Gothmog of BF Forums wrote:Hi guys –

I’ve talked a lot lately on why I think that CT US tanks out of BGG are currently, hands down, the best tank army in the game. I’ve been asked a bunch of questions on how to keep low-FA trained tanks alive long enough to actually win games.

Force structure
US tanks from BGG have the most flexible force structure out there, not just for the support platoons that you can take as part of your company, but the actual composition of each Sherman platoon. You can take plain jane Shermans, upgrade them to move faster, have protected ammo, get better armor, better guns, and more and better special rules. You can also add things like jumbos that now give your FA6 Shermans a fighting chance since the first shot now goes against FA12.

Taking the right mix really depends on how you play. You can try the Sherman hoard with few upgrades, or you can have specialized tanks in each platoon, each with a different role. I personally prefer the specialized approach, but it does take practice and getting used to.

You have great infantry support, lots or artillery, good recon, AOPs, light tanks, TDs, assault guns, etc. all giving you the edge in list building over other forces. You can also mix and match training levels (and thus points) to make sure that you get the most bang for the buck. No other army gives you this flexibility. It used to be that Shermans had problems dealing with heavies, but this is now a thing of the past. Various AT13 platforms shooting with full RoF or ambushing make killing other tanks, even heavies, far easier than in the past. All of this comes for little if any price increase.

Smoke Bombardments and Direct Fire Smoke
Smoke in all forms is your friend with these lists. Smoke bombardments from mortars or artillery can blanket and entire side of the board making you harder to hit, or it can screen you from return fire entirely. Making the other guy move to retain a shot, thus decreasing their RoF is never a bad thing. The fewer shots coming back at you, the fewer things that your opponent can kill. The downside of smoke bombardments is that they have to be fired before all other shots are taken, so you can’t wait to see what your opponent has left alive after your shooting. You have to plan things out in advance.

Direct fire smoke is also awesome, though like a bombardment, it does have a few drawbacks. Like a smoke bombardment, DFS has to be fired first for the platoon. What this means, is that if your Sherman platoon is shooting smoke along with other ordnance, the smoke has to go first. This could make it harder for your other Shermans to get shots off. There are two keys here, 1) who shoots smoke, and maneuvering your units to best effect. I typically try to DFS with my plain jane’s and jumbos, leaving the E8s to shoot at enemy tanks. As such, I place my smoking tanks such that they can only see certain targets and my shooting tanks isolate on what they can kill. Remember, only one enemy unit needs to be in the open for all of your shots to be in the open.

I might also fire all of one platoon (or both), see what happens, and then fire smoke with my 1IC and or 2IC if shooting doesn’t go as well as hoped. This way I can hopefully survive a bad round of 1s to hit or missed FP roles. Being concealed and GtG for return fire is a thing of beauty. Who doesn’t like going from a 3+ to a 5+ to hit. And remember, OP tanks also get smoke.

Special Rules and Heroes
Shermans, I think, have more special rules than any other model in the game. You start out with the best one there is, Stabilizers. This is a huge benefit. No other army gets to retain full RoF when moving with generic platoons. Sure, you can pay a +1 to hit penalty, but I’ll take more shots downrange any day. The more shots, the more potential kills. You also can have protected ammo, DFS, Jumbos to the Front, Smooth Ride, Tank Telephones, Detroit’s Finest, Duck Bills (Wide Tracks), etc.

Smooth Ride is more powerful that you would think, allowing your best tank to keep full RoF with no penalty if moving 6 inches or less on clear group. This is huge, particularly when combined with Jumbos that only move 8 inches. Yes, an E8 can move 14 inches, but keeping the platoon together (and alive) with the jumbos, then sprinting for the side shots when needed really is the way to go.

This army also has access to two heroes, Abrams and Patton. Both are good, but Abrams is a bit too pricey. Patton is a must. Patton’s has two special rules that take this army from good to great, Always Attack and Spearhead. Being a Higher Command team and giving the 3+ re-roll are awesome, but the first two are worth the 100 points. Having your entire army move forward prior to the start of the game is huge. Those sow-moving jumbos now get an additional 8 inches of movement, giving them 16 inches prior to the other guy getting a turn. You’re at close range, and maybe in assault range, before the other guy has a chance.

To paraphrase Oprah, you get a .50cal, and you get a .50cal, and you get a .50cal
Pretty much everything in your army has a .50cal. Who needs AA when your entire army gets to shoot back. Also, the .50cal is great against unarmored or low armored vehicles or troops in the open. Why not take 5 MG shots at infantry instead of 4. Need that extra few shots to pin assaulting infantry? Pop the top.

Putting it all together
Here’s my recent 7AD tank list
HQ w/E8 and jumbo
Patton
Sherman platoon w/2E8s, jumbo, M4A3
Sherman platoon w/2E8s, jumbo, M4A3
4 Stuarts
Priests w/track and M4A3
Priests w/M4A3
Recon W/track and jeep
AOP

There are other great combos, this one just suits my play style.

The Shermans are the main killer in this army. Having 3 jumbos, two in a platoon when needed, allow me to bounce shots. You laugh at PaK40s. 5 E8s give me great AT against heavies, particularly when I have full RoF and no penalty for shots. I also have lots of DFS if needed.

The Stuarts are fast, cheap, and great against the other guy’s light stuff, infantry, or guns. They are small so I can fit more into a tight space, and they always make my opponents nervous. You can’t leave an objective uncovered with these guys around.

The force has very little recon, so you will have to husband it. My recon doesn’t shoot unless I know it can’t be shot back or if things get desperate. It is there to stop ambushes and lift GtG.

The two arty platoons are awesome. You can either have two bombardments, two smoke bombardments, a double-wide, or a single template re-rolling misses. I tend to do the later, but use all of the above throughout tournament. Also, these bad boys are breakthrough guns, so worst case, drive them to close range and watch infantry melt away. Assuming that you can lift GtG, that’s an average of 2 infantry kills a turn just from these guys. Those 7 stand German platoons won’t last long.

The real stars of the Artillery platoons are the OP tanks (AKA Ninja tanks). They are independent teams that can go anywhere. Unlike other OP tanks, these have a Sherman gun (RoF1) but can go out and hurt people. You don’t care if they die, because they never spot for anything and aren’t a platoon, so you can use them to go hunting. At the ETC, these two bad boys won me a game of Surrounded, me defending on a pool table against Peiper. When two RoF1 tanks kill 4 panthers and a mobile wagon platoon after one of my Sherman platoons evaporated before my turn, life is good. Oh, and they have DFS.

AOP – this baby does it all. It spots, blocks ambushes, helps prevent or mitigate TD ambushes, and makes your opponent crazy nervous. It changes the way that they play, thus making it easier on you. AA can take it out, but can be mitigated, and a turn that airplanes are dealing with it is a turn where they are not killing your tanks.

Patton is the final puzzle piece. Assuming that I go first, I’m at short range, turn 1, with full RoF with entire my army (no penalty with E8s). Assuming descent deployment and shooting (smoke if not), there will be a lot less shooting back at me. All of this combined allows me to dictate the game. I can (and do) still lose, but the combination of flexibility, special rules, and heroes makes this army tough to beat.

Bill

kevinm wrote:
Does The Plastic Soldier company ship to the U.S?

AndrasOtto wrote:
Here's a list that uses complete box sets:

 Reaver83 wrote:
I would once again suggest spending the £'s on jumbos for your force. They always take the first hit in a platoon, and with a front armour of 12 vs a normal Sherman of 6, plus clever use of smoke, you have a very survivable army

AndrasOtto wrote:

1780 7th Armored (Trained) from Blood Guts & Glory:

<snip>

 Orlanth wrote:

AndrasOtto wrote:
Here's a list that uses complete box sets:

This uses mostly battlefront boxsets.

Using 100% PSC will save a lot of money, boost the quality and will be fully plastic. The tanks are available now, the ARP and infantry portion available 'soon' when the US Heavy Weapons boxset is released.
Battlefront prices itself out of the market sometimes, this is one of those times.

.

 George Spiggott wrote:
The Veteran armoured list from Cobra (now Overlord) used to be much respected. is it still considered a good list?

Personally I'd avoid PSC's plastic infantry, though their tanks and half tracks are excellent. Their Stuarts are M3s so may not be suitable for late(r) war lists.

 Orlanth wrote:
PSC Stuarts are M5, with thee hull options and two turret options. Good for units from '43 to '45+