Tactics Talk: Should I stay or should I go?

This morning had a battle on Studzianki in the Cromwell B. On this map during the countdown I always look closely at the lineup to decide if I'm going to go to the A line. If the other team has 3 arty, I won't to go A5/A6. If they have 2 arties, I might go there. 1 or fewer, I'll probably go there.

Winning the A line on Studzi gives you an advantage in the C line heavy fight, and a chance to push to the enemy red line and flank their base.

This morning we were in the East spawn, the enemy had 2 arty, and I decided to go to A6 from the outset. I arrived there quickly and went on top of the hill to the bushes to spot. Much to my surprise the red team sent nobody to A5 which let me set up and stay in those bushes. Our T67 came with me and set up in the bushes a few meters away.

Over the next couple of minutes I spotted the other team's O-I, BGR, and a StuG IV, on the C line which we worked on whittling down - and thanks to the bushes I was able to spot, shoot, and stay unspotted myself.

Before long, however, our M10 RBFM at the back started pinging the map and badgering us in chat to move up. "LOOK AT THE MAP! MOVE UP!"

We didn't.

What did I know that he didn't?

That the other team had a Nashorn, a Jackson, and a T67 that had not yet been spotted. On this map it's pretty common to have TDs camping in B1 or C2 and if I pushed down off this hill at this point, one of them would likely spot me. 

With three hidden TDs, and still two arty, I wasn't excited about pushing across an open field.

Additionally though we were winning the C-line heavy fight, it wasn't won yet. But that didn't deter our friend in the M10 RBFM. He kept pinging and finally, he decided to take matters into his own hands and pressed W.

As he passed me and down the enemy side of the hill I watched to see if he'd make it.

He didn't.

Sure enough the enemy T67 was sitting at B1 and our RBFM friend drove right into a crossfire between the T67 and the BGR. He was dead in about 15 seconds. Fortunately he did manage to spot the T67. I finished off the BGR, then pushed the now wounded T67 and finished him too.

Poking over the rails at B1 I was able to spot their arty, their Jackson and their Nashorn. I killed the Jackson and one of the arty, our arty finished off the Nashorn and the other arty. Game won.

The Lesson

This was a perfect example of understanding the map (TDs often hide at B1/C2), the lineup (There were 3 unspotted TDs at that point), and the situation (the BGR was still alive and pushing to B3 was driving into a crossfire).

Once the BGR was dead I would have likely pushed to B3 or C5 to get vision on their next line players, but I wasn't going to rush to push into a crossfire against camping TDs.

RBFM was impatient. He was lucky it was only the T67 at B1 or else he'd have died 10 seconds earlier.

Got additional thoughts or tips? Share them in the comments below!