dividebyzero

Let's muddy waters even more. IMO: Strategically the Sherman was a superior weapon as it could be easily mass produced. The Panther was much more difficult to make. Operationally the Sherman was a superior weapon. It was far more reliable and could travel 100+ miles a day. The Panther was less reliable and could not be expected maintain the same level of operational movement. Tactically the Panther owned the Sherman. Its optics, main gun, and protection was superior. Its flotation was better than the lighter Sherman. If I had to choose between the 2? If I were a tanker I'd prefer the Panther. If I were the commanding general and not the one doing the actual fighting, I may want to go with the Sherman.

You will get all sorts of quotes on this. This source actually says "at times it took 10 Shermans..." http://en.allexperts.com/q/Military-History-669/World-War-2-Tanks.htm Anyway the ratio could go up or down depending on a number of factors. 5,4,3 or 10 it really doesn't matter. A Sherman was outmatched in most respects.

I recently got this. I'm very impressed with the Shock Force series. I have all of them and love it. I also have CMBN and love that too. CMA is a very interesting game. It certainly has a different feel. Ultimately a Viet-Nam centered game would be very welcome as would an Arab-Israeli one.

It was said that when encountering a Panther you send 5 Shermans and expect to lose 4. You have to be prepared to take losses while aiming to attack the weaker side and rear of a Panther. The Panther did have some weak spots that would allow success when attacking the front. I can't recall the specifics, but I think it was possible to bounce a 37mm or 57mm against the ground so it would deflect up and hit the less armored bottom of a Panther. It was also possible to hit the Panther at the point where the turret and hull met and that would take it out. That all being said and done the aim was usually to use superior numbers and flank a Panther. Overall the Panther was a better tank in most respects. On soft ground its suspension and wider tracks gave it lower ground pressure so it could be more maneuverable that a Sherman, even though it was heavier. The Panthers 75 mm gun was awesome and the sighting system was far superior. IIRC the Panthers 75mm gun had better penetration than the 88mm due to higher velocity. Mechanically the Panther could be very problematical. A Sherman could go a 100 miles a day and do so day in day out. A Panther would be hard pressed to do the same feat. Another weakness was the Panther used gasoline, not diesel and thus could burn fiercely if the gasoline ignited. American air power was also a major headache for the Germans.

These 2 Germans got caught in a pickle. On one side of the hedgerows Americans. One the other side their comrades.

Just purchased last night and spend 3 hours downloading. Installed this morning and applied the latest complete patch. Game is unbelievably slow-like watching a slide show-when it doesn't lock up completely. I'm running Vista 64 , SP2, Athlon 5000+, 8 gig ram, Radeon 4890X2 1 meg DDR5