Help on the proper use of Shermans?

[Mr. Hankey]

I'm definitely not a tank driver . In my last two games, I've had Shermans popping off like popcorn. I hunt 'em around, they get blowed up. I fast move 'em, they get blowed up. I sit and wait, they get blowed up.

On a small map, with no room to manuver, getting a flanking shot is pretty close to impossible. Of course, in my case, the map could be as big as Texas and I'd still get hagged.

Anyone got any good links for me to check out or just plain good advice?

[Crockett]

Try this link http://www.combat-missions.net/units/allies/sherman.htm

Maybe a search under Sherman

And of course a lot of QB where you use Shermans

Try to PBEM some tank battles

Crockett

[Big Ron]

I'm not that great with tanks myself but here goes. Keep them together to offer mutual support i.e. keep one stationary covering the advance of the other. Make sure you sweep ahead with infantry to keep hand held AT assets away and to spot enemy tanks. When you do find the enemy's tanks bring as many guns to bear as possible to increase the chances of killing without being killed and try to make him rotate as far as possible to shoot at a second target once he hits his first. Finally get hull down if you can! Hope this helps

[Soddball]

From my limited experience, I would suggest that standard Shermans aren't alot of use against the beefier german tanks. They are okay against infantry but even a 37mm cannon can shoot through the side armour on a Sherman.

It's best to keep them out of sight of some german tanks, like the Hetzer and Panther. They manage OK against the Panzer IV and the StuG.

They also need to be protected by infantry. It's very easy to lose a sherman to a Panzerfaust or Panzershreck that it's just driven past.

Hope that's ok for starters.

[Snake Eyes]

I would recommend that you keep your main assets out of sight until you've found the enemy. Scout ahead with infantry, locate enemy AFV's, and then formulate a plan to take them out. Your best friend is patience. Good luck and good hunting.

[Mr. Hankey]

Thanks for the replys, guys. I guess I need more practice .

[Pzman]

Or just for fun if you have 5 shermans do a Napoleonic charge and hope that the Germans think you crazy!

[ 06-22-2001: Message edited by: Panzerman ]

[gaffertape]

Keeping the Shermans alive is a tricky prospect. All the advice here is dead-on. Myself, I tend to over-use my armour, and in the hopes of getting into a good position I will often lose Shermans who get past my own infantry screen. Patience is the key, and I don't have enough of it.

- GAFF

[lcm1947]

I'm no expert and probably not even a very good player but I always and only use the American's when playing the computer and was having the same problem. I have finally decided that tank VS tank isnt't in the best interests of said allieds. What I do now after having hundreds ( yes hundreds ) of my beauiful Shermans destroyed is avoid shooting it out long distance wise. The German tanks have that over the Shermans big time. If and when you get the distance down you will be pleased to see your Shermans popping the enemy tanks including the big Tigers or Panthers or even JagTiger. It can be done. The other thing I've learned is to move in pairs. That way even if one gets taken out, more than likely the other will get the enemy that got your partner. I'm OK with trading one for one. Anyway, that's my take on it for what it's worth.

[lcm1947]

oh I've just got to add. What faffertape said is Oh SO true. Don't move them around any more then necessary. That's a sure fire way of getting popped. Since I avoid that as much as possible now it also really really helped. Good advice jaffertape.

[Eric Alkema]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Snake Eyes:

I would recommend that you keep your main assets out of sight until you've found the enemy. Scout ahead with infantry, locate enemy AFV's, and then formulate a plan to take them out. Your best friend is patience. Good luck and good hunting. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is very true. You can't ambush or out flank something if you don't know where it is, and this is how the Sherman needs to operate. Use your (hopefully) superior numbers to gang up on him from as many directions as you can manage.

[Slapdragon]

If you play chess, move Shermans like your larger peices. Always cover the routes they take, assign them support, and keep then under cover. Use speed and stealth and recon to move forward.

[bigmac@work]

Mr. Hankey, don't change a thing! At least when you're playing me... hehe...

Bigmac out!

[catnip]

All the other replies gave good information. One other thing you might try is using smoke on the enemy armor so that you can get your shermans into position to make side shots.

You should never try to take on axis tanks head on unless you are playing short 75 rules.

Also, you might want to try out the Cromwell VI instead. The armor is just as weak as most allied tanks, but the speed of the tank is 40mph! Most of the time you can dart from cover to cover and the axis tanks won't even have time to turn to shoot at you.

[MikeyD]

You can use a trick the Allies learned the hard way. Smoke, smoke, and more smoke! Some may think it's 'gamey but it was really the only defense the 75mm gun Sherman had against the big Cats, and by war's end it was SOP. You see a Big Cat, you get you infantry to drop smoke mortars on it while maneuvering your Shermans for a possible flank/rear shot. You think Fritz MIGHT be on the other side of a hill? You lay smoke on the ridge to mask your movements. A Panther appears a thousand meters away? You place smoke between you and him and beat a hasty retreat. to misquote Patton 'It's not your mission to die for your country, it's your mission to make the other poor sonovabitch to die for HIS country!"

[JasonC]

The basic answer is teamwork. The infantry scouts ahead to find the German armor. It is hard to hide for long. They can also keep the schrecks away. Never lead with them, and remember you do not need to be close to infantry to hurt them, you just need LOS. If you want to scout "mounted", use cheap light armor like US M-20s or Brit Carrier MMGs, not full tanks.

Keep pairs of Shermans seperated from one another, with "inward", "crossing" LOS. That will give you flank shots. Use cover too, but by cutting up LOS rather than sitting in terrain (behind a house, peaking around the end of woods, etc). Distraction and smoke are other aides.

And get some "shooters" with more powerful guns (Sherman 76 or TDs) to help with front armor situations. One hidden M-10 with tungsten can change the whole outlook, by forcing the Germans to hide as much as you.

Also, watch out for the front-armored beastie sitting by a map edge and rotated inward to guard against flank shots. The way to get to them is bring zooks up the edge, to flush them like quail for the tank "hunters".

The goal is to have some Shermans left after the German armor is KO'ed. Then you go to town on the infantry. Shermans have lots of MGs and high HE loads, making them particularly effective infantry killers, using a stand-off, firepower attack.

If enemy infantry pulls back behind cover to break LOS completely, dump arty on them or rush them with infantry. Do not charge the tanks up to get LOS again at 50 meters - you will just eat a faust or schreck round. Wait until the arty and infantry have cleared that batch of cover, then move up around it. The tanks do the -front- side of enemy positions, arty does the middles, infantry clears out the remainder.

In the later war months, use the strengths of the various special Sherman types and the TDs, not just vanilla Shermans. W+ armor and Jumbos are good against enemy PAK. TDs, Sherman 76s & Fireflies against enemy heavy armor. Plain Shermans should pair off with those to lead, distract, get flank shots, kill infantry, etc. Think in terms of a "shooter" and his "wingman", with tactics like "split-up and double-back". Enemy tanks can't face two directions at once.