I've never really gotten into high tier battles, because of the RP costs, immense stock grind and high tier in general being frustrating for me. In my opinion, low-mid tier tanks are the most fun. I'll list most of the low tier tanks here, and their strengths and weaknesses. The guide will be updated with more tanks and nations from time to time, and I will probably work on adding tank images. Enjoy!

Decent, speedy all rounders are what the low tier Americans about.

The Stuarts

The Stuarts are very solid tanks. There's a reason why they are one of the most popular low tier tanks around. They have mobility, enough firepower to take down the enemy, a lot of machine guns and they look sexy. Let's go over their strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

• Very mobile
  
• Decent cannon.
  
• Plenty of machine guns for taking down SPAAs.

Weaknesses

• Fragile, will often get taken out in a single shot
  
• Armor isn't anything impressive.
  
• Turret traverse is slow. (Fixed with M5A1)
  
• No explosive filler, meaning you need to aim for critical vehicle components.

Now that we know the Stuarts' strengths and weaknesses, we also know that it can be an effective flanker, taking out enemy tanks from the rear. Overall, the Stuarts are very fun and effective vehicles to play.

LVT(A)(1)

A quite unique vehicle that is infamously hard to kill. What makes the LVT unique is that it's actually amphibious and can float on water, surprising the enemy.

Strengths

• Best 37mm cannon out of all reserve U.S tanks
  
• A lot of crew members, making it hard to kill.
  
• Lots of empty space in the tank.
  
• Amphibious!
  
• Fairly fast for it's size.

Weaknesses

• A HUGE target for enemy tanks!
  
• Armor is paper thin.
  
• 2 crew members in the back are exposed to machine gun fire.

While I'd much rather take a Stuart than the LVT, it's still a pretty decent reserve vehicle.

M2 Medium

If you thought the Stuart has the most machine guns, then you haven't seen the M2 Medium. This tank can fire 5 7.62mm machine guns at once, which makes this an SPAA's nightmare.

Strengths

• Machine guns cover almost every part of the tank.
  
• Fairly mobile

Weaknesses

• Cramped crew, very easy to take out with one shot.
  
• Slow turret traverse.

Aside from the very high machine gun count, this vehicle isn't really special.

M22 Locust

A popular vehicle to take in high tier battles. This fast little bugger has a very small profile and packs a decent punch with a 37mm cannon.

Strengths

• Quite mobile.
  
• Very small profile, some tanks can't even aim low enough to reach you if you're right next to them.
  
• The M6 37mm cannon easily takes care of most opponents at it's BR.

Weaknesses

• Can be difficult to control at high speeds.
  
• Armor is very light, anything will penetrate it.
  
• Crew is cramped, will often get killed in 1 shot.

One of the most fun low tier vehicles to play. Use it as a very fast flanker. If you HAVE to get up close, then use your low profile and hug the enemy so that they can't aim low enough to hit you.

M8 HMC

A quick little tank with a 50cal and a fast reloading howitzer at 2.0, what's there not to like?

Strengths

• Again, it's very mobile.
  
• Quick reload for a howitzer, 4-5 seconds.
  
• Gets a roof mounted 50cal machine gun at 2.0, which can penetrate the side armor of some tanks.

Weaknesses

• Thin armor
  
• HEAT shells lack in post-pen damage
  
• Can be hard to aim the howitzer in Realistic Battles
  
• Open top turret, vulnerable to air attacks

A quite fun tank, for sure! It's essentially an M5 Stuart, but with a roof mounted 50cal machine gun and a howitzer.

M3 Lee

This was the tank I used to fear back when I was still new to the game. Pretty solid! Since the Lee has 2 functional guns, you might need to do some key binding to fire them separately.

Strengths

• Decent armor, can bounce from time to time
  
• 2 functional guns, double the fun!
  
• 75mm main cannon packs a heavy punch

Weaknesses

• High profile
  
• Can be hard to aim the 75mm cannon

M4A1 Sherman

One of the most iconic American tanks. This tank is essentially an all rounder. Decent mobility, decent gun.. you name it!

Strengths

• Jack of all trades, master of none.
  
• 75mm APHE deals a lot of damage
  
• Fairly mobile for a medium tank
  
• Roof mounted 50cal for anti-SPAA, or limited anti-aircraft.

Weaknesses

• Stock grind might be painful
  
• Has a ~75mm turret weakspot (M4 and later Sherman variants fix this)
  
• Armor isn't impressive.

You can do almost anything with this tank. Support your team's heavy tanks? Sure! Flank? Well, to some extent.. and so on!

M4A3 (105)

This tank, in my opinion, is criminally undertiered. If you can get downtiered in a match, you can face 1.7 tanks in an M4A3 Sherman.

Strengths

• At it's BR, it's very well armored. In a downtier, it's virtually impenetrable from the front.
  
• Huge gun can have a fear factor on the enemies.
  
• Fairly mobile.
  
• Roof mounted 50cal.

Weaknesses

• Howitzer has a lengthy 13 second reload time.
  
• Like with the M8 HMC, the HEAT lacks any good post-penetration damage.
  
• Slow turret traverse speed.

M10 GMC

Essentially, this tank is like an American Pz IV F2. Definitely one of the most popular American low tier tanks. The M10 has a great gun, surprisingly effective armor and mobility. On the bad side, the turret traverse is awful.

Strengths

• Great 76mm cannon with great penetration and damage.
  
• Armor can be very effective and trolly at times.
  
• Roof mounted 50cal.

Weaknesses

• Awful turret traverse speed.
  
• Can be sluggish, often feels like a heavy tank in terms of overall handling.
  
• Open topped turret, half the crew is vulnerable to air attacks.

M8 Greyhound

The Americans have another M8, which is an armored car. It's an event vehicle, so it's quite rare to see in battle. One of the greatest things about the M8 is that it gets a 50cal at 1.0, so it can act as a secondary weapon no problem, quickly killing lightly armored opponents.

Strengths

• Fast firing 37mm M6 cannon at 1.0!
  
• Roof mounted 50cal which can penetrate most opponents at its BR.
  
• Very mobile!

Weaknesses

• Survivability is very low.

Overall, a very solid low tier tank. The 50cal absolutely shreds enemy tanks as long as you're flanking, and the 37mm can act as a backup if the 50cal can't penetrate a tank.

Panzers? You got them! 20mm rapid fire auto cannons that shred everything? You got them as well!

Panzer IIs

The Panzer IIs are one of the best reserve tanks around. They're quick, have good armor for their rank and have excellent 20mm autocannons. With some practice, you definitely can dominate matches with these tanks!

Strengths

• Excellent mobility.
  
• Rapid fire 20mm cannon will kill tanks quickly. (Pz II F has a superior cannon)

Weaknesses

• Crew is lined up for easy 1 shot kills.
  
• Slow turret traverse.
  
• Reload takes a while.

Panzer IIs are very fun tanks. Make sure to treat the cannon just as a cannon that fires fast, and not an automatic rifle! Tap firing is key to conserving ammo.

Panzer IIIs

Panzer IIIs are solid mediums with solid cannons. While they may be overshadowed by the Panzer IVs, they can still be great tanks. Heck, the Pz III M is even called the Baby Tiger.

Strengths

• Can take some hits and survive.
  
• Solid cannons for their rank.
  
• Mobile for a medium tank.
  
• Armor can be surprisingly effective at bouncing the enemy's shots. (Applies to Pz III M)

Weaknesses

• Even if the cannon is pretty decent, you'll still need to aim for weakspots most of the time. T-34s will be especially difficult to penetrate without precision aiming.
  
• Once penetrated, it has a high chance of dying.

Panzer IVs

Like the Panzer IIIs, the Panzer IVs are very good mediums with good cannons. Their armor can sometimes bounce shots, and they're essentially good at everything. They can get around quick enough, they can kill the enemy quick.

Strengths

• Great cannon (Applies to Pz IV F2, G)
  
• Like the Pz IIIs, they're fairly mobile for medium tanks.
  
• Excels in most combat situations.

Weaknesses

• Even if the Pz IV can take some hits, its armor is nothing special.
  
• Short 75mms on the early Pz IVs can be hard to aim in RB.

The most notable Pz IV is the F2. The F2 has an amazing long 75mm cannon with great post-penetration damage and penetration values. Though, it's like a glass cannon. It has thin armor, and is easy to kill. The Pz IV G isn't any different from the F2, only that it has a slightly better cannon and armor.

As a bonus, the Wirbelwind, which is on a Pz IV chassis, is a great SPAA and can be a great tank killer with the quad 20mms.

StuG IIIs

StuG Life, am I right? The StuGs are very good tank destroyers with a low profile, decent mobility and great cannons.

Strengths

• Low profile.
  
• Excellent sniper.
  
• Long 75mm cannons are great for sniping and taking out enemy tanks. (StuG III F, G)
  
• Howitzer cannon will destroy any enemy you come across, as long as you penetrate. (StuH 42)

Weaknesses

• If penetrated through the driver's port, the shot can kill 3 crew members, knocking out the entire tank.
  
• Armor isn't impressive. (Although, StuH 42 has 80mm in the front at 3.0)

Sd.Kfz.234s (Pumas)

These little guys are very fun vehicles to play. They're very mobile, can take a hit or 2 and have cannons that get the job done. There are currently 4 variants of the Puma in the game - 234/2 (50mm), 234/4 (75mm), 234/3 (Short 75mm) and the 234/1 (20mm).

Strengths

• EXCELLENT mobility
  
• Long 75mm cannon(!) (234/4)
  
• Has 6 smoke grenades. (234/2)
  
• Low profile.
  
• Enemy shots can pass through and do no damage at times.
  
• Can use the scouting mechanic. (234/2)
  
• Has a quick firing 20mm cannon, identical to the ones you find on the reserve tier Pz IIs. (234/1)

Weaknesses

• VERY fragile!
  
• 50mm cannon may struggle to penetrate enemies (Applies to 234/2).

• Short 75mm cannon ballistics are horrible, a real problem in Realistic Battles. (234/3)
  
  

  Flakpanzer 38t "Gepard"

  
  A literal terrifying glass cannon. A rapid firing 20mm cannon with Pzgr 40 AP belts, in fact.
  
  

  Strengths

  • Excellent German 20mm cannon with Pzgr 40 belts that can penetrate up to 64mm of armor, which is surprisingly enough at 2.0.
    
  • Somewhat good mobility.
    
  • Can act as both a very fragile tank destroyer, and an anti aircraft vehicle.
    
    
    Weaknesses
    • Like the Puma above, the Gepard can't take any hits whatsoever. The turret crew member is fully exposed from the side and rear, meaning simple MG fire can knock you out if you're not careful.
      
    • Turret traverse could be better.
      
    • Needs to reload every 20 rounds, make sure you're safe before doing so.
      

They have bias. What else is there to not like? ;)

BT-5 & 7

Again, they're among the most popular low tier tanks in the entire game. Like the Stuarts and Panzer IIs, they're very mobile and can easily flank enemies. Their shells have explosive filler, which means it's easier to kill enemies.

Strengths

• Like most other reserve tanks, the BTs are very maneuverable and fast.
  
• Shells have explosive filler.
  
• Decent turret traverse, compared to other reserve tanks.

Weaknesses

• The BTs are very easy to kill tanks, meaning you'll have to play carefully.
  
• Ammo is stored everywhere in the turret. Taking less ammo is advised.

T-50

Now this is a good tank. It's fast, has good armor and a good gun. Definitely one of the best tanks around it's BR.

Strengths

• Quite fast.
  
• Even if the T-50 uses the same cannon you saw on the BTs, it's still pretty good at 2.7.
  
• Armor can be quite effective.

Weaknesses

• The cannon lacks good penetration.
  
• Awful turret traverse.

T-34s

The iconic T-34s. The Mickey Mouse tank. They're all rounders at heart. Like the Shermans and Pz IVs, they're good at everything. They have good armor, good guns and good mobility.

Strengths

• Great guns with a lot of explosive filler.
  
• Mobility is pretty good.
  
• Armor is quite effective.
  
• Fuel tanks on the sides can sometimes protect your turret crew.

Weaknesses

• Several frontal weakspots. (machine gun port, turret)
  
• Guns can sometimes lack penetration against heavy armor.
  
• Poor gun depression.

The T-34s are very good tanks. They're very flexible and can do most things. My favorite is the T-34E.

KV-1s

The tank that everyone fears.. It's the typical heavy tank. It's slow, its got workable armor and a gun that packs a punch.

Strengths

• Adequate armor all around, especially when angled
  
• Like the T-34s, the KV-1s have shells with quite a lot of explosive filler.
  
• Even if it's slow, it's still pretty mobile for a heavy tank.

Weaknesses

• Gun can lack penetration, especially the L-11.
  
• Several frontal weakspots that any experienced player will shoot at. (driver's port, turret)
  
• Huge fuel tanks on the sides, easy to get set on fire. Though, they can also protect your crew at times.
  
• Poor gun depression.

The KV-1, especially the ZiS-5, is definitely one of my favorite tanks. If you play it right, you can get a lot of kills with it.

Yay, solid shot!

A13s

To be honest, the A13s are nothing special. They do the job, and they'll get you out of the reserve tier in no time.

Strengths

• 2-pounder cannon has a good amount of penetration
  
• Rather mobile.

• Excellent gun depression.
  
  Weaknesses
  • Like the BTs, the armor is very thin, at 13mm maximum.

Crusaders

Now this is where the Brits start getting good. The Crusaders are quick and have smoke grenades. On top of that, they're very fun to play.

Strengths

• Great cannons for their BR. (Mk III has an even better cannon)
  
• Has smoke grenades at a low BR. (Crusader Mk III has a staggering amount of 50 smoke grenades!)
  
• Fast!

Weaknesses

• Crusader Mk III is slightly worse than the Mk II in terms of survivability. (For example, the Mk III has only 3 crew members, while the Mk II has 5.)
  
• Thin armor, which can be penetrated by a 50cal in some spots.

Valentines

The Valentines are among my less-liked tanks, but they still can be good. They're very slow, but they have a decent amount of armor and guns that pack a punch.

Strengths

• Excellent guns with great penetration for the BR.
  
• 60mm of armor in the front, which can stop some shells.

Weaknesses

• Slow. Very slow.
  
• 10-20mm turret ring weakspot. (Valentine Mk I is especially vulnerable)

Cromwells

If you liked the Crusaders, then you'll like the Cromwells. Like the Crusaders, the Cromwells are mobile, have great guns and a good amount of smoke grenades.

Strengths

• Great cannons for the BR, especially if you're flanking.
  
• While not as impressive as the Crusader Mk III, the Cromwells can carry up to 20 smoke grenades.
  
• Excellent at flanking.

Weaknesses

• Weak armor.
  
• The 75mm gun takes a while to reload. (Cromwell V)

2020-06-29 - Guide published.

To be added:

• Italian tanks
  
• Japanese tanks
  
• Swedish tanks
  
• More tanks in general
  
• Tank images