Mechanised Assault Guide

The Staff College has received many questions asking “What do I do with this Commander” and “How do I use Assault Grenadiers?” Accordingly we have prepared a field guide on this subject. This is mostly written from the perspective of a large team game player (3v3 and up), so bear this in mind. Stats and consideration are based on the state of the game as of December 2014.

We have 4 call ins at various stages of the game and one off-map artillery ability. It is important to note that three of these abilities (Assault Grenadiers, Mechanised Assault Groups and STUG-Es) are only present in this doctrine so deploying them advertises what doctrine you have.

280

7

“Dudes with stuff” – 5 guys with MP40 smgs.

Abilities:

• Sprint: 10 MUN. Move fast for 5 seconds but unable to fire on the move.
  
• Model 24 Grenade: 45 MUN.
  Requires BP1, throws one grenade for each member of the squad.

They are a close range squad with no armour and very limited anti-vehicle capability. Normally they should avoid or retreat from even the lightest vehicle, or be supported with something that can take it out. However, they are very good close up against other infantry and team weapons; their grenade is especially helpful against buildings.

490

30

14

Will get you a standard Panzergrenadier squad in an otherwise unarmed 250 halftrack. This is probably the weakest part of the doctrine. You can get Panzergrenadiers in T2 for 340 MP, so you are basically paying 150 MP, 30 FUEL and 5 Pop Cap for what amounts to an indifferently armoured but unarmed half-track. This is very rarely a good deal.

What you can do with it:

• Buy Panzerschrecks and drive around hunting light armour.
  
• Keep them in the halftrack and use them to ignore suppression when closing on Machine Guns or to give them some armour against other infantry.
  
• You can also pop the Pgrens out and put something else inside. Options include: Grenadiers, Pioneers and AGrens.
  Of all the available options AGrens are probably the best so long as you use it to get them close, Pioneers with a Flamethrower make a very, very poor substitute for a proper flame halftrack.
  
• Mobile flank capping.
  
• Late game “I need to get to this point and cap it quickly and/or Infantry on foot will die”.
  
• Use it empty as an expendable scout/decoy/minesweeper.

Very rarely is this unit worth it, however.

200

75

8

The baby brother of the Stug Ausf.G in Vanilla T3 (230/80/8), but with lighter armour and a low velocity gun. This thing is excellent at killing infantry, especially infantry without real AT. Conscripts can mob it with AT Grenades however and it goes down fairly quickly to bazookas and even PTRS. It can kill light vehicles, but it is not an AT weapon even with its Vet ability.

Vet 1 Ability:

Target Weak Point: 30 MUN
HEAT round can stun the targeted vehicle. temporarily disables main gun


1/10/15

Updated CP value 6 to 7
Changed TWP effect

120

Drops light artillery shells in a small area for a short period of time. This is usually used on AT Guns to force them to pack up and move or be de-crewed and damaged. It can also be used to force a small static target or a target to move.

640

230

24 19

The Tiger has pretty much always had a place as a powerful general purpose tank. If you have not had the pleasure of using one yet it is basically a bigger, badder Panzer-IV.

1/10/15 You are now limited to only one of these at a time!


Vet 1 Ability

Blitzkireg: 30 MUN
Greatly increases tank mobility for a short time.

1/10/15

Updated CP Value and reduced pop cap.

There are basically 3 ways to use this doctrine.

As part of an otherwise normal Ostheer build, with one AGren squad for flanking. Building T1 means access to Grenadiers, hence Panzerfausts to deal with early vehicles so the initial vulnerabilities of the doctrine are limited.

I shall talk no further on this because it is otherwise a standard Ostheer play that ends with Tigers.

The exact opposite of supplemental, where you do not tech at all and rely entirely on call ins. This has worked in the past but the game has been patched and developed since so it’s unlikely to work unless your opponents are inexperienced or outclassed.
Issues with this strategy are:

• You will have access to no AT at all before you hit 3CP and call in Mech Assault Groups; not only will you probably need AT before that, but you will have a hard time getting to CP3 with just Pioneers, AGrens, Bunkers and Caches.
  
  
• Mech Assault Groups are not efficient, as they cost an extra 150 MP and 30 FUEL over stock PGrens; and the half-tracks suck up 5 Pop Cap each.
  However unlocking Battle Phase 2 is 200 MP and 45 FUEL, and building it is 120 MP and 15 FUEL. This is the same fuel cost as two Mechanised Assault Groups; and you need to unlock Battle Phase 2 to get Grenades for you AGrens anyway. Also building T2 will advance you on the CP track which gets you Tigers sooner, and with T2 unlocked you can build other things than Panzergrenadiers.
  

So:
Relying on call in Mech Assault Groups rather than teching is only more efficient than not teching if you build only 1. However if you are not teching you will almost certainly want more than 1. So you might as well tech.

In which you do a limited amount of teching to complement your call-ins, without diluting the efficiency of a call in strategy too much. Besides we have a Commander that gives you unique abilities and a different way to play that is neither overpowered nor weak and fun to play. In short it is everything a commander ought to be. This particular build tends to suit players looking for a fluid, mobile infantry build – though you can use it to turtle as well.

AGren


AGren


AGren


Go out and cap the map, get close and concentrate fire on any enemy infantry and hopefully wipe them out. Avoid any enemy vehicles unless they are already heavily damaged and/or crippled by panzerfausts. Pick up any decrewed team weapons, especially MGs.

How many AGrens you build will depend upon your style and preference. I go for 3, you may be happier with 4. As a rule though once they start to die you don’t want to get more.

Advance to BP2 as soon as you have the fuel and build it.


At some point around this time you may have had to pull your AGrens back to reinforce and you can get them building a Medic Bunker at your HQ.



Once you have T2 up you can tailor your build based upon your needs and how the game has developed:


Against Snipers or Light Vehicles:



221/222 gives mobility and punch, however will need to be supported with infantry in case of Guards and to fight enemy AT.

If you are capturing lots of team weapons and/or not needing to retreat:



251 halftrack will let you reinforce on the field. Usually you don’t build T1 with this strat but re-crewing team weapons can help fill that gap.


Defensive:



Bunkers, backed with PAK-40s. PAKs are a bit static for an otherwise mobile strategy, however they will be valuable when playing with OKW that lacks an equivalent and/or to support bunkers.

Generic:



Panzergrenadiers can be used to replace AGrens in your frontline infantry force, the two don’t have much in the way of overlap for their ideal range but will probably find Agrens dying first. However if you start with PGrens the first one you get should probably have Panzerschrecks to have AT. With 2 Panzergrenadier squads armed with Panzerschrecks you can easily deal with any roaming light to medium armour, but they are not something to take point with.

This depends very much on the situation and your teammates, however often you will find yourself with OKW teammates which means at some point you need to get caches up. If you are the only Ostheer player this can suck up Manpower so you will not have anything spare for too much aggressive play. But that is ok, as long as you are ready to react.

You don’t want to overbuild in the mid game as you will need the manpower and population for Tigers; judging this is a matter of practice and experience for your own particular play style.

STUG – E:



Very handy against heavy Soviet T1 and Shock play – which they will often choose to counter AGrens. A pair of these will eat Penals and Shocks, and will do nasty things to US rifle blobs so long as they do not bring too many bazookas. Keep your own AT in support in case they get attacked by tanks. Generally, I only build 2 and don’t bother replacing them.

As many Tigers as your pop cap can support; buy some more Pioneers to keep them repaired. Typical late game push involves Tigers on point, followed by Panzerschreck armed Panzergrenadiers. The Panzergrenadiers will help take out enemy vehicles to ease the pressure on the Tigers and the Tigers will keep infantry away from the Panzergrenadiers. Static AT-Guns can have the Light Artillery Barrage dropped on them.

T2 is essential for this build. Building other options will help advance your CP value and get Tigers faster, as well as getting other options.

T1:


Should not be built at the start; if the situation is such that opening with T1 is the best choice then you should either avoid going with this commander or pursue the Supplemental strategy instead. Otherwise pick up team weapons if you have to to fill the gap; if you have to back tech to this usually it means something has gone very wrong (like a Forward HQ in a stone building that you have very few early tools to deal with).

T3:

If you have built a 251 you may wish to tech to BP3 to unlock the flame upgrade, especially against large infantry blobs. Building T3 gives you access to Ostwinds, which can not only fill the anti-infantry role of the STUG-E but also help shut down enemy air power – such as the US Airborne’s P-47 strike. A pair of these will do very nicely so long as you are in a teamgame. It cuts down on your offensive capability late game as that is one less Tiger you can field, but your teammates should appreciate and be able to exploit the greater freedom for their own armour. The rest of T3 doesn’t provide anything else you should want.

T4:


Very rarely will you want to do this, but this commander doesn’t have significant off map abilities, so building a Panzerwerfer (or more than 1) can fill that gap. Also handy to do damage and get the CP count up at little risk to your own units. The rest of T4 doesn’t provide anything else you should need.

Maps with cover and constricted sight lines will help AGrens get close; conversely open maps are unsuited. Forests are ideal, but very heavily urbanised maps will often involve multiple machine guns and mortar duels to which to this commander brings very little. It is also well suited to any situation where the early game is a matter of beating the opponent to key positions.

Good maps and positions for this commander include:

• Rostov – Anywhere (It’s a race to the city)
  
• Lienne Forest – Right (Close Combat but no buildings)

Bad:

• Steppes (Way too open)
  
• Lazur factory (Choke points)

Apart from the map situation, you should also consider your teammates. With other Ostheer players this is not a problem as they can react to your choice and there should be appropriate diversity. However it becomes more important when playing with OKW.

You will have the early capping power and potency that they often lack, however you both suffer from the lack of early anti-vehicle capability. In addition as a heavily unit based commander you don’t have access to things like Recon and Off Map abilities that OKW generally miss. In addition if you are skipping T1 you won’t be covering an area where OKW is lacking. Accordingly you should think very hard (but not too long) before selecting this commander where you are the only Ostheer player with 3 OKW teammates. You will however have the advantage of potent early and late game, so the period in the middle when you will be getting caches up comes at a good moment.

This is a Commander you select right at the start, not something that Ostheer generally do – as such, there is only one other doctrine (Osttruppen) that really overlaps with it. So in most cases you are selecting this commander early or one of the other two later. If you want to be able to call Tigers later, consider equipping another Tiger commander as this doctrine is not generally one you should take later in the game.

These are rarely of crucial importance, but every tiny advantage can be useful. There are however not very many Bulletins for the unique doctrinal units, though there are several for Tigers.

3% Accuracy on Assault Grenadiers - RARE

3% Armour on 250 Halftrack - UNCOMMON

3% Reload on STUG-Es - UNCOMMON

It is not believed that bulletins for standard STUGs affect the STUG-E


What Bulletins you choose depends very heavily upon what other commanders you have, but of the strict doctrinal ones 3% accuracy on Assault Grenadiers will give an early edge. We have established earlier that the 250 halftrack is pretty worthless and hence buffing it is essentially irrelevant. You are welcome to try to prove this wrong by making unarmed half track spam the new meta. STUG-Es will generally not be around for long enough to pay off. If you are taking other commanders with Tigers then you may wish to put some Tiger bulletins in there.

As noted, a Limited Tech build relies heavily on T2, and T2 is something as Ostheer you will end up using regardless of commander choice. Depending on your preferences it is usually PAK-40s and PGrens, almost anything that buffs either is helpful. The one thing I would generally avoid is 10% Vet on PGrens - you will usually be giving them shreks which means they will vet quickly anyway.

ostheer If he is heavily committing to Assault Grenadiers then be ready with MGs to lock down the territory he takes and Grenadiers to deal with light vehicles. If he is going with the Build Order suggested here be aware that that tends to lack mid to late offensive punch until the Tigers come out and play accordingly (though you too are probably happy with a long game). Select your own commander to cover his weakness (Anything with Recon, On Map or Off Map artillery abilities).

okw You probably need schreks fast but you should be doing that anyway; otherwise should not affect you much.

allies You are generally going to realise your opponent has this commander very quickly. If the game goes long enough you will see heavy tanks of some description when playing the Axis, but it helpful to know some idea of what you will see.


amis AGrens will rip Rifles to bits close up, make sure they take some damage getting there. As Rifles get Vet and upgrades the advantage shifts more and more to you and AGrens become outclassed; but at that point, he should be building something else. STUG-Es will punish Rifles, but if you have brought bazookas, a tank or AT Gun to the party he will lose them quickly. Nothing else in his doctrine should give you too many issues until the Tigers turn up, but you should have plenty of time to prepare for them (doesn’t mean it will be easy though).

soviets T1 start with Penals and M3s shuts AGrens down completely until he gets 222s or Shreks out. Interlocking Maxims in stone buildings will be problematic for him to deal with, wooden buildings will get grenades and isolated maxims will get circled. Conscripts can do quite well so long as they can whittle AGrens down before they get close, and will often outnumber them anyway. Splitting two cons squads up so he cannot close on both can work; throw a molotov as he closes in to make things worse for him. When you hit CP2 shocks will hard counter AGrens at their own game because of their armour.

We hope that this will help you to understand and better utilise this Commander. While you can use it as a supplement to a conventional build (and I suspect that is indeed the optimal way to play it), it also gives you options and equipment very different from the rest of the faction and allows a unique play style.

23/6/15 Well we now have Tiger's limited to 1 at a time, therefore elements of this guide will need some revision


1/10/15

Updated with patch changes and new strat thoughts

Since this guide was written there have been a number of changes that prompt a reconsideration and re-evaluation.

Tigers are now limited to one at a time and this affects the viability of both All-In and Limited Strategies as pursuing either will mean your armour will consist of one Tiger and a whole bunch of STUG-Es. As STUG-Es are not very capable against late game armour this is a somewhat unbalanced force.

On the more positive side the MG-42 has been moved to T0 and is available at the start of the game, which means your build options with an A-Gren start have just increased 50%.

This build does depart somewhat from the current meta is it means not opening with building T1 and thereby forgoing the heavy mortar and sniper starts people are using to counter Brits. However it does allow a more aggressive opening and gives fast transition to T2

AGren
MG42
AGren
MG42

This barely compromises early game capping power compared to 3 AGrens and gives you the MG42 to hold territory you take with the AGrens and conversely support their offensive by suppressing enemy infantry to pin them in place and enable your AGrens to kill them.

It may be tempting to get more MG42s, however you should think strongly about teching to T2 as quickly as it becomes available as the MG42s, even with Incendiary Rounds, are at best a soft counter to Light Vehicles


With T2 you have access to the 222 (now with free 20mm Cannon) to deal with Bren Carriers and Wasps and against most Brit players this should be considered a priority. Everything else from T2 remains important as before.

However you are unlikely to be able to stay in T2 without teching further. This means either going T3 or T3-T4

T3 will give you the P-IV and STUG-G, both of which have more utility and durability than the STUG-E will complement the Tiger nicely

However, especially in larger game modes with higher fuel income and you committed to building caches for OKW, you may be able to tech straight to T4 without building anything from T3 and start pumping out Panthers. As always, be conservative with your first one

AGrens can take out ATGuns that Panthers have issues with, whilst Panthers drive off the vehicles that AGrens cannot counter and shreked PGrens prevent the Panthers from being swarmed by lighter and more numerous Allied armour.

By the time you unlock the Tiger, it can start to take over the role of Infantry and soft target killer and complement your Panthers.