fistful of TOWs 3.