proper way to deal with heavy soviet T2-T3

So i've been having trouble breaking through defensive soviet play heavy on T2/T3. Early game I can be totally on par, if not dominant, and i can get my p4 out close enough to the 1st t34. Generally i'm controlling most of the map until the 120mm mortar comes out, and gets supported w/ 1 or 2 AT guns, a maxim, and 1 or 2 t34s hanging back. From there, the russian player will slowly push out, and i get slowly picked apart - getting sloppy/inpatient and losing my flame ht, then infantry squads and sometimes p4s.

I try to drop smoke (either doctrine smoke, officer smoke, or mortar ht smoke) and then advance to take out the 120mm - and then i either fuck it up or it doesnt actually block LoS the way i expected (and even when i get my infantry in there, there are t34s hanging back waiting for them). I try to use the flame mortar ability from mortar ht, but also cant consistently capitalize on it. I've had some success w/ the strafe run, but again, not consistently. I've tried building the doctrine artillery gun and managed to get a good volley at the mortar/zis/maxim area, but then the cooldown is too long for it to be an efficient use of 600mp.

I generally open w/ 3x grens, 2mgs, and when i dont see scout cars i go for the flame ht, maybe pgren, and then t3 for a p4 or ostwind depending on whether russian has.

suggestions on how to deal with this better? replays?

Well, try using german howitzer, its pretty good, also use mortar hf and troops to take out enemy AT while occupying t-34 with ur panzer4, ur mg42 is good enough to suppress his troops and ur hf good enough to reinforce and take out those suppres and help against AT guns

As far as the build goes, i usually open w/ 2x grens(3 for large maps,exp.moscow and minsk) , 1x mg followed by sniper, t2 = 1x halftrack mostly as support(if needed scout car 221/2 to get rid of m3) followed by 1x pgren team(upgrade with shrek against SU-85 or any pesky soviet vehicle) , and if neeeded 1x pak (in case soviet focused on fuel and rushes armor) and then i tech up and get panzer4 or ostwind again depending if soviet fokused on infantry or armor
This has gotten me thru most game, but u cant always predict what enemy will go for, sometimes if soviet goes mortars (82mm or 120mm)or/and AT guns mortar halftrack is good counter , also if i have denied soviet player fuel most of game i save up for Elefant(sick sick range love this bad boy ) after panzer4 to get rid of of SU-85 ... ofc positioning is also important and skill not only build order

Considering ur build, i have to say it seems nice , but i usually dont make 2mgs cuz they restrain me, cant rly be aggressive with them can I? (example on Minsk! 1x mg42 on enemy fuel point close to base is good enough to cover it and surrounding area , mortar halftrack to counter enemy mortars and support by troops and hf to reinforce until tanks roll in), but thats just me , ive noticed some experts go this build.
Flamer hf is good against those pesky soviet troops, ostwind also pretty nice for AI and light tanks so the build is imo viable , but i would go for p4 since its good all-round tank and its AI and AT capabilities are amazing also with blitzkrieg easily flanks SU-85 and AT guns)... thats just me
Again ive noticed some experts go ur suggested build and it turns up to be pretty useful and awesome if used aggressively
Cheers!

Ops, btw how do u delete posts?

As for smoke and fucking it up:
At least in CoH1, it often was most efficient to drop the smoke right on or slightly in front of the enemy MG. Even when it was then still firing because other units provided line of sight for it, smoke modifiers would affect its shots. In CoH2 the modifiers for smoke seem to be 0.25 accuracy and 0.05 suppression dealt.

I don't know if 2x HMG is right vs. this strat. I've found 1 HMG to be useful because it can still suppress other infantry than the Maxim HMGs and you can troll him by suppressing his maxim, then just walking away a few meters and then suppress him again when he creeps closer. Though two could be fun for that, too... pin, then reposition. Though the 120 mm mortar won't make this as fun I guess.