New Doctrine - Lend Lease

Did some musing on this, let's see what people think.

Soviet Doctrine - Lend Lease

Lend Lease rarely provided weapons that the Soviets considering superior to their own, however it did provide it at a time when the Red Army was trying to rebuild after the loses of 1941 and the factories evacuated to the east were still re-starting. Other deliveries, such as trucks, signals equipment, high octane petrol and the ubiquitous tins of spam filled needs that the Soviet Economy could not.

1 CP Radio Intercept

2 CP Gold Braid

4 CP Matilda II

6 CP Lee

10 CP P-39 Airacobra

Radio Intercept - Soviet electronics were neither sophisticated nor availible in quantity. Lend lease supplied radios, field telephones and miles and miles of signal wire. Of course, signals equipment can also be used to help you listen to the enemy.

Gold Braid - The Bolsheviks distrusted officers as a class, and even the word was once forbidden. However Stalin realised that he could not win a war with commissars, and considerable effort was put into reviving the confidence, training and professionalism of the Officer Corps. Uniforms were an important part of that, hence Gold braid was listed as a vital war import.

Effect:

As elite troop training, but with a cooldown and limited to Vet 1 only

Matilda II

This was a big scary tank in 1940, and had a similar effect on the Germans and Italians then to that the T-34 and KV-1 would have on the Germans in 1941 and the Tiger and King Tiger would later have on the allies. By 1942 though, it was starting to show its age, especially as how it could not be upgunned beyond its 40mm gun with no HE capacity.

This is hard unit to price, both in manpower/fuel and CP.

It's like a slower KV, giving it great armour and durability, but its gun is only useful for AT work making it worse than a T-70 for attacking soft targets

M3 Lee

Both Americans and British wanted a tank with a 75mm gun, but a design that would fit one in a fully rotating turret was not yet availible. According the M3, somewhat like a wedding cake, mounted a 75mm in a side sponson, a fully rotating turret with a 37mm above it and a machine gun in a cupola on top. The Soviet tankers did not regard it with affection, and referred to it as "the coffin for 6 brothers".

An AI tank, with a unique weapons combination and layout that should provide some interesting tactical options and micro

P-39 Airacobra

While not an especially successful weapon for the Western Allies, the Red Air Force appreciated the P-39s ruggedness and potent armament whilst it's poor high altitude performance was largely irrelevent to their needs.

A P-39 will patrol for the duration and attack German aircraft, if none appear it will make one strafing one and then depart.

Matilda II

pretty much like a t34 but with stronger armor and weaker gun, it's really slow though.

M3 Lee

doesn't seem like a good anti tank weapon, the Soviets already have enough anti infantry tanks.

P39

sounds like something the Germans would have.

I would like to see Shermans and Stuarts in the game though since they could play a good role in the game. I made lend lease suggestions before which I hoped Shermans would be like the t3485s
(back then I also wanted the T3485s to be different than it is now)
and Stuarts to be like t70s but slower rate of fire and an mg on top.

Maybe the Hurricane mkII b with 4x 20mm cannons would be more relevant rather than the P-39?

Personally I wanted Lend-Lease to have M1 Bazookas (either as a squad upgrade for penals or as a call-in squad), Valentine infantry tanks (most numerous tank given to the USSR, due to huge numbers donated by Britain and Canada), and Guard Emcha (M4A2 Sherman Tank, named "Emcha" due to the 'M4' resembling the Cyrillic 'МЧ', it was assigned to several Guard divisions).

i dont want need units.

and not units from 1940, we are playing 45 in multplayer omg.

How about a 76mm M4A2 Sherman instead of M3s?

How about not adding any more DLC?

The Brits gave the Sovs Churchills, which they hated with a passion.

Matilda / Valentine / Churchill I would definitely buy and use. Interesting old-school tanks with good armour, and it'd bring a different feel to the Soviets.

Lee / Sherman I would be less inclined to. I had my fill of Shermans in vCoH and I don't see how either would be sufficiently different to T-34/76s. Mind you, upgrades for the Sherman would definitely help I suppose.

I am not sure that a Lend-Lease commander is something we will see too early in 2014, though, as I suspect its inclusion (even if they are testing these units, or will in the future) will depend quite heavily on whether the Western Allies will ever be added as factions.

I sure hope Relic refrains from the Western Allies. Factions who fought on the Eastern Front like Hungarians or Finns should be included if they are going to make new factions.

The thing is that the obvious new factions would be too controversial. On the one hand, a new Russian Partisan faction (lots of light infantry units with armoured cars, light tanks and elite soviet parachutist support) is an easy one to sell. The corollary? A German light police / partisan hunting faction, responsible for the most brutal and disgusting war crimes (would be interesting to play from a purely tactical perspective, they would receive pumas / bikes / kubels and even mounted troops).

Furthermore, these factions would add a welcome break from the spamfest / armour rush that typifies the game right now, and add an extra tactical dimension to the game.

The Western Allies simply weren't there. Like, doh. Unless they plan on using the engine for a new franchise based on other theatres. The other Axis / Eastern Euros and Italians? Poor quality infantry and crappy tanks? Hmmm.

Finns? Well, it's a different and for many too esoteric part of the war.

I'd go for a late war German 'home army' faction with foreign 'elite' (i.e. fanatical SS infantry), spammable volkswehr, lots of traps and barricades versus a new arty heavy end-war 'Guards' Faction which would neatly reverse the Axis / Sov paradigm where the Russians get their turn at playing cat and the Germans the mice.

Whilst I like the idea of a late war Volkssturm-style doctrine (and in fact I've laid one out in detail) I am not sure that Relic will add stuff based around the SS. There will likely be doctrinal Stormtroopers at some point, but they won't be given any political angle.

I like the general premise, but I'm not sure how best to implement those sort of things. Given the reaction (from some) to the campaign, I'm not sure how a 'fanatical SS' faction would go down.

"fanatical SS" could be immune to propaganda artillery and maxim suppression

In Germany and the USSR still a lot of infantry and vehicles that can be done several subfractions:
 - 1st Mountain Division (Edelweiss) / Mountain Troops NKVD or Infantry
 - Fallschirmjäger / Paratroopers
 - Counterinsurgency troops / partisan, sabotage troops of the NKVD

Many different techniques.

But I would very much like what would the next big addition unfolded in the East

Japan's war against the Soviet Union and the United States

Single player for the USSR / USA, later missions over Japan. (On the topic of the USSR against Japan very few games, and Relic can raise his reputation if he does quality single mission of the USSR against Japan, I would personally would love to have bought)

Two new factions in multiplayer:

- U.S. Marine Corps: amphibious APC LVT-2, Marines,Carriers support, 406 mm gun battleships
- Japan: many infantry (many antitank weapons: Type 97, Type 4), amphibious APC, kamikaze, light and medium tanks, heavy Artillery

Thanks for the responses.

I see a lot of people want Shermans, and I have to wonder why. It can certainly be justified on historical grounds, but it's a medium tank with a 75mm gun in a full rotation turret, and both factions already have one of those in the PIV and 34/76.

The Lee on the other hand has a unique weapon arc for the 75mm that is nothing like anything else in the game (I'd also like to see T-35s for similar reasons)


Valentines, Churchills and Matildas can all be justified; I just liked the Matilda as the most different to what is already there.

The Valentine would be in between a T-70 and T-34 and Churchill is a downgunned KV-1


I am really suprised that no-one disliked Gold Braid, as buying Vet is the 2nd most hate thing about Elite Troops (unless I've put sane limits on it)

Also:

I suspect that the Soviets need more Counter-Air options other than what they have now which is why I added one.

Right now it is only what:

M3 Meatgrinder (only if you have gone T3)

Um, DSHK on IS2 can shoot planes?


Germans have:

Ostwind

Pintle Mount MGs on their tanks

How about:

1CP: Riflemen

2CP: Nades, Stickies, Bars

3CP: M8

4CP: American Supply Yard

5CP: 2 M10s

How about not being a dick?

How about not adding any more DLC?