AMX-30
"Take care that none of them escapes."
- – Charlemagne
Unfortunately for the French, their tank was the red-headed stepchild of the NATO family and has the worst traits of the Chieftain and the Leopard. Thankfully, these stepchildren come in hordes and serve as the NATO counterpart of the East German tank hordes.
In Team Yankee
The AMX-30 is the main tank for the French army, who decided that a tank should be killing units and rolling about rather than tanking for the rest of the battlegroup.
Constructed using steel and chiffon, it has a side armor of 4 and lacks bazooka skirts, meaning side shots from light anti-tank weapons (LAWs, RPG-18s) will automatically penetrate while massed autocannons will eventually go through; 6 shots are needed at point-blank range to reliably kill one tank.
The AMX-30 is the most spammable tank for NATO at the moment. Cheaper than the ANZAC and Canadian Leopard 1s, you can bring 3 tanks for 8 points or 4 tanks for 10 points, while your HQ platoon can only take 1 command tank at 2 points. If you decided that PACT tactics and NATO equipment is for you, French armored squadrons will fill that niche very nicely.
While AT19 without HEAT will find it impossible to destroy any 3rd Generation tanks, it will serve nicely when engaging most 2nd generation tanks (T-55s, M60s, Leopard 1s) while turning light armored units inside out. Brutal guns allow massed AMX-30 fire to pulverize infantry platoons, even if they are dug in. Unfortunately, their ROF drops from 2 to 1 when moving and so you should use these units as stationary pillboxes for maximum hurt. They also lack stabilizers, so moving above 10 inches means no shots whatsoever.
Compared to the AMX-10RC, the AMX-30 loses scout and spearhead but gains enough armour to take a peppering of artillery or autocannon fire. The main gun also loses HEAT, meaning that anti-tank duties will probably need you to get in close unless going for side shots. You also get an autocannon of your own with anti-helicopter, perfect for infantry in the open, helicopters, soft-skinned vehicles or anything that you'd rather suppress than murder. This is perhaps a bit odd, since the AMX-30 was armed with an advanced (for the time) HEAT round known as "Obus G".
Notably, the AMX-30 has one of the worst cross ratings of NATO tanks at 4+. Do not expect them to get through rough terrain without breaking down.
As with other French units, do not let them get pinned. Use your superior firepower to deliver the alpha strike and keep attacking: the French are at their weakest when enemies can shoot back.
IRL
You might wonder why the French didn't (and don't) use the same Leopard tanks most of Europe does. The Leopard has rightfully earned it's place in history as a damn fine tank that in part defind what a second generation MBT should be like, plus if all of NATO shared a tank it would make ammo and parts much easier to get if the commies did come-a-knockin'. So why reinvent the wheel and not just use the German tank?
The answer to that is that between 1940 to 1945, they did just use German tanks. Even shortly following WWII they used German tanks until french production could kick in again. Combined that with that legendary French pride, they insisted that any French tank would a FRENCH tank, build by frenchmen in France(in the city of Roanne, to be exact).
As for the tank, the AMX-30 is so far the only NATO tank with an Autoloader. As it was designed in the hayday of the HEAT round, the vehicle's armour was lighted as it was thought that the best way to prevent HEAT death death to HEAT was to not get hit: hence a need for speed.
| French Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | AMX-30 |
| Transports: | AMX-10P- VAB |
| Troops: | Section d'infanterie/Chasseurs - Milan Section Antichar |
| Artillery: | AMX Auf1 |
| Anti-Aircraft: | AMX-13 DCA - AMX Roland |
| Tank Hunters: | VAB Mephisto |
| Recon: | AMX-10 RC - AMX-10P VOA |
| Aircraft: | Gazelle HOT - Gazelle 20mm - Mirage 5 |