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gainiac -> AT Gun Tactic: "The Orange Peel" (6/11/2002 2:00:32 AM)
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Just thought I'd share one of my favorites with you.
I LOVE anti-tank guns. Why? Imagine the look on your opponents face when you've knocked out a platoon or more of Panther V's with a few lowly 57mm anti-tank guns.
It's a beautiful thing.
Here's what I call "The Orange Peel".
It's called the "Orange Peel" because one set of guns when egressing after coming into contact with, shooting at(hopefully destroying AFV's in the process), and being spotted by the enemy, will "peel away" into an overwatch position behind it's covering guns, summarily reversing roles, call it a fade away, rolling delay, whatever.
For this tactic to work you'll need the following:
1- 4 medium/heavy AT-guns (57mm, 3inchDP, 90mm AA, for the Yanks). I prefer the 3inchDP's and 57mm's cause they have a movement of one or better, but the 90mm is the gun of choice versus Tiger's.
(Note: Hunting Tigers in any fashion is a notoriously dangerous endeavor at best, I prefer to deal with anything that big using arty supression, smoke, and close quarter infantry assaults.)
2- Transport for each (prime mover/ heavy truck)
3- Infantry support like a LMG and maybe a Recon patrol per gun (Jarhead LR Patrols are GREAT for this!!!)
4- Dedicated support artillery that can shoot smoke, enough to cover two guns being extracted simultaneously.
OK Here goes;
Assumptions:
You'll need a very good idea what the inbound threat axis is of the enemy armor, this tactic is basically an overlapping set of ambushes in which the intent is to use surprise as a force multiplier. (A "cascading" ambush if you will)
RECON, RECON, RECON!!!! You absolutely must find the bad guys armor before they find you.
Using info gathered from your recon predict the route of enemy AFV's ingress.
Setting up the ambush:
Now, look at the geography and visualize shooting ducks in a barrel, your looking for a corridor in which you can place your guns IN GOOD COVER at opposite sides from each other, in pairs where you'll be able to get good side armor shots at range 8 or less. Place each guns transport behind their respective guns position along the route of egress. It is IMPERATIVE that the transports don't get spotted and destroyed, without them your guns are an OP-kill, soon to be a real kill.
A height advantage isn't necessarily good, because if you can spot more of the enemy more of them can spot you, all your gun needs is a LOS semi-perpendicular to the AFV's line of ingress.
Set up your infantry support for each gun in a similiar fashion, but never in the same hex as the gun. They need to be able to see and supress whatever infantry that may have the same ability to supress the AT gun. This is going to be rather simple if the gun is in good cover and has a fairly narrow FOV.
Now plot smoke to arrive 1.1 turns later where the target hex is between the predicted AFV's position and the targeting AT-gun.
Why 1.1 turns? This way if your guns get spotted you'll have covering smoke dropped on .1 of the following turn. You HAVE to replot this EVERY turn in order to bring it back up to 1.1, unless of course your gun gets spotted and you need the smoke barrage.
Set up the second pair of AT-guns the same way plus the following conditions:
They must be able to cover the first pairs route of egress and be within the enemy AFV's one turn combat movement radius. Your counting on some psychology here, an enemy whose been shot at by ATG's tend to pursue said ATG if it has been spotted and is egressing. You want to lead them, with your egressing ATG's into the second set of emplaced guns.
Shooting:
Never take OPfire against same turn spotted AFV targets. Wait.
You want high 40% and greater first shots. One shot one kill is really nice but doesn't happen all the time, but if you at least rattle his hull with a richochet you'll get some well needed suppression. If you don't get 'im with 2-3 shots from the same gun you've got one pissed off TC on your hands. Egress that gun and set it up in a covering position for it's equivalent in the second pair of guns. Remember that your guns MUST operate in pairs whether it's the covering gun or it's opposite in the ambush.
This is a fluid tactic, I've tried to explain the basics as best I could here, this post does not intend to account for all the variables possible, adapt and employ as the situation dictates,but better yet DICTATE the situation.
Have fun,
Marty
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