Keeping Big Cats Busy

[Sportsguy64]

Ok...I am tired of keeping Tigers and Panthers busy by letting them shoot holes in me. I need some help handling my armor - should you try to find a hull-down position all the time? maneuver more slowly? Recon? The only successful tactic I've used is "shoot n scoot" which DOES work on occasion.

[ParaBellum]

17pounders, 76mm guns, tungsten ammo, recon, smoke, maneuver, infantry, AT guns, keyholing, hull-down positions, concentration of armour...

Tigers and Panthers are far from being invulnerable in CM. And yes, recon is important. Very important.

[Sportsguy64]

Thanks but it was my understanding that tungsten rounds for 76mm's was scarce outside tank destroyer units. It's interesting the way the germans concentrate their armor during an attack - like one big bee's nest!

SportsGuy64

[Kingfish]

Bait them to turn sideways, then pop them with multiple shooters from the flank.

[ParaBellum]

It depends on the timeframe but from late summer '44 on Shermans usually will get a couple of tungsten rounds. And of course TDs are very nice for dealing with the german cats. They're cheap, fast, sport good guns and the armour...well, if you get hit by an 88 or long 75 it doesn't matter if you're sitting in a Sherman or an M-10.

And even without tungsten ammo 76mm are quite deadly when employed correctly.

If you're playing against heavy german armour the one BIG rule is to NEVER engage one head-on on a one-to-one basis.

If your enemy likes to concentrate his armour, try to flank them.

[Holien]

As Allies you have mobility, use it to win.

Don't fight on his terms, move and manuver to get flank shots, Use smoke to get yourself into that position, be bold you can lose a few Shermans for every Tiger / Panther killed.

Your turrets are super fast compared to the Tiger and you have to use your strengths to out play the Tigers. If you get into a frontal shooting match you will die unless you are using that to allow something else to get side shots.

Remember that if your vehicles are close in moving fast the Tigers turret can not keep track quick enough.

H

[birdstrike]

If tanks don't work, infantry does the job for me. Sneak in a Bazooka or PIAT, or simply some folks silly enough to engage with handgrenades. Try to attack it from a position that, if it detects the squad and shoots at it, it does have turn its turret so you can shoot it from the side or rear with a tank in Overwatch or by using shoot and scoot. Think Kelly's Heroes.

Also possible: to kill the TC or force him to button up -drastically limits the FOV and it should give you an edge to get that old 75 Sherman in a position to really hurt. Smoke screens sometimes work aswell.

[Other Means]

Use infantry to hold ground.

Win the infantry war with your tanks.

Use ATG's to win the armor war.

Use arty to kill ATG's.

Kill infantry from defilade with you tanks, which either wins or brings out the kitties, as he can't do the same due to not being able to afford the same number of tanks as you.

Kill them with your AFV's and gun line.

If you get sick of losing to Kitties, play British and buy a couple of Churchill XI's backed by some Achillies. The Churchills will bounce StuG and PZIV's all day, meaning your opponent has to bring out his big guns, which you kill with the Achillies. Takes some handling to ensure overwatch at all times but works well.

If you want to play a terrible trick buy some light flak guns. I've just had a 32pt light flak mobility kill, then gun kill and force abandonment of 2 Tigers.

Doesn't seem fair somehow.

[Uberpickle]

Recon, fire sponges(Armored cars you can stand to lose, troops you don't feel are all that useful anymore), smoke and mortars.

[Sportsguy64]

Thanks guys, Birdstrike but Listen...The last scenario I played I was in that Bo Caage country and we was assaulted by them Tigers and WHEN I SAY assaulted...I MEAN ASSAULTED!!!!!!

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Always with the neg a tive waves, Moriarty...

[Aco4bn187inf]

My opponent loves Tigers, so I'm getting a lot of experience fighting against them.

For one thing, an expensive tank can't control as much built-up terrain as the equivalent amount of points spent in infantry can. I forget what a Tiger costs, but every time I see one, I know my opponent has spent that much less on inf, arty, etc.

Use good combined arms methods to strip away his other units. I forced an auto-surrender this way: almost all he had left was his Tiger.

The Piat is not too effective against the Tiger. I've scored about eight piat hits recently without causing damage.

I'm using Valentine X's against one now and their 57mmL50 rounds are certainly not effective against the front armor.

[Sportsguy64]

57's?!?! I suggest not...

[MikeyD]

If your opponent's impatient dropping smoke on him could cause him to relocate, and if he's careless (Tigers tend to be overconfident) he might offer you a decent side or rear shot in the process. When you're purchasing units I've found the only thing airpower likes dropping bombs on more than their own troops are Tigers! Purchase a couple Hurricanes or Mustangs and expect to see a disabled Tiger in the far corner of the map at the end of the battle.

[imported_Wildman]

Originally posted by MikeyD:

If your opponent's impatient dropping smoke on him could cause him to relocate, and if he's careless (Tigers tend to be overconfident) he might offer you a decent side or rear shot in the process. When you're purchasing units I've found the only thing airpower likes dropping bombs on more than their own troops are Tigers! Purchase a couple Hurricanes or Mustangs and expect to see a disabled Tiger in the far corner of the map at the end of the battle.

Heck ya, they are easy to identify and hit!