Long range units
First the usage of various types of vehicles is most important. Learn
how to use the long range mobile artillery, Wespe cannon tanks, Priest
howitzers and Katyushas are vital in the battle, they have no armour,
but with combinations of good spotters (snipers) and team work, you
can destroy the biggest tanks from long distances. Anti aircraft fire
is always important, particularly around heavy tanks, use AA cannons
and halftracks to take down those buggers from the sky. If you have
a poor connection I would advise taking the long range mobile artillery
as your first choice of weapon, they have slow reloads, but are effective.
Fight from the back and work your way forward, this is how this tutorial
will work. Should you be playing a map with large coastal defence
guns, use those in a similar fashion to the Wespe or Priest cannons.
Wespe/Priest - These tanks have poor armour and little defence
against even a grenade, but their guns are deadly and they are serious
fun to use. Use these tanks in coordination with spotters and aerial
reconnaissance to halt advancing attacks and hit enemy armour.
Katyushas - Stalin's organs are formidable opponents to any
advancing tank. They are very inaccurate, however, and the gunner
can't see the enemy if he looks straight ahead over the cab, but went
turned to a broadside they are deadly. Two of these units can hold
off enemy tanks, but not a large infantry advance, best to be used
against concentrated enemy positions.
Tanks
There are several types of tanks in the game and no doubt every one
has their favourites. I personally find the Panzer IV or M10 Wolverine
tanks particularly pleasing. These armoured behemoths are truly titans
of the ground. No tank can be destroyed in one shot, but they can
be crippled. They work best in pairs with one providing cover for
the advancing one. They do need constant aerial protection so have
fighters roaming overhead or AA guns handy to protect you advancing
houses of mayhem.
German Panzers
Panzer IV The German army has two tanks in this game. The Panzer IV
short barrelled gun version, as was first seen in the early 1940s.
This gun has a good velocity and fires very straight, meaning that
you can use the crosshair has a good guiding sight, unlike on many
other tanks where the shells tend to dip away before exploding. This
tank has a good cruising speed and can get to the frontline at about
the same speed as a Sherman. It has good armour but can only take
two hits from a tank destroyer or heavy tank. This tank is excellent
against Sherman tanks and if used properly can rule the battlefield.
The Panzer IV has a very low profile allowing it to hide behind pill
boxes and ridges etc where it can fire out without being hit.
Tiger - This tank, in the right hands, rules the battlefield.
If controlled by an engineer it can be repaired between each battle
and once you get used to the jerky suspension then you do feel in
control of any battle. The main gun has a poor velocity and the shell
starts to dip away almost as soon as it has left the cannon, however
anything that gets hit by it is practically destroyed. If you see
one of these in your motor pool, jump in and attack. The Allies
M4 Sherman - The Sherman tank is the main tank of the Allied
armies. Unfortunately there are no British tanks, so the Sherman fills
into this slot. The Sherman I fast, but weakly armoured. It is a match
for a Panzer IV in the right hands but if you see a German Tiger the
best strategy is to stick in groups (safety in numbers) or turn your
front to face it and start reversing hoping that the Tiger commander
will misjudge his shot. These tanks, against the Japanese Chi Has,
are superb and can literally take on these at a rate of 3 to 1. If
you are playing a pacific map try to stay out of range of the weak
cannons of these tanks and hit them from a way off.
M10 Wolverine - This tank is not accurate in the game. The
developers obviously felt the Allies needed a tank that wasn't actually
crap, and as the Pershing tank only entered the war in February 1945,
this was the best they could come up with. This tank was really intended
to fight Panzer IV tanks with a superb gun, but weak armour. In the
game this unit is equal to the tiger tank, if not slightly better.
The gun is very good, but the tank as too much armour to be accurate
and even a Tiger will have a bit of trouble taking one of these out.
It does balance the game out though and there is usually only one
of these at most on the maps.
The Russians
T34 - This tank is quite good. It is slightly better than the
Panzer IV (and thus the Sherman) but this is because the version portrayed
in the game is the T34s of 1942, and the Panzer IV mark F model is
from as early as 1940 I think. Anyways this tank is good, but often
falls victim to grenade or bazooka attacks. I think it is slightly
slower and less manoeuvrable than other tanks, but has more armour.
The T34s are vulnerable to aerial attacks so keep them well protected,
as they are easy, large targets for JU-87 Stukas.
T34/85 - Again this tank has been slightly improved so that
the Tiger does not rule the battlefield. This tank has the same characteristics
of the T34, except with more armour and a better gun. It is a hybrid
of the Wolverine and Tiger. It has a top speed just slower than the
Wolverine's and armour just less than a tiger. This tanks is quite
deadly to other tanks, but against Infantry it is often vulnerable
as grenades and anti tank shells easily hit its large profile. This
tank has no Machine gun position on top, unlike the T34, but it has
a good solid 85mm cannon, which can make short work of most tanks.
Japan
Chi-Ha - This tank was one of the worst tanks of the war. They
had hardly any armour, there guns could hardly blow open a balloon,
let alone a metal monster like a Sherman. These tanks from BF1942
are slightly improved from the earlier war version, which were often
ignored by the American tanks, as they could not harm them, except
from point blank range. This tank is never really deployed in numbers,
so it is best to use antitank weapons against the Sherman tanks, with
a few of these in support to take out the infantry.
