Favorite Tank Stories

[Maj. Bosco]

The thread "What do you think is the BEST tank" thread got me thinking. Tanks seem to dominate the field of battle in every story of CM. Whatever their relative merits or purposes tanks do seem to be the focus of many of my fondest CM stories. I think it's because the tank is a clearly visible unit with very little abstraction. I'm wondering if most people tend to find that their tanks are at the center of the story when they're swapping war stories with fellow addicts. I'll start. This story took place about a week after I got the game when I was playing a hotseat game with a friend. This game was the first time either of us had ever seen a Jumbo in action.

We were playing a meeting engagemnent in May '45. It was a dawn battle, and the map was extremely hilly village, with heavy tree coverage. Early in the match I lost my M4 Sherman and my Priest to long range shots from his panzers. I suffered through his cackling at the monitor for those losses and hoped that my final tank was worth what I'd paid for it. I was winning the battle as far as the infantry aspect was concerned but we all know how well infantry without tanks do against infantry with them. My Jumbo rolled into the village, which was east of where most of the fighting was taking place but in a good vantage to watch out for enemy tanks. To my great surprise a panzer promptly rolled down the road as soon as the Jumbo had taken up it's place behind the church. They saw each other, fired, double ricochet. The Jumbo's gunner was then distracted by what identified as a Gun? off to his right and swivled the turret to face it, leaving it's side to the Panzer IV. Heedless of my shouting at the monitor he calmly launched off an HE toward the gun and ignored the Panzer. The panzer fired... shell broke up. The gun abandoned and the gunner took his damn sweet time turning back to face the panzer. Before he could try and kill an AT gun of mine finally unlimbered and launched off the killing shot. 1 panzer brewed up, 1 to go. One of the great thing about hotseat games is that when things like that happen you get to see your oponent's face. I wish I'd had a camera. Next turn comes and before the Jumbo even had a chance to move his other Panzer popped over the crest of a nearby hill and launched off a shot. Side turret hit ricochet. The Jumbo swivled it's turret, took aim, and got a front penetration at weak point. After that it was all over except for the crying. That's the story of "That F****** Jumbo" as my friend now calls it.

[This message has been edited by Maj. Bosco (edited 11-03-2000).]

[aka_tom_w]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maj. Bosco:

That's the story of "That F****** Jumbo" as my friend now calls it.

[This message has been edited by Maj. Bosco (edited 11-03-2000).]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great Story

Its really funny to see how many times you get a weak spot hit and how many times you are really hurt by a weak spot hit.

These weak spot hits are supposed to happen in only 1 or 2% of the shots that actually hit, I know that 1 or 2 % must be hard coded in the algorythym but they sure seem to have a magical habit of popping up at the most desisive point in the battle.

I really do believe you can win or loose a close scenario by getting LUCKY with a weak spot hit, or getting hurt by a improbable weak spot hit that KO's your most valuable AFV.

Luck plays a Huge factor here.

I'm not sure if this really right or really wrong, I'm not complaining mearly commenting that that weak spot hit and resulting K-Kill do play a role in the out come of close battles.

But it sure keeps it unpredictable!

And I think that make is more fun!

-tom w

[Ted]

I was playing an early scenario as the American when a Panther came on as a German reinforcement. It promptly took out two of my Sherman's, an M4 and 105. I targeted it with heavy artillery and moved the rest of my armor into position. As the artillery started to fall around the Panther I crested the three Sherman's to the Panthers flank and almost at the same time all three Sherman's fired. And all three shots ricocheted off the side turret. Uh-oh. There was a pause while I think the Panther was trying to figure out where the shots came from and then started to turn toward the Sherman's when a second volley was delivered and again all ricochets. I figured that was all she wrote when an artillery round landed near the Panther and immobilized it. All right, I thought, if only I could penetrate the side armor of that damned Cat, I could roll up the rest of the Germans and end this thing. The turret too seemed to stop rotating towards me when my Sherman's let go a third volley, bang……..bang bang..and three more ricochets. Nine shots, nine ricochets. I was beginning to think I’d have to lay down smoke and move to the rear of the Panther or bring up a flame-thrower (that’d take forever) when all of a sudden I hear a hatch open up and the Panthers crew bailed out and ran to the nearest woods. Whew. Victory was mine and I’ll take it anyway I can get it. I now have a deep respect for Panthers.

[Pvt. Ryan]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ted:

Nine shots, nine ricochets.

...all of a sudden I hear a hatch open up and the Panthers crew bailed out and ran to the nearest woods. Whew. Victory was mine and I’ll take it anyway I can get it. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kind of like an in-the-park home run; no big bang, but it counts just the same.

No story from me, as most of my armor dies a lame, patheitic death after missing several close range shots.

[Snake Eyes]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aka_tom_w:

I really do believe you can win or loose a close scenario by getting LUCKY with a weak spot hit, or getting hurt by a improbable weak spot hit that KO's your most valuable AFV.

Luck plays a Huge factor here.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When playing ASL I've always said that the best strategy is to roll low. In CM, the best strategy is getting the lucky hit. Luck really does have a big part in tactical games. However, it's how one deals with the luck element that has the more important effect.

To get back on track with this thread, my favorite tank story is more of a horror story for me. I was playing as the US and assaulting a town over moderate terrain. On the first turn one of my M10's damaged the gun of a Tiger I with its first shot from 600m. After bouncing a couple more rounds off the front hull, one penetrated and knocked out the Tiger. Great start, I say.

A few turns later another Tiger I starts stalking one of my M4(105)'s. I quickly hustle both of my M10's to attack the Tiger. I have three tanks, a M4(105) and two M10's moving in on the Tiger's 12:00 and 3:00. I also have an AT team moving in through covering terrain. The Tiger calmly dispatches my three tanks while shaking off several hits to front and side (AP and C). The AT team goes to work and uses most of their ammo, either missing or bouncing rockets off the Tiger's hull. The Tiger backs out and returns to the town.

In succeeding turns the Tiger brews another M4(105) and a M8 GMC. Another AT team bounces a few more rockets off its side hull. By now I'm calling it the Tiger from hell and Wittman's chariot. While my AFV's are keeping this Kraut busy by their deaths my infantry is storming the town.

In a final exchange near the end of the game the Tiger and my last M4(105) exchange shots at < 100m. The Tiger disables the M4's gun but the Tiger's hull is penetrated! I'm shouting at the screen, "It's about freaking time!!!" However, THERE IS NO EFFECT, NO DAMAGE. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

So the Tiger from hell survives the game. The AAR reveals that one crewman was incapacitated. Knight's Crosses for everyone.

------------------

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance. -Aesop

[bigmac@work]

My favorite tank story involves a recent PBEM Meeting Engagement (natch...) QB that pitted my Polish forces against the Germans. My opponent had a Hetzer and 2 PzIV's available to him while I had a solitary Firefly. I kept the Firefly out of the action until I had a better grasp of what I was up against. After working a PIAT team to the flank of one of the PzIV's, he was down to two AFV's. His AFV's then disappeared toward a low point on the other side of the contested village. At this time I worked my Firefly into action to start firing on exposed Platoons. Didn't take my opponent long to react to my Firefly's presence. The next move presented my Firefly with the PzIV in LOS on a road about 200m away, quartered to my 2 o'clock. The Hetzer had worked it's way behind an enemy occupied small building directly in front of the Firefly. My move orders were for the Firefly to engage the Panzer and reverse into a patch of scattered trees toward a low lying area to remove me from the Hetzer's LOS. Well... upon viewing the resulting movie, my Firefly successfully fired early at the Panzer and took him out. Now just me and the Hetzer, I'm reversing... SAFE! I say to myself. Just then the Hetzer lets off a round that explodes the building he's behind (much to the chagrin of the occupied forces), but now I'm in LOS! My Firefly shoots off a round... directly into the ground underneath the Hetzer. The Hetzer fires... and brews my Firefly. My view was locked on the Firefly with camera view #1. I had no sooner completed my expletive strewn response to this action (and hearing that damn "JA!") when the Hetzer brews up seconds later... . I had forgotten about the PIAT team I moved from a small building to the edge of the same woods I was reversing into. Upon review of the movie from his perspective, he had just made it to his plotted terminus (edge of woods) as my Firefly was brewing... he knelt, and with one shot from 135m took out the Hetzer. The sorry b*stards never knew what hit 'em... It was all very exciting, and I'm sure this post doesn't do it justice, but all in all, one of the most awesome exchanges I've yet witnessed. "Notice: Pham's name was not used in this post in order to protect the innocent.... OOPS!" Well, he had the last laugh, in the fact that he soundly defeated my shot up, incapacitated Poles...