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Veterancy M4 Sherman 0
M4 Sherman Tank
M4 sherman
Army American
Role Core Medium Tank
Unit Cost 420Icon Manpower Small 420
90Icon Fuel Small 90
8Icon PopCap Small 8
Upkeep per Minute -13.82Icon Manpower Small −13.82
Prereq. None
Produced By Tank Depot
Primary armament 75 mm gun M3
76mm Gun M1A1C (-Upgraded Main Gun-)
Secondary armament 2×.30 caliber Browning M1919A4 machine guns
.50 caliber Browning M2HB machine gun (-Upgrade-)
Health 636Icon Health Small 636
Armor Medium
Max. Speed 5.5 m/s
Abilities (2)
Ability Toggle Mineclearing
Toggle Mineclearing
  • Allows the vehicle to drive safely over enemy Mines, detonating them without suffering any damage to itself.
  • The spinning Crab Flail can rapidly kill infantry in front of the tank.
  • While active, Maximum Speed is reduced by 50%.
  • Requires the Crab Mine Flail upgrade.
  • Costs nothing
  • Duration: Permanent until deactivated.
  • Cooldown: 15 seconds (activation), 5 seconds (deactivation)


Ability Fire Smoke Shell
Fire Smoke Shell
  • Conceals the tank in smoke, allowing it to avoid damage from enemy units.
  • Requires Tank Depot: Defensive Smoke Screen
  • Costs 50Icon Munitions Small 50
  • Duration: 28 seconds
  • Cooldown: 45 seconds
Upgrades (2)
Upgrade M2HB 50 Cal Machine Gun Sherman
M2HB .50 cal Machine Gun
  • Adds a gunner to the tank's turret-top M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun, making it operable and providing extra anti-infantry firepower.
  • Costs 75Icon Munitions Small 75
  • Takes 20 seconds to install


Upgrade Crab Mine Flail
Crab Mine Flail
  • Installs a set of rotating chains at the front of the vehicle, which can be lowered to clear Mines in front of the vehicle as it moves.
  • Costs 75Icon Munitions Small 75
  • Takes 30 seconds to install



The M4 Sherman (or "Sherman Tank") is the core medium tank fielded by the American army in Company of Heroes. Armed with a strong general-purpose cannon and clad in thick layers of armor, this tank can lead the American armored offensive and engage almost any enemy unit in combat. M4 Shermans often operate in large groups, with or without support from other American Sherman variants. The M4 Sherman is also bristling with machine guns, and can be upgraded with a Crab Mine Flail to safely clear mines in its path.

Overview[]

The M4 Sherman is one of the most iconic vehicles of World War II, and for good reason: it was created in massive quantities by the American wartime industries, and saw action in nearly every conflict in the war after the United States joined it. It served as the basis for many different variants of wide capabilities, but the basic M4 Sherman design is nonetheless one of the most capable core medium tanks in the game, rivaling (and some say surpassing) the Wehrmacht's Panzer IV.

The M4 Sherman is produced from the Tank Depot, for the cost of 420Icon Manpower Small 420, 90Icon Fuel Small 90. It consumes 8Icon PopCap Small 8, and given the American army's low Population CapIcon PopCap Small Population Cap limits only a few of these will be fielded in each battle. Nonetheless, a few of these tanks grouped together can cause serious damage to any enemy group or position.

The M4 Sherman has thick front armor, sitting between the effectiveness of the Panzer IV and Stug IV in gameplay. A small turret at the top houses the default 75mm General-Purpose cannon, which is useful against most enemy targets. The vehicle is also armed with two Light Machine Guns, and an additional Heavy Machine Gun that is initially unmanned (requiring an upgrade to become operable). This package of firepower can drive straight into combat and deal with Infantry, Weapon Teams, light and medium vehicles, and even lighter enemy tanks.

The M4 Sherman can receive several important upgrades, whether purchased individually for it (Local Upgrades) or bought at the Tank Depot for all existing and future Sherman Tanks (Global Upgrades). These upgrades will increase both its survivability and firepower, making it a far more dangerous unit. Nonetheless, the M4 Sherman relies more on good tactics and movement during battle than straightforward firepower like Axis heavy tanks do.

Among its upgrades, the Sherman Tank can be fitted with a larger cannon (making it better at face-to-face tank combat), a defensive smoke launcher (concealing it to facilitate maneuvers or retreats), and a Crab Mine Flail which can easily and safely clear Mines from its path as it advances.

An M4 Sherman can operate on its own, engaging targets smaller than itself (especially light vehicles), but is far more useful in large armored groups - especially when coupled with M10 Tank Destroyers and/or M4 'Crocodile' Shermans. It can even be combined with infantry to create a more versatile combat group. In either case, the M4 Sherman's primary task is the same: to engage the enemy directly, soaking damage and keeping the enemy busy while other units maneuver to their flanking positions. Meanwhile, it can dish out its own damage as appropriate.

Weapons[]

The M4 Sherman is initially armed with three separate weapons:

  • An M3 75mm General-Purpose Cannon on its turret, for dealing with vehicles and large infantry groups.
  • An M1919A4 Browning Light Machine Gun mounted coaxially on the turret.
  • A second M1919A4 Browning Light Machine Gun, mounted on the front of the hull.

In addition, the Sherman Tank has a .50 Cal M2HB Browning Heavy Machine Gun on a pintle mount at the top of the turret, which is initially unmanned. An upgrade will alow a crew member to operate this anti-infantry weapon.

Finally, the tank's main cannon may be replaced with an M1A1C 76mm Armor-Piercing Cannon through a Global Upgrade purchased at the Tank Depot. This weapon has almost twice the Penetration of the tank's original gun, though it does have a few minor drawbacks.

M3 75mm General-Purpose Cannon[]

The Sherman Tank's original primary weapon is a standard-issue 75mm cannon, firing standard explosive shells. This is a general-purpose weapon that is especially dangerous to enemy light and medium vehicles, and can also do serious damage to Weapon Teams and to enemy infantry.

The M3 75mm Cannon's shells are rather accurate up to about 30 meters. Each shell inflicts 87.5 points of damage to any target it hits directly. In addition, the shell explodes in a radius of 3 meters, causing anywhere down to 30 points of damage to targets at the rim of this blast. This enables the cannon to hit smaller targets, like infantry, or kill an entire Weapon Team with a single shot (if it hits close enough).

The Penetration values for this cannon are not too impressive. While it will have no trouble getting through the front armor of light vehicles or medium vehicles (including the heavier-clad Ostwind Flakpanzer), it only has 50% or less chance to penetrate the front of a StuG IV or Panzer IV, and much more trouble against heavier tanks. Against rear armor however, penetration is virtually guaranteed against anything except Tigers and King Tigers.

Accuracy against infantry is slightly lower for this cannon, but it is still likely to hit one or more infantrymen with each shot, thanks mainly to its large blast radius.

This cannon fires one shell every 6 seconds. It has a range of 40 meters - the normal range for tank encounters, slightly outside the tank's own sight-range. At this distance, however, the shells are significantly less accurate and have less Penetration chance than at 30 meters or less.

M1919A4 Light Machine Guns[]

This belt-fed automatic weapon is a standard issue vehicle-mounted machine gun. The M4 Sherman has two such guns installed: one mounted coaxially on the main turret will engage any target the main cannon is firing at; the other is mounted on the front of the hull, and will fire at targets directly in front of the vehicle, independently of the tank's turret. Both of these weapons are identical, except for their firing directions.

The M1919A4 is a relatively poor weapon. Although it fires in long, 5 second bursts, with about 35 bullets per per burst, this is mitigated by very low accuracy values. When firing at anything beyond very close range (5 meters or so) only a few bullets if any will strike the target at all. It also delivers a relatively low amount of damage: 4 points per hit, with a serious damage reduction against most targets (even against most infantry units). It can take upwards of 10 bursts to kill a single infantryman with this weapon, unless the target is very close.

Additionally, the M1919A4 has almost no Suppression ability, despite being a rapid-fire weapon. This makes it even less useful against infantry, the only targets it can actually damage with any reliability.

This weapon is meant only to discourage infantry from approaching the front of the tank, and add some anti-infantry capability to tank's overall firepower. In fact, it is more likely for the tank's main cannon to kill infantry than it is for its Light Machine Guns.

.50 Cal M2HB Browning Heavy Machine Gun[]

This is a .50 caliber belt-fed automatic weapon. It is mounted on a secondary mount at the top of the tank's main turret. It can thus engage targets separately from the main cannon. The M2HB Browning will prefer to engage enemy infantry, as it is quite useful against them.

This machine gun can be compared to several other types of Heavy Machine Guns used by the Americans, on their vehicles or other units. It has a fairly rapid firing rate, discharging bursts of 12-18 bullets (2–3 seconds long) with intervals of between 2–4 seconds between each burst. Accuracy leaves something to be desired, but is sufficiently good given the high firing rate.

Each bullet striking its target delivers a basic 7 points of damage, like most other American Heavy Machine Guns. However, this weapon has a damage bonus against some types of infantry, making them a little easier to kill. Unfortunately, the gun has very weak Suppression effects.

Damage against enemy vehicles is significantly reduced, and this weapon is unable to do any significant damage to enemy tanks whatsoever.

The M2HB Browning Heavy Machine Gun is initially unmanned, and will not open fire at any enemy. To activate this weapon, you must purchase the M2HB .50 Cal Machine Gun upgrade for the vehicle, which will allow a gunner to operate it. Note that the gunner can be killed when the Sherman Tank receives critical damage or takes too much small arms fire. Repairing the tank will equip it with a new gunner.

Finally, note that the weapon has a range of 35 meters (the vehicle's sight-range), and can rotate 360° degrees around to engage any target within this range.

M1A1C 76mm Armor-Piercing Cannon[]

The Tank Depot offers purchase of a Global Upgrade called "M1A1C 76mm Gun". When purchased, this upgrade will replace the 75mm Cannon on all existing and future M4 Sherman tanks with the eponymous 76mm Armor-Piercing cannon.

Other than the visual difference between the two cannons, they have very different combat properties. First and foremost, the 76mm's shells are specifically designed to pierce armor, making this weapon twice as likely to penetrate the front armor of any enemy tank. This means that the M4 Sherman can now engage any enemy medium tanks from the front and have an almost perfect penetration chance against them. It will still struggle somewhat to get through the frontal armor of Hetzer, Tiger, Jagdpanther and Panther, but rear penetration against Tigers and King Tiger is now almost guaranteed.

There are several smaller differences that are nonetheless important:

For one, the armor-piercing 76mm shells explode in a slightly larger radius (3.2 meters), but distribute their damage differently, so that targets close to the blast receive more damage than before, but targets further away receive considerably less (down to only 17 points of damage near the perimeter of the blast). This makes killing infantry groups a little less likely, though the cannon is still accurate enough to do so occasionally.

Furthermore, the gun takes an extra second to reload due to the heavier shells. This reduces its firing rate to one shell per every 7 seconds. Also note that this is increased to over 10 seconds while the tank is moving - a penalty not applied to the original 75mm cannon.

Finally, the turret's speed is increased by almost 30%. In other words, the entire turret will rotate faster and thus be able to engage different enemies more rapidly. This is very important when using the M4 Sherman to flank enemy tanks.

Abilities[]

When first created, the M4 Sherman has no abilities of its own. One ability, Toggle Mineclearing, becomes available when the tank's Crab Mine Flail is purchased, and will activate and deactivate the flail mechanism. The other ability, Fire Smoke Shell, is unlocked when the appropriate Global Upgrade is purchased at the Tank Depot; it allows concealing the tank in a cloud of smoke.

Ability Toggle Mineclearing Toggle Mineclearing[]

  • Requires the Crab Mine Flail upgrade.
  • Costs nothing
  • Activation: Immediate
  • Duration: Permanent until deactivated.
  • Cooldown: 15 seconds (activation), 5 seconds (deactivation)

This ability activates and deactivates the M4 Sherman's Crab Mine Flail, installed by the upgrade of the same name (see below). When this button is first clicked, the arms holding the flail will lower the cylinder towards the ground, and begin to rotate it at increasing speed. As the chains rotate, they will rapidly "slap" the ground in front of the tank.

This has the effect of detonating any Mines the tank comes across without the tank itself sustaining any damage. In fact, the tank is immune to all Mines while the flail is operating, even if while driving backwards! This applies to all kinds of Mines available in the game, including Teller Mines and Butterfly Bombs.

Additionally, the rotating chains are very dangerous to "soft" targets in the vehicle's path. It can be used to kill enemy infantry simply by driving up to them, tearing them to shreds. This works only against "free-moving" infantry; any infantrymen crewing a Team Weapon are immune to this effect, at least while the weapon is set up.

While the Crab Mine Flail is active, the tank suffers a 50% reduction to its maximum speed.

After activation, it takes 15 seconds for this ability to cool down. This is roughly the time it takes for the animation of the Crab Mine Flail's activation to complete itself. After those 15 seconds, you may click the button again to deactivate the flail, halting the cylinder's rotation and raising the arms back to their safe position.

Note that the mineclearing effects are immediately applied to the tank upon activation - you don't actually need to wait for the cylinder to begin rotating at all, and can immediately begin clearing mines.

Note: When the Crab Mine Flail detonates a mine, the tank itself is immune to damage from the explosion, but other units within the mine's explosive radius are not. Keep your units away from the tank while it is clearing mines to avoid losing those units to collateral damage.

Ability Fire Smoke Shell Fire Smoke Shell[]

  • Requires the Defensive Smoke Screen Global Upgrade from the Tank Depot
  • Costs 50Icon Munitions Small 50
  • Activation: Immediate
  • Duration: 28 seconds
  • Cooldown: 45 seconds

When this ability is activated, the M4 Sherman will immediately fire a smoke grenade up into the air directly above it. The grenade will explode above the tank, creating a large smoke cloud that will descend upon the vehicle.

The smoke acts as a special kind of cover - it makes any unit inside or behind it much more difficult to hit. Most weapons - especially slow-firing anti-tank weapons - will find it extremely hard to hit the M4 Sherman while it is concealed by the smoke.

The cloud itself is a sphere, 8 meters in radius in all directions from the position where the tank was when it fired the shell. It lasts 28 seconds from the moment the ability button is pressed.

Smoke can be used in several ways, primarily to protect the tank as it withdraws from combat. There are more complex tactics that involve the use of smoke, all detailed below in the Tactics section of this article.

Upgrades[]

The two upgrades available for the M4 Sherman tank are the M2HB .50 Cal Machine Gun and the Crab Mine Flail. Both of these abilities enhance the tank's combat performance in different ways. You may purchase both upgrades if you wish.

Upgrade M2HB 50 Cal Machine Gun Sherman M2HB .50 Cal Machine Gun[]

  • Costs 75Icon Munitions Small 75
  • Takes 20 seconds to install

Despite its title, this upgrade does not actually add an M2 Browning Machine Gun to the tank - it already has such a weapon clearly visible at the top of its turret. This upgrade actually adds a new crewman - a gunner - to man and operate the weapon.

The M2 Browning is a good machine gun for killing enemy infantry units. It can swivel independently of the tank's main cannon, and thus can engage units at various directions as required. It will often attack nearby enemy infantry if the main cannon is engaging an enemy tank - since the M2 Browning cannot do damage to heavy armor.

The M2 Browning's gunner can be killed independently if the tank suffers a specific kind of critical damage. You do not need to purchase the upgrade again in this case - the gunner will be revived when the tank receives sufficient repairs from an engineering unit or other ability.

Note: This upgrade alters the tank's 3D model by adding a layer of sandbags fastened to the front of the vehicle. It has been speculated in the past that these sand-bags augment the tank's defensive capabilities in some way. Unfortunately, an examination of the game files reveals that this is only a visual effect - the tank receives no protection from damage or bonuses to its armor rating whatsoever. Research suggests that the sandbags were added to the frontal armor of tanks with exposed gunners to decrease the possibility of rounds deflecting upwards towards the gunner. The gunner can be killed by either a shell impacting the tank or when the tank takes heavy small arms fire, such as machine guns. The sandbags are purely for visual effect only.

Upgrade Crab Mine Flail Crab Mine Flail[]

  • Costs 75Icon Munitions Small 75
  • Takes 30 seconds to install

This upgrade installs a Crab Mine Flail extension to the front of the M4 Sherman's hull. The Crab Mine Flail consists of a pair of metal arms extending forward from the vehicle's sides, with a large cylinder stretched between them at their forward tips. A series of long chains are attached to the cylinder at various points.

Initially, the Crab Mine Flail is in a "deactivated" position, with the arms held at a certain upwards angle, and the chains simply dangling off the cylinder.

The ability to Toggle Mineclearing (see above), which is added to the tank's action menu with the purchase of this upgrade, will activate and deactivate the flail as required. When activated, the contraption's arms change their angle, lowering the cylinder close to the ground. At this point the cylinder begins to rotate at a high speed, "flailing" its chains and rapidly striking the ground in front of the tank as it moves.

This has the effect of "prematurely" detonating any Mines the tank rolls over, with no damage to the tank itself. Effectively, it makes the tank invulnerable to mine damage. It may also be a useful weapon in a close-up environment with bunched-up groups of enemies; with the flails activated, the tank may be turned into a literal meatgrinder, with the fast-moving flails chopping up any enemy soldiers caught in front of the vehicle and unable to move away quickly enough.

Usefulness of the Crab Mine Flail is discussional, because it makes the tank slower while in use. In such case it is difficult to avoid enemy fire, therefore this equipement shouldn't be in use during combat. As mentioned earlier, the tank can decimate enemy soldiers thanks to it, nonetheless engaging enemy infantry at close range is risky, because most of them has anti-tank launchers at their disposal. The Crab Mine Flail, however, is excellent in clearing Butterfly Bombs. These mines are quite difficult to detect and diffuse even by units with minesweepers, and particularly dangerous to infantry units. The M4 Sherman equipped with mine flail can often deal with them quite quickly and more efficiently than other units.

Historically, the Crab Flail's chains would need to be replaced after several detonations. But in-game, the chains never need replacing, and are not damaged by mines or enemy fire.

Tank Depot Global Upgrades[]

The Tank Depot has two Global Upgrades available which are specifically designed to add extra abilities to the M4 Sherman tank. As Global Upgrades, once they are purchased they will affect any existing and future M4 Sherman.

First and foremost is the M1A1C 76mm Gun Global Upgrade. For the cost of 200Icon Manpower Small 200, 50Icon Fuel Small 50, it will replace each Sherman Tank's main cannon with a heavier, armor-piercing version. The new cannon's primary benefit is its ability to pierce any medium tank's front armor with ease (though it will still struggle against heavy tanks), not to mention rear armor. There are several other effects, explained above in the M1A1C 76mm Gun section of this article.

Another extremely important Global Upgrade is the Defensive Smoke Screen, purchased for 150Icon Manpower Small 150, 25Icon Fuel Small 25. This will grant all M4 Shermans the ability to deploy a small smoke screen right on top of the vehicle during an emergency. The smoke serves to conceal the tank, effectively making it very hard to hit with any weapon. This is very useful to save a Sherman Tank from destruction, but can also help to perform complex maneuvers by allowing the tank to move to a different position without exposing itself to damage in the process. The smoke screen is not a perfect shield against enemy firepower of course, but the reduction in accuracy it inflicts on enemy units is pretty severe nonetheless.

Both these Global Upgrades are essential in the late stages of the game, where tank battles are common (especially when the Axis players begin fielding their heavy tanks). You might want to purchase the Defensive Smoke Screen upgrade earlier, as it is cheaper and provides useful protection against mid-game anti-tank weaponry. The M1A1C 76mm Gun has no real application outside tank battles, so you can wait until enemy medium/heavy tanks show up to purchase this.

Veterancy[]

As an American unit, the M4 Sherman can gain three levels of Veterancy. Each level brings its own specific benefits, increasing the unit's combat potential and/or survivability.

Accumulation[]

Like all other American units, the M4 Sherman obtains Veterancy points by killing enemy units. It receives 100% of the experience value of each unit it kills. Once it has accumulated a sufficient number of Veterancy points, it will automatically advance to the next level, gaining the related bonuses immediately.

American units do not share Veterancy points with one another. To receive points, the unit must personally kill an enemy unit.

Bonuses[]

At each Veterancy level, the M4 Sherman gains a specific set of bonuses as listed below. These bonuses are cumulative with each other.

Veterancy M4 Sherman 0 No Veterancy:
  • Unit is at normal combat efficiency.
Veterancy M4 Sherman 1 Level 1 Veterancy:
  • Maximum Speed increased by 25% (to 6.5 m/s)
Veterancy M4 Sherman 2 Level 2 Veterancy:
Veterancy M4 Sherman 3 Level 3 Veterancy:
  • +25% weapon damage

Tactics[]

The M4 Sherman is an extremely straightforward weapon. Whether on defense or offense, the M4 Sherman is designed to confront the enemy head-on, keeping it busy while other units make a flanking attack at the enemy's rear.

Nonetheless, the Sherman Tank does maintain a certain level of versatility - especially when Shermans are massed together for a unified attack. It benefits greatly when able to flank its own opponent, and can use Defensive Smoke to confuse and outmaneuver its opponents.

The M1A1C 76mm Gun upgrade actually makes the M4 Sherman less versatile, delegating it back to the role of frontal attacker - since it no longer needs to outflank most vehicles to punch through their armor. Nonetheless, against larger Axis tanks a pack of M4 Shermans are still required to confuse, surround and destroy their opponents.

Armored Core[]

Being a core armor unit, the M4 Sherman is expected to be the focal point of a massed assault rather than operate on its own. While a single M4 Sherman can be a dangerous opponent to units smaller than itself, it cannot go head-to-head with enemy tanks, especially tank destroyers, despite its strong front armor. It can be outflanked by anti-tank infantry, or sniped from far away by anti-tank cannons too. Therefore, the M4 Sherman is best when properly supported by several other units.

The most basic formation you can build consists of three or four M4 Shermans operating as a pack. Driving in a ”V” formation, the lead tanks engage and hold the enemy in place, while the other tanks move along the flanks to surround and destroy the enemy from the rear. Four tanks can also provide good firepower against infantry, though they will still be overwhelmed by a large number of anti-tank troops. They also have little to do against long-range defensive AT weapons like the Pak 38 50mm Anti Tank Gun or 88mm Flak 36 AT/AA.

More often, the flanking Shermans are replaced with M10 Tank Destroyers. The main reason for this is that they fire more powerful armor-piercing munitions, and have a higher firing rate, thus destroying enemy tanks more rapidly. The M4 Shermans at the center of the column are still charged with drawing enemy fire to themselves, since the M10 Tank Destroyers are considerably less durable.

At least one M4 'Crocodile' Sherman is recommended to support the tanks against enemy infantry. It can easily destroy enemy anti-tank infantry units, and can take out an anti-tank Weapon Team in short order. It is well-armored enough to survive combat along the Shermans, and in an emergency can take over as the lead tank to draw fire away from an injured M4 Sherman or physically intervene to protect it.

Smaller vehicles are also good choices to protect the tank from flanking attacks. M16 MGMCs and M8 Armored Cars can run along the flanks, destroying enemy infantry or light vehicles attempting to maneuver around the armored group. Remember that these vehicles are much lighter and more prone to damage, and thus require the M4 Sherman to draw enemy fire while they move. Nonetheless, they are quick to move and withdraw, and consume fewer Population CapIcon PopCap Small Population Cap points than an M4 'Crocodile' Sherman.

Smoke Screen Maneuvers[]

The Defensive Smoke Screen available to M4 Sherman tanks through the Tank Depot's Global Upgrades is of paramount importance. It can save a Sherman from destruction, and can also be used to confuse and surround the enemy quite easily.

There are three main methods to successfully using smoke:

The first method is purely defensive. When an M4 Sherman is engaged in heavy tank combat, or being fired upon by anti-tank units, it can deploy smoke to avoid being destroyed. Do this when the tank's health approaches 0, and immediately retreat the tank behind some solid cover, preferably to receive immediate repairs from a nearby Engineer Squad. In the meanwhile, another tank assumes its role as damage soaker.

Alternatively, you can deploy smoke as soon as the enemy is engaged. The enemy will still attempt to fire at the tank through the smoke, having little or no actual effect. Use this time to flank the enemy with your other units. Note that while the smoke conceals your tank, it also makes the Sherman much less accurate itself. You'll rely on the flankers to deal with the enemy for those first 30-or-so seconds of the battle, until the smoke clears. If you don't wish to wait that long, drive your Sherman forward out of the smoke to resume attacking the enemy effectively - and resume receiving damage, of course.

Finally, smoke can be used to protect your flanking M4 Shermans. As soon as they reach their flanking positions, deploy smoke immediately. Then, drive the tanks in and out of the smoke screen. Whenever the enemy tank targets one of yours, withdraw into the smoke and reveal another of your flankers. The enemy tank can either choose to engage the concealed unit (having little effect against it), or attempt to switch targets constantly. If you micro-manage this well enough, a group of M4 Shermans can destroy a King Tiger without taking any significant losses at all.

Infantry Support[]

The M4 Sherman was originally designed as an infantry-support tank, following early American doctrines related to tank combat. Although it is often more effective in an armored group (as explained above), the M4 Sherman is nonetheless still useful in this original capacity.

When working together with infantry, the M4 Sherman often drives behind or next to the main infantry force. It will only come forward to engage targets that threaten the infantry directly, such as an MG42 Heavy Machine Gun Team or an anti-infantry vehicle. The infantry themselves, often equipped with anti-tank weaponry, are assigned to take out enemy tanks and perform close-combat with enemy ground infantry.

In this combat group, it is the infantry who are meant to draw fire away from the tank. A nearby M3 Halftrack is often on hand to reinforce them as they die off, leaving the M4 Sherman healthy and operable.

Alternatively, it's always possible to use infantry as flankers, replacing the M10 Tank Destroyer often used in this capacity in an armored core advance. Infantry of course are much slower and more vulnerable than a tank destroyer, but again can be replaced quickly during battle - and enemy tanks usually find them much harder to kill.

Armor Company[]

American companies often rely on infantry rather than tanks as their main assault force, due to their expendability and wide variety of combat abilities. The American Armor Company however relies much more on M4 Sherman tanks to lead its assaults, owing to the great bonuses this Command Tree can give to tanks.

Most importantly, the Armor Company has access to Field Repairs. With this ability it is possible to prolong the survival time of all tanks during intense combat, allowing M4 Shermans to draw more fire from the enemy before having to retreat for repairs. Self-repair also reduces the need for Engineer Squads to follow your vehicles around, thus freeing up valuable Population CapIcon PopCap Small Population Cap points that may then be used to buy more tanks or support vehicles for tank assaults.

With the Allied War Machine ability, it is possible to rapidly replace any lost M4 Sherman tanks. This allows an armored advance to continuously press an attack regardless of the size of the enemy force, without fear of losing any units. A good commander will not need to use this ability often, but it's a good insurance policy for when enemy Tiger, King Tiger and Jagdpanther tanks appear on the field.

Finally, the M26 Pershing becomes available for this company in the late game. This tank can take over the M4 Shermans' role as a core tank, relegating the Shermans to flanking/support roles. Note that some players prefer reducing the size of their Sherman fleet when this heavy tank becomes available, using M10 Tank Destroyers as flanking units instead thanks to their low Population CapIcon PopCap Small Population Cap consumption.

Weaknesses[]

The M4 Sherman is one of the better-armored medium tanks in the game, but not more than the "heavy" Panther tank. This means that the M4 Sherman is not particularly vulnerable to any weapon. In fact, it will be hard for most tanks to even get through the M4 Sherman's front armor at all, requiring them to make intricate flanking maneuvers to defeat this tank.

Nonetheless, dedicated anti-tank guns will usually be able to pierce a Sherman's front armor - and from a long range too. This poses a danger, as the M4 Sherman is ill-equipped for long-range combat, and must first close the distance or deploy a Defensive Smoke Screen to have any chance of surviving more than 4 or 5 shots from such weapons.

Threats like Tiger, King Tiger and others are a very serious problem to Shermans, easily making short work of large Sherman teams. This is largely the reason why flanking units are required to support this tank by quickly rushing around and destroying the source of fire. Although Shermans are cost-effective, a loss is nonetheless not desirable.

Note that enemy anti-tank infantry are also a significant danger, but mostly if they can flank the Sherman to get at its weaker rear armor. The M4 Sherman can return fire at such units and pick them off one-by-one, but will take too long to destroy the entire unit and may be overwhelmed in the process. Again, support units like the M4 'Crocodile' Sherman, M16 MGMC or even a squad of infantry are required to provide anti-infantry support to prevent this from happening.

Axis commander need to exploit their firepower when dealing with Shermans. Hunting Shermans with a small group of medium/heavy tanks is usually desirable to eliminate any significant damage and perhaps the most important to not let the shermans escape the battle.

Variants[]

The M4 Sherman proved to be a capable fighting vehicle in types of combat scenarios. As a result, both the American and British armies began outfitting M4 Shermans with an assortment of different weapons to make it more suitable for specialized combat operations. There are no less than 4 vehicles based on the M4 Sherman available to the Allied factions in Company of Heroes and its expansions.

Production M4 Crocodile Sherman M4 'Crocodile' Sherman[]

By default, the Americans have access to the M4 'Crocodile' Sherman. This tank has had its primary 75mm cannon replaced with a dummy barrel, but instead sports a second, smaller barrel fitted right next to it. This barrel serves as the nozzle for a powerful flamethrower. The M4 'Crocodile' Sherman is an infantry-support tank, capable of burning enemy Infantry, Weapon Teams and buildings with speed and ease. It is often used to escort American infantry units into combat, but works well with M4 Shermans too.

Production M10 Tank Destroyer M10 Tank Destroyer[]

Another basic American unit based on the M4 Sherman is the M10 Tank Destroyer. For this tank, the entire Sherman turret has been replaced with a larger, open-topped turret, sporting a large 3-inch gun. This weapon has superior armor-piercing capabilities, and thanks to its lighter turret is also significantly faster than a regular M4 Sherman tank. It can easily flank and destroy enemy armor, especially when an M4 Sherman is keeping the enemy busy from the front. Unfortunately, the M10 Tank Destroyer trades some armor for this extra speed, making it less survivable in tank combat, and practically necessitating such flanking maneuvers to keep it alive.

Ability Calliope Barrage Sherman Calliope[]

The American Armor Company has access to the third M4 Sherman variant, a Sherman Calliope rocket artillery unit. This tank is fitted with a "raft-like" set of rocket-launching tubes mounted over its turret. It launches these rockets in rapid succession at enemy targets within a medium range, eradicating an entire area with their high-explosive munitions. In earlier versions of the game, this tank kept its 75mm cannon and could engage enemy armor like a regular M4 Sherman; this cannon was then removed in patch 1.5 (replaced with a dummy barrel).

Production Sherman Firefly Sherman Firefly[]

The British army went in a different direction entirely. Lacking any well-armored tank destroyers, they chose to replace the M4 Sherman's general purpose 75mm cannon with a massive 17 Pounder AT Gun, resulting in the Sherman Firefly Tank. This vehicle has the protection of an M4 Sherman combined with enough firepower to lay waste to most Axis tanks. Its cannon can even snipe at targets far beyond normal tank engagement range, and is frighteningly accurate even at that great distance. In tank combat, this vehicle often leads the force and attacks enemy tanks from the front, while smaller British tanks like the Cromwell Tank move to flank the enemy. A pair of Sherman Fireflies can easily take out a Panther, and will even provide a challenge for a Tiger tank.

Variants not included in the game include the M4A3E2 or "Sherman Jumbo" which was intended to become an infantry support tank, it has a hull armor of 100mm at the front and was capable enough to go head to head with the Tiger tank if its armed with an M1A1 76mm main gun (several tanks were field modified to carry the M1A1 76mm). The 'Jumbo' was immensely popular with the US soldiers and tankers alike. It also had the distinction of being the first US tank to be able to survive a direct hit from the feared German 88mm Gun, due to its thick armor. The 'Jumbo' tanks were first armed with the standard 75mm gun. 

The M4A3E8 Sherman tank was a Sherman with the new and better Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension and an M1A1C 76mm Gun in the specifically designed turret. This was also well-liked by users, some feeling they were better overall than the M26 Pershing, and after an introduction in December 1944, went on to see action in the 1950s Korean War, where they were moderately successful fighting Soviet-made T-34 tanks, comparatively equal to the Sherman in tank-on-tank combat, and saw plenty of action.  

The M36 Jackson, which was a larger version of the M10, but has a 90mm M3 Main gun and a front hull armor of 38mm at 55 degrees. The M36 Jackson was deployed to the European theater of operations in September 1944, and became the only tank destroyer that could comfortably knock out most German tanks available, including the Panther and Tiger tanks. 

There were also other slightly differing makes of Sherman historically, like the M4, M4A1, M4A2 and others, but their differences were interior and minor, and the M4A3 was the most commonly used by the U.S. Army, along with M4 and M4A1s.  

The M4 Sherman was also used during the Arab-Israeli conflicts from 1948 until the end of the Yom Kippur War. Variants include the Israeli designated M1 Super Sherman, with a 76mm High Velocity Cannon, and the M51 Super Sherman with the French 105mm Cannon which was capable of knocking out Russian T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks at long distances. The Israelis also experimented a few Shermans by mating the French AMX 13 75 Turret to the M1 Super Sherman chassis. After the Yom Kippur War, most of the remaining Shermans were replaced by the British Centurion Tanks (Designated Sho't Kal, Alef, Bet, Gimel, Dalet), and American made Patton tanks (Designated Magach). 

Quotes[]

On unit selection :

On halt order :

On move order :

On move order, in combat :

When damaged and under attack:

On attack-move order:

On attack order :

On attack order, in combat :

On attack order, heavily damaged:

When main gun is lost:

When engine is damaged:

When engine is lost:

On any grade promotion :

On rank 2 unit promotion :

On rank 3 unit promotion:

Upgrades complete :

Upgrades complete, in combat :

On under attack report :

After being selected multiple times in quick succession:

When facing specific units:

After production, near battle:

Historical Data[]

The Medium Tank, M4 was the primary tank produced by the United States during World War II. The tank was named for Union General William Tecumseh Sherman of the American Civil War. It was one of the most widely-produced armored fighting vehicles during World War II, exceeding 50,000 units. Its chassis also served as the basis for many other armored vehicles.

The M4 Sherman was intended to replace the older and obsolete M3 Lee Medium tank. First seeing action in 1942, it was the tank of choice for one for the greatest invasions of World War II, the Invasion of Normandy. The British even adopted the Sherman as a cruiser tank, Becoming the single most common tank design in their arsenal ever.

The M4 Sherman featured in the Company of Heroes is the M4A3 Sherman, which was the standard armored fighting vehicle of the US Army after D-Day and the most often seen version within the US Military, superseeding the standard M4 and the cast hulled M4A1 (Easily distinguished by its more rounded sides and edges). The Shermans in game is fitted with the standard Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS) system

It was armed with a 75mm M3 L/40 gun, providing reasonable firepower for both infantry support and tank combat. Its secondary armament consisted of two 30. cal machine gun with an additional 50 cal. machine gun on top of the turret. Its 75mm M3 L/40 gun made it a highly versatile vehicle, and besides combating infantry and vehicles it was also very effective against buildings. The tank was clad in 51mm(64mm on later versions) of armor on the front, allowing it to take punishment from tank guns and anti-tank fire.

In game, when the 76mm Gun is added, the model changes by simply extending the barrel of the gun and adding a muzzle break at the end; this makes the tank an M4A3E4 Sherman, which is a normal M4A3 with the 76mm gun fitted in the unaltered 75mm turret. However, this variant of the Sherman was not in use with the US Army - this model was for foreign export and sale, and was created after World War 2. The 76mm-armed M4A3 Sherman that was in use with the World War 2-era US Army had a different style of turret specifically designed for the 76mm gun, and were designated the M4A3 (76)W; the later 'Easy Eight' Shermans were also equipped with 76mm guns. (Note that the regular M4A3 (76)W tanks retained their VVSS suspension)

In real life, the flame-throwing Crocodile Sherman was also able to fire its main gun, although this ability was omitted in the game.

Additionally, the rocket launcher-equipped Sherman, the Calliope, was unpopular with its crew in real life, who felt rather strange about what they were doing in business meant for the Artillery.

Reference[]

An article about this unit of real life can be found on Wikipedia.

Gallery[]

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