You may look at the M6A1 and go "Wow! Surely this mighty beast can conquer pretty much anything at its tier! I'd probably be able to just drive straight forward and tank all their shots!" You would then realize as soon as you open the penetration simulator that what you just said is wrong. Some would argue that the m6A1 has worse armor than the m4a2 with upgraded armor plates. Others would put it on par with the m4 even without the armor plates. What you have in front of you is a massive vehicle with poor frontal protection. The 76mm offers decent firepower for the tier, while the 37mm only works for light vehicles, critical weak spots, or damaging external components like tracks.

Your frontal armor is very poor for this tier as with only 80mm of armor, 76mm cannons, and 88 mm cannons will have no trouble penetrating straight through it. The armor layout also negates the effects of angling since.

The best armor on the m6A1 is surprisingly on the back of the tank. While initial armor simulations show this spot is easily penetrable, the massive engine block and a small secondary sheet of metal between the block and the crew slow the shell significantly before it ever gets near the crew. Unlike the hull armor, the turret armor is decent, so this means that when you're fully turned around there will be almost no weak spots, excluding the side of course.

Every good strategy has its flaws. For this strategy, the tank's long length means the easily visible and easily penetratable side armor is exposed to enemy fire.

I would reccomend using buildings to secure your flanks, although in cases where these measures are not available, rocks and dead allies/enemies could work.