US Anti-Tank Platoon

When it comes to AT in mid war, you have two basic choices, unless you want to go self-propelled. There's the M3 37mm gun, and the M1 57mm gun. At first glance, it would seem that the 57mm gun is the preferred option, but there are a few caveats. For one, the M1 doesn't have High Explosive ammunition, making it useless against infantry. There's also the fact that you get only three M1s in a platoon, as opposed to four M3s, and that the M1 is a Medium gun while the M3 is light (5 cm movement vs 10 cm). It all boils down to what you expect to face.

In my list, I have both. The M3s are deployed supporting the infantry as a makeshift HMG when it's not shooting tanks. The M1s are deployed to have a commanding view of the field, being able to destroy all but the heaviest of tanks.

In a situation where I can't have both platoons deployed at the beginning of the game, I'd rather deploy the M1s initially if I can get away with it (depending on opposition). The 5 cm movment of the M1s make them a pain to bring in from reserve. Deploying the guns, it's more important to have a good field of view than to have them concealed. The guns have gun shields, and they can be dug in, so you can always worry about concealment later. A friend of mine made the observation that the AT guns are more area-denial weapons than offensive, a statement I agree fully with. You want to make the enemy worry about positioning his vehicles, and punish him for any mistake.

One problem I have had with AT guns in the past is when they are assaulted by a superior enemy. At one point, My M3s where pinned and then assaulted by three Stuart light tanks. That might seem to be a piece of cake, but with only one shot per gun and just a 50% chance of hitting (tanks were veterans), you can only really count on destroying one, at the most. If I had had the points for it, there was a great counter for this. You are able to purchase bazooka teams for your AT platoons, and if you are able to points-wise, I would heartily recommend it. It makes an assault an altogether riskier prospect for any tank.