How do you improve PzB???

[ComradeP]

About two or three hexes behind a line with the PzIIIm units in front.

And that would place them at...5 hexes or so from the T-34's? We then get back to my point that with historical penetration ranges, a Panzer IV G wouldn't be getting penetrating hits unless lucky at 1000 meters or more (so anything above 3 hexes).

I considered using such a picket line like you suggest, but thought the danger of being shotgunned by Soviet armor closing in might be too great, and that the ranges wouldn't be realistic. German formations would historically be closer than 500 meters if they were mutually supporting. The only reason it's possible in the game is because there is no decline of armour penetration when range increases.

The area you suggest as an overwatch position can be both good and bad, it depends on where the Soviet tanks are. If they are waiting at the downhill slope, you might get a first shot in, but then the Soviets can fire back at 1 hex range. It's a risk. I was expecting my tanks to perform better than they're doing at 3 hexes now, but at 1 or 2 hexes the danger becomes greater.

Generally speaking, the Germans will still win an evenly matched fight, but won't be able to reproduce historical results, whereas the Soviets will tend to get better tanks destroyed vs. tanks lost ratios than their historical counterparts at ranges below 4 hexes.

Also: most of our firefights do occur at 3 or 4 hex range. That's more or less where I see the problem: the in-game Germans just don't have the clear superiority they had at such ranges.

While a Tiger may have gotten 20 kills in a couple of turns game time in a historical instance, could every Tiger in every scenario do the same thing? Or was this a fluke occurrence?

Technically, it's possible. With there being no ammo limitations, the only limits are time, the number of targets and the number of shots per turn, provided your tank unit stays alive. However, on average high quality tank units will perform more poorly than their historical counterparts at historical engagement ranges, because they inflict far fewer casualties in the timeframe of 30 minutes.

Though they can theoretically outperform their historical counterparts within the limits mentioned above, in-game tanks engage in tank fights that are slow, methodical affairs compared to the fast-paced and often chaotic tank fights in the war.