StuG Life (Updated for F Build)

Everything you ever wanted to know about assault guns but were too afraid to ask...

Introduction

Currently in Heroes and Generals are 5 armourd vehicles that are quite set apart from the others. These are vehicles that have their main weapons mounted on the hull of the tank or a non-rotating casemate instead of in a conventional turret. These are the assault guns of World War 2.
















(okay, technically 1 of these, the M3 Lee, is a Medium tank and does have a secondary turret, but it plays similarly to the other 4, so I have included it as well)

The Basics of Turretless Tanks

The 5 tanks that I will be talking about (listed below) have a very different playstyle to your average tank, mainly due to the lack of a turret, and the comparatively large tank guns for their levels - all are at least 75mm in caliber. Unlike regular tanks, assault guns do not perform as well in offensive situations, since they cannot turn quickly enough to engage multiple targets. Instead, they often work superbly as defensive weapons, since all of them (less so the M3 Lee and SU-76M) have good frontal armour that is often sloped, so enemies fighting your front will have a harder time with you.

For the Hetzer, StuG, SU-76M and SU-85, you are designated a Tank Destroyer. This should, of course, be your main objective, usually accomplished by lying in wait for passing tanks, or trying to outflank them (mainly for the faster SU-76, and sometimes the SU-85)

The Lee, however, is a Medium Tank as opposed to a destroyer. Also, you are much larger than the destroyers, so it is much harder for you to conceal yourself. However, you do have a secondary 37mm gun (support gunner A) as well as a dedicated machine gunner, meaning that you are far more likely to survive closer to the front, since you can fire in three million directions at once.

Now, onto the tanks...

The M3 'Lee'

There is no denying it, the M3 is pretty huge, making it a sore thumb on the battlefield. It performs different from a turreted tank but also different from the other assault guns. This makes the Lee very hard to play effectively, and thus one of the most hated tanks in the game (by its commanders). However, the Lee has a lot of potential. Here are the inns and outs of it:

-Weaponry - You can support yourself and 2 secondary gunners in the Lee, more than any other tank. Also, the 1st of these gains access to a 37mm anti-tank gun, similar to the gun on the Stuart Light Tank, with the 2nd getting a fully-rotating machinegun atop the turret. However, if these crewmembers are poorly disciplined, they can give away the tank to the enemy. As for yourself, you have the same 75mm M3 gun as found on the M4A1 Sherman, which can penetrate every other Medium, if you land your shots right. You also have far better sights than the M4A1 Sherman (the same as on the E8 Sherman) - while they look the same, the Lee's zoom far further, allowing easier long-distance kills.

- Armour - Not so strong here. The frontal armour is quite sloped, but only on the left side of the tank, so many tank drivers (myself included) will aim for the right side of the tank, where the main gun is held to prevent any shots bouncing, as bad shots often bounce. Another ♥♥♥♥♥ in your frontal armour is the lower front plate - while it is fairly thick (51mm), it is rounded and thus shots that can hit here (provided there are no walls, hills etc. blocking your way) will often penetrate. Furthermore, your side and rear armour is almost always unsloped, and at 38mm in thickness, is easy work for even Light Tanks. However, your turret has decent armour, with 51mm all-round (except the top), a sloped front, and an 89mm thick mantlet, meaning that if only the top is exposed, you might have a good chance against similar tanks.

- Performance - Nothing special here. If you have ever 'borrowed' the smaller of the Sherman tanks, you will notice instantly that it is almost the same as the Lee. This means poor off-road performance with an average top speed, meaning you should try to stick to lower areas, where the Lee is less of an obvious target. Keep in mind that your turn speed is quite low, so turning quickly to fire at a new target can be lengthy.












Overall, i would reccommend inviting some friends with you into the Lee to man the spare weaponry, using the secondary gun against infantry vehicles and Light Tanks, and the machinegun against anti-tank infantry. Be aware that the 37mm gun can penetrate around 40-50mm of armour at short range, meaning that you can assist in close-range fights against poorly armoured targets, and against the side armour of most mediums. Always keep on the move if you can, as a Lee is an easy points bonus for most mediums, so if you destroy one, get moving. You also work well from long ranges, so use that to your advantage. Also, you are cheaper than the Shermans, so ditching a tank is not the end of the world for you.

The Jagdpanzer 38(t) 'Hetzer'

The Hetzer is the first Tank Destroyer that a German commander will get access to. It is also the smallest and cheapest to buy and maintain, with interior space for 1 friend included. Based on the earlier Panzer 38(t) chassis, it performs similarly to its ancestor, but has a lot more added to it.

-Weapons - For such a low-level Tank destroyer, you have a good gun - the 75mm PaK 39 L/48, which has good ammo, but you only carry 41 rounds of each, so don't waste shots. Also, your support gunner gains access to a remote-controlled MG34 mounted on the roof to shoot at any passing infantry. Be aware that this weapon starts off facing to the right, so if you are switching from Driver to support gunner (default 'C', not available if there is someone there already), this is something to bear in mind. The Hetzer's MG is one of the best secondary weapons on any tank due to this, and this is how I've made about 40% of my kills.

-Armour - Mixed results here. Both your front 2 plates and your mantlet have 60mm of armour, but this is more protective than you would think. Firstly, the hull plates are sloped at roughly 60 degrees from perpendicluar, giving you effectively 120mm of frontal armour, which is more than the Tiger I. Add the fact that most shots here will just bounce, and you have a very well-armoured machine. Also, your mantlet slopes away from the gun, so many shots here will deflect to the sides or above the tank itself. However, your side and rear armour is a pathetic 20mm, and unsloped in places, making you an easy target from the rear.

-Performance - Pretty bad, to be honest. Despite the Wiki describing the Hetzer as a fast tank destroyer, this is the opposite of the truth. It retains the same chassis and engine as the 38(t), but it now has to cope with more weight, making it slow and fairly useless on hills - you will often just slide back down. At least it can keep up with the rest of the German Army, as the other tanks are almost always just as slow.

Overall, a well-played Hetzer can rack up a fair few kills, and hopefully infuriate the enemy forces. This tank is very small and low, so working as an ambush predator works just fine. Make sure you move about after kills, as an attack from the rear is almost always fatal. It helps to have a constant machinegunner, but you can man it yourself in emergencies. One scenario almost designed for the Hetzer is battling across rivers and other choke-points - your frontal armour is usually sufficient, and you don't have to turn as much.

The Sturmgeshütz III Ausf. G

The StuG III was one of the most produced fighting vehicles of WWII. Based on the Panzer III's chassis, the StuG Ausf. G mounts the assault gun variant of the KwK 40 mounted on the Panzer IV. It has also by far the most awesome name to have ever been given to be a tank.

-Weaponry- Good and Bad. The Good is that you have a powerful 75mm main gun that can go toe-to-toe with any Medium tank, and is equivalent to that on the Panzer IV Ausf. H Medium tank. The Bad is the Machinegun. Like the Hetzer it is mounted on the roof, but it only has a small cone of fire. Also, it is not remote controlled, so the gunner has to expose themselves to fire it, making them a few extra points to any sniper in the immediate area. This means that you will perform poorly in built-up areas. The Ugly is your support gunner's face after he has been shot at a few times.

-Armour- Good and Bad. Like the Hetzer, the Good is your frontal armour - 80mm thick and sloped in places, making you a very hard nut to crack. Unfortunately, the Bad is your rear and side armour, which are as curved as a cardboard box and about as thin, too.

-Performance- Good and Bad (I wonder if there is a pattern going on?). You have a decent turn speed and are faster than the lighter Hetzer, but this isn't saying much, and you are still very sluggish compared to US or Soviet Tanks.

Overall, the StuG is a decent Tank Destroyer when kept away from Infantry - with the powerful gun and armour this Assault gun isn't just all talk. Also, you get to scream 'STUG LIFE' randomly in the chat now and again when making important kills (jeeps do not count; an enemy E8 Sherman with 3 guys on board, however, does).

The Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76 'M'

(sorry about the mess; section under construction, large amounts of speculation present)
IMAGE GOES HERE








A fairly rare Tank Destroyer, partially because it has only just been introduced, but mostly because it is even smaller than the miniscule Hetzer is this, the SU-76. Basically, a casemate structure on the back of an elongated T-70 chassis mounting a 76.2mm ZIS-3 Anti-Tank gun (similar gun as the F-34 on the T-34/76). A simple but effective recipe for an ultra-cheap Tank Destroyer, however the steering mechanism was sometimes difficult, leading to its crews affectionately referring to the vehicle as 'Suka' (B*tch) or 'Suchka' (Little B*tch) very commonly, or, later in the war, as the 'Bare-arsed Ferdinand', referencing its similarity in approximate shape to the German Ferdinand (Panzerjäger Tiger (P)), but lacking massively in armour protection in comparison to the much heavier German vehicle.

-Weaponry- Okay at best. Armour penetration is decent, especially with APCR (but still nowhere near as good as the 85mm guns). It also has absolutely no secondary weaponry, which means that running away from infantry is your best bet.

-Armour- Almost non-existant. Armour is up to 35mm at the front, and it is decently sloped, hence it will bounce 37mm rounds and smaller, much like the T-70, but only if they somehow miss the superstructure, which is rather flat, hance won't bounce anything. The sides and rear have so little armour that if you get flanked, you're dead

-Performance- Since it is based on the hull of a T-70, mobility is this vehicle's strong point, along with its ability to hide in very small spaces. It is also your greatest defense, as, much like the Hellcat, you have negligible armour. However, the fast top speed, acceleration and reverse speeds come with two costs - you are terrible at hills, and have a terrible hull traverse time.

Overall, the SU-76M is a cheap but still okay first Tank Destroyer for the Russian Faction, able to flank the enemy with relative ease and a surprising amount of stealth, and able to easily harrass larger tanks for not a lot of money.

The Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 85

I've probably seen more co-operative US teams than I have SU-85's. Partly due to their rarity, partly to do with the fact that these beauties will knock you out from halfway across the map without a thought, partly due to the number of people who don't want to let go of their SU-76M's, partly due to the fact that the US faction has matured (somewhat), and partly because the T-34-85 has the exact same gun, along with a turret, co-axial machinegun, and has a support gunner. That being said, on with the show...

-Weaponry- Great and Terrible. Your main gun is 85mm in caliber, and able to penetrate the Tiger 1 Tank with relative ease. However, when it comes to anti-infantry weaponry, you have nothing. Nothing. Not even a pointy stick. Never drive this tank into a heavily guarded area as it is pure suicide. Also, no-one else gets any inside space (the first passenger gets a metal tray to duck under, but that's about it) so you will be forever alone.

-Armour- Not great. While you have 45mm of frontal sloped armour and a 75mm mantlet, this just isn't enough to protect you from anything - i have penetrated the frontal hull armour with a shot from the M3 Lee's Secondary 37mm gun, and 75mm won't even stop a Panzer III anymore. Your side armour is even worse, and hardly sloped, so attacks from the rear are deadly (even the Panzer II or SdKfz. 222 can destroy you here), and aerial attacks from planes with APCR cannons are quite terminating.

-Performance- Here is where the Su-85 shines. Firstly, its engine noise, like all Russian Medium Tanks, is amazing, and is my preferred engine noise. More useful, however, is the speed of this vehicle - if you drive too fast you end up going back in time (a useful feature in any war), and its offroad handling puts the Wehrmacht tanks to shame. Just be careful of its acceleration - like all Soviet Tanks it isn't that great, and neither is reversing for that matter. Also, you are quite long, so you may not be able to turn in confined spaces.

Overall, the SU-85 plays a lot like a turretless Hellcat - it can take positions early on and relocate at a moment's notice, albeit nowhere near as well due to it's lack of a turret. Avoid towns like the bubonic plague, stay camoflagued, and always be on the lookout for flankers.

General Advice

This advice goes for any Tank really, but especially turretless tanks.

-Keep on the move - always be on the lookout for potential hazards and take them out accordingly, or alert your team to it (e.g. If you have pilots and there is a large cluster of tanks at a narrow section of map say, near C4 on the Town map, request that they bomb this point to oblivion) so they can deal with is.

-Relocate after every kill - not crucial that this get done immediately, but infantry get ****** off very quickly, and most players either have anti-tank alts, or know how to use a Panzerfaust. With no turret (M3 Lee excluded), you are an easy ~50 points for any brave Infantryman who got on the wrong side on a HE shell and bears a grudge.

-Stay hidden - most of the time you will be acting as a tank destroyer. The rest of the time you will be mowing down infantry with your HE shells, so it is vital that you stay under cover - players bear grudges, often for multiple games.

-Don't pop your head up for too long - since you have already likely played as multiple tanks, this should not be a massive surprise - even with a stolen M3 Lee, my Axis infantryman went on a killing spree, killing 3 other tanks (2 Lee tanks (of the same guy whose tank it was) and an E8 Sherman) before driving over an anti-tank mine (not entirely purposefully). Anyway, most infantrymen are now slightly skilled with captured tanks, and a captured assault gun can be a thorn in your side.

-Stay back - try and keep a few hundred metres between you and the front. Do not just listen to salty infantry that demand to know why the tanks aren't capturing (the answer, by the way, is simple - all tanks suck in confined spaces, especially too near to any anti-tank soldiers) - stay back, stay hidden and pick off targets accordingly. Atlernatively, you can try to outflank your enemy and attack from behind, but be prepared to hide after every kill because you can't easily drive one way and fire in another, so finding a place where you can cut off supply lines is a task you are well suited for. An example of this is attacking the factory map lines from behind, where you don't need to turn much to engage enemy vehicles.

-If your Infantrymen are getting destroyed and you find yourself powerless to help them, switch back to an infantry character and try and hold them off. This is also useful if your entire team are tanks - wars aren't won by tanks alone.

- Always try and work towards an objective with infantry - it's no good having tank vs tank brawls when your team is being overrun with Halftracks etc. - occasionally an Infantryman will send out a cry for help - answering it will be met with gratitude (provided the answer is the right one, i.e. unleashing hellfire on said opponents, instead of a HE straight to that infantryman's face).

Disclaimer

Armor values are taken from the Heroes and Generals wiki - if they are wrong, so too is this guide.

Shouting 'STUG LIFE', 'STUG LYFE' et. al. in the chat will likely just annoy people to be honest. This guide is only called 'StuG Life' because I really couldn't think of a better name.

[Raven]

protip, just sit back and relax with any tank, cause if you decide to rush to a point where theres a house with an open roof, you're done as its basically a choke point specifically against tanks

[WommaTomma]

The al
a tank shel would go striaght threw a guy liek nothing

[Fourmi]

Germany uses the best defense for their tank shields. Sandbags are only good for bullets, and the tank is already bulletproof. Infantry may stop a shell or two, but are prone to snipers and such. Of course, Soviet Russia needed to do something with the billions of conscripts they had.

[PhoenixWing101]

@GermanShepard
Play defensive, don't pop your head out, don't get outflanked, hide from the enemy and relocate every kill or so. You have a big gun and good frontal armour but if you get attacked from the rear you are likely a dead man.

[frosty]

tl;dr

[Darius Dragon]

the pazershreck shrecks panzers lol

[Dio Sbirulo]

ahahah the USSR use infantry for defending their tanks. i laught too much for this :')

[Kel]

Great guide!

[Tuld]

I dont choose stug life for my stug he choose it

[Redbreaker47]

I didn't choose the stug life because I can't afford it.