Quote:
Originally Posted by Zombieritual
I'm sorry if this has been asked and answered before. But what is the best tactic and best tank too kill russian heavy tanks early on operation barbarossa?
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I think a lot of folk cheat and put the SDKFZ 8/Flak 18 in their cores. (Its a cheat really as there were only the 18 or so ever built).
Many use towed 88s, if visibility is good. Just remember to move them before the counter-battery fire arrives!.
Until you get some 50mm tank guns with sabot ammo (the L42 can kill them from the side at least, at short range) - then I like the Jpz1 used in flanking ambushes or even actively stalking the things to achieve the same result. Once you have the 5cm L42 as a tank gun with its 15 sabots, the tanks can begin to do the same tactic.
Keep the heavies suppressed with a hail of mortar and arty fire as you manoeuvre to get a side shot from 200m or less though. You want him buttoned, and any accompanying infantry driven off before exposing your pop-up shooter to fire. If he is buttoned up then he will have few - maybe no - main gun shots, his spotting ability is reduced, and if he does get a shot off his hit probability is also reduced. Plus he has to spend 1 extra point per hex moved so is slowed down.
All that presupposes that he is coming to you. In the attack, once spotted then plaster the heavy with arty, and sneak up alongside or behind him. If the arty is 105mm plus, especially 15cm plus, then you can always de-track the things as well leaving them as sitting ducks, or even abandoned by demoralised crews. A couple or 4 of SP 15cm SIG with ammo trucks are a
good thing to have in your German core! - and historically justified too.
The key thing here is that you
don't ever want to be sat out in the open in his turn waiting for return shots - no duels! - ideally you want to be able to move 1 hex out of cover, squeeze off a few short range shots and duck back into your hide location. (Helps if a few grunts are in the hide as screening troops). With light tanks - "hide with pride" is the motto!.
Availability of the 50L/60 later on just means the tactic is more effective, or you can try it at a few hexes further.
The JPz 1 is my Santa's little helper in France 40 - used the same way against Matildas and Char B. It can do this in the desert as well, if the terrain is rough and so provides some dips to sneak about in. If pancake flat - the artillery dropping on the heavy tank target should kick up a reasonable amount of dust obscuration, even if you don't use smoke.
Remember that these heavy tanks - especially matildas - are
slow. So you can manoeuvre about them quite freely so as to get your flanking shots. don't try to head-butt them. Try to take them on from (or inside) tree lines, a ridge or a village etc. and not out in the wide open spaces.
Once you have 75mm long guns - whether towed, jagdpanzer mounted, or on real tanks - then the problem goes away, till the Stalins appear anyway. and by then you have the late war kit.
The Germans only have these problems with heavies early on since they are basically a light tank army with 37mm peashooters. Nothing wrong with those for plinking BTs, T-26, A9 and so on of course, but by Barbarossa you should be thinking of getting rid of any core vehicles equipped with them.
cheers
Andy
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