The AT Crew (short for "Anti-Tank Crew") is a Modern Era anti-cavalry unit in Civilization VI. It upgrades from the Pikeman (or its replacements).
In the Rise and Fall expansion, the AT Crew primarily upgrades from the Pike and Shot.
- Attributes:
- +10
Combat Strength vs. light, heavy, and ranged cavalry units.
- +10
Strategy[]
The AT Crew has a revolutionary weapon which finally replaces pikes and gives soldiers a chance against the terrifying Tank that enters the battlefield in the Modern Era. Its rocket launcher can pierce the vehicles' heavy armor (and is simply devastating against more primitive cavalry units), so send your AT Crews to the front lines if an enemy is trying to use Tanks to break through. Just remember that, as anti-cavalry units, they are vulnerable to the attacks of Infantry and other melee units.
Civilopedia entry[]
Although the first appearance of tanks on the battlefield was hardly auspicious, by the end of WW1 it had become obvious that something needed to be done to keep them from grinding one’s infantry underfoot. By the opening of WW2, most countries’ arsenals included some small-caliber (none larger than 50mm) artillery pieces designed to punch through the armor plating of armored vehicles, causing havoc within for the crew, engine, and/or ammunition. But with the advances in tank design and tactics, Germany and then Britain created increasingly larger anti-tank guns, manned by a crew of stalwarts … for, since they had to be in the open to operate the gun, the crewmen were vulnerable to just about everything flying about the field. By the end of the war, the Germans relied on their famed 88mm gun, the Americans had 105s, and the Russians were using 122mm howitzers firing over open sights.
Trivia[]
- The AT Crew is armed with a Panzerschreck, a German-made anti-tank weapon used during World War II that was noted for its iconic blast shield.
- Despite the Civilopedia entry discussing anti-tank guns, the Panzerschreck is a rocket launcher. It's possible that the AT Crew was originally supposed to look more like the Anti-Tank Gun from previous games, but was changed to use a rocket launcher later in development.
- After firing, the loader can be seen patting the launcher's operator on the head after loading a rocket. This is common procedure for reusable rocket launchers that are loaded from behind, in order to signal to the operator that the weapon has been loaded and the loader is clear.
- When attacked, the loader pushes the launcher aside and shoots back with a pistol.
- Both animations are shared with the Modern AT.
