great tank divisions?

[ASPGolan]

Assuming you have the production requirements covered and you already know to keep the speed of the division in check (the slowest battalion should have the speed that you want for that particular division), having tanks in most divisions is awesome. If you have enough tanks, just add them to your divisions

But a standard armoured division would be:
3x Tanks (light or medium) / 3-4x Mot/Mec / 1x SP Art, 1x TD, 1x SP AA, using support companies [ENG, REC, Maint, LOG + <opt.> SIG]

You have to optimise some stats. Keep Org above 24, using those extra Mot Infantry battalions and doctrine research. Watch out for reliability, your tanks need 70-80% reliability and you get some juice from the Maintenance support unit.

You'll start off without the 3rd column (SP Art, TDs, mech. AA) and add them later when your production lines improve and when your division organization won't take too big of a hit when adding these extra capabilities. Same with support companies, you might not have Maint, LOG and SIG companies until you progress through the game a bit, but ENG and REC are really important to add as early as possible.

And for flavour reasons, my medium tank division has 2 medium tanks and 1 light tank units.

Have also tried with 4x Tanks battalions per division and they're just amazing, but it's harder to keep enough divisions as needed because of production limitations. In the end, I'd rather stack up division for spearheads than not be able to cover a wider frontline, having armoured divisions close by.

 

[mabus81]

Many people have sophisticated templates for tank divisions, but I prefer to keep it simple. I dont want to research 3-4 of technologies every two years if a simple template does the trick, too. Depending on my MIC i pick inbetween 5 and 8 medium tank battalions and then use MOT to fill up until I have a width of 20. If I play a major country which at some point has access to insane amounts of MIC, I switch to a width 44 template (=width 40 with offensive doctrine field marshal) and create a mechanized army group. Depending on my research and industry, I sometimes mix in some self propelled arty and/or mechanized at later stages of the game ( '43+ ). I only play SP, though.

 

[Voigt]

I like my overpowered Tank Divisions:

5 Mot
6 MARM
6 MSPART
(4 MSPAA)
5 Supp Comp.
(44Width)

But I don't play so much MP anymore, so probaly this Template is pretty stupid, but it is lots of fun.

 

[seattle]

Well, I won't rehash various tank divisions I use here. But here are a few things to keep in mind when designing any panzer formation.
1) If you run the mobile warfare doctrine, you get more ORG for the tank battalions. You should consider leveraging this extra ORG by dropping a MOT or MECH and replacing it with a tank battalion.
2) Tier 1 MECH has two important effects: it opens MECH I, but it also boosts the hardness of basic MOT. While I generally find it suboptimal to try and produce significant MECH before 1942 (it's really expensive), grabbing the tech can boost existing MOT for no cost.
3) I consider armor concentration important in MP. Against the AI, spreading your armored units (whether H-TDs or something else) around your foot infantry formations works wonders, but against a human player who has any sense, it fails miserably. You really want tanks concentrated in panzer divisions where their hardness, firepower, and armor can do the most good.
The exception to this rule is motorized divisions. If I build plain motorized divisions, I will sometimes put some cheap L-SPART in them, since line ART slows them to 4 kph. 1936 L-SPART is so easy to make, it's no big deal. Note that I just want them there to provide soft attack; their armor or hardness values are irrelevant.
4) Always keep in mind that armor and piercing values are highly variable in the field. After a few days of fighting, panzer divisions will often not be at 100% equipment strength. This means that even if you think your divisions are completely immune to enemy piercing on paper, in real life, variable equipment levels will result in lower armor values.
5) I prefer putting SPART in all panzer divisions, regardless of doctrine. I prefer the firepower advantage it provides.
6) Support companies will reduce key attributes like hardness and armor and piercing. I still use them (LOG, MAINT, RECON, and ENG are a must as far as I'm concerned), but I do so with the understanding that I am losing some stats in these categories. Note: Superior firepower has techs that give more ORG for support companies; this changes the math for some divisions.

That and the situational effects:
- Germany has two ministers and one tank designer which boost speed --> obviously mobile doctrine and pimped engines for max effect and lighting fast medium tanks.
- The Soviets on the other hand have a perfect setup for heavy tanks: ministers, chromium, late war entry. The Soviets can comfortably lay back and wait until 1942/43 to reach considerably numbers of heavy tanks with mechs. Until then they can stall via mass infantry and giving up land (very effective due to the partisan boost of "mass assault").
- Light tanks do have a purpose. If you're playing a nation like Iraq, Egypt or any other low IC + low tungsten/chromium with open terrain. Basically if you can't afford medium or heavy tanks, then light tanks are alright.
...

#Mots
Mots are so incredibly cheap that I usually stuff my panzer divisions with mots, at least until I have enough tanks to reach the desired number of panzer divisions (which is ~36 when Barb starts).

 

[Gerar_doorlock]

That and the situational effects:
- Germany has two ministers and one tank designer which boost speed --> obviously mobile doctrine and pimped engines for max effect and lighting fast medium tanks.
- The Soviets on the other hand have a perfect setup for heavy tanks: ministers, chromium, late war entry. The Soviets can comfortably lay back and wait until 1942/43 to reach considerably numbers of heavy tanks with mechs. Until then they can stall via mass infantry and giving up land (very effective due to the partisan boost of "mass assault").
- Light tanks do have a purpose. If you're playing a nation like Iraq, Egypt or any other low IC + low tungsten/chromium with open terrain. Basically if you can't afford medium or heavy tanks, then light tanks are alright.
...

#Mots
Mots are so incredibly cheap that I usually stuff my panzer divisions with mots, at least until I have enough tanks to reach the desired number of panzer divisions (which is ~36 when Barb starts).

1. Speed is not that important (those several % is not worth alternatives , especially considering that you need at least 8 40width marm unt mech divisions ) it's better to have more armour/reliability/ soft attack etc
2. You can not stall until late 1942 with mass assault right branch infantry you are going to have terrible pockets with half of your army inside , before heavy tanks can try! To save you
3 yes , but how often do you see Iraq played in mp? Also light armour can be pierced by support AA , so I would maybe add some lspart but 44 superior fire power inf is a better choice
P.S. USSR can make heavy armour but it will get encircled and destroyed pretty fast because
1. You can't have enough divisions and tanks are expensive
2. Infantry can't hold Germans
3. You will have 5 players microing against you ( Sweden , Germany , Romania , Italy, Hungary )
Conclusion : 1k cas is better than heavy tanks