Editing Leman Russ Battle Tank (section)

==How to Use It==

First and foremost, note the tank's armor ratings. It's dirt cheap, its BS is average, but its armor value on the front is 14 and its side armor is hefty at 13. Its rear armor, however, sucks and can be damaged by many regular infantry weapons. Keep them facing the enemy at all times and do your best to keep their backs covered - you can't afford to let some jump infantry Deep Strike behind one and play catch-the-fucking-meltabomb. Treat them well and they'll treat you well.

Second, three of the Leman Russes - the Demolisher, Punisher, and Executioner - have additional rear armor. This is not enough to make them invulnerable but what it does mean is that it's no longer threatened simply by being completely surrounded by regular infantry (Hormagaunts for example). This is important for the Punisher and Demolisher, which have to get close, but the Executioner is just more survivable since it generally shoots from afar. AV 11 still isn't very good, so bear in mind the first example on this list and keep the front facing the enemy.

It is also important to remember that the Guard is like an army from World War II. Learn from their tactics and apply them wisely. All nations had some way to make sure infantry are mobile enough to keep up with tanks (as tanks without infantry support and with infantry around them tend to go BOOM), so transports (obviously Chimeras) are generally necessary. If defending, they would employ dedicated tank destroyers (Vanquishers or Destroyer) to deal with enemy armor. If sieging, assault guns (Thunderer) and massed artillery would be used to handle fortifications.

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(History Note: Tank Destroyers(TD) have wandered in and out of development and use since their practical deployment in WWII, and are still in use today.
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In general, TDs were initially based on obsolete or marginally unrepairable chassis that a government had about and needed for the war effort (for example, for Germany the JgPzI was a rework of the PzI, while the Marder was a PzII rework with captured Soviet 76mm guns; The Soviets turned the T-34 into the SU-85 and SU-100s), usually by ripping off what's was left of the turret and upper deck, and welding a casement cover and gun mounting over the resulting hole. Later on, purpose-built ones were developed, usually for defensive fights (the JagTiger and the more modern Swedish line of STRV-103 TDs, for example). Even now, some are still either in use or being developed (the Russian 2S25 Sprut-SD is a 125mm gun-armed TD going into main production in 2018).

As their role dictated a tank-hunting role, they tended towards heavy frontal armour and a bigger gun than a tank of the same weight (as turrets are surprisingly heavy, when you take into account the weight of the turret ring, the armour that the turret covers by necessity and the mechanisms needed to turn the turret, so by not having them, you can add more weight elsewhere). Some historical tanks, like the SU-152 and the JagTiger had cannons big enough to be used effectively as artillery, or could kill a tank behind hard cover, as Otto Carius proved by using the 128mm cannon on his JagTiger to kill a Sherman tank by shooting <i>through an entire brick building</i>). As anti-infantry backup, most TDs had at least one machinegun (the German Ferdinand was one notable 'oops' on that part, which is why it got a machinegun and anti-magnetic paste later and they called it the Elefant to distinguish between old and new models).

So why aren't they more common? Well, TDs excel in ambush-predation of tanks and in infantry support against prepared positions. The former is inherently defensive and static, as you wait for your target usually. The latter means you're assaulting a prepared static position with infantry support and using your big gun to suppress your enemy. Neither of these are very mobile, and coming out of WWII, the major focus of tank-use strategy was (and still very much is) as a fast and well-armed assault or reaction force (possibly why they're still called cavalry, and used much the same as in previous wars). Tanks are mobile, infantry is usually mechanized, and even artillery is often self-propelled. Add in that many tanks, IFVs, APCs, utility vehicles (and likely mobile outhouses) can and have sported ATMs of varying lethality, being static or assaulting in a direct line can have "unfortunate" outcomes if the attacked party has a steady hand or a good laser pointer.

Ed. Note: If you ever wonder why the monster tank ideas like the Maus never really took off in the modern era, mobility is pretty much it. The Maus got 14mph maximum by doing horrible things to the electric drive and drank gallons of fuel <i>per mile</i>, and it couldn't travel on roads or bridges without breaking them. The larger Ratte was even worse, as it was both an easy target for aircraft and was too big for trains to carry them to where they might be needed; on top of that, it needed engines normally used in U-boats just to move. All your armour doesn't mean anything if you can't outrun, outrange or at least dodge heavy artillery fire and strike aircraft. Then again, the Baneblade moves as fast as a Leman Russ does, so if you could get a modern Maus equivalent sporting feet-thick slabs of CHOBHAM armour, some sort of auto-loading 155mm cannon, backup 20mm chainguns/autocannons, a plethora of heavy remote-turreted MGs and god-knows how many pop-up-celled HATM to do 40mph off-road, I suspect modern warfare would collectively give a panicked 'WUT?' for a bit until they worked how to dangle a Exocet off a Predator drone...)

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Generally, it is a good idea to keep your tanks behind your infantry, with the exception of Demolisher and Punisher. Their longer range and the fact that they're more expensive/useful than basic infantry makes the cover save valuable. Combine with Camo-netting to get a 4+, like a walking, shooting aegis. If you're running gunline it's not a bad idea to use them as gun emplacements, by flooding your deployment zone with bodies you can stop any pesky deep strikers, and combined with the 4+ save (potentially 3+ if you get an aegis) can make it nigh-unkillable. Combined with reasonable point cost and the ability to take squadrons, you can flood the field like Mega-MEQs.

In addition, the Leman Russ, due to its renowned toughness, is likely to draw a lot of fire, so it can pair well with weaker glass-cannon type units like Basilisks. 

Now, each country had outstanding tank tactics - Germany for example would make good use of 'Blitzkrieg' shock attacks, seeking to break through a weakpoint on the enemy lines and drive deep into the rear area and rampage around, forcing the enemy to pull back to prevent being surrounded and to protect squishy REMFy objective points. For said tactical style your will need Leman Russ Conquerors for speed (or if you are willing to go slower then normal ones will do) backed up by mobile infantry (Chimeras, anyone?) On defense, they tended to dig in their tanks/TDs and snipe (Vanquishers and Destroyers), so look at uprating your tanks armour and camo. Germany also had a bit of a hard on for super heavy tanks and assault guns, so feel free to liberally splash Baneblades and Thunderers into a German style army list.

Early British and French styles were massed foot-infantry supported by <strike>anti-fortification</strike> 'infantry' heavy tanks (Eradicators, Punishers and Demolishers) pinning in place and eliminating enemy forces first, while faster 'cavalry' vehicles (Sentinels and Tauros/Venators) would flank around to hunt tasty lone units. (Early Soviet was just massed infantry without the heavy tanks, but then you wouldn't be doing that now, would you?) After all, if the enemy's not on the table, they can hardly contest objectives, can they?

American (and later the collective allied forces) tactics would be on using one mainstay tank (normal Russes), but would also field as many as possible so their massed firepower could support infantry on assault or defense, then exploit breaches in enemy lines to drive deep wedges into enemy lines (yes, the Americans and Russians shamelessly copied the Truppenführung, but had the material support to stuff their entire leg down the German throat, while early German could only afford the boot) while dedicated tank destroyers (Vanquisher and Destroyer) wait in support to react to enemy tanks counter-attacking. America also had air supremacy for the most part, so air support (Valkyries, Avengers and Marauders) was usually available. The Soviets tended to go for massed artillery more-so on assault, so feel free to load up on the Basilisks and recreate Verdun's 'lively' atmosphere. In short, flexibility is key. Don't just bend like the willow. Bend, recover to whack them on the nose, then shove yourself up their ass for good measure.

Regardless of the details, it's always a good idea to use infantry to kill things that can kill your tanks since lascannons don't really do a lot of damage to a squad while you have your tanks kill things that can kill your infantry, heavy bolters don't bother Russes. Counter enemy units with the unit they themselves can't counter. Maybe have a Chimera (or variant) acting as an IFV to help protect the infantry, too, which takes a bit of strain off the Leman Russes so that they can focus on killing bigger fish.