The Russian Front definitely has more tank battles. There will be some operations that are definitely geared towards tank battles (they're out in open fields, and give you hundreds of requisition points), but if you're ever in a town/city, the tanks become much more vulnerable. Nothing like cooking a tank with a flamethrower to absolutely ruin his day.
The biggest difference between it and A Bridge Too Far was the removal of the differentiation between Infantry and Support units. IN ABTF, the most tanks you could have is 6, with up to 9 infantry squads. In The Russian Front, you can have 15 tanks if you want.
It is nerve racking firing an AT Rifle at the Panzer III coming down your general direction.
I was talking about Off-Map artillery strikes. I remember not noticing them for quite a while, but there should be a button for it on your status bar somewhere, assuming you have it (you don't always have artillery strikes). Later on in the game you get access to them, which can be quite helpful.