How should I be using tanks?

[kevindrosario]

I'm pretty new to the game and this is my first time encountering tanks. I googled this before and saw an old thread that tanks are basically the new artillery after 1900. So I started trying to replace the artillery in my armies with tanks. The thing though is that they seem incredibly expensive. Barrels are by far the highest cost in my national stockpile.

Am I using the tanks correctly? Are they basically supposed to replace artillery? And if yes, how do you guys deal with the incredibly high supply costs for barrels?

 

[Naggafin]

They're very good but they aren't designed to be used in mass. To have reasonable cost you might have at most 10 early on. It could help with the price if you built your own tank factory, especially if it gets the throughput bonus from having relevant factories in the same state (automobile factory, machine parts factory, and electric gear factory. have all of those in the same state as the tank factory and you get a 30% throughput bonus for it), since that way you wouldn't have to rely on the global market.

 

[kevindrosario]

Alright so I should still be using mostly artillery, and only replace them with tanks for my 1 or 2 most important armies? I was trying to replace all of my artillery with tanks, which I guess is why into the ridiculous supply cost problem.

Also, I know I'm going to have this question later, so I might as well ask it now. I also read that airplanes should replace cavalry. Should they be used the same as tanks? Only in the 1 or 2 most important armies, and use cavalry in the rest?

 

[Naggafin]

Alright so I should still be using mostly artillery, and only replace them with tanks for my 1 or 2 most important armies? I was trying to replace all of my artillery with tanks, which I guess is why into the ridiculous supply cost problem.

Also, I know I'm going to have this question later, so I might as well ask it now. I also read that airplanes should replace cavalry. Should they be used the same as tanks? Only in the 1 or 2 most important armies, and use cavalry in the rest?

They should be used just like tanks, because they are also quite costly, but not as much. Yes, that is essentially their function, a replacement of cavalry. They have a huge recon value, so they capture provinces quite fast. Seems a little counter-intuitive if you ask me though, since airplanes can't really capture and hold territory, and were mainly used for support in real battles. Silly PI, reverse dem roles of tanks 'n' planes.

 

[Gabool]

AFAIK tanks don't replace arty. Arty gets better and better later on and they have the ability to attack from the second row in battle. Tanks are frontline units made to destroy the enemy frontline and hopefully smash their arty or other fragile units.

Make sure to have one or two airplanes in your armies to make sure their recon is at max if you are playing HOD.
If you are playing AHD you should still replace your cav since by 1915 they are mostly useless. A popular tactic in AHD was to have have few 100% airplane armies to quickly cap enemy provinces

 

[Strykeypoo]

AFAIK tanks don't replace arty. Arty gets better and better later on and they have the ability to attack from the second row in battle. Tanks are frontline units made to destroy the enemy frontline and hopefully smash their arty or other fragile units.

Didn't they change tanks in HoD to give them a higher support value? That'd make them function like artillery, rather than as front line units.

 

[Gabool]

Tanks do not have any support value at all.
In my current game (SCA 1923) tanks have 18 attack 10 defence.
Airplanes have 500% support and artillery have 580%.

I know that support makes the unit avoid the front line, but what exactly does it do?

 

[Naggafin]

Didn't they change tanks in HoD to give them a higher support value? That'd make them function like artillery, rather than as front line units.

Yes. They start off with something like 600% support I think, even though they have 10 atk and def. They're tough units for sure.

Tanks do not have any support value at all.
In my current game (SCA 1923) tanks have 18 attack 10 defence.
Airplanes have 500% support and artillery have 580%.

I know that support makes the unit avoid the front line, but what exactly does it do?

You're right, and that's a good question I unfortunately don't have an answer to.

 

[Pkaem]

Are you playing AHD or HOD?

In HoD replace your engineers with tanks when they become available. I've got ~50k men armies and mix in 2 tank brigades and disband the engineers. Works quite well. In AHD I replaced my cav with tanks.

 

[GC13]

Are you playing AHD or HOD?

In HoD replace your engineers with tanks when they become available. I've got ~50k men armies and mix in 2 tank brigades and disband the engineers. Works quite well. In AHD I replaced my cav with tanks.

Can't engineers get up to a Siege value of 4? I couldn't get tanks to a higher Siege than engineers, so you'd think you'd want to keep your engineers around for those fortifications that tanks can't simply roll over.

 

[GAGA Extrem]

Tanks are a mix between engineers and guards. They have high attack, low defence and awesome siege value.
They are extremely effective against enemies with lower tech levels or enemies that were already softened up before the battle.

I usually use them in "tank divisions" of 8-10 ARM + 8-10 ART.

 

[anomanderus]

I like to take all my tanks and put them in one doomstack and attack everything

It isn't very effective but I like the mental image of a horde of deathboxes rolling across No Man's Land towards enemy lines