Disclaimer: This article was written with information released publicly by Relic Entertainment. All unit descriptions, images, and details were taken from the Relic twitch.tv broadcast. Direct quotes from the broadcast are featured in this article.
[twitch=relicentertainment]chapter_id=4362915[/twitch]
US Forces Vision Statement
This army should have a definite character, one defined by the experience of the US/AEF army during the middle part of the European campaign and later.
- An Army that bent, but didn’t break. While they had occasional tactical losses, they were flexible and were able to blunt most attacks.
- Like most of the Western militaries opposing the Germans, it used the strategy of applying the maximum firepower and the minimum infantry. However, their infantry were versatile and armed with good rifles that gave the individual soldier excellent firepower.
- The US Forces were not ‘advantaged’ with heavy tanks. There is absolutely no equivalent to Tigers, King Tigers, Jagdtigers. This is an intended asymmetrical element that matches history.
- Like most of the Western militaries opposing the Germans, it used the strategy of applying the maximum firepower and the minimum infantry. However, their infantry were versatile and armed with good rifles that gave the individual soldier excellent firepower.
- Their forces can create a feeling of ad hoc defense – Rear Echelon troops called into combat can help with defenses and manning captured weapons.
- The entire Force is intended to be flexible and mobile.
Army Features
Crew Disembark
USF Vehicles can disembark their vehicles to repair, capture, and carry around Veterancy from one vehicle to another.
Weapon Racks
All US Forces Infantry can equip powerful new weapons by interacting with the weapon racks at the base. BAR LMGs, bazookas, and other weapons can be picked up creating versatile squad loadouts.
| ! I unlocked it in my HQ. Once I unlock it makes the weapon rack available and you can actually go ahead and pick some of these weapons up. |
New Paradrop System
USF have access to Paratroopers and Paradropped weapons via Commander selection. Players can Paradrop into the Fog of War now, but with an increased and added risk of drifting and possibly landing on trees and buildings. Paratroopers are a high risk, high reward element.
| !I really like the airborne commander, and I think it provides you a lot of flexibility early on. Just being able to paradrop things like your machine guns and your AT guns. |
US Forces Infantry
Rear Echelon Troops
 | "Rear Echelon Troops are often caught up in combat augmenting combat troops. Effective defenders and versatile, no army can do without them. Good for crewing team weapons, constructing defenses, hasty battlefield repairs, or last infantry pushes" |
| !So these guys are really kind of, a different take on the engineer from the other factions. They have a lot of utility, in that they can build tank traps, wire, and fighting pits. I think that fighting pit is something we'll see featured quite heavily from this unit. Interestingly enough if you actually build a fighting position and you garrison it with your Rear Echelon troops they're actually equipped with a rifle grenade. To help them kind of provide anti-garrison cover as well. This is something that no other unit can do. If I put a rifleman in that position it has no impact, it's just a rifleman in building cover. |
The Rear Echelon troops also have an ability called "Volley Fire" that allows them to suppress enemy units for a short time. This allows the Rear Echelon Troops to provide some supporting fire to augment combat troops.
| !They have volley fire as well which provides them a really good support role. If I have a couple rifleman and a couple rear echelon in the back it gives them some supporting fire that can really turn that engagement in your favor. |
Read more about Rear Echelon Troops on the official Company of Heroes 2 blog
Veteran Rifleman
 | "Riflemen are well-trained infantry who can fight infantry to light vehicles when properly equipped. They are the Backbone of the US Army. Effective at medium range vs infantry. Can pick up a variety of weapons from the Weapon Rack. " |
| !The Rifleman actually use the M1 Garand, in terms of kind of how they should tactically play they have really good Mid to Long Range damage, but they're also still very lethal at close range. Compared to, let's say, Conscript squads, you'll definitely get a lot more punch getting close up with these semi-automatic rifles. |
The US Forces flexibility is evident when looking at the Veteran Rifleman and the upgrades available to them. The ability to unlock weapons at the base allows a savvy commander to augment their troops with the hardware to get the job done. Veteran Rifleman have a smoke grenade available by default, which gives them a lot of tactical capability.
| ! They can do everything. They got the BARS, the Bazookas, they got the M1919 Light Machine Guns. They're super versatile. I think we've taken it to a new level in COH2, we've provided them some new abilities like the Smoke Screen, which allows them to sculpt the battlefield to their need. |
On Rifleman Upgrades such as BAR, Bazookas, M1919:
| ! I unlocked it in my HQ. Once I unlock it makes the weapon rack available and you can actually go ahead and pick some of these weapons up. |
Pathfinders
 | "The Pathfinders are scout infantry who come in ahead of the main paratrooper forces. Can scout enemy positions and safe landing areas. A recon squad with excellent sight range and long-range firepower. Can camouflage themselves in cover." |
The Pathfinders are revealed to be a part of the US Forces Airborne Company doctrine. They are a four man squad, and can be deployed at 1 Command Point. They deploy from off-map, and are not paratroopers themselves. Taken from the commander description, "Pathfinders can be deployed to the battlefield. Pathfinders are scout infantry who are powerful at long range and make it safer for troops to paradrop.
| !So you'll start to notice now I'm gonna start sniping these guys. They got low health. The way these pathfinders work is they have a chance, or rather when [the enemy] gets low on health they have a guaranteed chance of sniping the unit. We call this a headshot critical. |
Paratroopers
 | "Paratroopers are elite infantry that are often deployed behind enemy lines to tackle objectives and sow confusion. Effective at medium range vs infantry. Can be upgraded for improved effectiveness at short or long range. " |
One of the most covered elements coming with the new Western Front Armies is the US Forces Paratrooper. They are available via the Airborne Company doctrine, and presumably will be tied to other commanders down the road.
There is a unique Risk versus Reward element at play with Paratroopers. They can deploy anywhere on the battlefield, even in the fog of war. If deployed without caution, the Paratroopers can fall into trees, buildings, or enemy forces, and lose squad members as a result. The squad is deployed with a total of 6 members.
| ! One thing you'll notice is that my actual firing reticle, like my barrage, is quite large going into the fog of war. Whereas if I was to move away into somewhere I could see, it's a little bit safer. You will also notice that the tree is actually getting red, and this indicates that if I were to paradrop right here, my men could run into that tree and take some nasty damage. |
US Forces Vehicles
M20 Utility Car
 | "The M20 Utility Car is used for reconnaissance and engaging infantry targets with its M2HB .50 cal heavy machine gun. The M20 also carries M9 Bazooka anti-tank launchers, which arms the crew when they disembark. Effective against infantry and lightly armored vehicles. Weak to tanks and anti-vehicle weapons. " |
| !I think the M20 is an awesome unit. It really kind of emphasizes some of the flexibility we're trying to get across with the faction. It's fast, it's mobile, it can lay down AT mines which can cripple mid-game enemy armor. |
The M20 utility car offers us our first look at the disembark feature of the US Forces vehicles. When the M20 crew drops out, they are equipped with bazookas and can provide light AT support to your forces. An added bonus of being able to disembark from the vehicle is that the squad can then capture territory.
| !The crew has exited the M20, and they've repaired it, and it's allowed them to capture that point. That's something that's unique to these new US Forces. |
The M20 also has a side skirts upgrade revealed in the video, allowing it to bolster its armor versus small arms fire. In addition to its other utility, the M20 can also deploy an M6 anti-tank mine.
| !These are like the Riegel mines, so they actually have the capacity to disable the enemy vehicle. |
M4A3 Sherman Medium Tank
 | "The M4A3 Sherman Medium Tank is armed with a versatile 75mm main gun effective against infantry and light targets but lacks the ability to reliably penetrate heavy armor. Can engage any target, but less effective against heavy armor. " |
| !One thing with the Sherman, like the US faction, is it has a lot of flexibility in terms of what it can do. It's got its standard AP shells for fighting vehicles. it also has a toggle to load high explosive shells, which is great against softer targets like infantry, or even garrisoned units. |
The Sherman is also equipped with a smoke screen that can be launched at range.
| !The nice thing about the smokescreen is I can actually move, I can give it another order while laying the smoke down. |
M8A1 Howitzer Motor Carriage
 | "The M8A1 Howitzer Motor Carriage carries the M3 75mm Howitzer. Light and maneuverable, the tank can get into position and rain accurate fire down on enemy positions. it can also fire its barrage on the move. Effective against all massed infantry and structures. Weak versus tanks and anti-tank weapons. " |
The M8A1 comes with a barrage ability, as well as a smoke barrage for covering units from enemy fire. In addition to its indirect fire capacity, it can also fire directly at units.
| !When it's close, when it has a direct shot, it's gonna fire directly. When I want to fire [at a distance over a building], it will lob a shell over the building and fire it like an artillery. |
M36 'Jackson' Tank Destroyer
 | "US Forces field the mobile but relatively fragile M36 Tank Destroyer. While it trails in protection, there's no denying its effective 90mm M3 main gun that can penetrate most enemy vehicles. Effective vs tanks. Weak to anti-tank weaponry. " |
| !The Jackson is the hammer of the faction, it's really hard hitting. It's got the longest range, 60 range, very mobile, definitely packs quite a bit of punch. So when you're going against things like King Tiger, Jadgtigers, and so forth, the Jackson is definitely your go to. The Sherman is still extremely capable, but the Jackson will give you the firepower needed to fight that type of armor. |
US Forces Tech Structure
Some details about the US Forces tech tree can also be gleaned from the Relic twitch.tv cast. The tech trees for both factions are still under NDA, but by examining the video and pausing at the right moment, we can learn a thing or two about how the US Forces tech tree works.
When developer Peter Qumsieh researches his first tier is, an Officer squad is also unlocked.
| !I've also gone ahead and I've researched my first building, and this allows me to research a Lieutenant, or unlock my Lieutenant building, which also gives me a Lieutenant Officer, and unlocks additional units. |
| !We'll go into the Lieutenant more in another stream, it's one of my favorite new units in the game, personally. I love the Lieutenant. Super fun. |
Lieutenant
 | "The Lieutenant and his command squads are effective infantry and heavily armed. Gains veterancy from nearby allies. Effective at medium range vs infantry. " |
| !He's a very strong unit. It's definitely not something you want to kind of engage with in the front, but with support. Like your standard Rifleman he's still vulnerable to vehicles, or being sniped. |
Later in the cast we can also see another tier structure being researched, this time calling in a "Major" to the field.
Major
 | "The Major and his command squad can act as a retreat point, call artillery support, and recon the battlefield. Gains veterancy from nearby allies. Not an effective combat unit. " |
| !The Major is a unique unit, it's not a combat unit, but it does have a lot of unique abilities. It has the capacity to do a recon flight, lay down some rapid barrage at a target location, and can even actually do a fake barrage with veterancy. There is really good psychological tactics in that. One of my favorite aspects of the Major is you can actually create a retreat point. |
Thanks for reading!
Thank you for reading the COH2.ORG preview of the new US Forces being released in theWestern Front Armies standalone expansion for Company of Heroes 2. We are pretty darn excited, and we hope you are too! Stay tuned for more information regarding the OKW army next week!
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