Overlord tank (Generals 1)

"Are you ready...?"

- Overlord Tank after emerging from the War Factory

The mighty Overlord was a key to the Chinese arsenal. It was by far the largest, most powerful, and and most technologically advanced tank fielded by any of the factions in the GLA conflict. It could quite easily defeat any conventional vehicle in a one on one fight. Travelling on four sets of treads, the Overlord by default mounted two enormous cannons (located on the sides of its turret) and was heavily armored. Its slow speed left it potentially vulnerable to larger squads of tanks or anti-tank infantry, and in particular aircraft, which it had no protection from by default. The Overlord's weaknesses could be compensated (to a degree) with upgrades, as detailed below. The Overlord is sufficiently large enough to crush other vehicles.

Chinese General Ta Hun Kwai, known as the 'Tank General', developed his own, even more dangerous model of the Overlords, known as the Emperor Overlord Tank.

Variations
"They are nothing!"

- Overlord Tank in combat

Although the Overlord is powerful, it suffers from a number of flaws, including its slow speed, vulnerability to aircrafts and mass infantry waves, and being difficult to manoeuvre. The Overlord can be modified into three variations similar mobile versions of typical Chinese base defences to compensate for these weaknesses.

Speaker Tower
The “Speaker Tower” Overlord is usually the center piece of a large Chinese column. It is able to repaired and provide medical attention to friendly units in the vicinity, and provided a small boost in firing rate to simulate providing additional ammunition. It could be made more effective itself with the Subliminal Messaging upgrade, available from the Propaganda Center.

Gattling Cannon
The “Gattling Cannon” Overlord is a relatively more independent version, able to provided powerful anti-infantry and anti-aircraft protection, and gave a boost in firepower against other targets. It can be used more as a heavy tank or tank destroyer since it does not depend on an escort in addition it is able to detect enemy stealth units. Upgraded with the Chain Gun upgrade from the War Factory.

Bunker
The “Bunker” Overlord provides a infantry compartment of up to five infantry units on the turret. This Overlord utilizes the Soviet tactic of Tank Desant were infantrymen ride on the tank and dismount to provide an immediately infantry presence that can be more suited to combating the enemy. Unlike the old soviet tank desanting the infantry men ride in the safety of their compartment and fire from within if the fighting outside becomes to intense. Depending on the infantry used, this variant's firepower even made a standard Overlord look weak. This compartment could also carry a “hero unit” (Black Lotus, Colonel Burton, Jarmen Kell, etc) with body guards making it a command tank.

Emperor
Emperor Overlord (cannot be modifies from default) is a variation built by General Ta Hun Kwai by for his army. It has a 130 mm cannon instead of the 120 mm, speaker tower standard, and Gattling Cannon with stealth detection (upgrade).

Upgrades
The Overlord can be improved with the Nuclear Tanks and Uranium Shells upgrade, available from the Nuclear Missile Silo, provided Overlords with improved speed and firepower respectively. The tanks of General Tsing Shi Tao (also known as the 'Nuclear General') had these upgrades by default at no extra cost, with the bonus of radiation of their shells.

Tactics/Counters
"This will be over soon!"

- Overlord Tank after being ordered to attack

The slow-moving, overwhelmingly armed Overlord epitomized the basic approach of the Chinese army. In order to be most effective these tanks were used in mixed squads, with varied upgrades and flank protection from other units. A large group of upgraded Overlord Tanks (more than 3-5) well supported with auxillary and siege units, is unstoppable. The Overlord can also play a role in defending a base or key areas on the battlefield before more permanent base defences can be constructed.

While not lacking in stopping power, Overlords were slow and their lack of turret turn speed meant that large groups of smaller anti-tank units could quickly overwhelm them (although it should be noted that when facing large number of smaller vehicles in a constricted area, the Overlord could simply run them over). The Overlord's armor is particularly vulnerable to rocket-wielding infantry units and enemy aircraft, although the Gatling cannon upgrade could compensate for this to an extent. Jarmen Kell's skill at killing vehicle drivers made the slow-moving Overlord particularly vulnerable to the GLA hero. Rocket firing aircraft (F-22 raptors, MIGs, Comanches, ect.) are recommended. Heavy anti-tank infantry are also recommended. Hijackers may also easily approach and capture the vehicle if it can't maneuver fast enough, especially if the Overlord is not upgraded.

The Overlord tank is also quite pricey, at $2000 each.

History
In 2019, Chinese General Ta Hun Kwai had developed a number of superheavy Chinese tanks. Further improvement continued, until it led to the "Overlord" program, a program in which it was to produce the most powerful tank in the world of its time - the Overlord.

The Overlord was highly deadly to the enemy. Proved to withstand several missile attacks, the Overlord couldn't be considered Main Battle tank of China. Since it was too large to cross most roads, and was sometimes too slow to compensate for the hit-and-run tactics of the light Scorpion Tanks, the Chinese military instead chose the Battlemaster as their MBT.

Overlord Tanks are only authorized to be used by trusted PLA commanders and in high-stakes missions, such as the assault on Dushanbe (Operation Nuclear Winter) and the destruction of the GLA army in Hamburg (Dragon's Destiny).

During the GLA War the Americans were granted access to the tanks during Operation Last Call as part of a joint Sino-American assault on Akmola.

The Overlord Tanks have been known to fall into the hands of the GLA on a number of occasions. Most damaging was when the GLA captured a Chinese base in Germany, gaining blueprints for the tanks and used them against American forces. Overlord Tanks are favorite targets for GLA hijackers (a hijacker capturing an Overlord represents a saving of $1400) and Jarmen Kell, who can kill the driver of an Overlord with ease, allowing for a GLA soldier to get behind the wheel.

Specifications

 * Length: 11.5 m
 * Weight: 165 tons
 * Height: 12.5 ft (17 ft with the propaganda tower)
 * Width: 13 ft 8 inches
 * Armament: 2X 120 mm APDS cannons (gatling cannon, bunker, propaganda tower variants also exist)
 * Crew: 6
 * Engine: 3300 hp Diesel engine
 * Speed: 16 km/h