- WEAPONS, MACHINES & MEN: VEHICLES -

Tanks were the kings of WW2. They were used all over the world in all big campaigns. In Russia, both sides used many different types of tanks, assault guns and other armoured vehicles, so they have very important role in Close Combat, too.

There are 4 basic types of armoured vehicles:

1) TANKS: tanks are armoured vehicles with a rotating turret where the main weapon (gun) is mounted. We differs them into three groups, depending on their weight:

- LIGHT TANKS (Pz II, Pz38t, T-26, BT-7...) - have thin armour and gun usually not bigger than 50 mm. They have 2-3 crew members and are VERY FAST. Their weak weapons and lack of armour makes them ineffective against mid-to-late war tanks, so don't use them in AT role. They can scout, attack flanks or support infantry, but if you find any AT weapon hide them while you still can!

- MEDIUM TANKS (Pz III, Pz IV, Panther, T-34, Sherman...) - are much better protected and armed. Note that Pz III is medium tank, but armour is still poor so it is voulnerable to all AT weapons, including even AT rifles. Medium tanks usually don't have big chance against heavier armour. Late war medium tanks (Panther, T-34/85) can be used in any combat role, but again - be carefull when encounter "big boys". Always try to avoid head-to-head fight on large distance!

- HEAVY TANKS (Tiger I, King Tiger, KV-1, JS-2, JS-3) - are the strongest war machines with great firepower and thick armour. Their weight is also their only weak point - they are slow and they easy get tracked. Early heavy tanks (Russian KV-1) have 76mm gun (also a 85mm in RR), which are not good enough for engaging other heavy tanks. KingTiger's 8.8cm L/71 gun can knock out any Russian tank. Russian JS series brings new 122mm L/43 gun, even more effective than 8.8cm PaK. JS-2 is something like King Tiger, JS-3 has no match - it is undoubtly the best tank in CC3, but you can't get it in RR mod because it saw so little of the war, that it didn't take part in pushing the Germans out of Russia. Only few JS-3 tanks have been used by Red Army in Germany.

2) TANK HUNTERS (StuG, Marder, JagdPz IV, JagdPanther, JagdTiger, SU85, SU100) - are vehicles without rotating turret. They have mounted AT gun, which is fixed on vehicle's body. Lack of turret causes several problems: sides are voulnerable; if they become immobilized, they can't turn their gun to aim the enemy. These are reasons you should use them very carefully. Make sure you have the first shot and cover their sides with tanks or infantry! They are good in defending role, but can get immobilized very quickly on first battle lines. If you deploy them among the houses or trees, their sides will be less exposed. Remember that late war tank hunters such as: JagdPanther, JagdTiger and (maybe) SU-100 can take out any enemy tank, sometimes even with the first shot!

3) SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY (StuH '42, Brumbaar (RR), Wespe (RR), Bison (RR), SU76, (J)SU122, (J)SU152) - called also "assault guns". Just like tank hunters, these vehicles don't have a rotating turret. Instead of AT gun, they are armed with howitzers. Their primary use is against infantry, for smashing the strongpoints and supression fire, but...! Huge SU/JSU's 122 or (better) 152 mm gun can take out any German tank or kill whole infantry unit with single shot (look under "Tactics/Urban war"). Note that SU/JSU's don't have mounted machine guns in regular CC3, so enemy infantry shouldn't be too close. Immobilized assault gun is totally useless piece of junk!

4) ARMOURED CARS (AT armoured car, Puma, BA-10. BA-20...) - have only very thin armour and are voulnarable to small arms fire, even more than light tanks. They are armed with MG's and guns. These cars are incredible mobile, so use them in the same role as light tanks.