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Tips for a noob on tank killing (tigers in particular)


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Just be happy you don't have to contend with King Tigers in Italy. Those monsters make the Tiger I look like a light tank! ;)

The good thing about CM is much of the time you're given a map with decent terrain masking and some room for maneuver. Fighting a Tiger with him at one end of a huge flat open map and you at the other wouldn't be much of a battle.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Sure, if you have the "impregnable cover" of buildings, and the safe running grounds of town streets
To the contrary, combat in-town was not as safe as you might think, and the "impregnable" buildings were a major liability to tanks. Here's a quote from the Armored Force Field Manual "Tactics and Techniques" Dated 7 March 1942:

**********

61. Combat in Towns. - a. General. - In general, armored vehicles are not suitable for combat in towns, particularly large towns. Towns offer concealment to large forces, observation is limited, fire effect is reduced, and combat deteriorates to that of small groups. Such localities enable the enemy to effectively use antitank weapons, barricades, demolitions, and mines.

b. Attack of a town. - Armored units, if practicable, avoid attacking towns. If attack must be made, the town is encircled. A direct frontal attack is resorted to only when encirclement is impossible.

**********

Attacking a Tiger in-town was no easy feat, and in fact it was considered deadlier than attacking in more open terrain. As for the safety of "impregnable" buildings, a German 88 could easily penetrate the stone wall of a building and take out a Sherman hiding inside or on the far side of the building. This is precisely what Cecina's Tiger 221 was attempting to do between the first and second engagements -- blindly firing into the surrounding buildings, hoping to draw out or knock out the hidden Sherman.

More importantly, the buildings provided good cover for Panzerfausts and snipers, which caused more casualties in the 752nd than enemy tanks did.

I hope this adds a bit of historical and technical accuracy.

Bob

Tiger Engagement in Cecina

[ March 19, 2004, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: 752ndTank ]

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