Author Topic: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]  (Read 15118 times)

Offline General_Henry

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Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« on: 07-04-2009, 12:04:02 »
This is not intended to be professional tips, so don't yell at me if you still get blew up easily after reading this.


1. Introduction

The German panzers ... just call them tanks, most of them are much more versatile than the British tanks because they have better armaments and usually fairly good armour, enough to withstand some shots before becoming scrap metal.

Actually the German tanks are "designed for different roles", such as that the Panzer III are designed as battle tanks (all rounded), Panzer IV (short barrel) for infantry support, and panzer II for recon(ignore this) and support purpose.

knowing something basic about the panzers is important so that you don't looked so noob when people see you charging some heavy defended area directly with your Panzer II f, or trying to snipe the annoying Grant somewhere in fog distance with your Panzer IV F1.


2. Fundamental Concepts of Tank Fighting

generally there's 2 types of actions, Infantry support(Storming soft targets), and Tank battles.

-Infantry support is something easy to do but difficult to master, as a panzer commander you have machine guns and HE shells in your hand, it shouldn't be that difficult to fire your MG at enemy infantry and light vehicles. HE shells are a bit tricky, sometimes it's not easy to have your shells landed at the exact position of your enemies, so you have to make use of the blast. Hitting a obstacle somewhere near the target would blew your enemies into pieces easily.


- Tank Battles are the most difficult jobs , no matter you are a veteran commander or just a newb, you need to be very careful, and try to put some AP shells into your enemy before they do to you.

the panzers have some special rounds that are intended to be powerful anti-tank rounds, it's usually a big mistake for newbies not to have them loaded if you expect enemy armour to appear. Those rounds are usually enough to take out a few tanks before you have to use AP rounds, that's quite an achievement, right? :-*

the other things you need to know is that the strongest spots of your tanks are usually in your front side, also, your surface area exposed to enemies are lower when you face your front to enemies. The other way to reduce surface area is to hide behind something or inside some holes. Lower surface area means you are less likely to get hit, which is a good thing.

most panzers have the ability to pop some smoke and escape, remember to move after popping smoke though, or don't yell that someone cheats and shoot through smoke. ::)



3. The Panzers


a. Panzer II c/f
The appearance of this tank tells you how good it is  :-\. Don't expect you are gonna become a tank hero inside it, this tank is better to be more supportive, or sneaky. The quick firing cannon is a really good weapon to destroy enemy soft targets, such as taking out enemy AT gunners which annoys your panzers in Siege of Tobruk.
Beware of enemy AT rifles, those things finish you off rather quickly. Fortunately, you are capable of mowing them down with ease if you spot them, at least.
This Tank is capable of taking out Crusaders, Cruisers, Vickers, Stuarts with their AP rounds(even in the front, but i don't suggest you do try unless you have no choice), more quickly with PZG40 rounds, if you have the luck of sneaking to the back of a M3 Grant, insert a clip into his ass and send him to hell. If you appear in the front of a Grant , or anything that looks more powerful than that, i suggest you to run away.

b. Panzer IV D/F1
These guys have a short cannon, and it's expected that they are going to suck at long range. Fortunately , most tank combats in FH2 aren't long range sniping fest, so the HEAT shells that these tanks loaded could be very devastating to any enemy tanks. Don't have too much imaginations when trying to take out medium tanks with AP rounds , though.
The 75mm cannon on it could fire HE shells with crazy blast, enough to blew those annoying infantry into pieces easily, also, just laugh at those AT rifles trying to take you out, hose them down with your MG.
However don't expect this tank to be better armorued just because the number 4 is bigger than 3. You would certainly don't want to get stickied, or at range of enemy AT grenades, the 2 pounder guns are also a threat to this tank.
Another thing to remind is that beware of strafing runs.

c. Panzer III J (Early/Late)
These tanks are those i loved most, and certainly the no. 1 choice for newbies, they are better armoured than most panzers in the game, and their armaments are usually sufficient to do any job at any distance.
The Late version 's cannon is better at taking out enemy tanks, even with AP rounds, but with PZG40 rounds both early and late versions are great if you know how to shoot.
2 pounders are usually not a threat to you unless they side shot you. You can just ignore AT rifles in most cases, and you also have a good chance of surviving a Grant's front shot, however, when Shermans appeared in the battlefield this tank is no longer that dominating.
A last remind is to shoot smart at things like Valentine and Matildas, or else you would just be wasting shells.

d. Panzer IV F2
One of the most powerful tanks for a tank battle, perfect for shooting at any distance if you are skilled. The almost flat trajectory of the 75mm rounds coming out of your tank just bring death to your enemies very quicky. Personally i don't recommend newbies to take this tank as the armour isn't that impressive and your team would yell at your when you run yourself into a position full of anti tank grenades.
Also beware of strafing runs.

e. Panzer VI Tiger E
I have no tips for this tank. Good luck getting into it.


Normandy Panzers

this part covers the German armour in Normandy

f. Panzer IVH
The workhorse of German armoured units. In General this tank outperforms most allied tanks. Armed with impressive 75mm L48 cannon which is capable of taking out any Allied tanks with ease. The frontal armour is also enough to protect the tank from harm of 75mm rounds(Sherman/Cromwell/Churchill 75mm). In addition, the tank got skirts in the side which makes enemy AT soldiers harder to flank it. This means this tank is very all rounded in performing all sort of tasks.
The only tank that a panzer IVH would have difficulty dealing with is the Churchill with 6 pounder, which in my opinion outperforms the IVH.
Last of my advices is , always load the tank with PZG40 rounds, there's not a need to save them because AP rounds are powerful enough and infantries have problems dealing with skirts(so there are plenty of time loading HE rounds).

g. Panzer V Panther Ausf A
This is the very best tank in the battlefield. It have a deadly combination speed, armour and firepower. The frontal armour is sufficient to protect the tank from being one-shot by most tanks. The tank cannon blews up anything in sight.
« Last Edit: 04-10-2009, 06:10:26 by General_Henry »

Offline Fuchs

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #1 on: 07-04-2009, 16:04:19 »
Panzer II is a sneaky dwarf, I love it on Siege of Tobruk. Mowing rowes of Aussies with it. Don't try to get in enemy sight with it though, use hills are your speed to flank and surprise. Also the HE rounds have quite a blast so try them out on the trenches etc., on flag zones you'll surely get a red flash pretty fast  :P
"Force answers force, war breeds war, and death only brings death.
To break this vicious circle one must do more than act without thought or doubt."

Offline Eat Uranium

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #2 on: 07-04-2009, 16:04:58 »
Yeh, the Pz2 (along with the M13/40 and L6/40) is great for taking out AT guns.  The shots from those tanks fly extremly flat.  And putting 10 20mm Pzg40 rounds into the door on a camping grant is one of the most satisfying ways to kill it.

konti

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #3 on: 07-04-2009, 18:04:29 »
Very good!  :)

Offline Kildar

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #4 on: 08-04-2009, 07:04:06 »
"e. Panzer VI Tiger E
I have no tips for this tank. Good luck getting into it."

Reasons To Use This Tank:
 Extremely well armored all around sans Engine Deck and Back and I think top of turret
 One shots every tank save for another tiger
 Uber l337 Skills

Reasons not to:
Slow top speed
Slow Acceleration
Slow Turret turning
You will be Tk'ed for it in a Pub most of the time
If the opponent has a competent bomber you will be bombed... period.
You have a huge silhouette and could be shot at from miles away.
If this tank spawns you are loosing the battle [Mareth Line]

Offline General_Henry

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #5 on: 08-04-2009, 10:04:23 »
thx for reading, actually i missed out one thing, is that you can use tanks to defend flags when your enemy don't have much armour threat, but that's more advanced thing. (e.g. use a tank to "camp" a captured flag in Siege of Tobruk, always works.), a panzer II could be perfect for this.

Offline Kildar

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #6 on: 08-04-2009, 16:04:14 »
Depends on the map, a P2 camping a flag is ATR bait. If you do it with something bigger your sticky grenade/mine bait in a closed in maps.

konti

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #7 on: 08-04-2009, 20:04:18 »
Yep, Siege of Tobruk is perfect for the PzKpfw II  ;D

Offline sheikyerbouti

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #8 on: 09-04-2009, 01:04:26 »
 As a general tip for the Panzer optics,

 The centre of the large Triangle should reflect a perfect hit at optimal gun range. The smaller triangles (half sized) are representative of engaging a target at twice the optimal distance. (trial and error will prove this to all doubters)

 The only gun for which the German optics are borked is the short barrel Panzer4 (it doesn't seem to be zeroed), otherwise this simple trick works like a charm.

 Tips for the Tiger...

 1) Sweep for mines (both tk and enemy)
 
 2) Don't rotate the turret, instead use the directional keys to move the whole tank and rely on your armour to protect  you for some time.
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Offline hOMEr_jAy

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #9 on: 09-04-2009, 11:04:12 »
Oh, and if you´re in the Tiger, always keep moving. Once you´re a sitting duck you´re an easy target for bombers and artillery. Also some escort service from smaller tanks like Panzer3s or Panzer4s is alwaysgood because they can keep away other things that annoy you like fast-moving tanks etc. In a WaW battle I saw Paddy Mayne destroying a lone Tiger with that scout car with the 2-pounder (Daimler I think). Oh, and also, ALWAYS turn your front to the enemy. There are certain spots where Shermans and Crusaders can hurt you and you don´t want to present these spots to the enemy ;)
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Offline General_Henry

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #10 on: 09-04-2009, 13:04:49 »
As a general tip for the Panzer optics,

 The centre of the large Triangle should reflect a perfect hit at optimal gun range. The smaller triangles (half sized) are representative of engaging a target at twice the optimal distance. (trial and error will prove this to all doubters)

 The only gun for which the German optics are borked is the short barrel Panzer4 (it doesn't seem to be zeroed), otherwise this simple trick works like a charm.

 Tips for the Tiger...

 1) Sweep for mines (both tk and enemy)
 
 2) Don't rotate the turret, instead use the directional keys to move the whole tank and rely on your armour to protect  you for some time.

i once see you playing the Tiger very tactfully, me as the hull gunner. you pop smoke often .


Offline Fuchs

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #11 on: 10-04-2009, 14:04:35 »
As a general tip for the Panzer optics,

 The centre of the large Triangle should reflect a perfect hit at optimal gun range. The smaller triangles (half sized) are representative of engaging a target at twice the optimal distance. (trial and error will prove this to all doubters)

 The only gun for which the German optics are borked is the short barrel Panzer4 (it doesn't seem to be zeroed), otherwise this simple trick works like a charm.

 Tips for the Tiger...

 1) Sweep for mines (both tk and enemy)
 
2) Don't rotate the turret, instead use the directional keys to move the whole tank and rely on your armour to protect  you for some time.
Yes, this is something I also advice. Use it as a StuG  :P Plus now your front armour is always facing the oppononent you want to take out.
"Force answers force, war breeds war, and death only brings death.
To break this vicious circle one must do more than act without thought or doubt."

Offline Torenico

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #12 on: 11-04-2009, 00:04:10 »
Ask and shoot.

For the tiger.. ask if theres someone using the Flak88, ask if someone can clear the way of Mines.. ask if the Bomber is roaming.. ask if someone can protect you, ask if theres inf near you.


Offline Eat Uranium

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #13 on: 11-04-2009, 00:04:02 »
My one tip with tanks is this:
Stay well clear of the road/most common route if at all possible.  It makes you less likely to be spotted and bombed.  This is especially important with the Tiger.

Offline Roden

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Re: Introduction to Panzers [fundamental level]
« Reply #14 on: 11-04-2009, 20:04:08 »
Spotting can good even for us tankers (not only airforces )

Take out your binocs and mark out ANY enemy Asset (Tank, Transports)

it may often give us tanker and upper-edge  because we can then
plan our attacks against them better when we know where they are