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Close assaulting tanks (with grenades)


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I've ran some tests and uploaded a video showing how effective it is to sneak up infantry to a tank with the intention of destroying it with only grenades.

So far it seems to me that it's not a very good tactic since the infantry end up getting killed almost every time.

Here's a video showing 10 attempts of infantry sneaking up on a Panther G (early) (skill: Veteran, Motivation: Normal, Leadership: +1, Fitness: Fit) using the "slow" command in extra tall grass:

The panther only gets destroyed once.

I might try this on different terrain later with different skill, motivation, and leadership levels.

Does anyone have any tips on how to destroy tanks when you only have grenades?

One thing I noticed for the first time is that the Panther uses a grenade launcher when infantry get close. I never knew they had that! :eek:

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Yeah the Nahverteidigungswaffe is really cool to see. Totally surprised me once in a game. As for close assaulting like that the two things that have helped my guys succeed in the past are - getting close in cover first, distracting the tank.

Your men were making quite a long trip slow moving in the grass. Let them move up behind bocage and then run through an opening behind the tank and see how that effects things. Then add another team in front of the tank - with some cover - and have them shoot at the tank. The combination of the tank looking one way and the covered approach of the assault team will likely make a difference.

It is still going to be dangerous.

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I've ran some tests and uploaded a video showing how effective it is to sneak up infantry to a tank with the intention of destroying it with only grenades.

So far it seems to me that it's not a very good tactic since the infantry end up getting killed almost every time.

Here's a video showing 10 attempts of infantry sneaking up on a Panther G (early) (skill: Veteran, Motivation: Normal, Leadership: +1, Fitness: Fit) using the "slow" command in extra tall grass:

The panther only gets destroyed once.

I might try this on different terrain later with different skill, motivation, and leadership levels.

Does anyone have any tips on how to destroy tanks when you only have grenades?

One thing I noticed for the first time is that the Panther uses a grenade launcher when infantry get close. I never knew they had that! :eek:

Try wheat tiles. Those offer excellent concealment :)

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I've only had success assaulting tanks when there is a building that totally blocks the tank's LOS. My guys ambush the tank from around the corner of a building. Other than that, I've managed to do it a couple of times when hiding guys in fields or behind a wall and letting the tank come to them.

It's not easy ... and I imagine it wasn't easy back in '44 either.

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I'd hope the game makes it hard. If it wasnt' difficult, then all those medals for valor given to the men who actually did it in war would be a bit diminished, wouldn't they? ;)

Yes. Just for comparison, I checked the wiki page of Piat - the antitank weapon used by British infantry. How many men got a Victoria Cross for using Piat?

6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIAT

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It's a very capricious feature.. For me also, it also seems to work on me not for me.

For example in FI an opponent barreled several shermans right into a town I was holding - thought I had him in the bag. The Shermans won the battle against my hordes of German infantry in the buildings surrounding them. For some reason they only used rifle grenades which penetrated vaguely annoying the shermans.

As stated by womble, and just the same as with rocket AT weapons it's best used when the armor stumbles upon you. Though I have seen it when charging the enemy a la human wave - most recent example being my guastatori literally chasing my opponents MK IV and Tiger across a map at night, destroying them with grenades and satchels.

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Still definitely worth a try vs open-top vehicles though...

One time i had a german breech team and 2 scout teams ambush 2 US armored cars and 2 stuarts in a forest. The scout teams detroyed one of the stuarts with a panzerfaust and the my engineers killed the armored cars with demo charges. The surviving stuart retreated. So demo charges appear to be very effective against armored cars, if you can get your troops close enough. The handgreandes my guys thew at the stuarts first didnt do any damage, though.

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...demo charges appear to be very effective against armored cars, if you can get your troops close enough...

Anecdotes here suggest they're pretty effective against most armour, if you can get your guys to throw them.

The handgreandes my guys thew at the stuarts first didnt do any damage, though.

I haven't suffered any close attacks that I can recall since the "tiny explosions do less damage to armour" patch, but assuming that doesn't apply to the close assault abstraction, the grenades probably did some track damage. At least that's what I've seen from CAs that didn't kill the tank outright.

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Some anti-tank weapons are not present such as

Magnetic mine

Stielhandgranate in grape of seven heads

Tellermine 43 with manual action fuse (ideal to place between hull and turret interstice)

I do believe they are present. They're what makes close assaulting even vaguely possible rather than a total freak: destroying a tank with single grenades is even more difficult. They're present, but not explicitly represented: abstracted.

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JonS took out 2 tigers on me in a PBEM via close assault. Smoke is a big help.

One of them was in the middle of a fairly large field, too.

Like any other significant tactical problem, close assaulting a tank successfully requires a plan, combined arms, some luck, and a willingness to accept casualties.

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