Tank Loads for Africa at War

[Jeff Conner]

I think a lot of players don't understand how narrow the front facing of vehicles are; less than 60 degrees. If Tigers and Panthers keep their front to the enemy, they are pretty tough to kill. If I remember correctly, a Russian 76mm gun has about a 1% chance of a kill against a Tiger front facing. But if you expose the side, the chances go up considerably.

As for German guns not being deadly enough, that is partially a function of the short range at which most of the scenarios take place. With SB's rather simple range attenuation, you want to engage your enemy at what is medium range for you (full lethality), but long range (half lethality) for the bad guys (or even better, out of range). German tank guns usually have longer ranges than their Allied equivalents, but the small size (as well as lots of terrain that blocks line of sight and reduced maximum visibility) of the maps often prohibits them from taking advantage of it. In a short range fight, the German heavy tanks lose some of their technical advantages.

The Bowling Alley scenario in SB Korea is an example of this. The Pershing and T34/85 tanks have fairly comparable numbers except that the Pershing has a maximum range of 2000 meters while the T34 only has a maximum range of 1000 meters. The Pershings can find good perches on the hills and pick off the T-34s at more than 25 hex range without fear. When things get closer, they still have a large advantage until the range drops to 12 hexes. With the large map and good sight lines, this scenario shows the significant advantage that the Pershing has. Replace the Pershings with Panthers and you would see the same range attenuation effects.