World Of Tanks vs Reality - What Techniques Are Actually Used

If you're a World Of Tanks player then you'll probably understand what I mean when I mention phrases such as, 'Sidescraping', 'Peek-a-boom' and 'Hull down'. But which of these techniques actually worked/ were utilised as a legitimate strategy in real tank warfare?

Sidescraping
Legit? Nope, not at all!
Sidescraping requires placing your tank at an angle against a building or structure like the image below. Enemy shells will glance off the side armour (given the angle) or damage the tracks instead of doing fatal damage the tank or crew inside

Unlike in World of Tanks, losing a track was almost as devastating than having your tank penetrated by a shell, because it would render you immobile. If you were lucky your advancing allies would push past you, leaving them safe to repair your tank so you can fight another day. 














Angling

Legit? Yes 
When engaging targets Tiger crews were encouraged to angle the hull position 45 degrees to the enemy. This would maximise the effective front hull armour to 180mm and side to 140mm, making the Tiger impervious to any Allied gun up to 152mm.

I think we can all appreciate that angling techniques such as this could be effective - basic maths right! Despite this it almost certainly required a well trained and experienced crew to ensure that this technique was being used correctly.

Hull Down (& Peek-A-Boom)

Legit? Yes

Taking a hull down position is an essential strategy in both digital and real life armoured warfare. It simply means utilising a crest/ structure to hide the main body of the tank, leaving only the turret exposed to observe and fire upon targets ahead. The turret armour/ gun mantlet are normally the most heavily armoured areas of the tank, so you are hiding the weakest areas of your vehicle and making yourself a much smaller target at the same time.

After firing in a hull down position it might also be practical to reverse away from the position, revealing even less/ none of your vehicle to the enemy whilst reloading - (better to not be hit at all than to rely on your armour in any situation right) returning to the hull down position once reloaded and ready to fire.

The downside to the hide position is visibility of course and deems you unable to spot or observe the enemy. In World of Tanks it is very common to see players rocking back and forth between the positions, simply to spot the enemy for their team mates whilst remaining a difficult target for the other team to remove.