Matilda II's in the MC

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

I love the Matilda II myself. I deliberately forced my buddy into playing in France not long ago just so that for once he couldnt stuff tiger tanks down my throat as always.

And he didnt like it, not one bit.

And the icing on the cake was I spent money on support from heavy artillery so his tanks couldnt just hide on me (hot seat game full disclosure is a bitch to play fairly).

I started with a nice smoke screen and gleefully sat in it with my Matildas for his over confident panzers. It didnt seem like a fair fight, and it wasnt. He was not impressed that nothing was happening to my tanks.

Early war strategy was about the only weakness with the Matilda. Its gun sucked but its targets armour also sucked. If you hang in there with the 2 pdr you eventually get results. But sometimes shooting a panzer III at a Matilda is as satisfying as shooting a Sherman at a Tiger (and well it should be).

But of course that is of little consolation to anyone playing the germans who often are the favourite team. An wise German player in France doesnt stray far from his 88 protection. Char B aint no thrill either.

Early war German armour was only good because it was well led and using revolutionary battlefield doctines. If you go into Russia, you rapidly find it isnt over with the Matilda, those T-34's are a nasty surprise as well.

As I see it, a Panzer III, was the early wars Sherman, nice reliable machine, undergunned against the odd brute and not enough armour to enjoy a slugging match. Drive your Panzer IIIs around all by themselves and you get some nasty surprises.

[Jasper]

It is not called "Queen of the Field" for nothing in the desert war. It was heavily armoured and only 88 can take it out. In fact only upon the arrival of the German Afrika Corps with the 88 that make it phased out as a gun tank because it was slow. But it life was prolong into other usage and ot was alos the first tank to be equipped with the mine flai. It was used until 1944 when the left over the tank is not worth while to be maintained or rebuild

[dfsrusa]

In "Stop that train" I simply ran from the Matilda's, their reputation having put the fear of God into me about them. I guess I was lucky that they didn't retake all my VOs, but since I had accomplished the main mission of destroying the train and ammo dumps I didn't mind.

The next mission I hit the reinforcements in the flank. After picking off almost all of the British armor from the ridge I kept retreating out of the Matilda's LOS as it advanced on me, with basically my whole tank company taking shots at it as it lumbered forward. Finally I surrounded it with every tank, AC and 37 mm bearing halftrack I had and eventually destroyed it. I didn't think to count how many shots it took.

In defending the highway I took out the Matilda's with engineers and infantry after they plowed into the village.

It was standard German doctrine not to attack enemy armor with their armor when at all possible.

The Matilda is really making the MC interesting.

Scot Stephenson