Terence Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 But what are you good for? Can anyone answer this question, within the context of the large issue -- what is the place of self propelled artillery with no indirect fire capability on the CM battlefield. My own guess is that its useful for reducing enemy strongholds and banging away at opfor troops from a safe distance -- with no enemy tanks around. Cause in my experience, the M-7 makes a rotten tank destroyer. Anyone care to enlighten me? Terence ps. I did a searchy searchy for M-7 and got le goose egge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmorse Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 They can be useful, but care is required. In a large scenario I had a Sexton prove to be invaluable. Hidden behind a building it rained havoc in long range flank shots on both inf and armor. Basicly let them cross the gunsights then boom. So favorable location is a must. Going hunting tho is asure way to get yer ticket punched. In support of entrenched MLR (again w/ protected LOS) works well. They are not tanks or TD's so using them as such are no no's. But they can surprise an enemy AFV that's been flushed out or meanders into your sights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 The M7 Priest is one of the most favorite AFVs on this board. It is a hellacious anti-infantry machine. Get one away from any anti-tank threat and start laying waste to some infantry or field guns. One good direct hit on any of the above things usually results in a pretty good body count. Don't under-estimate self-propelled 105mm arty. As for a tank-killer, it really wasn't designed as one, but they do carry a few shaped charges. They have been known to knock out medium tanks like PzIVs and such. They're really good for knocking out halftracks with their HE. A Priest in the right place and the right time can turn the tide of a battle. [This message has been edited by Maximus (edited 12-08-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarhead Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Hello, The M7 was never meant to be a "Tank Destroyer." When I decide to deploy one in CM (NOT often), I use it after I feel secure no enemy tanks or guns are in sight. I will then blast enemy held positions such as houses, and entrenchment. But buying a reg tank works ether as tank vs tank, or to blast HE at said targets. The m7 does a better job blasting strong points, but not so much better then a tank using HE that I feel the need to spend the points on it. So...I guess I'm saying I agree with you (in a long winded sort of way). ------------------ Semper Fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Darwin, if you're still around, don't read this! My PBEM opponet has proven just how useful they are, at my expense. He's got about 4 of them blasting away at me, covered by AT guns. I lost two tanks trying to take them out. As I found out, they make excellent bait. Just cover them with a pair of 76mm AT guns, and wait for your opponet's tanks to show up. He'll be blindsided, with no real idea of what hit him. ------------------ Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. -Commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Posted December 9, 2000 Author Share Posted December 9, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jarhead: ...The m7 does a better job blasting strong points, but not so much better then a tank using HE that I feel the need to spend the points on it. So...I guess I'm saying I agree with you <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Jarhead, Thanks for the response. As the german player I've turned many M-7s into heaps of burning junk, but that's not really the M-7s fault, and playing them myself, Ive been insufficiently lucky enough or clever enough (or both) to keep them out of the way long enough to do any good. Its hard for me to contrive a scenario where all the enemy tanks and guns are out of the way and the Priest can go to work. But I can see how it would wreak havoc on a column of HTs. Maximus: The priest is a favorite of the board eh? Well nobody in this community has ever been so gauche as to take a contrary opinion, so I'm sure the priest will remain ensconced in its place of high esteem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Posted December 9, 2000 Author Share Posted December 9, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 109 Gustav: As I found out, they make excellent bait. Just cover them with a pair of 76mm AT guns, and wait for your opponet's tanks to show up. He'll be blindsided, with no real idea of what hit him. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That is an excellent idea. Does it work on the AI too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarhead Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 I love the bait Idea. My mind does not think in these sneeky ways. Cant wait to try this one. *POST FOLLOWED MY THE CLICHE EVIL LAUGH* ------------------ Semper Fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaSCa Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Would a Sexton be an Anglican Priest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybeq Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 I can't believe nobody mentioned the Sherman 105. I'd take one over a Priest most any day. It's more survivable on the CM battlefield and just as effective. When I play a scenerio and get issued a Priest I usually hide it until no enemy tanks remain then bring it out and give the remaining infantry what for. Under the same circumstances I'd bring my Sherman 105 out earlier so in my mind it's the better AFV of the two. ------------------ "To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." -Sun Tzu, The Art Of War Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Hey 109 Gustav. I like your ending quote. When I lived in Alaska we didn't even wear lifejackets when we went ocean fishing. They told us if there wasn't someone around to pick you out of the water you'd be dead in three minutes, hence the life jacket was pretty much unless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brutus Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CaSCa: Would a Sexton be an Anglican Priest?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Close, really. A Sexton is somebody who tends the churchyard and digs the graves, so I guess there is a connection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Terence, I haven't tried baiting tanks forward to an AT gun trap against the AI, but Darwin did it well against me. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by StellarRat: Hey 109 Gustav. I like your ending quote. When I lived in Alaska we didn't even wear lifejackets when we went ocean fishing. They told us if there wasn't someone around to pick you out of the water you'd be dead in three minutes, hence the life jacket was pretty much unless. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks. I was always waiting for someone to mention my sig. When I go commercial fishing, we wore inflatable life jackets, though. Don't want to get dragged down by water filled boots. Because we always used two boats, you would probably get picked up if one boat sank. Luckily, I haven't had to find out yet. My sig is actually a verse from a song one of my fellow crewmen wrote about commercial fishing. It's easy to go crazy, working 16 hours a day, 8 days a week, so you have to find something to do to pass the time while fishing. He wrote songs and I wrote simple computer programs. Both of us and the other two crewmen told perverted jokes about each other that make the conversation in the Peng thread look like Martha Stewart's living room. Here are some of his other verses. Pinks are pink salmon, worth about a nickel each to the crewmen. Quzinkie was the village we fished out of, and Stippends was one of our nets. Well, I've spent my life in Quzinkie, fishing for the pinks. Oh, it's not the easy life for me, fishing for the pinks. But if the price is not too cheap, we'll pull those nets up from the deep. And it's thirty hours before I sleep, fishing for the pinks, boys, fishing for the pinks. Well, Stippends is an awful place, fishing for the pinks. It numbs my hands and chills my face, fishing for the pinks. But though the water's awful cold, the fish are worth their weight in gold. And now my story has been told, fishing for the pinks, boys, fishing for the pinks. Commercial fishing sure isn't easy, but it's paying my way through college, so I can't complain too much. Maybe I should have been writing scholarship applications instead of playing the CM beta demo, though. ------------------ Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. -Commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska [This message has been edited by 109 Gustav (edited 12-09-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subvet Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 The Sherman 105 is better overall than the Priest, I'd agree with that. But remember that the Serm105 is more than 60% more costly too. So for the price of 2 Sherm105's you can get 3 Priests. I use them quite often in QBs against the AI. They are murder on enemy infantry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 And the Priest has a lot more ammo than the Sherm 105 as well. The problem with all 105 SP guns is that in longer scenarios (50+ turns) they will run out of ammo long before the game is over. And the Priest is so cheap... Against the AI I have found the biggest threat to Priests to be mortars. The AI is very good with mortars, and that open top attracts them like a magnet. Priests are fragile, but if you can keep then alive they can wreck an awful lot of havoc for a unit that costs less than 100 points. ------------------ You mean my Java coded Real Time Bar Fight Simulator Madmatt Mission: Beyond BiteMe ISN'T going to be published?!? Madmatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted December 11, 2000 Share Posted December 11, 2000 I suggest you read my reply in this thread: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/010208.html (The rest of the thread covers this subject too.) I use the M7 as a pretty general purpose AFV. It's cheaper than the Sherman(105). Don't have it lead the way for your troops though... With the exception of the current public beta, where AFVs seem too reluctant to use their HC rounds, the M7 is an excellent tank destroyer, with first shot kills being frequent (and necessary, since they rarely get a second chance...). Cheers Olle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted December 11, 2000 Share Posted December 11, 2000 Terence, Keep in mind that vehicles like the M-7 are included for variety and the occasional random encounter with sp arty units. The VAST majority of WWII battles took place between infantry units with little or no armor involved. If an infantry company happened to have an M-7 or two in support of an assault, it would be used for direct fire from beyond infantry anti-tank weaponry ranges. If enemy armor or anti-tank guns were spotted, then the M-7(s) would pull back. So, if you find yourself with an M-7 in an untenable situation, give those virtual crewman a break and withdraw to safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Posted December 11, 2000 Author Share Posted December 11, 2000 that is an excellent point. thanks. I will work on employing the M-7s with a more limited role, and care for their limitations Its just that when the german armor really gets rolling, safe places for the M-7 get scarce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted December 11, 2000 Share Posted December 11, 2000 How true! I am kind of a realism nut, so I would have them exit off a friendly mapside at that point if it were possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts