Sherman II is a British Tank unit unique to the Scottish 15th infantry. It is an early model lend-lease Sherman, as it is significantly inferior to the lend-lease Sherman V deployed by other divisions. Combining this with the fact that it is only available in phase C, the Sherman II is a numerously available yet somewhat underperforming medium tank in the ending stages of the battle.
Overview[]
The ubiquitous M4 Sherman medium tank evolved from the M3 Lee medium tank pressed into service as a stop-gap model in 1941. Designed by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, the tank built upon proven technologies developed for American tanks of the 1930s, combining them with British experiences in tank design. The result was a versatile, reliable, and cheap tank much like the Soviet T-34.
The M4 entered service in late 1942, outperforming its older sibling in every aspect, the Sherman went on to become one of the most widely produced armored fighting vehicles of World War II. It was well armored, relatively fast, and cheap to produce, becoming the backbone of Allied armored divisions across the world and a major element of the Lend-Lease program for the Soviet Union. Nearly 50 000 tanks were produced before production ended in 1945 and were used across the world.
The M4A1 sub-designation indicates a Sherman model manufactured with a fully cast upper hull, a standard Continental R975 radial engine, and a 75mm medium-velocity general-purpose gun. Sherman II is a British designation for a Lend-Lease M4A1.
During the Northwestern European Campaign only the 4th Armored Brigade used the Sherman II. This brigade was originally the Heavy Armored Brigade of what will become 7th Armoured during the Middle East campaign but was detached to serve as a separate armored brigade in 1942. 4th Armored Brigade had three regiments of Sherman II Royal Scots Greys, 3rd County of London Yeomanry and 44th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment a Motor Battalion in 2nd Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps and an Artillery Regiment in 4th Royal Horse Artillery.
Strategy[]
Regarding its stats, the tank is identical to the M4A1 fielded by the US 3rd armoured in phase A. When compared with the Sherman V, the Sherman II has a gun with only 10 AP (vs 11 AP), is less accurate (4 acc vs 5 acc) and is less well armoured (9 frontal vs 11 frontal & sides and rear are also weaker). Peculiarly enough, the tank can only be deployed in phase C - the 15th infantry is the only Allied division that gains access to Sherman tanks at such a late stage.
Its main advantage is of course numbers. One card contains five Sherman IIs with no experience, ostensibly giving the division an edge in conquest warfare (where high Sherman losses are less painful and numerical superiority can be achieved). However, the Sherman II competes with other, perhaps more viable tanks in the tank tab: the Challenger and the Churchill tanks. The question remains whether or not the Sherman II should be picked over these tanks. The Churchills, arriving earlier in phase B, are numerous as well and the phase C Challenger sports a gun that is amongst the most powerful used by the Allies. The Sherman II occupies a rather strange and niche spot, coming close to a relatively cheap phase C "base" unit.
