The Commissar Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 Heya guys, In a vain attempt to improve my "tank-fighting skillz", I decided to ask you hard core gorgs which armor selections you make during PBEM's. Im assuming this is a random map where you can have a choice, of course. What do you do when you have limited resources? What do you pick when you have abundant points to spend on armor? Do you like any combinations of armor, or any particular tank/assult gun/whatever that you use often and think it's worth it's value? Im only asking since unlike most of you, I really haven't played much of other wargames, so thus I am not as used to all the tanks and how they perform against each other. The only way is to find out thorugh trial and error, which I am currently doing (mostly the error bit though ), but I thought asking around would help too! Thanks in advance for sharing your preferences! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 09-07-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted September 8, 2000 Author Share Posted September 8, 2000 *punt* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 When I play Germans I always try to get a King Tiger. Everything else (armor wise) is secondary. Now if I was playing in some densely wooded, flat as a pankake map I'd probably skip any big armor all together. But I rarely play that kind of map. As Americans? Mmm...A Sherman 105 is good support. I like the Jackson too. But it's very vulnerable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 I am not up to speed on the Allies equipment as I spent most of my Wargaming years on the eastern front. However my favorites with the German armored equipment are based on what I feel I may be facing in opposition and/or the accidents of the ground. Tank heavy environment: No doubt about it, the Panther shines here! Points a bit low I like the Hetzer. Combined arms operations: It is hard to beat the Tiger 1 in any engagement. I also like the STG/75’s and STG/105’s. Points a bit low the MKIV’s or STG’s can fit the bill nicely. The STG’s are chosen here as they have a more favorable ammo loadout then the Hetzer and MG’s. Defensively: I like Anti-tank guns. If mobile anti-tank and anti infantry assets are needed it is hard to beat the STG’s. Marders also can be useful here but are more suited to an anti- armor role. If I have the points again the Tiger 1 is my first choice. My first all around choice (for any role) is always the Tiger 1 if I can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silesian-jaeger Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 If playing as the Germans and I only have a few points I usally take one Tiger I or one Panther. Tiger if playing defense, Panther on Offense. If I have more points to spread around I like at least 4 and up to 8 MrkIVs. I feel the are a good buy for the price. For every 4 Mrk IVs I will add in a Tiger, Panther, or Jagdpanther. As allies I buy Shermans in batches of fours. 3x75mm armed + 1x76mm armed. The Sherman 105mm is a must for city/bunker fighting! ------------------ "In one (German) town, Private Honey stood next to an elderly German man and a ten-year-old boy. As the Shermans and brand-new Pershings rumbled by the boy said,'Deutsches Panzer lind besser.' Honey looked down at him and asked,'If German tanks are better, why aren't they here?' " quote from Stephen E. Ambrose, "Citizen Soldiers" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbott Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 The Tiger 2 is just a bit to slow for me to find useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chupacabra Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 I don't like any of the ubertanks, either Axis or Allied, personally. It's kind of a "don't put all your eggs in one basket" thing. I feel that if you've sunk all your points into one big tank, A) if you screw up, get unlucky, have a brain fart, whatever, that's a big, expensive piece of junk lying there with flames coming out of it, and one tank can't be everywhere you'd need a tank to be at once. My playing style tends more, therefore, to Sherman 75s and 76s, with a Hellcat or Jackson if I need some more punch as the Allies, and Mark IVs and Panthers as the Germans. Take all yer Pershings and Tigers and what-have-you, I've seen bazookas lay the big stuff low far too often to trust it. ------------------ Soy super bien, soy super super bien, soy bien bien super bien bien bien super super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedrik Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 hi, if i play US i go for Shermans in threes, good value for the price. on low point games i like M8's, fast and still a good punch. not so keen on TD's - open tops are very vulnerable to mortars and inf. fire. for the germans i agree with Abbott - Tiger I and StuG are hard to beat. Panthers when i need mobility. on low points StuG and Puma are my favorites. ------------------ 'Every attack ends in a defense'. Clausewitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 Some previous favorite AFV threads: StugIII sucks! Poll - What's Your Favorite German Tank? Poll - What's Your Favorite Allied Tank? Favorite German Armor Tank Surprises Armor: Favorite AFV in Combat Mission AFV - Bang For The Buck? Some arguments for the little guys: Why is the American M3A1 mounted with a 75mm cannon not included in CM? And don't forget about the mighty .50cal: Ridiculous kill: Jeep kills Hetzer Happy reading. - Chris [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 09-07-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chupacabra: I don't like any of the ubertanks, either Axis or Allied, personally. It's kind of a "don't put all your eggs in one basket" thing. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I understand your reasoning, but I have found so far in QB (and one PBEM) that I have yet to loose my King of the battlefield. The hits it's take it just shrugged off. I use it wisely and don't send it into anywhere it can be ambushed by infantry. Choosing where to deploy it and how is important. But so far, it's made a mockery of allied armor. It may not be fast, but that 88 can reach out and touch things a long way out. And when it hits, it almost always kills. Many tanks just back up and hide. Anyway, for me it's been a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silesian-jaeger Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wolfe: Some previous favorite AFV threads: StugIII sucks! Poll - What's Your Favorite German Tank? Poll - What's Your Favorite Allied Tank? Favorite German Armor Tank Surprizes Armor: Favorite AFV in Combat Mission AFV - Bang For The Buck? Happy reading. - Chris<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Wolfe. I just wanted to say congratulations. I have never seen a more civil way of saying "use the search engine" on this board. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malmvig Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 I play perferable the German force because I know their units better than I know the units form the others forces. This habit of mine can I trace back to the good old days of Steel Panthers. Now back to your question. I perfer numbers against quality or the best combination. Therefore I settle with the Panthers as the MBT combined with a handfull of Pumas to support the infantery. I had bad pbem experince with using points on mech like the 251(250)-1/2/9. They are not worth their credit. Keep some or alot of point handy for arty spotters they can make the day. Focus on combined arms with the force of Infantery. Many maps limit the full use of direct fire from armory so the value of Infantery should not be misjudged. Combine your infantery units with mortar units and hwy MGs for supression purpose. Using points on aircrafts is fun and they can take out more than one enemy unit in a game but they never took out more points than they cost in those pbem that I had played so far. Best luck with your pbems ------------------ Malmvig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Silesian-jaeger: Wolfe. I just wanted to say congratulations. I have never seen a more civil way of saying "use the search engine" on this board. Well done! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks. I enjoy the threads anyway. Makes you think about how you play the game yourself. Besides, people's tastes change over time. At first, I was big on the Hellcat and Jumbo. The Hellkitty has a good gun and great speed, but it's much too vulnerable to smaller Axis guns (even the 20mm). Jumbo is nice, but is still vulnerable from the side and a KT can most certainly kill it. I've since migrated more towards the Jackson or Churchill VIII supported by roving .50cals myself. Though in one PBEM, my Jackson pinged 2 consecutive shells off the upper side hull of a Tiger at 8 meters distance. And no, I didn't misplace a decimal point. I really did mean 8 meters. - Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted September 8, 2000 Author Share Posted September 8, 2000 Wow, thanks for all the great answers guys! Actually, I did try using the search at first - I always do at first before giving up and asking - but I got a bunch of useless crap as answers. Even stuff about hamsters if you can believe it Anyway, I'll try your suggestions out. I actually bought a KT on my first PBEM, and had pretty bad luck with it. We did a village map with moderate hill coverage, and I never had good lines of fire. So the first chance I could use my KT was about 300 metres away from the enemy Sherman 75. The bastard got superbly lucky and managed to damage my gun! I've been warry of the KT ever since - I think Chupaca is right - putting all your eggs in one basket is dangerous business. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tailz Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 Lots of German fanatics out there (and why not, they've got the cool toys!), but I am determined to master the 'underdogs'. I have been very impressed with the Churchill. It's not the quickest bunny in the forest, but seems to have decent protection. If I think my Opfor is going to have something nasty (and it's usually a safe bet that the German player will have at least one Panther up his sleeve) I try and balance a Churchill with a Firefly for cover. (I usually only play Canucks) BTW Commissar, I'm not tipping my hand with this thread... for you I developed an entirely new force mix just so I would keep my PBEM options open! Cold in the Ardennes, isn't it?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisl Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 I'm with Cuppajava, too-- I don't like to put all my points in one ubertank. I have horrible luck with Panthers-- usually the first shot at one kills the TC and/or damages the gun. In a recent 1500 point armor QB I took: two Pumas 1 PSW 234/3 (at the recommendation of grunto) Two StuG IIIG (one late) 1 Pz IV/70 (one of my recent favorites--love that sloping armor) 1 Panther A company of infantry, plus a couple of schreck teams. The Panther had the TC popped by a squad or sniper (it was at night- never even heard a shot. It might even have been a heart attack). The Panther was later brewed. One StuG died at the hands of a Sherman Jumbo 76. That was all I lost. My little 67 point 234/3 killed a Sherman Jumbo/76 and a Jackson (almost 600 points, since they were elite), the Pz IV/70 got a kill on a sherman, a couple of schrecks got kills (on Shermans and a Chaffee) and the StuG that didn't get killed got a Jackson. The 234 series armored cars are better than halftracks, since they aren't allergic to .50 cal MG fire, and the /3 can get shells on target faster than the Puma (but carries less AP) As for Allied tanks, the M10 TD sucks (slow turret, thin armor), but almost anything else is ok, as long as it is always moving fast, except when shooting (hunt). I've seen more than one Stuart ambush and kill a Panther. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maastrictian Posted September 8, 2000 Share Posted September 8, 2000 One Sherman 105 for every three Sherman 76's or 75's. When playing Brits I go for the standard 1 firefly for every 3 Shermans. If I'm feeling particularly ballsy I add in a Churchhill Croc. When on defense I take about 50% AT guns and 50% tanks. --Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted September 11, 2000 Share Posted September 11, 2000 Here's an excert from another posting of mine: In a recent game of CM I had two Priests located on a road some 100m out from a village held by the Germans. Apparently out of thin air in the village comes a Hetzer. Boom! Hetzer knocked out before firing even once. Two turns later a King Tiger enters from a side road, and I think "uh-oh, this will turn ugly ... BOOM! Never mind, the Priests took care of that one too before it knew what hit it (one-shot-kill). Soon a second Hetzer shows up, and promptly becomes a wreck. The only remaining German armour was a StuGIII, that I successfully close assaulted with two rifle squads after it had killed my Bazooka team. After the battle I discovered that all enemies had a Crack rating. Go figure... Gotta love those Priests. The standard M7 is now one of my favourite AFVs in CM . Cheers Olle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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