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Hello dakka and This time I am interested with the western allies' tanks. I would like to know about the main differences between US and brittish tanks and general information about them. I would also like recommendations about which list in which book, is the best tank list for someone not too experimenced with flames of war, and of course I would also like to know about the tanks itself.

Why I am interested in these tanks is that I think I have already seen enough german and soviet tanks and that the western allies have some interesting choises. For example I find the tactical opportunities offered by their medium tanks with heavy guns very exciting. I also like how they look with their unique style and by how much electronics they have in their tanks in the late war.

As you have probably noticed from my post I am leaning towards tank-destroyers, but I also would like to have some tougher elements in my list.

Thanks for your answers.

I am fairly new to the whole FoW game however from playing a British armored company here are my findings.

I am currently using the overlord book which covers the Normandy landings.

The British shermans seem fairly solid, due to the Brits rules they can re-roll misses over half distance meaning you have a good chance to hit stuff. Plus tanks like the firefly really pack a punch.

The weak points is their front armour isnt that great compaired to other tanks.

I plan on adding some tank destroyers to my list in order to knock out things like stugs and panthers more reliably.

Also now that PSC have released plastic churchills I am very tempted to start a heavy tank company too

I am sure people with more battles under their belt will be along shortly.

Well, the British have access to the Sherman via Lend Lease and they designated it the M4A4 or Sherman V but I believe the chassis is basically the M4A3 IIRC. More importantly they put a 17 pound gun on it and called it a Firefly. It basically made the Sherman a tank destroyer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease_Sherman_tanks

The British tanks themselves tend to have a really bulky look to them. Their tanks are solid and most benefit from the rule semi-indirect fire making them good defensive pieces when needed.

Americans are essentially variations on a theme. The Sherman is nothing spectacular from it's base M4. When you start looking at it's variants, the 76mm, the 105mm, M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" and the M4A3E2 "Jumbo" things start getting interesting but expensive point wise. The 76mm brings up the punch of the Sherman significantly to where it can actually hurt Tigers. The 105mm won't do well against tanks unless you can flank em, but will clear out infantry as it's a break through gun. The Jumbo has very good armor and a 76mm cannon making it very good when combined with the Jumbos Lead the Way! special rule. It essentially makes them draw fire. The Easy Eight has a plethora of nice things going for it from a 76mm, gun stabilizer, movement rules and slightly better armor.

Americans also have nice light tank options in the M5A1 Stuart and the Chaffee.

Americans have the M18 Hellcat and the M36 Jackson Tank destroyers which don't have to be on the field until you want them to be via the American TD rules. It can cause an unaware or distracted opponent to suffer heavy tank loses if theyfail to deal with them properly.

What stage of the war are you looking to play in? Since your comparing Americans and British I'm assuming it's probably Mid or Late war, but it's probably best to clarify that. I don't really know much about Mid war, but I do know that the jump from Early to Late sees British tanks change a lot. In Early War you have either Cruiser tanks that are light, but perfect for flanking around enemy armies or Infantry Tanks (Matilda variants) which are slow, lumbering beasts which are damn near impossible to kill. In Late War British armour tends to be focused around medium tanks (Shermans), leaning towards a more-static approach with longer-ranged guns (than were available in EW) and Semi-indirect Fire. The infantry tank makes a return in the form of Churchills, which like their predecessors are still slow and impossible to kill, though the main gun isn't nearly as scary in LW as the A12 Matlida's is in EW.

All I know about Americans is in regards to Late War (they don't have an EW list yet), but their armoured forces are like the British in that they tend to be focused around Shermans (medium tanks). Unlike the British, however, the Americans have Stabilisers instead of Semi-indirect Fire, allowing the tank to make more shots on the move--which encourages a more mobile approach to armoured warfare. Also, Americans don't get a gun-tank like the British do (the Firefly), meaning that you either need to find some other form of anti-heavy armour (or just be good with flanking) or pay for the whole platoon of Shermans to have better guns. Americans also have companies of Stuart/Chaufee light tanks, which are agile little flankers, if very fragile--another playstyle that's all about mobility.

The books Blitzkrieg and Turning Tide are my primary references for these general strategies.

^Concerning Sherman's and Americans:
You actually have some versatility when it come to upgrading your tanks in Blood and Guts. You don't have to upgrade the whole squad.