If you have the luxury of infantry support while clearing a village, let them take the lead, then move to their support. Infantry can flush out German AT crews and spot and attack AT-guns – your two worst enemies in a defended village. While keeping a relatively safe distance, you should advance on an enemy held village slowly, while making frequent stops to scan for enemies. Remember the military adage: "tracers work both ways." Watch where your infantry is firing, and from where it is taking fire. With a sharp eye, you can trace the enemy’s machine-gun fire to his location. A few HE rounds can take down most structures, and effectively concentrated MG fire from your platoon will pin or flush out enemy squads. Do not be tempted to rush forward. The essence of survival here is to stay out of Panzerfaust and Panzershreck range, while pinning and destroying enemy AT squads. While less visible than tanks positioned within villages, AT guns within a village are still far more visible than when emplaced in terrain, yet potentially far more deadly. While an AT gun in the relatively open space of a village can be much more easily spotted, this open space also allows it a clear firing lane to your tanks, and often at point- blank range. Again, a slow, cautious approach, with plenty of stops to scan for enemies will usually ensure you see the gun before it sees you. Finally, remember, NEVER get ahead of your infantry when approaching a village. In open terrain infantry is your support; here you are the infantry’s support. In those missions where you are faced with the task of taking an enemy village without infantry assistance, (as is often the case,) simply approach even more slowly and cautiously.

While I make no mention in the above of the proper tactics for defeating panzers emplaced in villages, this is simply because tanks are most vulnerable in any urban environment. (Realize this before you enter any contested town!) While certainly a Tiger I in a village is to be considered your primary threat and dealt with accordingly, tanks within a village are easily spotted. The excellent camouflage of many of the German tanks simply serves to make for a more striking (hence visible) contrast between the tank and surrounding structures. German tanks deployed in the countryside are obviously far less easy to spot, and thus are even greater threat. This is where the fundamentals apply to the fullest. Advance slowly and deliberately, stay roughly in line with any supporting units on your flanks, and never cross elevated terrain that will either skyline your tank or offers no hull or turret-down position from which you may scan for the enemy before cresting over the ridgeline. (Here is one case where a you should set your throttle high. Once over the crest and descending down the hill, cut the throttle back down to 10-20%.)

When and where necessary, smoke delivered by mortars or 75mms can be quite effective in screening movement over open, defilade-free ground. Simply realize that even dense, artillery-delivered smokescreens will not last a great length of time – here is where you should throttle-up to good speed and head towards good cover! Another note on artillery: should you be lucky enough to spot an enemy tank platoon while in a turret-down position, and with a powerful artillery strike(s) at your disposal, don’t engage. Instead, look around to ensure your platoon is also concealed, and if so immediately give the "cease fire" order (CTRL – ‘5’ to select the whole platoon, then CTRL - X) and call in an artillery strike. An accurate 155mm strike can wipe out even a Tiger platoon, and with your platoon almost wholly concealed, you can launch this devastating strike with impunity. (In particularly good cover you may even wish to give the ‘general wait order’ to your wingmen (CTRL-5 to "Select All" followed by CTRL-W for "Wingman Waits"), then scout forward a short ways to peek over the ridgeline.)

As always, keep in mind that the key to victory is to spot the Germans first. Thus, you should be using the binocular view quite often. Scan the facing terrain in a quick but thorough sweep. Watch for motion. Even a defending Panzer platoon is likely to give away its position to the patient commander by adjusting its initial emplacement in response to enemy activity. This is yet another reason not to advance beyond supporting platoons. E.g.: the half-tracks on your right may be simple target practice for a panzer platoon, but they very well may entice the panzers to your front to turn and move to better firing positions; revealing themselves and offering flank shots in the process. Also, artillery smoke aimed at a suspected enemy position may not entirely conceal your advance, but it will still serve to confuse the enemy and possibly compel him to move out of his initial positions. On the attack the idea is to turn what could be a German ambush into a "meeting engagement," where your platoon is advantageously positioned. By engaging the enemy when he is faced with multiple targets, (i.e. attacking in unison with supporting units,) using smoke and HE strikes to coerce him into shifting his position, and firing from hull-down positions, you can negate many of the advantages the German holds as the defender.

The use of the word ‘front’ in the above is no accident. If you are in an area where you know of or suspect an enemy presence – unless terrain cover or artillery-fired smoke present the opportunity for a flanking maneuver – keep your tank’s front faced to the where you suspect the enemy is positioned. Aside from turning your tank’s thickest armor towards the enemy, spotting the enemy is much more likely if he is directly to the front of your tank than if he is positioned towards any other side. This is even more crucial when you must button-up. (As a rule – while there is still some risk entailed even at his range – stay unbuttoned unless faced with infantry less than 200 meters away.) The following illustrates the A.I.’s visibility ‘scores’ for respective sides for a buttoned up late-war Sherman with improved external visibility (largely due to the addition of vision blocks encircling the tank commander’s hatch), and for a Buttoned up Tiger. These numbers run from 0 to 8, with a value of 0 equaling a ‘blindside’, up to a value of 8, which, of course, indicates excellent visibility from this side of the tank:

As you can see from the chart, the Tiger I possesses dramatically better buttoned-up visibility – particularly from the top turret. Even while unbuttoned, it is still crucial to keep your front towards a suspected enemy position, as the second-best spotter in your crew – the driver – has blindspots to the right, left and rear quarters of your tank.

On the attack, you should aim to ideally make the enemy come to you. The most dangerous German tank platoons will naturally also be the boldest – thus the most mobile - even when defending. When a supporting platoon sites an enemy tank formation that you suspect to be the primary threat in the area -- usually Panthers or Tigers, of course – use your heaviest artillery available on the last radio-reported position. (Place the square denoting the area to be hit dead in the center of the blue circle surrounding the enemy platoon on the Map Screen.) When you receive contact reports from other friendly units by radio, you are not given exact fix on the enemy, as opposed to an actual sighting made by your platoon. Also realize that the information you have received may already be inaccurate – as even within in the short time it takes for the report to be sent and received by your radio operator, the actual German position may have changed. Still, even a near miss by a heavy battery will usually serve to ‘encourage’ the Jerries to shift their positions. (Also, you might just get lucky and score a direct hit!) If you can maneuver your tanks into hull-down positions overlooking the area where you expect the Germans to be headed – you will now have all of the advantages of the defender, even though you are on the attack. (Check the map and click on the "eye" icon – by so doing you can usually discern from the shift in positions generally where the enemy is headed.) Just remember that once the enemy has sighted you and your platoon, the thirty or so seconds it takes before requested artillery "splashes" can be an eternity. Time enough for a crack German platoon to brew-up half your tanks. Get a fix on him first – either through radio reports or by sighting him directly. In the latter case, try to knock out at least two tanks fast (Most German tank platoons will withdraw after losing two tanks, allowing you a few ‘free’ shots at their rear quarter. Still: you can usually plan on meeting the rallied surviving tanks ‘down the road.’

Defending as the Yanks – while by no means a cakewalk – is nonetheless far less complicated task than attacking. Here, the primary challenge is to have your men in commanding, hull-down positions before the enemy even comes into view. Smoke can very helpful here. As you start a defensive mission, order a smoke strikes in the likely paths of the approaching Germans. If you get lucky, and the smoke lands directly on the Panzers, you will have temporarily immobilized them. Smoke that lands across the route of Germans may also stop them temporarily, or at least cause them to move around it. Either way, you will have bought valuable time for you to get your tanks into good, covered positions. (Note: always use the weaker guns – mortars or 75mm – to deliver smoke! Save the 105s and 155s for the Tigers.)

Positioning your men can, unfortunately, be an exercise in frustration. While the AI in PE is generally quite good, one glaring exception is in how your wingmen position (or, rather fail to position) themselves. You may find them stopping halfway over a crestline; skylining themselves and exposing their paper-thin underbody armor to any Jerry gunner in range mile. Your best friend here is the CTRL-W, "wingman waits" command, the mouse driven "move to position" command, and the external view. As soon as you find a good defensive position – one that covers the likely approach route(s) of the enemy and ideally is on high ground with woods or higher terrain directly behind it – first drive your tank into a hull-down position. Then, quickly move to emplace your wingman. First, check to see if any one of your tanks has driven into a precarious position, by a quick scan around your tank from the turret hatch. Immediately click on any tank(s) that has driven into such position to select it with the mouse, then use the mouse pointer to quickly click on a safe position – say down behind you, where it will be completely covered by the ridge you have positioned yourself upon. Next, starting with tank 4, click on the arrow below its number on the "Mouse Tank" icon to go to an external view of the tank. Pan your view around, until you see a good position, then click on the number icon itself to ‘select’ the tank, then click on where you wish the tank to go. Have your finger on the CTRL-W ("wingman waits" command) key. It is very unlikely the tank will move to exactly where you ordered it to go, on your first ‘try!’ If the tank is obviously not moving to the desired position hit CTRL-W and click upon the position again. (Re-select the tank by clicking on its number icon or the tank itself immediately after you order it to move, which de-selects the tank.) Watch the tank closely (pan your view to its side) as it moves forward, and just as soon as it is position give the "wingman waits command! If you don’t, the tank will often continue forward over the covering terrain. After giving the wait order, play it safe by hitting CTRL-F to order the tank to fire-at-will. (I always give this order as I start a mission. even though your wingman will fire at will by default.) Repeat for the rest of the platoon, generally going from tank 4 to tank 1, tank 3, and then tank 2. Why position your tanks in this order? Remember you are racing against time – when enemy tanks come into view the time to position your platoon is up! Fight with the tanks you have in position. Now you should be calling in artillery and spotting targets for your gunner! (You can certainly man the gun manually if you choose – but only after your platoon has also sighted the enemy formation and is firing on it, and after you have called in any available artillery, should the target warrant it.) If you have managed to position your tanks in good hull-down positions where they can mutually support each other, you can usually knock out two panzers – compelling the other two in a four-tank panzer platoon to retreat. (Really, in this instance your artillery will serve to "mop-up" the remaining tanks, for in most engagements, the victor will be decided before the strike is launched.)

Rarely in Panzer Elite will you want to be in any other formation than "wedge." On most missions, the only other formation you will use is "column" if you must cross through constricting terrain. You will want to get out of column formation just as soon as possible, for in this formation – where mutually supporting fire is a near impossibility - you are most vulnerable. Wedge formation allows each tank the clearest possible field of view and fire, with excellent flank protection. While "line" or "echelon left or right" formations are ideal if you feel your flanks are secure, I have found that with the nasty surprises the Germans so often have in store for you, you should never consider your flanks secure. Any advantage in wider fields of fire against the "threat axis" (the presumed direction of the enemy’s approach or positions), simply isn’t worth the risk (especially when advancing) of coming upon an unexpected German attack or defensive position from the very flank previously considered secure. Use your judgment, but consider any formations other than column and wedge to be reserved only for certain exceptional situations. (For example, if you are fortunate enough to have a steep and impassable bluff on one flank of either your approach route or defensive position.)

One final word on formations: keep them close. While there are those who would vehemently disagree with me on this, remember, as the Yanks one of your main strengths lies in superior numbers, and you will rarely face a serious threat from German artillery strikes. (If you’re playing as the Germans, spread out!) With a tight formation, (use "CTRL - numbed minus sign" to go from a 37 to a 25 meter spread), you keep your platoon’s firepower concentrated, and you minimize the chance that an isolated (cut off by terrain from any mutual support) tank will contact the enemy. (Even the weaker panzer formations will eat an isolated Sherman for lunch.) Sure, by tightening up you will decrease the amount of ground your platoon can observe, but when you do make contact with the enemy, you can usually bring all of your guns to bear, and may just be able to use defilade to defeat the enemy platoon piecemeal.