Of all the maps, advancing on the Prokhorovka wooded side has got to be one of the most difficult things to do successfully. It’s very problematic because it is so heavily wooded that the standard “TDs are exposed after firing” rule does not apply. The bushes around a TD hiding in the woods temporarily no longer count, but there are so many other bushes that the TD is still practically invisible until you are on top of them.
My general preference is not to advance on that side at all, because there is such a strong benefit to the defense. The only exception would be if it was very clear from tracking enemy tanks on the mini-map that the enemy was almost all engaged on the farside of the RRT, and we had overwhelming force on the forest side.
I’m still trying to determine what the best way to tackle this tough nut is. I think if advance must occur, ideally you want 1 or 2 fast, but solid mediums like T-44 or T-54 to advance on the center side (i.e. the field-side) of the road. There they can dip into the shallow depression on the center-side of the road where they will be sheltered from at least some of the enemy fire. You then want the rest of your team to hold position and fire on any targets that are presented. You could try the same strategy with light scout tanks, but I don’t think they’ll hold up well enough and last long enough for this strategy to be effective.
If you don’t have a fast and very sturdy medium, I suppose the next step would be a broad based push up the front. The idea being you want to get all your tanks close enough to spot the enemy. So even if one tank gets knocked off the others are already close enough to negate the enemies’ camouflage advantage.
In general though, IMO in most situations, although not this one, sending 1-2 tanks forward while the others sit back is a very sound strategy. Most tanks shoot very badly on the move, and even high-tier tanks with stabilizers don’t hit that well when moving unless they are very close to their targets.
For example, as I mentioned in a previous post sending 1-2 mediums on Malinovka going North-to-South to shelter behind one of the buildings by the enemy base wins probably wins the match straight out about 75% of the time. The mediums need to be fast enough and hard enough to cross the field with at least 1/2 to 1/3rd of their health left. The other friendly tanks should sit stationary across the field and blast targets. This strategy is much more successful than a general rush.
Similarly on Komarin, fast sturdy mediums rushing through their base to shelter on the farside of the field can break the game wide open. Again other tanks should sit and blast at targets across the field rather than engaging in a general rush behavior. The enemy tanks will usually focus on the fast mediums, who concentrate on staying alive, rather than on the tanks shooting across the field.
In both these situations you need to notify your team in advance on what your behavior will be. If you don’t have sufficient shooters backing up your scout rush, these strategies will not work well.
A general rush into the unknown where you know someone is shooting at you is IMO a bad idea. Better to send a scout out, and lacking a sturdy fast Tier VII or above medium, a Heavy like the T29 is a better choice than a relatively fragile middle tier medium. You need whoever you send out to stay alive long enough for your shooters to whittle down the enemy tanks. Something like a Sherman is simply not going to last more than 1-2 seconds once it gets out in the field.
So while I agree that sending a lone T29 down the forest in Prokhorovka was a bad idea, I think Provkharovka is an unusual situation. In general a policy of sending 1-2 tanks forward while maintaining the remainder of your tanks as a base of fire is a good plan. Sending one section forward, while a second section covers it is a standard military tactic “Fire and Movement” which works well within WoT just as in real life.
