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.
IntroductionThe 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 Fightinggenerally 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 Panzersa. Panzer II c/fThe 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/F1These 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 F2One 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 EI have no tips for this tank. Good luck getting into it.
Normandy Panzersthis 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.