Armour Effectiveness Modifier

[Dog Soldier]

Actually, if you try to shoot it out with the Panthers, the strong Panther defense rating will kill you. As I mentioned in my test, the 20 - 40 tank Bn and rgt sized Russian T34c units were losing seven tanks and gaining 50 to 70 fatigue points with each Panther defensive fire. While 700 tanks sounds impressive, they can not all fire at once. The Panthers would quickly disrupt, fatigue, or destroy enough T-34c tanks to render future attacks less effective. I was trying to point out that in the course of a full days combat, a shoot out may not be the best solution.

Historically the Russian tactic was to assault. Get in close to negate the German advantage in optics and the 88mm guns on the Panthers. Sure you will lose ten - one, which is miserable. But in actual game turns, the Panthers will enter such a battle after two or three days on the southern side of the salient. By then, combat may have cost them more fatigue and actual losses along with breakdowns. The Panther units should be prime target for the Russian air strikes. My test started with the Panther Bn near zero in fatigue and only a few tanks lost. As the cumulative results of the assaults wore on the unit, Russian losses were less. Russian tank losses were not a straight line, but a descending curve.

In any case, one has to tackle these beasts with shear numbers.

Dog Soldier