More AFV Tactics in RB

These notes were garnered from last year's (1995) infamous RB discussions. Michael Black responds to an anonymous poster:
Anon> The terrain, along with the presence of all that infantry, prevents tanks from doing too much in RB. I just don't see armor being all that effective in RB, so, as the Russian, I'm not that worried about it--I just look at it as a lot of potential CVP.

MB> A. Don't be afraid of the terrain. Bog, smog. Who cares? At least if your tanks immobilize they aren't recalled. I'm not afraid to enter buildings, rubble or debris. Screw it. Full steam ahead. Lay the tread everywhere you can.

B. Why should the Russians care about inflicting CVP? The more you kill the more you'll have to face. CVP losses improve CPP replenishment. The Russians want to kill infantry NOT tanks.

C. Even when they get knocked out, they usually don't burn. Sounds like free lmgs to me.

So, you want some tactical hints? Try these some time:

1. Don't commit your armor on the first turn or two of a scenario. Feel out the enemy before you launch the full force of your thrust.

2. Let your infantry neutralize as much of the enemy threat as possible. OBA can do a nice job as well. High caliber OBA vs. chumps in +2 TEM will leave a mangled mass of bodies for your armor to clean-up.

3. Commit your armor when the enemy line starts to break. Maneuver your vehicles behind broken units to block rout paths. Take encirclement shots to reduce Russian morale.

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3. Commit it when you know that you have local superioity. Drive the tanks up close and shell the guys into submission. With acq and point blank mods, high ROF-low caliber guns are deadly.

4. Tanks are basically impervious to infantry. Support your tanks, keep them in motion, do whatever you have to to protect them from careless loss and you won't lose them. Allowing your tanks to enter street fighting situations is reckless. Keep infantry with your tanks whenever possible.

5. ATGs are your biggest fear. They will kill most tanks that you use. Consider not massing your armor. Spread it around. The Russians only have so many ranged AT weapons; they can't cover the whole map.

6. Learn to provide only limited LOS to your vehicles. You know the Russians will place ATG in fortified second level locations at some point in time. Avoid fields of fire from these buildings until you can neutralize them with OBA or a killer stack. Stay in the shadow of buildings and make sure the russian use red TH#s.

7. When you find an AT gun kill it. The Russians will have to replace it.

I hope these are useful food for thought. Probably nothing knew, but if you contemplate these maybe you will find better uses for tanks than free SMOKE.