If the Soviet Union's war doctrine had to be reduced to a single machine, it would be the Heavy Tank. Slower and less refined than some Allied armour, it makes up the difference in raw durability and firepower, and it rolls off Soviet War Factories in numbers no other nation in this war can match.
| Class | Main battle tank |
|---|---|
| Armament | Dual cannon |
| Armour | Heavy |
| Speed | Moderate |
Role
A column of Heavy Tanks is the Soviet Union's answer to almost any tactical problem: entrenched infantry, lighter Allied armour, static defences that haven't been reinforced quickly enough. Its dual cannon and thick plating let it absorb punishment that would disable lighter vehicles outright, and Soviet doctrine leans heavily on simply outlasting whatever the enemy throws at it.
Limitations
The Heavy Tank's weight costs it speed and manoeuvrability, and a skilled Allied commander can exploit that with hit-and-run tactics or by drawing a Heavy Tank column into terrain — dense jungle, narrow mountain passes — where its advantages in open ground count for nothing. It is also expensive relative to lighter units, so losing a column carelessly sets Soviet production back further than Soviet commanders like to admit.
Field notes
Never engage a Heavy Tank column with light vehicles alone; commit artillery, air support, or a numbers advantage of your own, or simply avoid the engagement until the terrain favours you. Soviet commanders, for their part, are trained to mass Heavy Tanks rather than commit them piecemeal — a full column arriving together overwhelms defences that could have handled a trickle.
You are visitor number008421
Sources & credits