This weapon fires bombardments but it only gets 1 chance to range in on the enemy. Should you hit though any infantry or unarmoured vehicles caught in the blast is killed outright on a 5+ with no chance to save. If a tank is unlucky enough to be caught there it is hit with an AT6 hit to its top armour.

You can field these bad boys in the River of Heroes Handbook which is a follow up to Hammer and Sickle.

Command HQ 230 points

• 2 shermans

Tank Platoon I 345

• 3 shermans

Tank Platoon II 345

• 3 shermans

Tank Platoon III 245

• 4 m5 Stewarts

Artillery Section 170 points (should be replaced by mobile artillery + recon unit)

• 105mm howitzer section

Tank Destroyer  Section 160 points

• m3 75mm section

This list will hit hard and fast. The 2 Sherman tank platoons are the main attack force, backed up by the tank destroyers. The Shermans will push through the enemy lines while the tank destroyers with their reach can take out dug in anti tank weapons. Should your opponent be fielding some heavily armoured tanks, the tank destroyers are more than up to the task of taking these guys out.

The artillery is there to make your opponent think twice about sitting in one place for too long. If they do, hit them with your guns hard. This is also useful for smoke bombardments to give a screen for your tanks. It might be a better choice to field some mobile mortars for smoke and a recon unit as suggested below. This gives you the ability to remove gone to the ground from infantry as well as providing smoke. A much better use of the 170 points taken up by the  artillery.

The M5 stewart platoon is there for flanking purposes. If your opponent has some long range weaponry that you need to deal with or there is a secondary target you want to go after, the M5 Stewarts have the speed to get there. You can even use them to support your main tanks, bringing them up a flank for the all important side shots.

As suggested the artillery may not be the greatest selection for this list as they are fairly immobile and having a recon unit is very beneficial vs ambushes and removing gone to the ground. In this case some mobile mortars + a recon unit might be a better selection over the artillery piece.

This is a mid war paratrooper list based on the Afrika intelligence handbook.

HQ 105 points

• command +mortar team + 3 bazooka teams

Parachute Rifle Platoon 255 points

• 2 rifle squads + mortar + bazooka

Parachute Machinegun Platoon 150 points

• 1 section + bazooka

Parachute Mortar Platoon  75 points

• 1 section

The idea of this force is simple.  Hit tanks with bazookas, use smoke from your mortars to cover your assault, and use your machine guns to give covering fire or to munch up infantry when defending. Sure you don’t have a lot of long range anti tank, but this is a paratrooper force that can deploy their entire force via the air. Starting close to the enemy shouldn’t be too much of a problem. When attacking dug in opponents,the 60mm mortars in the command and rifle platoons give you some nice firepower to dig out machinegun nests and the like.

This tank when used in large numbers can be effective against other light tanks and infantry units. The Stewart can wait far enough away to avoid fire, either in cover or out of sight completely, then when their infantry charge it can use its long movement range to get in close and unload with its main weapons.

Like the Sherman it also packs an AA-Gun though it is not the 50 cal version. This makes this light tank a cheap way to protect your heavy guns from aircraft. The M5 Stuart is a great light tank that can serve many roles. Use its speed and firepower on the move to your advantage and go for the side shots on armour.

The difference between the M3 and M5 is that the M5 gets one more point of armour and the all important stabilizers. This makes the M5 a far more useful tank as it can now fire on the move effectively. Unless you’re really looking to save points the m5 is a far better choice.

The Sherman has a hull mounted , turret mounted and  50 cal-AA machine guns. The 50 cal is particularly useful for destroying armoured personnel carriers as it has an antitank value of 4. Using it though puts the crew at risk as the hatch is open, destroying the tank outright if the crew rolls a 1 for a save.

The only difference between the 75 and 76mm guns is point cost and anti tank value. If you need the extra anti tank then taking the 76mm guns can be a life saver, but if you don’t expect a lot of heavy armour then your points are better spent elsewhere in your army. Only by knowing your opponent will you be able to make this call effectively.