Damn tank hunters are awesome!

[noxnoctum]

Last game, I managed to flank my opponent's positions with a platoon of t-34s and a couple IS-2s. He had taken every flag on the map but one (this was a town map) and was shelling my infantry closest to the flags with keyholed stuhs. The IS-2s took care of an overwatching tiger and the T-34s killed one PZIV and forced the other 4 into hiding behind buildings (not being able to shell my infantry).

The map was basically all the objectives in buildings in between two huge hills, so whoever commanded the hills commanded the map.

I sent in my other platoon of T-34s to try to take advantage of the cowering PZIVs but two got taken out quickly by the same PZIV (some very unlucky shots from the T-34s despite one being a veteran). Luckily for me, I'd purchased some TH! I loaded up one in a M3 scout car, and rushed it at the offending tank. The other sprinted for it on foot (about 100 meters) The M3 came under heavy fire about 50 meters away from the tank, so the brave souls in the 2 man TH team hopped out, dashed 10 meters and flung their RPG, direct HIT! (he had an infantry screen but I rushed 2 companies of SMGs into the breach and they were mauling his fallschirmjägers badly)

My other 3 TH literally surrouned the other PZIV which was behind a building and forced it into the welcoming arms of a SMG squad which ended up taking it out with a grenade... Meanwhile, my 2 remaining t-34s on the hill with the IS-2s (one got killed by the tiger) were shelling the remaining german infantry on the two flags I was going for (the biggest ones)... they, WITHOUT orders (and I might add both had covered arcs AWAY from the last PZIV) turned to face the last enemy tank which came out of hiding but couldn't quite get a shot off before the game ended (another 3 seconds and it would've been over for that last crew )

That's what's so brilliant about this game. The TacAI... I've yet to see a mainstream big budgeted game have as good as AI as this. Sure, the vehicle pathfinding is pretty quirky (which you can definitely still get around with very specific orders) but other than that, the initiative shown by individual units is bloody awesome!

[Zarquon]

Tank Hunters can be worth their weight in gold for the Russians, but keep in mind that the RPG grenade is overmodeled - it practically never misses, and every hit is a kill.

[ravells]

Oh wow. I've been using them as glorified observers....never thought they were that effective!

[Kanonier Reichmann]

I think it might be worth pointing out that only the tank hunter teams after about June 1943 have the RPG grenades (and even then, not all of them). The ones armed only with Molotov cocktails are next to useless.... apart from as "glorified observers", as you noted.

Regards

KR

[Zarquon]

Do a forum search for the RPG - I think JasonC tested it extensively, and I my own tests a while ago. Range is about 40m, about two thirds of TH teams have at least one, and it's deadly.

[noxnoctum]

BTW, I'm having trouble getting my troops to target some stugs with regular grenades in an operation I'm playing... They chuck their molotvs and then just stand there staring at the tank while literally 10 meters away in front of it. In this game I described the SMG squad did it without orders and took it out with a regular grenade (not an RPG).

Was this a fluke?

[Zarquon]

There's not much you can do. There's an automatic "die roll" involved to see if the unit actually engages the tank. Being unsuppressed, i.e. not being fired upon, helps a lot, as does a higher experience level. But apart from that, you can't influence their actions.

[BlackVoid]

Grenades are not useful against tanks.

For tank killing, the Russians also have pioneers - satchel charges are deadly. Range is 29 (or is it 30?) meters and they rarely miss. They also work well for the Brits in CMAK. Other nations unfortunately have useless flamethrowers attached to pioneer platoons. Iinfantry FTs are useless in most situations and they just waste your very valuable support points. They can also kill tanks, but they are slow and prioritized by the TACAI.

[BlackVoid]

Were the THs vets or regulars?

[noxnoctum]

Grenades are not useful against tanks.

For tank killing, the Russians also have pioneers - satchel charges are deadly. Range is 29 (or is it 30?) meters and they rarely miss. They also work well for the Brits in CMAK. Other nations unfortunately have useless flamethrowers attached to pioneer platoons. Iinfantry FTs are useless in most situations and they just waste your very valuable support points. They can also kill tanks, but they are slow and prioritized by the TACAI.

Well it was a regular grenade (not RPG) that killed the tank. Like I said, the THs forced the tank to retreat into a SMG squad in a building. I watched it like 4 times to make sure it was coming from the SMG squad. It definitely was.

And the TH were crack, which was pretty useful for running through MG fire.

[costard]

...

Other nations unfortunately have useless flamethrowers attached to pioneer platoons. Iinfantry FTs are useless in most situations and they just waste your very valuable support points. They can also kill tanks, but they are slow and prioritized by the TACAI.

Flamethrowers are the best morale killers I've come across ('cept maybe for 337mm incendiary rockets); squishies running everywhere. Light 'em up then shoot 'em while they're busy putting out the flames.