Russians will hate the lates

[JasonC]

Actually, the side skirts on German tanks were not intended to detonate shape charge rounds early, because there weren't any shaped charge rounds to defeat at the time. They were intended to stop ATR rounds from penetrating the thin 30mm side armor on the standard model Panzers and StuGs.

A secondary benefit was noticed - they helped protect against 76mm HE, with side angle included. However, those tended to wreck the skirt with the first shot, and the same guns firing AP would go right in.

It wasn't until much later that they faced any appreciable number of shaped charge rounds, in the form of bazookas and Piats of the western allies. Even then, they were marginal, because (1) the western allies had a lot more armor and the Germans didn't have much to use against them, most of the time, (2) such short range weapons were marginal to start with, especially when the allies were attacking which was most of the time, and (3) even spaced, the skirts were so thin and the plate behind them so over-penetrated by a zook or piat that they weren't remotely foolproof, in that case.

But they did stop ATR rounds, which was what they were actually for.

Obviously, this is all quite independent of the bolted on extra armor for the frontal arc, under discussion. Which is incidentally overmodeled in CMBB in particular. (To the point where 30+50 StuG fronts bounce 1943 era Russian 85mm APBC at medium range, which is simply absurd).