Both of these are armour usage tactics, which can help to win some engagements. Both are very specific to certain tank types, and neither of these tactics can be applied to all tanks.
If a tank can use either of these, it will be mentioned in the corresponding tank review.
Facehugging
Facehugging is where you drive right at an enemy so that your hull is pushing against the enemy’s hull.
Pushing the enemy back by holding your tank in the forward gear limits the enemy’s movement and makes it harder to leave the facehug.
Most tanks can’t facehug enemies, due to having the wrong armour angling, turret placement, gun depression, hull armour thickness, turret armour thickness, etc.
For example:
When an IS-3 facehugs a Tornvagn, the IS-3 is unable to hit or penetrate the upper plate or turret due to its low profile and poor gun depression. The Tornvagn can easily penetrate the IS-3’s hull due to its unfavourable angle and the Tornvagn’s great gun depression.
On the other hand, the Tornvagn’s hull deck can be overmatched by the IS-3, and the IS-3 can hit the rear engine deck. 2 weaknesses that would be exposed in no other situation than a facehug.
Advantages:
-If enemies have poor gun depression, they may not be able to hit your hull at all, and may be forced to shoot the turret.
-The lower plate weakpoint is removed, so enemies have to shoot other areas.
-Doing this gives you a higher chance of hitting and penetrating the enemy, as you’re at point blank range
Disadvantages:
-Enemies can also equally easily hit and penetrate your tank since you’re both shooting at point blank range.
-Your hull armour angling is negated against certain enemies (depends on your tank’s hull height, enemy tank’s gun height, enemy tank’s gun depression.
-Your tank’s hull deck overmatch weaknesses are easier to hit, if enemies know to shoot there.
Sidehugging
Sidehugging is taking a low profile tank with a strong turret, and driving it alongside a slow and tall enemy.
The tall enemy can’t shoot the hull, and can only see the strong turret armour.
To sidehug effectively, you must try to always stay at the enemy tank’s side. If the enemy is smart then they will reverse to a wall and try to pry you off, at which point you just have to engage them normally.
Continuously drive backwards and forwards while alongside the enemy, it makes any turret weakpoints harder to hit, and will force the enemy to keep turning the turret. Generally the tanks you sidehug have very slow turret traverse speed, which makes aiming even harder.
Enemies to sidehug:
The enemies you sidehug are slow enemies, with either tall or large size profiles. Their gun depression doesn’t matter, given that your tank is low profile.
Essentially all German superheavies can be sidehugged, tall tanks like the M6A2E1 or EXP variants, and tanks like the Predator UM or Pharaoh with large size hulls.
While sidehugging tanks like an AMX 54 can work, its higher level of maneuverability makes it harder to take advantage of.
Tanks proficient at sidehugging:
Tanks with low profiles and very strong turrets are the only requirement. Generally rounded turrets like on USSR and Chinese tanks are best as they hold up even against premium rounds, and have strong turret roofs.
Tanks such as T-62A, WZ-111 5A, 121, 121B, Obj.274A, T-54, T 55A, etc.
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