I think the greatest strength of the T34,s armour was that it was sloped,whereas the Shermans,except for the front was more slab sided.Tactics played a huge part in deciding a Tigers fate.In Normandy Eisenhower noted that to kill one off you had to send 5 Shermans.4 to keep it busy while the 5th snuck around the back for a rear shot.Whereas the soviets learnt in 1943 to charge at full speed in great numbers and get in close as quickly as possible.