Thanks to a extensive experience of CMBO, here is a modest study about Tanks’ behaviour on our favorite battlefields.

This study is based on :

The sometimes hazy reminiscences of 30 quick battles : free purchasing or combined forces in attack / defence / meeting engagement.
Games played without any homemade restriction such as Fionn Kelly's, but in two occasions.
The study only concerns my opponents’ forces, in the dual aim  ) and not toJnot to give a precise information to my future opponents (  distort the basic data by analysing only my particular case

We can expect the data to be typical enough, as my opponents represent some foreign countries and other coldy places such as USA, Paris, Estonia, Jura, New-Zealand, Grenoble, Hungary, Normandie, Germany. Even so I can’t deny that playing fashions quickly spread through our reduced community and can cause a quick evolution of the players’ habits. To be continued...

I integrated in these thinkings not only the « pure « armoured vehicles (as defined in the CM purchasing list) but also the vehicles equiped with mounted guns, as these ones often play a similar role on the battle field.

So the raw figures come from :

30 completed (and remembered) games concerning :
- an average of 1641 purchasing points
- 7 attacks, 7 defences and 16 meeting engagements
- 3 English (playing side), 8 US, 1 French, 1 mix English/US, 17 Germans

General comments :

What first strikes me is the VERY high loss rate of the armoured vehicles (87%).
It definitively doesn’t mean that the armoured vehicules are of no use ! But if you expect hold the ground with them and come back home unharmed, stop deluding yourself : your tanks will more probably finish as smoky wreckages.

By a quick mental calculation, you could check that the points spent in tanks (in the strict CM definition) represent 182 points on 1000. This ratio is notably wise if you consider based on combined force spending % possibilities (200 pts for the German side, 300 for the allied one) and even more for the unrestricted purchases. It looks like the all-armoured choice is no fashion this year.

I didn’t meet enough veteran tanks to appraise their relative value. But some rememberings of springing-up JagdPanther or dented-but-still-firing Panther prevail me upon being reverent of these decored old soldiers !



THE ENGLISH SIDE

First, the english tanks are more likely to survive on the battle field than the others. Having played only 3 games against them with 2 losses and a tie (some people will recognize themself here, uh), the results may not be significant. But... as I am losing two other games... so be careful... It looks like these englishmen are no simple tea drinkers !

Apparemment, les joueurs ne choisissent pas les Anglais pour acheter du Sherman 75 ou du Honey . 2 Pdr , 17 Pdr , 95 mm, du pur British de chez Harrod's, voila ce qu'ils veulent !
Apparently, players don’t choose the English side to purchase Sherman 75 or Honey. 2 Pdr, 17 Pdr, 95mm : pure Harrod’s English is what they want !

The 17 Pdr gun carriers (Challengers, Firefly) are the English best-seller. Hard to avoid them against a true English opponent ! If you don’t see why, just move your heavily armoured tanks forward a 17 Pdr.. hmmm listen the sweet noise of the exploding turret... Moreover the Challengers are moving and firing faster than whatever you can oppose to them. Fortunately, these vehicules are quite fragile, in particular the Challenger. To deal with them, no mystery : ambush and overnumber or! luck is the key. Flank fires are required against Firefly if you aren’t equiped with 75mm.

The Daimler is another english best-seller : small and quick, its 2 Pdr gun is dreadfully efficient ! Nothing can make a stand against it, except the Panther / Tiger range (but woe to the ill-protected flanks). Of course, there is the other side of the picture : the Daimler is very lightly armoured and its lack of explosive shells makes it harmless against infantery.

Besides their devastating potential against infantery and buildings, the « Close-Support « Tanks have a dreadful power of destruction against the opposite Tanks thanks to their hollow charges ! And the quickness of their turret is amazing... be extremely cautious in front of them ! Obviously the Cromwells are poorly armoured and won’t resist to your shells. But the Churchills are a different problem : if you don’t have a 75LL or 88mm, you can’t do otherwise than shoting them on the flank. Schrecks and Puppchen are the best weapons if you are close enough... and alive... Fortunately these Tank are slooooooowww.

The sexton’s 25 Pdr gun is a dreadful anti-infantery weapon. If well protected and located, it will devastate your lines of resistance.

I kept the Wasps for the end. Their flamethrower is the terror of the infantery. Easy to kill provided that your opponent let you to do so. Be very careful with them.



THE FRENCH-AMERICAN SIDE

We criticize them, we laugh at them, but the Shermans continue their success-story ! Bristling with machine guns, it frightens infanterymen. A large part of the enemy Tanks fears the 75mm. Obviously this gun is a bit ridiculous against Panthers / Tigers / Hertzers but the Sherman biggest problem is its poor resistance, which allow them a limited longevity on the battle field. Everythig can deal with them, excepted the 20mm and the 50mm (if firing at its frontal armour).

The 76mm gun carriers are also extremely appreciated. Be careful with your big cats as the 76mm largely dominates them. How to deal with them : M4 76 are Shermans, so have a look upper. M10 are slow and poorly armoured, may their souls rest in peace. It’s hard to manage M18! try to catch them ! And they fire as soon as they detect you ! Chancing your big tanks against them is pointless. Shot them in ambushes with high rate of fire guns (fixed or motorized) is the best to do. You didn’t purchase such guns ? Well get along as you can !

Then come a list of small quick vehicles :

M8 HMC : appreciated for its low cost, quickness, anti-infantery efficience and for its hollow charges! hmmm the croaky scream of the backstabbed JadgPanther! Obviously this vehicule has a poor resistance and can be easily destroyed if your fire is precise...

The M8 Greyhound is very quick indeed, the 37mm gun is very efficient and can deal with all armours including the Panther’s (flank only). But it is very fragile too.

The Stuart is small, quick and versatile. The same gun and (lack of) resistance than the Greyhound.

Crocodile Sherman : of course it is VERY powerful against infantery ! The problem of the flamethrowers is that their range is far lower than schrecks’ one... be warned. No second chance...



THE GERMAN SIDE

The huge disappointment ! Contrary to the always enduring rumours, the Tigers II and JadgTigers are far from being frequent on our battle fields. Many Hertzers and Pumas but nothing about fat Tigers.

The Puma! Sure its 50mm is quite efficient and it is purchased in the vehicle class (in addition to the 20% armoured points). Sure it is quick and will backstabb uncautious Shermans. But its armour looks like cigarette paper (you’ll see : try cal .50 against it) and it is pointless against infantery. A motionless Puma can even be killed by a 2 inches mortar !

And the Hertzer ? Its cost is derisory and its superbly inclined frontal armour is a blessing. Even the 76 will hardly deal with it... And the Hertzer’s 75 can manage all its opponents... but the chinks in the armor are its slow rate of fire, its lack of turret and its symbolic flank armour. Be careful, pass round them and try flanking fire with 17 Pdr or hollow charges (piats and zooks) and... bye bye Hertzer.

The halftracks and sdkfz234-like are a typical german speciality. With 20mm to 75mm mounted guns, they will alway be a serious discomfort. 20mm is light but it’s enough against the lightest tanks and vehicles while the infantery will be reluctant to face it. The 75mm is excellent for infantery support and its hollow charges are... perforating. The drawback is their fragility and the lack of turret (for the 75)

StH42 : curiously I never met its cousin StuGIII. This one probably suffers from the rivalry of the Hertzer. StH’s 105mm gun seems more appreciated. Ideal against infantery and buildings, its hollow charges may be dreadfully efficient. But the lack of turret, the ridiculous fire rate and poor armour are serious drawbacks and designate it as one of your favorite targets.

The Panther : we finally talk about the « true « Tank. Panther is a fearsome opponent. Nor armoured vehicules neither infantery can resist to its 75LL. Good mobility and excellent armour only vulnerable against 17 Pdr, 76mm and hollow charges (but not all of them). You’re warned, be careful against a Panther... Suprise, quickness and flank attack will be your best chances.

JadgPanther : a badass too ! What a beautiful beast ! Even a 17 Pdr or a 76mm will hardly manage it ! The only solution is the flank attack !

PzIV : after such tanks, the poor PzIV seems really drab! It can be perforated by everything and it is not very fast. That’s one of my biggest disappointments because I sentimentally estimate it for all its career... Fortunately for it, its 75mm is an excellent weapon which must be considered with reverence. But go ahead and the PzIV won’t resist a long time...

The Wespe : thanks to Wespe I can practice my favorite sport, which is butterfly hunting in MG Jeep ! You’ll see, that’s exciting and hit it off every time. Its big gun is the terror of the infantery while its hollow charges are very perforating. But the Wespe hardly has a second chance to hit.

JgdPzIV/70 : a very appreciated vehicule thanks to its 75LL and its excellent armour. A serious opponent for your tanks ! But it isn’t versatile enough to deal with coordinated forces in the smallest battles. Fast and strong attack on the flank is what JgdPzIV/70 hates the most !

The Lynx : inefficient 20mm gun, symbolic armour and not very quick. It can disturb your infantery and light vehicules but easy to terminate.

The Tiger : decrepitude of the old glories! The Tiger can manage frontal duel against a 75mm but no more.. 76mm and others will perforate it uneventfully. In mobile action, the slowness of its turret will make you lose your first/last hair... not for a long time as a flank hit immediately finishes it. Even so, still prepare good AT guns because Tiger stays Tiger ! Of course the 88mm gun still devastate infantery and ennemy turrets but it doesn’t balance its drawbacks.

The Nashorn : its 88mm gun must be considered with reverence but that’s all. Like the Wespe, the Nashorn is the ideal trophy for light caliber hunting. Entertaining.


Here is the end!


Nota : Obviously, I’m confident with your capability to find some mistakes and wrongnesses in this study ! I rely on you to show me theses mistakes on CM or Jmore peacefully... as you will