Confederate Mastiff Medium Tank[]
Panzerkampfwagen VI. Ausf. B “Mastiff” | |
A trio of Mastiff tanks | |
Faction | Confederate Revolutionaries |
Minor Faction(s) | Allied Reservists National Revolutionary Army |
Unit Type | Main Battle Tank |
Designation | Anti Tank |
Production Building | Vehicle Warehouse |
Secondary Ability | Charge! Take 75% damage, do 150% damage, double ROF, move towards targeted location. 25 Blast damage on ram. |
Cost | $1100 |
Production Time | 0:10 |
Heroic Upgrade | Patriotism! |
Dev. Status | In game |
"There ain't nothin' that can stop us!"
- - Mastiff driver.
Tactical Analysis[]
- Still a Contender: Though it has seen better days, the robust Mastiff is still capable of holding its own against the main battle tanks of other powers. With a 105mm main gun, a .30 cal machine gun, and heavy treads that allow it to squish infantry, the Mastiff is the backbone of Confederate ground forces.
- Hope This Hurts: The Mastiff is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Even if one appears to have the upper hand, Mastiff drivers are known for their tendency to charge at the enemy lines while firing as quickly as possible, something which can turn the tide of battle. The speed at which the Mastiff moves makes it difficult for enemies to hit it, and with its considerable mass, it can be used as a literal battering ram. On the other hand, this manoeuvre could easily leave the Mastiff in a poor position afterwards.
- Dang.: Like all Confederate vehicles, the Mastiff starts considerably weaker than its cost would indicate, and must be upgraded to be at its full effectiveness. In particular, the Mastiff's main gun, when unupgraded, really struggles against enemy armour.
- Rally 'round: Some Mastiff crews are hailed as national heroes and even make their presence known in Confederate propaganda. The sight of a Mastiff Tank with a giant American flag draped across its front will revitalise troop morale and cause the troops near the Mastiff to fight with more ferocity than normal.
Background[]
The Panzerkampfwagen VI. Mastiff, or Mastiff Medium Tank, was a German tank first built in 1947, which saw extensive service during the Second World War. Armed with a powerful 88mm cannon, the vehicle was designed as a direct answer to the T-40, then the workhorse of the Soviet Union's tank divisions.
At the time of its construction, it was the largest, heaviest, most advanced heavy tank in the world, years ahead of its competitors, it's a shame its logistics weren’t as advanced and the materials it consumed were frankly ridiculous. Unfortunately for the Germans (or maybe fortunately in light of its many design flaws discovered years later), when the Soviet Union rolled into Poland they unleashed the T-55 Anvil Heavy Tank, which drastically outgunned the Mastiff. With the formation of the Allied Nations, the Mastiff was selected as the Allied main tank, and after the inclusion of American engine upgrades and a heavy strip-down of its armour, turning it from a heavy tank to the medium tank its known for, it was manufactured in massive numbers; some 35,000 tanks were produced across eight countries and war factories across the world during the war with even more produced afterward.
In combat the Mastiff performed admirably, usually in conjunction with its lighter counterpart, the Beagle, the Mastiff would strike Anvils from beyond their maximum range with their 88mms, drawing their attention and allowing the Beagle to flank enemy formations and deliver risky, close-range killing blows to the enemy rear armour. The design was not without its problems, suffering from underpowered engines and frequent breakdowns, but these flaws were eventually smoothed out as production ramped up and better standardizations and quality controls, and contributions by various nations, were implemented.
After the war, thousands of Ausf. B Mastiff tanks were stored in the "Boneyard", a vast desert facility in Nevada, where they were allowed to rust under the desert sun in case the situation ever got bad enough to require their services again; with heaps of newer more modern 105mm guns at the ready, until retrieved and upgraded by the fledgling Confederate Revolutionaries. However, the Mastiff has not been forgotten by the Allies; the many Allied member states still use the PzKpfw VI Ausf. F “Crusader” as their main battle tank, and it saw extensive action alongside the newer Guardian tank in the recent conflict.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The Mastiff Tank is based off the German King Tiger, though it went through several design iterations before that. The major being that the Tiger was a HEAVY tank in the Original timeline, and not a good one (let's just say its predecessor, the Tiger, had frequent engine breakdowns and consumed a lot of materials, and the King Tiger turned those issues up to eleven).
- One of the things retained through all the designs was the metal basket on the outside of the turret, a feature retained from the original M1 Abrams design.
Just the Stats[]
PzKpfw. VI Mastiff | |
Main Battle Tank | |
Cost | 1100 |
Build Time | 0:10 |
Health | 175 |
Speed | 60 |
Armour Type | Heavy Armour |
105 mm Gun | |
Drops Off, Move and Fire | |
Cannon | |
Range | 350 |
RPS | 1/3 |
Damage | 88 |
Suppression | 25 |
DPS | 29.3 |
.30 Remote Turret | |
Intimidate, Move and Fire | |
Gun | |
Range | 210 |
RPS | 5 |
Damage | 2 |
Suppression | 5 |
DPS | 10 |
Reserve Crusader Medium Tank[]
Panzerkampfwagen VI. Ausf. F “Crusader” | |
Latest variant of the Crusader tank used by Allied Reservists, upgraded with the Spyglass designator | |
Minor Faction | Allied Reservists |
Other Faction(s) | Confederate Revolutionaries National Revolutionary Army |
Unit Type | Main Battle Tank |
Designation | Anti-Tank |
Production Building | Command Centre |
Secondary Ability | Switch Spyglass Target Designator/Main Cannon Reduces Target Defense/Ground attack |
Cost | Unknown |
Production Time | Unknown |
Heroic Upgrade | Machine gun Bulldozer Blade • Increased HP • Mineclearing |
Dev. Status | Modelled |
Tactical Analysis[]
- Stand Off: Modernized Mastiff tanks are still used in large numbers by the Allies because of their durability, a trait more recent vehicles have often sacrificed for greater performance. This capability has only grown over new versions of the machine, making the Reservist “Crusader” one of the toughest main battle tanks on the field while still having a decent speed.
- One Point Twenty: The main gun of the Crusader is mostly unchanged from its post-upgrade WW2 incarnation save for a bigger caliber and rifled barrel, though this matters little as the weapon is still more or less comparable to modern examples. Though it will scrap vehicles, the slow tracking weapons is less than effective against infantry.
- In the Spotlight: The Ausf. F mounts a smaller version of the Spyglass spectrum designator seen on the Guardian Tank. The Reservists use it particularly to guide artillery and airstrikes to the target.
- Urban Combat: In light of the Mastiff's performance during WWIII, the Allies have been distributing kits to improve the Mastiff's survivability in urban warfare. While such kits are in short supply, they provide increased protection and a mineclearing dozer blade, in addition to reintroducing the machine gun present on older models .
Background[]
Many military analysts now consider the Panzer VI ”Mastiff” to be a tank that was ahead of its time.
When the Mastiff was first revealed, following the lifting of armament restrictions on Germany, the rest of Europe was shocked; it had thick, heavily sloped armour that was impervious to most anti-tank weapons of the time, while the powerful 88mm main gun would have had little trouble punching through the armour of its counterparts in other countries. Had Germany gone to war with the rest of Europe, one can only imagine that the Mastiff would have been virtually unstoppable, pitted against the tank designs of the other European countries. Though as time passed many engineers scoffed, to outright laugh, when asked about it as they have pointedly noted that the Panzerkampfwagen VI original design was an expensive, overengineered, embarrassment with a pathetically underpowered engine and consumed just as much as an Apocalypse, the only reason why is considered good was that the Allied forcibly stripped down its armour until it was downgraded to a easily mass produced medium tank and that the other Allied nations had provided better materials, resources, and multiple factories. Had the Mastiff been made by Germany alone with the original design it would be a heavy tank slower than an Apocalypse with only a quarter of the armour and firepower of an Apocalypse, breakdown every five miles (forcing it to return to base for a complete retrofit), and only five would be made per year tops, during which the other nations would be making cheaper, smaller, tanks by the hundreds, the most talked about being the Beagle, as even if it’s number was reduced if it was built as the medium it originally was it would have outnumbered the Mastiff five to one and easily killed it with the same tactics it used to kill the Anvils. Sure, it may be a terror to face, but it would be a major drain on the German economy and logistics, one which they can't afford due to their lack of natural resources.
As it were, this never came to pass (possibly a good thing as the Germans would have became laughingstocks had they been defeated, which the Network, and begrudgingly the Allied, had predicted was likely); instead, in the wake of a massive Soviet invasion, Germany would eventually be asked to disseminate plans for the Mastiff to the rest of the Allied Nations; the Mastiff, it turned out, was the one tank that could stand up to the Soviet Anvil and have a chance of winning, if it had some parts cut out and introduced (such as a better engine and lighter armour for easier mass production). In factories throughout the Allied Nations, Mastiff tanks were produced in vast numbers, after some important and cost-cutting modifications (such as a reliable engine), to stand against the Soviet juggernaut.
The formidable design has withstood the test of time; since the end of the war, the trend in Allied tank design has been to focus more on speed and firepower. As a result of this, the Mastiff's modern incarnation, the Crusader, remains one of the most durable tanks in the Allied inventory, with its 180mm thick steel (later replaced with more advanced materials) armour; its new 120mm, on the other hand, while still a larger calibre is outclassed by newer weapons such as the Guardian's 90mm smoothbore gun, is still considered a formidable weapon. Considering all this, it is no surprise that so many Allied member nations continue to use the Mastiff tank in the form of the Crusader.
This has been greatly helped by the fact that original makers Henschel & Son have introduced a number of upgrades to the Crusader design over the years. The latest Crusader variant, the Ausf. F, boasts a number of improvements over its previous iterations; the most obvious of these, however, is the installation of a "Spyglass" target designator, which allows the Mastiff to designate targets similarly to the Guardian MBT. Additionally, to increase the Mastiff's flexibility, Henschel & Son has also released a number of kits to customize Mastiffs for more specialized roles; the most popular is the urban combat kit, which adds a Browning heavy machine gun and a front mounted dozer blade.
Quotes[]
Allied Reservist National Armies
Paradox-Exclusive Mini-Faction. | |
Infantry | Defender • Rocket Defender |
Combat Vehicles | Ranger Battle Car • Retriever APC • Crusader Medium Tank • Pershing Howitzer • Steelrain Artillery • Wolfhound Tank Destroyer • Chrono Miner |
Watercraft | Horizon Frigate |
Aircraft | Cardinal Slick |
Structures | Command Centre • MK2 SPAM Refinery • GPS Uplink |
Reinforcements | Recon Peacekeeper • Recon Leopard • Condor Heavy Lift Transport • Hawker Spectre • Revenant Gunship |
Detailed Information | Allied Reserve Forces Characters • Vietnam War • National Militaries of the Allied Nations Member States • Reservist Supply Pad Reinforcements • GPS Uplink Doctrines |
Blue China Minzu Heavy Tank[]
Panzerkampfwagen VI. Ausf. D “Minzu” | |
A Mastiff of the 1024th National Army | |
Minor Faction | National Revolutionary Army |
Other Faction(s) | Confederate Revolutionaries Allied Reservists |
Unit Type | Main Battle Tank |
Designation | Anti-Garrison/Anti-Ground |
Production Building | Command Bunker |
Secondary Ability | Trench Dragger |
Cost | Unknown |
Production Time | Unknown |
Heroic Upgrade | Twin Guns |
Dev. Status | Skinned |
Country of Origin | Germany |
Produced by/ Recovered from |
Henschel & Son, Kassel |
Key Features | » 140mm cannon (original design) » "Milly" fragmentation grenade launcher » Reinforced steel hull (rust resistant) » Heavy duty trench dragger » Retrofitted engine (supplied by Confederates) |
Tactical Analysis[]
- Taking Back The Line: Blue China Mastiffs “Minzu” were the most heavily armoured tank in the civil war and in post-apocalyptic China today, with a main gun larger than its original for tanks, a grenade launcher for infantry and degarrisoning, and enough armour to compete with an Anvil.
- ...Keeping It: When not taking positions or being a glorified gun turret, the Minzu can dig trenches as protection for friendly infantry.
- ...And Not Going Anywhere Fast: Like all tanks, the Minzu is still vulnerable to being flanked and is as slow as its embarrassing first iteration (not helped by the NRA switching its engine for an inferior copy to make room for more armour). Though in China, they're usually worrying more about swarms of anti-tank infantry.
- The Blue Anvil: Mastiff crews who have survived while others have perished typically salvage what they can from their deceased comrades' vehicles. Most take an extra gun for a one two armour piercing punch that helps the crew better engage Nians, Battlemasters, and the like.
Before the Bombs[]
One of the advantages the Nationalists did have was that they simply had more money. Since it was supported by the Allied Nations between the wars, the funds needed were relatively small compared to the arming the Peacekeepers and various humanitarian programs. The Red Chinese, however, were supported by nations that relied heavily on a controlled economy, which meant they received very little hard cash along with their arms.
To the Blue Chinese, though, money was one of their greatest weapons. Money meant more supplies could be bought, more advanced weapons, even mercenaries like Legion Security when they needed more men. One of the biggest advantages to this, though, was that they were able to buy tanks instead of indigenous designs. Chief among them was the main battle tank of the Allies, the Mastiff.
The Blue China modified their locally produced Mastiffs, variant Minzu, to be even more armoured, and to be able to go hull down in any terrain. Though the Mastiffs the Nationalists received were initially of the Ausf. B variant, Blue Chinese engineers were ordered to make some upgrades in order to make their Mastiffs tougher when compared to Red Chinese Battlemasters. The Chinese variant has a fragmentation grenade launcher instead of a machine gun and replaced its obsolete 88mm with an even larger 140mm to better suit the Blue Chinese warfare and to give the Mastiff even more firepower. When Henschel & Son, creators of the Mastiff, heard about this variant, they started making them and selling them to Blue China for a much better price.
Furthermore, since they were expected to keep on a line and hold it with infantry support, Blue Chinese engineers attached jury-rigged trench-diggers on the rear of all their Mastiffs. In a pinch, Mastiffs could tear the ground to produce trenches in the ground for their foot-bound allies. Though not as deep as a prepared trench, often battlelines would be moved and infantry would need even a modicum of protection in order to survive. Even without infantry support, the Minzu was one of the hardiest tanks in the Chinese Civil War, and in the rare times that Mastiffs were required to move, the Red Chinese feared the firepower and durability of the Minzu, as the Soviets once did as well. Even if said movement was at a snail's pace because all of that new armour, weapons, and trench dragger severely weighted it down, making it as fast as the first original design of the Mastiff (which were slower than an Apocalypse), and it’s actually said that by the time the Minzu reached the front, the Reds had already brought in the countermeasures and had a good dinner, with tea and dessert.
After the Bombs[]
At the closing stages of the war, the Minzu tanks moved less and less from their positions, until eventually they stopped moving altogether. Their engines, already poor quality as they were local copies (the originals were sent to logistic vehicles), were removed and used elsewhere, and the Minzu became little more than glorified turrets, their extra equipment, if it wasn't removed for other things, left to rust as they were dedicated to holding points in massive trench systems. Red China had abandoned complicated battle maneuvers to simply throwing wave after wave of men and armour at Nationalist positions, negating the need to counterattack in the first place. Eventually, the points they were defending were destroyed in nuclear fire, and they were abandoned completely in the empty landscape.
However, once again they were pressed into the service of Blue China. It became clear that Red China was not only still operating, but had massive amounts of tanks. Tanks that needed to be countered. Blue China set out to find every Minzu tank they could, and if possible, drag them back to their bunkers. Any neglect was addressed as best they could, though few tanks operate as well as they once did.
The trench diggers in particular had to be sharpened and made to be heavier, in order to break through the new ground of China, sometimes nothing more than radioactive glass. The new drivers of any recovered tanks were picked from among the finest of surviving tank crews, and given the honourary titles of "Youxia" - becoming equivalent to that of minor noble and knight in the new kingdoms of Blue Chinese warlords.
Engines, however, were another matter, as very few could be found that were still operating and not in the hands of unsympathetic scavengers. When attempts to recover enough failed, Blue China once again looked to its allies for aid. The Allied Nations, however, could not spare any supplies due to their war with the Soviet Union. It was only much later that the Blue Chinese were finally able to get many engines.
Using a tenuous chain of smugglers, backdoor men, surviving Nationalist infiltrators, and pirates, several of the fiefdoms were able to get into contact with a branch of the Confederates. Accepting stolen blood diamonds recovered from Red Chinese hands as payment, the Confederates were willing to send supplies, including engines, back through the chain of contacts to China. With this exchange of interests, many old Mastiff engines that would otherwise be left lying in the Boneyard could be illicitly sent back to the Chinese warlords, who soon enough were putting the Minzu back into mostly-working order once more.
National Revolutionary Army
Paradox-Exclusive Mini-Faction. | |
Infantry | Nationalist • National Garrison • National Protector |
Vehicles | Whippet Half-Track • Minzu Heavy Tank • Barker Tank Destroyer • Retriever Mortar Tank |
Fire Support | Vickers Machine Gun • 17 Pound Gun • Silkworm Missile Post • Dire Wolf Fortress Tank • Shih Tzu CPV |
Structures | Command Bunker • Supply Bunker • Consulate District • Radar Signal Bunker • Emplacement • Munitions Pillbox |
Special Units | Monitor |
Indian Reservists Reinforcements | Indian Defender • DUKW • Crocodile Hovertank • Cutlass Ramjet • Shortbow Helicopter |
Praetorians Reinforcements | National Guardians • Unfallen • Crossbow Helicopter • Hawker Jingwei • Bluejay Gunship |
Detailed Information | Chinese Civil War • Blue Chinese Characters • Consulate District Upgrades • Consulate District Upgrades Visuals |