later patch 1.01

[alexoscar]

first thing i feel different: QB, December 1941, Crusaders CS only have smoke ammo. How is that possible? Close support tank without any kind of shell to cause damage?

[flamingknives]

Doctrine was to engage infantry targets with MGs - Smoke was used to allow infantry to do their job - close with and kill the enemy.

[Edit: it's historically accurate - CS tanks were deployed in an approximate ratio of 8:1}

[alexoscar]

but later, we can find CS tanks with shells, did change the doctrine?

[Bone_Vulture]

As the Cruiser / Matilda series tanks clearly exhibit, the Brits had an odd policy regarding tanks and HE ammunition.

[flamingknives]

Yes, the doctrine was changed after the inability of armour to deal with ATGs at the ranges found in the desert.

[MikeyD]

Brit weapons doctrine is the cause of much jolly banging-head-against-table while playing this game . The combination of snail-slow Infantry tanks in open desert and no main gun HE makes for quite the tactical challenge!

U.S. doctrine pretty closely mirrored the Brits at first, with then-Col. Patton writing in a pre-war paper on desert warfare that a tank's mgs were significantly more useful tactically than the main gun! Luckily, the U.S. was able to take advantage of a good many 'lessones learned' watching the war progress before they went into combat themselves. That's half-the fun of CM being date-sensitive. You can witness the march of technology and doctrine as the war progresses!