Armor vs Armor matching

[tacitrain]

A friend of mine regularly plays against me in TCP/IP matches. I play the Germans, and he plays as the Americans. I usually create the maps we play, they arent grand, but they do fine for private play. I try to make them as balanced as possible, overall.

The main question I have is: What is a good American armor match for a Tiger tank? on our last map, one of my tigers totally ran over 2 76mm shermans and about 3 AT guns.(76mm at 700m, and 2 57mm at much closer range) He also had a bazooka guy throw 6 arounds into a Tiger/Elefant with no kill.

I usually play with Stug III F/8s, against 75mm shermans. However, Iv been wanting to play with some heavier armor, but it just doesnt seem fair. Ill try panthers next, but I would like some input on what you guys think about using tigers.

[Michael Emrys]

The main thing is tactics. No American AFV in CMAK is going to stand up frontally against a Tiger. In order to have a fighting chance, they are going to have to work around its flanks and attack from more than one direction at once, and the terrain should be such as to allow that to happen. Using lots of smoke could help too if you have it available.

Michael

[Other Means]

Sorry - I play British and the Achillies [see here] can destroy all Axis armour at any range. Not sure if there's an equivalent for the 'Merkins - try Falk's site:

http://cmak.jemian.com/

If not - come play CW. It's great fun .

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Brits are indeed the best bet against uber armour for your friend. If he insist on using US tanks, start fearing the M18. It's still limited to a 76mm but speedy as Hades. Speed might not something you usually look at when buying armour but M18s are the fastest way to transport a 76mm into an enemy's flank. Enemies will have a hard time getting their guns to bear as these suckers zip from cover to cover.

[tacitrain]

Thanks for the input guys!

What is CW?

[Other Means]

Common Wealth - Britain, Canada, NZ, Auz, SA in CMAK. More really.

[Andrew H.]

As Michael noted, there aren't any US tanks that can go head to head with a Tiger, so flanking is the best approach. It's not incredibly difficult to do, but the onus is on the US player to successfully flank; as flankers, the Hellcats are probably the best bet.

One disadvantage of the Hellcats is that, assuming they have destroyed the Tiger, they are not great against infantry - they don't have lots of MG ammo or HE ammo. The Tiger, by contrast, can easily kill lots of infantry. Having said that, though, if you're facing a Tiger, Hellcats are still probably the best choice.

It may help to even things up if you choose a ground condition other than "dry." Damp or muddy ground makes it more risky for the Tiger to stray off road or travel too quickly, which makes it more likely that the Tiger will stay on the road, which makes it easier to flank.

It's not a perfect solution, of course, as the Hellcats can also bog in the mud...

And of course you need terrain that is broken - if the Tiger can stay back and dominate, there's not much opportunity for flanking.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Oh, and for the Allied player, as Michael pointed out: Smoke is your friend.

It might not seem sexy peppering your opponent with smoke, but it sure beats taking a poor shot even if it doesn't feel like it. Smoke can buy you the time to get closer and get a better shot. As long as you are American you as a rule shouldn't go toe to toe as long as you have smoke. Toe to buttocks is sooo much beter.