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Panzer III

2022-03-25T07:16:53Z

2607:FB90:E162:C883:568D:836F:68C1:FD80:

The '''Panzer III''' was a common name for a series of similarly designed tanks in service with the German army during World War II.

Some 5,774 Panzer IIIs were built over the course of the war. Beyond that Chassis was a versatile one and was adapted to serve various roles such as the StuG III self propelled gun.
==Mid War==
The Panzer III was the most overall best German tank through the early-to-mid-war period, and on the Eastern Front it was the best available in numbers in 1941 when Operation Barbarossa commenced. The Panzer III quickly runs up against problems if faced with a T-34/76, but against anything else the Soviets have Mid War, it does well.

A specialized variant of this tank was used in limited numbers, the Flammpanzer III, to burn out hardened structures and other particularly tenacious defenders who didn't like the Nazis barging right into their country. It loses much of its effective range and all of its anti-armor firepower, however, as the main cannon is swapped out for a heavy flamethrower, meaning your Flammpanzer III's will need constant support in order to advance and destroy their opponents with flame.

==Late War==
By the Late War period (1944-1945), the Panzer III was boned. Bigger, better tanks were headed for Germany from every direction, and most remaining IIIs were converted into StuGs, where they served the rest of the war as stubborn, tenacious tank destroyers. If you do field a surviving Panzer III in the Late War period, expect it to lose, but having said that, it can still put up a fight.

==IRL==
During the 1930s as Germany continued to recover from the Great Depression, German industry was starting to build tanks in preparation for war. The Panzer III was actually an early 30s design, but was delayed due to the inadequate state of German heavy industry at the time. By the latter part of the decade, industry had progressed enough to begin mass manufacture of the Panzer III and their cousin, the Panzer IV.

The Panzer III series saw limited combat in Poland, but first made it's name in France, where the French and British heavy tanks were more than a match for the pitiful 20mm cannons of the Panzer II's. The improved firepower of the 37mm guns employed by the Panzer III, along with the higher relative mobility made it the perfect weapon for use with the Blitzkrieg tactics employed by the Wehrmacht.

However, the Panzer showed it's age rather quickly with the introduction of the T-34, KV-1, and M4 Sherman battle tanks, which carried enough firepower to wipe Panzer IIIs off the battlefield and could easily tank firepower from the puny 37mm cannons utilized by most German Panzers. It was this inadequacy that spawned the production of the Panzer V, along with a complete reorganization of roles, with the Panzer III switching from a mainline battle tank to a Infantry Support tank, while their cousins the Panzer IV picked up the slack. The Ausf. N and Ausf. J variants were both introduced specifically to give extra armor pentration due to the lacking performance of the 37mm, and even 50mm guns that other variants had been upgraded to.

However, by the later stages of the war, the Panzer III was being returned to factories and converted into the Stug III due to the high success of Stug series.

The Panzer III spawned many interesting little variants, including a prototype minesweeper and a production recovery vehicle for Tiger tanks, but one of the more interesting ones is the Tauchpanzer, a vehicle that was planned to be used during Operation Sea Lion. While the Bongs were busy trying to make tanks float, the [[Awesome|Germans figured out how to waterproof tanks and let them just drive underwater towards the enemy shore.]] Unfortunately, we never got to see them in action because Hitler decided it was more important to commit war crimes against Commies and that Britian was a minor threat.
{{Template:German Forces in Flames of War}}

SU-152

2022-03-25T07:03:20Z

2607:FB90:E162:C883:568D:836F:68C1:FD80: /* IRL */

The SU-152 is a unit available in Flames of War and the last Soviet armored vehicle built off the KV-1 chassis. It was armed with a 15.2 cm Cannon and earned a fierce reputation as Stalin's answer to the Tiger and Panther tanks.

==IRL==
Originally, the 152 traces its origins back to Stalingrad. See, the Soviets, contrary to what the [[Communism|Tankies]] will tell you, was largely a backwards state in many ways in the 1940s. This included the concept of mechanization, which meant that if you needed part of a building to not exist, you'd have to drag a really fucking big gun there with horses, and that's assuming the commissar likes you. This left the guns incredibly vulnerable in urban combat environments to fanatic retards with 1200rpm machine guns and overrated smgs screaming about Jews and the Fuhrer.

However, the Soviets had been getting their asses handed to them by a lot of stuff, but during that time they had been figuring out how to copy Hitler's Homework. As usual, it didn't take long for a casemate vehicle to appear in the Russian army. However, it miraculously was not just a cheap copy of the STUG III, but a whole new design.

The 152 was built on a KV-1S chassis, and was armed with a 15.2 cm gun, which was later given a DsHK 50 cal for protection in urban combat. The gun quickly earned a fierce reputation for blowing anything it aimed at back to Naziland, and that's assuming it only barely missed. However, the 152 wasn't remembered for being a highly effective assault gun, though it performed this role quite well.

No, the SU-152 was remembered as the "beast killer". By which we mean it killed Panthers, Tigers, and really anything it so much as sneezed it. The gun could easily be turned against Heavy German tanks, and it often blew turrets right off anything it hit. It could even destroy [[FAIL|Elefants]]. It was awesome shit like this that caused the (at points, retarded) tank arms race between the two countries in the latter part of the war, that spawned such wonderful vehicles such the Maus, IS-3, and Ratte.

For all the wonderful things about it though, the 152 had its fair share of issues. The vehicle, being an entirely enclosed Self-propelled Gun, was understandably cramped, and quite unergonomic, a pattern for many Soviet vehicles. While the HE she'll being able to rip turrets off is undoubtedly awesome, Howitzers are not nearly as accurate at far ranges than they are at close range, something that the Tiger's 88mm Cannon didn't give two shits about. Additionally, Tigers could still kill them at decent ranges, and normal Panzers could too if they flanked them. The final problem is that the SU is slow to reload. So while it absolutely *could* be a tank destroyer, this was largely a secondary purpose for the vehicle.

The 152 was later superceded by the ISU-152, a tank that was largely similar, but used the IS chassis instead of a KV chassis, as the KV chassis had been retired by that point.

{{Soviet Forces in Flames of War}}

SU-152

2022-03-25T07:02:53Z

2607:FB90:E162:C883:568D:836F:68C1:FD80: /* IRL */

SU-152

2022-03-25T07:01:03Z

2607:FB90:E162:C883:568D:836F:68C1:FD80: Created page with "The SU-152 is a unit available in Flames of War and the last Soviet armored vehicle built off the KV-1 chassis. It was armed with a 15.2 cm Cannon and earned a fierce reputati..."

The SU-152 is a unit available in Flames of War and the last Soviet armored vehicle built off the KV-1 chassis. It was armed with a 15.2 cm Cannon and earned a fierce reputation as Stalin's answer to the Tiger and Panther tanks.

==IRL==
Originally, the 152 traces its origins back to Stalingrad. See, the Soviets, contrary to what the [[Communism|Tankies]] will tell you, was largely a backwards state in many ways in the 1940s. This included the concept of mechanization, which meant that if you needed part of a building to not exist, you'd have to drag it there with horses, and that's assuming the commissar likes you. This left the guns incredibly vulnerable in urban combat environments.

However, the Soviets had been getting their asses handed to them by a lot of stuff, but during that time they had been figuring out how to copy Hitler's Homework. As usual, it didn't take long for a casemate vehicle to appear in the Russian army. However, it miraculously was not just a cheap copy of the STUG III, but a whole new design.

The 152 was built on a KV-1S chassis, and was armed with a 15.2 cm gun, which was later given a DsHK 50 cal for protection in urban combat. The gun quickly earned a fierce reputation for blowing anything it aimed at back to Naziland, and that's assuming it only barely missed. However, the 152 wasn't remembered for being a highly effective assault gun, though it performed this role quite well.

No, the SU-152 was remembered as the "beast killer". By which we mean it killed Panthers, Tigers, and really anything it so much as sneezed it. The gun could easily be turned against Heavy German tanks, and it often blew turrets right off anything it hit. It could even destroy [[FAIL|Elefants]]. It was awesome shit like this that caused the (at points, retarded) tank arms race between the two countries in the latter part of the war, that spawned such wonderful vehicles such the Maus, IS-3, and Ratte.

For all the wonderful things about it though, the 152 had its fair share of issues. The vehicle, being an entirely enclosed Self-propelled Gun, was understandably cramped, and quite unergonomic, a pattern for many Soviet vehicles. While the HE she'll being able to rip turrets off is undoubtedly awesome, Howitzers are not nearly as accurate at far ranges than they are at close range, something that the Tiger's 88mm Cannon didn't give two shits about. Additionally, Tigers could still kill them at decent ranges, and normal Panzers could too if they flanked them. The final problem is that the SU is slow to reload. So while it absolutely *could* be a tank destroyer, this was largely a secondary purpose for the vehicle.

The 152 was later superceded by the ISU-152, a tank that was largely similar, but used the IS chassis instead of a KV chassis, as the KV chassis had been retired by that point.

{{List of Soviet Forces in Flames of War}}