Hey, I’m gonna start a new blog series (sorta) on the forums where I help everyone play a line of vehicles.
Today, gonna focus on the Soviet Heavy Tanks
The KV Series are a widely known type of heavy tank developed during the Second World War to combat German tanks. During the opening days of the Eastern Front, a single KV series tank, supported by infantry, could halt an entire advance because German field commanders were not too eager to fight the Russischer Koloss (Russian Colossus).
To start off with the different variants, the KV-1 L-11 is the first in the Soviet Heavy lines you can research. While it doesn’t have an extremely powerful gun. it makes up for this in its armor. The KV-1 L-11 is best suited for brawling up close, to ensure the gun has enough pen to destroy its target.
Next up, the KV-2, AKA the Death Fridge, is a beast of a tank. Instead of the classic 76 found on many Soviet tanks, it sports a whopping 152mm gun. Its slower than the KV-1 L-11, because of the fridge that has replaced the turret, which in turn makes the traverse slower. Do not skip this tank, its a literal blast to play.
The KV-1S is a less armored, faster, and better armed variant of the KV-1. Armed instead with the ZiS-5 cannon, this monster can easily roll up on enemy positions and clear it before they have time to set up.
Next up, the KV-1 ZiS-5. The ZiS-5 variant of the KV-1 has a few more tricks in its hull than most think. It has additional hull armor to support the new gun. Don’t go thinking you can simply rush the enemy and win in this KV variant. You can face Tigers, which were designed with a powerful 88mm gun, which also pack enough of a punch to turn your KV into a scrap heap.
The next upgunned variant of the KV series is the KV-85, armed with a 85mm gun, which can easily punch through Tiger hulls. Its at this point in time the KV series shows its faults. This is the final KV series tank you can RESEARCH.
Next model of Heavy tanks, the IS series.
The IS tanks were designed after the soviets captured a Tiger 1.
The IS-1 was a KV-85 turret and gun mated with the KV-13 hull. Treat this as a sniper tank in uptiers and an assault tank in down tiers.
The IS-2 was a version of the IS-1, instead replacing the 85mm with a 122mm gun. Finally, a weapon to upper front plate a Panther. These tanks do have a long reload, so don’t rush into the fight.
The third in the series, the IS-3 was a further developed version of the IS-1. Armed with the same 122 as the IS-2. Instead of using the same hull and turret, the IS-3’s developer opted for a pike nose and a bowl turret, which increased armor integrity, while keeping the weight down.
The final researchable IS tank, the IS-4 is pure armor. It forgoes everything, knowing only war, and leaving destruction in its path… at least had the IS-4 been produced in time to fight in the Second World War. Despite that it couldn’t serve that role in real life, it can serve the purpose in the game. This is the ultimate IS tank.
The final Heavy tank in the Soviet heavy line is the T-10M. The T-10 started as the IS-10, then was destalinized to become the T-10. The T-10 has more ammo variety than the IS-4, featuring APHE, APDS and HEATFS (And a stabilizer :D) It features a pike nose which helps improve armor angles.
Next up, I’ll be talking about the M4 series of tanks! See ya!