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Steel Panthers |
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Chapter Seven: Tanks!Steel Panthers is a game about tank warfare. So why have I covered Infantry first? Because I was an infantryman. Actually, because the slow, methodical movement of infantry dovetails well in to the fast shocking blitz associated with tanks. This installment will cover the tank platoon in combat. The tank really came into its own during WWII. During the Spanish Civil War, the Germans and Russians sent many tanks and ‘tankettes’ to each side with the hope of seeing first hand how this new weapon could reshape warfare. Many lessons were learned, such as the benefits of massed armored assaults, and the devastating power of the 88mm AA gun against tanks in the direct fire role. As WWII progressed, most main battle tanks (MBTs) became heavier, guns carried became bigger, and armor became thicker. The basic unit for a tank formation is the platoon. A German or American full strength platoon typically consisted of 5 tanks; for British platoons there were 4 tanks, and for Russian platoons there were 3 tanks. While tanks can operate in sections of two, it is preferred to keep the integrity of the platoon if at all possible. This is extremely important in early war tanks that did not have radios. They basically became ‘dumb’ once separated, and so always stayed together as a group. If split into sections, typically one half is controlled by the platoon leader (PL in the _0 tank), while the other is controlled by the senior platoon sergeant (the PSG in the _4 tank). A company of tanks usually had 3 tank platoons and a 2 tank Company HQ section consisting of the Company Commander’s tank (CO) and his Executive Officer (XO) or Adjutant’s tank. The CO and XO usually place themselves were they can best control the battle (the CO behind one platoon and the XO behind a different one). The exception to this was the Russians, who only had one tank at the Company HQ level (the CO’s tank). Tank platoon formations I will use the 5 tank platoon in my diagrams, although these formations are used for all
sizes of platoons. The B0 represents the PL, with B1 and B2 as his
‘wingmen’; the B4 tank is the PSG with the B3 tank as his ‘wingman’. Wingmen
always mimic the lead tank in their actions; when the PL moves, the wingman maintains space and speed to stay
in formation with the PL and the platoon.
Individual tank tactics.Each tank fights as a part of the platoon, however, each also fights as an individual platform. Tankers usually try to get into “defilade or hull-down” This is the occasions when the tank is hidden from enemy direct fire. Folds in the ground, earthen berms, hills, walls, etc. provide excellent cover from which a tank can emerge, fire, and retreat back in to cover. The SP series has many of these items built into it. As an example, the next time you go racing across open ground with a tank, stop from time to time and use the view function to look for those ‘folds’ in the flat terrain that exist in SP; those folds might be the perfect place to pull into while you move forward, providing cover from enemy guns. In fact, most armies’ tank drivers are specifically trained to look ahead and determine the best place to fight from that provides such defilade cover. Another individual tank tactic to use is the ‘up and back’ defilade technique, where-in the tank is completely hidden behind a hill from enemy view. During your turn, bring your tank up out of defilade (on top of the hill), and fire on a target. After your first shot, you can continue to fire on targets or go back into defilade, bring up a different tank, and later bring back up the first tank that fired. By alternating like this, you give the enemy little chance to ‘acquire’ your tanks with multiple shots, thus dramatically increasing your survival rate. The drawback to the ‘up and back’ technique is that you will also have a low acquiring percentage. However, as the defender, your if you are fighting a massed tank attack, this is an excellent way to even the odds. Experiment with it. Fire Control and Distribution of Fires of the platoonIt is not widely known that the tank platoon crews spend long hours learning to fight as a cohesive group. Much time is spent pouring over sand tables and hypothetical battlefields learning how to divide up the battle area into sectors and ‘engagement zones’. Fire Control and Distribution of Fires are critical techniques learned by the crews. The entire platoon must thoroughly understand the three basic fire control patterns: frontal, cross, and depth.
Why such complex fire techniques? In most situations, these allow the platoon leader to distribute platoon fires rapidly and effectively. It also prevents two tanks from firing on the same target, wasting precious ammo. Regardless of the fire pattern used, the goal is to engage near and flank targets first, then shift to far and center targets. Tanks should engage most dangerous to least dangerous in their sector. A "most dangerous" threat is any enemy antitank system preparing to engage the platoon. The Tank Platoon in the OffenseDuring attacks, the platoon moves in a formation described previously above that best fits the tactical situation. Like the infantry, tank platoons also employ movement techniques such as Traveling, Traveling Overwatch and Bounding Overwatch to get to the objective. The only major difference between infantry movement and tank movement (other than speed) is that during the attack, the tanks tend to maneuver by sections, with one section covering the other as they move (See below). If the attack is by a company, the platoons maneuver as a complete unit. 
The Tank Platoon in the Defense.Tanks are primarily offensive weapons. They are at their best when driving deep into the enemies’ rear and wreaking havoc with support units. However, on occasion tanks must conduct defensive operations. We previously discussed in another article defensive operations and the integration of artillery, obstacles, and direct fire to set up kill zones. Tank defensive operations are no different, except for fire distribution and control. There are two types of defensive operations employed by the armored platoon: the Mobile Defense, in which the tanks allow the enemy to advance into a position that exposes him to counterattack by a mobile reserve, or the Area Defense. The focus of area defenses is on retention of terrain; defending units engage the enemy from an interlocking series of positions and destroy him, largely by direct fires. Either way, once the enemy has been sufficiently defeated, tanks must be prepared to change over to offensive operations to retain the initiative and complete destruction of the enemy. Sources:FM 17-15 The Tank Platoon, US Army, 1996 TM-E 30-451 The German Armed Forces, US Army, 1945 FM 71-1 The Tank & Mechanized Infantry Combat Team, US Army, 1988 US Army Infantry School CATD training supplements, US Army, 1995 |
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