Anti-Tank Guns

World War II anti-tank guns could often score a 95 percent accuracy on a one-meter-square target at 800m. Accuracy was important, but round selection and target acquisition were required before a shot was ever fired.

The key to using AT guns effectively is to consider how their firing arcs cover the expected paths of advancing vehicles, and how many shots they’ll be able to fire before the vehicle passes through the arc while rushing forward.

Even under battlefield conditions, their flat trajectory and high velocity rounds plus good optics made AT guns often the equivalent of super heavy sniper rifles. AT guns with well-trained crews couldn’t merely hit tanks at long range, they could hit specific weaknesses on their targets.

Ideal AT gun placement means an enemy vehicle will always be in the arc of fire of at least one, allowing you to turn other AT guns to shoot at the vehicle’s flanks and rear if it charges any single AT gun you control. Using AT guns to support one another is critical in fighting against enemy heavy tanks that have sufficient armor to attack an AT gun from the front and shrug off several shots. Don’t keep the AT guns bunched up, though, otherwise enemy vehicles will have an easier time avoiding the area entirely or bombarding it with artillery. Your AT guns just need line of sight of one another, and should otherwise be placed in a configuration that resembles a triangle such that they can cover each other’s flanks and independently cover areas farther away.