Soviet armor tactics

Hey, how to use soviet armors?!

Light tanks T-70, T-90 are just late game halftracks.
T34/76 can not match tanks.
T34/85 is best so far, fast but little lacks anti-infantry, and loses to Panthers.
IS-2 is far tooooo slow. Even Jadgpanthers and other assault guns can flank it  8)
SU-85 costs 600mp, and has armor thick like paper. Definitely unbalanced doctrinal unit.

If soviets are not going to have halftracks, BT-5 or BT-7 would be nice addition to their early arsenal... Those were, what the german infantry faced first at 1940.

T90 is one of the best units in the game. Rush it as you would an M8 for devastating effect. T70 is kinda niche and shitty, though they can do a good job of working with SU-76s by flanking and blocking. T-34/76 can match a P4 at close range and is very good against infantry. It is roughly equivalent to a Sherman, being faster but less accurate. T-34/85 is the best tank in the game for cost efficiency. IS-2s are faster than Tigers and have more health. They are used as breakthrough tanks against defenses that are insufficent to take them out. For example, an IS-2 will just roll over 1 Pak and 1-2 Shreks while the rest of the units move in. That is the purpose it is designed for. In open field fighting vs tanks, it is easily outmaneuvered by Panthers. SU-85 has a very good gun that has great accuracy, damage and penetration. Cage armour gives it pretty good resistance to Shreks, so you need fear only Paks or Panthers.

T90 and a Command Squad is really excellent for obtaining Map Control  early game.

Komrad wrote:
Hey, how to use soviet armors?!

Light tanks T-70, T-90 are just late game halftracks.
T34/76 can not match tanks.
T34/85 is best so far, fast but little lacks anti-infantry, and loses to Panthers.
IS-2 is far tooooo slow. Even Jadgpanthers and other assault guns can flank it  8)
SU-85 costs 600mp, and has armor thick like paper. Definitely unbalanced doctrinal unit.

If soviets are not going to have halftracks, BT-5 or BT-7 would be nice addition to their early arsenal... Those were, what the german infantry faced first at 1940.

T-90 is a infantry killer. T-34/76 can swarm tanks. It just costs like a squad. It is also better than infantry. T-34/85 with good micro can destroy a Panther. Just lay them quite back and snipe infantry. And comes in cheap for its functions. IS-2 is not slow. It is faster than a Tiger and assault guns can't flank it unless you are a noob. Only problem with an IS-2 is concentrated AT guns, 2 88s, 1 player who can micro much better than you when using a panther, 2 panthers and the KT/Tiger Ace. It can survive concentrated shrek fire and AT fire. Its fairly easy to micro and you can beat players who try to kite you with his panthers. It would take 2 panthers to destroy and IS-2 and you could micro your IS-2 as he needs to babysit either one of the panthers so you could take out the first panther without taking too much damage. With enough micro you can beat a Panther Battlegroup. 3 Mechanics and 1 IS-2 can take alot of punishment, just dont think the IS-2 is invincible though. IMO this tank can destroy enemy armor extremely well and with good micro can defeat a KT/2 Panthers. IS-2 when ambushed by shreks and Paks can take the damage. SU-85 is terrific. It is a very good TD. And IMO it has more armor than paper. Cage armor helps alot. You can snipe panthers with the SU-85 and if it gets up to 1/3 of its health, then move in the SU-85 for the kill. SU-85s also work alot like a mobile ZiS-2. Very good synergy with tank hunters for destroying tanks.

i wouldnt roll out armor unless you have a clear advantage or solid map control. use armor for that final push. the soviet faction is a steamroller

armor can be easily countered and quickly. if you lose a couple tanks it may break your back.

sorry this isnt very specific but every situation requires different action

SovietVictory1945 wrote:
i wouldnt roll out armor unless you have a clear advantage or solid map control. use armor for that final push. the soviet faction is a steamroller

armor can be easily countered and quickly. if you lose a couple tanks it may break your back.

sorry this isnt very specific but every situation requires different action

I find armour a very needed thing when you are losing the advantage. It gives a much needed boost to your army. Just recently me and 3 other randoms got pinned into our base on Montargis Region against 2 Expert Wehr and 2 Expert PE. I got myself and the one next to me "unstuck" by me calling 2 SU-85s and just sniping enemy vehicles. I got 2 IS-2s then I proceeded to attack the enemy with the 4 tanks I got. We won without me losing a single tank.

When building armour you have to think "What do I need armour for?"

- Is the enemy probably getting Panthers out soon? - Get a) some AT guns + t34-85 or b) get an IS 2 rolling
- Enemy plays StuG IV spam with vet + Blitz? - go tech t34-85, they'll penetrate StuGs from every angle and have slightly superior armour compared to T34-76.
- Is the enemy blobbing grenadiers and volks? Get some t34-76, they're efficient, fast and cheap. You can outmaneuver paks with them
- Enemy is heading towards KT or multiple panthers? Get ISU 152 + AT guns + t34-85.

In general T34-85 are extremely powerful. They're like a mixture of M10 cannon and its speed and Sherman armour. I love them^^

3 IS 2's suported by 3 t34/85's and 2 kv 2's works well for me ;D

Thanks Komrad and all for this topic, I didn't know how to use soviet armors too, so it's very useful information for me .

Last edited December 6, 2018 at 5:40 PM by jimkice

My tactic was to have zis 3 posted as support guns then i would roll an IS2 supported by shtrafnikis and guards for smoke grenades. Then a couple of SU100 will flank the main attacking force. My only problem was that my flankers are being flanked forcing me to spare some unit to protect their flank meanwhile they are also being flank. Forcing me to disperse my forces thinly.