You're right, to a certain extent. German tank development was primarily geared towards tanks meant to destroy other tanks. Allied tanks, like the Sherman, were really meant to be used as infantry support vehicles. They were faster and more agile, but lacked the tough armor and powerful guns of the German Panzern. Head to head, most Allied tanks were lunch meat for a heavy Panzer, so they had to rely on "gang banging" tactics.
Regular Wehrmacht infantry units weren't attached to armored units, as you'd often see with Allied units. However, every armored core (for the most part) had a small infantry arm of Panzer-grenadiers. There were also a good bit of support vehicles, like Opel Blitz trucks, the Sdkfs, Kubelwagens, etc. A good example of Wehrmacht tactics can be seen in the invasion of France. The armor charged through the Ardennes with almost no infantry support, save Panzer grenadiers and small amounts that were able to be transported by vehicles. They moved so rapidly that Hitler actually became worried they would over-extend supply lines, and ordered them to halt. The general, forgot his name (was it Gudarion?), actually disobeyed him and allowed them to continue moving. It was really brilliant tactics. The Wehrmacht began to self-destruct when Hitler began meddling in affairs. He was such an idiot, lol.
This is also going to be in North Africa, where battles were mainly fought tank to tank. But the simple fact remains that tanks alone can never win. You at least need SOME infantry to protect your tanks, and to handle tasks that tanks can not. "Panzerschlachten" isn't totally devoid of all infantry.
It's really the concept of using tanks freely, without being totally dependent upon infantry, which can severely slow down your "Blitzkrieg" attacks and assaults. Then, once breakthroughs and exploits are achieved, the infantry and logistical support has to move in to shift the lines and allow for further advance. Run too far from the infantry and logistical support and you will get routed easily. Coordination with air power is another thing of vital importance.
Oh, yes. I am talking about IL-2 Sturmovik. It's one my most favorite games of all time. I really can't wait for the new Storm of War: Battle of Britain, which is made by the same people; Oleg Maddox and Ubisoft. Yes, they had options for external views, but most players only use it for single-player or for making movies. The vast majority of online servers, including all of the most popular ones on HyperLobby use the "Full Realism" setting, which doesn't allow you to leave the cockpit.
Being able to use external views from a tank in our game would give tanks a very unfair and unrealistic advantage. I think it would turn a lot of people off to the game, as 90% of WWII gamers want things to be extremely realistic. It would really wreak havoc on people who enjoy playing as infantry as well. Tanks would be nearly inescapable machines of death. WWII Online doesn't allow any external views, and it's still nearly impossible to sneak past a tank, because they're looking around from their gunsights and periscopes, or even through the commander's hatch. It would also make it impossible for "sappers" to sneak up and plant explosives on tanks. They totally rely on catching the tank from its "blind spot", which is already extremely difficult. With external views, they'd be spotted and shot or run over everytime. I think it would also be impossible for grenadiers, Panzershreks, and Bazookas to get in close enough to kill a tank.
