Reverse

[keepitloki]

I have a hard enough time reversing my car (I'm a crap driver), how the hell do you reverse a tank?! (in the game that is...).

[Weasel]

press 8 and if he has enough points he will back up. Warning, the BEEP BEEP BEEP sound may give away your position to the enemy.

[AlienXXX]

Hello.

I only find a use for the reverse function when you are moving into a hex you know or suspect will be in view of the enemy and you expect to be shot at as you move. This way the front of the vehicle (which usually has stronger armour) is facing the enemy and will take the hit better than the rear.
I find that in WinSPWWII or MBT you do not get shot BEFORE you move, so if you complete your move into a hex that is out of immediate view of the enemy you will nt be shot at.
Otherwise, I prefer to just move the vehicle the normal way and then point it the other way (as this does not use up any movement points).
(If anyone disagrees with this, please let me know!!)

Reversing is very tricky: If you are trying to reverse into a hex occupied by another vehicle (even a destroyed one) or obstacles such as trees, you may use up all the movement points only to get a message "vehicle can't reverse" and then you are really in trouble.

[Greybeard]

Hello Alien,

There are times when the reverse movment is very handy..

For instance, you have a unit sitting on a crest providing overwatch.. and the oppnent unleashes an assault where you have no hope but to kill a couple of targets and then run or duck for cover.. as long as your shooter has either not moved, or only moved 1-2 hexes AND does not use all the shots available to it's MG's, you'll have enough movment to back up.. as opposed to turning around and mooning your opponent (and likely getting shot in the arse).. although, I would imagine that there are more than a few of us that will moon their opponent as a last act of defiance/insult :)

Same thing can happen if you don't have any grunts around to take a look-see thru a smoke (or any other hex that obstructs vision).. again you have to make sure that you are moving only 1-2 hexes before you need to reverse out of trouble..

IIRC - reverse movement is 4x the cost of fwd movment.. so yes, there will be situations where the vehicle can't reverse - even if it hasn't moved.. that's when you pop the smoke cannisters and get the h*** out of dodge..

Greybeard