Semovente da 75/18 Assault Gun

The Semovente Da 75/18 Assault Gun is a DAK vehicle unit. In multiplayer skirmishes it is only available as a call-in from the Italian Combined Arms Battlegroup.

The Semovente is an assault gun, similar to the StuG. As such, it has a fixed gun that only faces forward, and the entire chassis must face the target in order to fire. Like the StuG, this makes it very vulnerable to flanking as any approach from a different angle means the unit needs to take time to rotate in order to actually fire. As such, much like heavy weapons, it is best to support it with other units and/or numbers to cover for this weakness.

This unit is essentially a lighter version of the StuG G tanks. It offers far less durability especially with its lighter armour values, although in exchange it has greater mobility. Its weapon is similarly meant for anti-tank duties and is not effective against infantry. The Semovente has good penetration for its cost, making it effective against various light tanks and capable of fighting medium tanks to some extent.

By default the Semovente has access to a barrage ability similar to what most artillery units in the game can do. This gives it unique utility, as it allows the tank to effectively act as an pseudo-artillery unit. This allows it to capably fight infantry despite its main cannon shots being meant for anti-tank duties. Notably, the Semovente's barrages have a low cooldown allowing repeated usage quickly, and is especially useful to force infantry out of cover or garrisons. It is important to note that this barrage fires off at a low angle/elevation and thus, the projectile can be easily intercepted by terrain blockers, so be wary as it is possible to waste barrages that do not hit the intended area.

At veterancy level 1 it gains another useful utility active ability in the form of HEAT Round, which allows it to fire a round that reduce the target vehicle's speed and rotation rate, effectively acting as a ranged snare.

When attained early, this unit can help DAK deal with early armour and light vehicles from the opposition. Even if there is a lack of vehicles to shoot at, it can still support infantry quite well thanks to its barrage ability. While its lack of durability means it does not scale as well into the late game (and increases micromanagement needs), it veteran HEAT Round ability still allows to be useful. All of this makes the Semovente a fairly reliable unit that can help out with many problems, though again one must be wary of its major weakness of having to turn entirely in order to fire.

Of special note, Italian tanks benefit from various Armory upgrades but do not benefit from the Tungsten Core Ammunition upgrade.