My understanding on the Partisan Tactics

Edit:The Western Front Update has changed the Partisan Tactics enough to make the contents of my post obsolete. Will update when I feel confident enough



If Conscripts are the backbone of the Soviet army then the Partisans are the kneecaps that can hit delicate areas of the German army when they least expect it. Unfortunately Partisans are not as durable as most knees are, so using them requires careful handling to avoid unnecessary loss of precious manpower.

I've played Soviet mostly and I am great fan of using infantry intensive tactics. I also dabble mostly in 2v2s, a few rounds of 3v3 and the occasional 4v4 - no solo matches with this tactics. Why? Because I classify (and I'm sure those who have tried it will too) Partisans tactics are strictly support-based. It would be difficult trying to use a support tactic to defeat enemies in a 1v1 match. Partisans work well in 2v2 and 3v3 tactics though, especially when working with frontline headquarters, but I'll leave that for some other time.

I'll explain my understanding on each separate skill of the Partisans tactics, pointing mostly on some important advantages and disadvantages as well as some tips and tricks I've absorbed from several matches.

Radio Intercept

A handy skill that could spell out a good start for your team. It notifies you when the enemy has finished building a unit or construction. Knowing this early game would mean being able to prepare your troops to out-play their starting game tactics. If you hear a lot of MG spawns, notify your teammates, and trucks and snipers would be a great counter. If you have a lot of Grenadiers spawning, then go MG and suppress the crap out of them.

Late game it works great too, notifying you when the enemy has summoned a significant unit to the battlefield. More than once I have heard the radio interceptions of a tiger tank being called and preparing my team for a early counter.

Partisan Troops: Command Points 1

Fantastic early-mid game unit. These guys are superb solely for one reason - they can emerge from any building that is not occupied or destroyed. I'm sure everyone already knows that they're most important role is knocking out support infantry such as the HMG or Mortar, forcing them to retreat or be killed. Unfortunately, they have a very low survival chance when taking any enemy up front that isn't support-based. Even Pioneers could serve to be a serious threat to them, and even when retreating a few shots would mean none of them will survive. Panzer IV can take one squad out with one single shot. You get the idea. It is highly recommended that they stick to attacking support-based infantry from behind.

However, do not fear! They can be upgraded so that they can handle a few rounds of volley before dropping like flies. For less than 50 ammunition they're chance of not dying is raised significantly. This doesn't mean we should therefore send them to face enemies head on. They do well assaulting from behind enemy lines,and should be kept that way. Let your teammate with Conscripts act as the meat shield.

Other than destroying enemy support units, the Partisan Troops can harass opponents by neutralizing their resource points. Though they can't turn it completely, simply by neutralizing it, it can disable enemy resource line for a few seconds, winning possibly precious seconds for your allies to develop higher tier units.

You get three kinds of Partisans and you have no say in which one you get when you call for them. The "common" (common would be slightly misleading considering the chances of getting either three appears to be equal) squad are armed with the half-automatic rifles that your penal battalions hold. They do decent in clearing out enemies and can support Conscripts in assaulting other units by providing additional firepower. The second are Partisans armed with one single MG that are similar to the Grenadiers. They do just as well as the rifle Partisans if not better. I highly recommend upgrading them, since when they are done killing things from behind, they can join the bulk of the infantry and defend points by simply holding a spot and spraying that MG. The third kind are a full squad of PPSh-41. Oh gosh do I love them. They kill off support infantry very fast when close up and when upgraded can join infantry charges. It is crucial that Partisan kill off support quickly because once they react, the Partisan will die off in seconds if they don't retreat. The PPSh squad clearly outdo the other two in this regard.

Partisan Tank Hunters: Command Points 2So I heard you have enemies spamming 222 early game? No problem, let me clear them out for you my dear comrade. Partisan Tank Hunters are armed with either 3 anti-armor rifles or 1 Panzershreck. You would think that the Panzershreck would be best, but in summary, 3 anti-armor rifles just outdo them after 2-3 volleys. Destroying light armor vehicles would be their best job. However, aside from hitting cars, they can also be used to destroy enemy resource cache as well as outposts. Both anti-armor rifles and Panzershreck do considerable damage to outposts and resource cache. So when your allies can no longer push because of a certain MG outpost, you can assist them by disabling outposts. You also use them when there are resource cache because normal Partisan troops can do very little to remove caches, resulting in them failing to neutralize resource points.

Unfortunately Partisan Tank Hunters cannot be upgraded to gain higher survival chances, and they drop their anti-weapons almost all the time. So if you make a mistake, it could mean providing your enemies with anti-armor weapons to use against your allies. Use these guys cautiously.

Spy Network: Command Points 4

This skill is the bomb. Not literally, but they can assist artillery strikes as well as providing VITAL information about where the enemies are likely to strike. At the reasonably affordable price of 50 ammunition, you can see enemy units on your mini-map. Alone, this skill can do little, but in combination with able teammates, you can assist in coordinating a defense against them, or a well executed offense instead. The cooldown for the network is short as well, so you don't have to be too careful about when or when not to activate the skill. Remember to communicate with the allies about what you see to gain the maximum effect of this ability. Marking the positions of tanks and other significant dangers by using the "Attack Here" mark would do sufficiently most of the time, just explain it's for marking enemies and not for actual demands for an assault.

Mark Vehicle: Command Points 8

Wonderful support skill to have so that the Partisan tactics can stay in late-game to not just act as a mini-map hack. Important armors are more likely to be penetrated and damage is significantly raised. When facing powerful armor like the Tiger, marking could mean certain doom, or at least retreat for the tank. It's rather ammunition heavy, so don't spam them.

If you are desperate to destroy a enemy armor that isn't that powerful (Panzer IV or below) and you have no anti-tank weapons nearby. You can quickly call upon a Tank Hunter Squad and mark the vehicle. Even the anti-armor rifles will penetrate the Panzer IV and reduce it to scraps if it doesn't retreat or kill the Tank Hunters off quickly.

Tactics Route

As a Partisan player, I try to take a role that gives me time to observe the battlefield and take actions that will assist my team. This means I don't take the aggressive role of infantry and armor push.Starting the game I would go directly for 2 MG and 1 Mortar, dragging them as well as my engineer to the spot that needs defending and leaving them there after setting them up properly. I'll follow up with AT and maybe more MG to defend that spot and get the engineer to start planting mines. The spot I guard could also be a safe spot for vehicles to repair, using my engineers to assist the armor in recovering as soon as possible.

When I have access to my Partisan units, I have the decision of either killing support units or breaking off resource points. Using my radio, I decide on which tactics the enemies are trying to play early game. If it is support units intensive, I get my Partisans to wipe them out. If it is more Grenadier-spam based, then breaking off resource points and occasionally helping the bulk of the infantry kill units should be my goal.

Late game its more or less keeping an eye on the map at all times and applying vehicle marks when necessary. Since my teammates are hopefully more focused on armor and more offensive based units. I reinforce them with my support units and maybe one or two SU-85 to ward off the attacks of the enemy.

Tips and Tricks

The Molotov is a skill that Partisan can learn after upgrade. I, however, do not recommend this upgrade because Partisan won't last long enough to throw it in time. Chances are if you are trying to kill a MG nest with a Partisan, you would be better off run to and from from a angle so that the MG just keeps swapping angle - and we all know that German MG takes bloody forever to turn.

Tank Hunters share the same upgrade with Conscripts on AT grenade upgrade. It's effective when the enemy do not expect them to show up. Outflank them and throw a AT grenade from behind to ensure a damaged engine. They take slightly less time than a molotov so I'm not against upgrading it.

Extra pop = less manpower income. Sometimes it is by far better to let your squad die completely (especially if it is an un-upgraded rifle squad) so that you have the extra manpower flow to summon a second squad.

When you find a weak infantry squad (e.g. 2 men left in a Grenadier squad), chances are the Partisan will take significant losses before killing or forcing the retreat of the enemy squad. So I'll stress again that fighting normal infantry is a big no-no in most occasions.

There is currently a mistake of some sort involving the Partisan upgrade providing more health than intended. I'm sure it will be patched soon, but in the meantime let's not abuse it.

Thanks for taking your time to read this!
I'm still new to Company of Heroes and I feel that this post is more or less filled with mistakes and misunderstandings. I'm hoping that more experienced players who have played the tactics even more often than I do can contribute constructively so that I can further reinforce my skill and knowledge in this playstyle.

Have a good day!

+1 great guides. Any tips for using Partisans in 1v1?

+1 great guides. Any tips for using Partisans in 1v1?

I don't play 1v1 enough to be confident enough to provide you with a guide. I feel the Partisan Tactics is for supporting teammates so I would not recommend trying this tactic 1v1. Though I would be wrong to assume therefor using this tactics in 1v1 won't work. Perhaps you can figure a 1v1 method out and I can comment on your guide as well

Yeah I love these guys too, but I will almost never play them in casual matches, only with arranged teams.

Some other observations:


I like to not use them straight away but hold them back until I can tip something decisive.
They are even more effective if the enemy doesn't know they are coming, and using them gives away the fact you have radio hack.


I will disagree with you about Molotovs, because I find them useful against team weapons and caches


I believe they can also lay mines, but I always forget to do that


Artillery, Werfers and damaged tanks are all easy prey (one reason I like to deploy them later is to get a high value target like this without tipping my hand first)


Map Hack does not give you LOS for your teamates strikes, but a partisan unit can


No other doctrine gives you the ability to affect battles happening on the other side of map in the way Partisans do, this is especially true on big maps where travel times are huge.

You can pop the Partisans out to intervene in the battles and Mark Target helps taking out tough targets like Cats



Good maps:

The Classics are the Urban Ones (City 17, Angermunde, Rostov)

However they can also be useful on the Hill (where in fact they are super annoying because of where the buildings are)

I've even used them to effect on the Steppes. However the best buildings there are alone and enemies will usually destroy them eventually which means they won't be usable in the very late game


Possible Counters:

There is not much the enemy can do to counter them and most of the things that they can do are victories for you anyway.

Minefields, garissioned buildings and bunkers all take resources away from the main battle fronts.

However if the enemy knows partisans are out there they can be more careful

Yeah I love these guys too, but I will almost never play them in casual matches, only with arranged teams.

Some other observations:


I like to not use them straight away but hold them back until I can tip something decisive.
They are even more effective if the enemy doesn't know they are coming, and using them gives away the fact you have radio hack.


I will disagree with you about Molotovs, because I find them useful against team weapons and caches


I believe they can also lay mines, but I always forget to do that


Artillery, Werfers and damaged tanks are all easy prey (one reason I like to deploy them later is to get a high value target like this without tipping my hand first)


Map Hack does not give you LOS for your teamates strikes, but a partisan unit can


No other doctrine gives you the ability to affect battles happening on the other side of map in the way Partisans do, this is especially true on big maps where travel times are huge.

You can pop the Partisans out to intervene in the battles and Mark Target helps taking out tough targets like Cats



Good maps:

The Classics are the Urban Ones (City 17, Angermunde, Rostov)

However they can also be useful on the Hill (where in fact they are super annoying because of where the buildings are)

I've even used them to effect on the Steppes. However the best buildings there are alone and enemies will usually destroy them eventually which means they won't be usable in the very late game


Possible Counters:

There is not much the enemy can do to counter them and most of the things that they can do are victories for you anyway.

Minefields, garissioned buildings and bunkers all take resources away from the main battle fronts.

However if the enemy knows partisans are out there they can be more careful

I agree with you on most points. I'm not so sure about the mine-laying. If that's true then it would further make Partisan Tactics a useful set.

On regards of counter, you have all of them down correctly. Most players I know that react (eventually) is by setting HMG facing buildings they are likely to spawn from or simply blowing up all the buildings they feel are a likely threat. Regardless, the resource and time they spend on destroying homes or guarding them is already a loss for them.

Well I like to play with you someday man, 2v2.
Seems very interesting

Add me on steam; kreatiir

I play Partisans in 1v1. They are good on Semoisky and Kharkov.
I beat 100 players with them when you play them well.

The beauty of Partisans is that you can call them everywhere you are potentially loosing an engagement. They are good against support weapons because you can call them right behind them in a building.

If your opponent goes scoutcars, you simply bait it to a house and call AT partisans. It usually dies right there.

Since mines are SUPER powerful this patch, you got to spam them everywhere. If your opponent is not experienced, he will loose simply by hitting them frequently.

The weakness of Partisans are in the late game. Partisans are squishy and die quickly against heavys. Then the manpower bleed starts, because they are expensive to reinforce. A good opponent will garrison buildings with his units. Especially where his support weapons are. Then you cant call them behind enemy lines anymore.

I dont recommend using them in team games (especially 3v3 and 4v4). Everybody rushes to tanks and after a few minutes partisans become almost useless. Marked target and spy network are the only useful abilities at this stage.

I love them in 1v1 because they arent the usual call-in commanders and very unique. I thought about creating a guide on youtube how to use them properly, but I am too busy right now.

Well I like to play with you someday man, 2v2.
Seems very interesting

Add me on steam; kreatiir

Sure, it would be my pleasure! Although our separate time zone might make that a bit difficult.

I play Partisans in 1v1. They are good on Semoisky and Kharkov.
I beat 100 players with them when you play them well.

The beauty of Partisans is that you can call them everywhere you are potentially loosing an engagement. They are good against support weapons because you can call them right behind them in a building.

If your opponent goes scoutcars, you simply bait it to a house and call AT partisans. It usually dies right there.

Since mines are SUPER powerful this patch, you got to spam them everywhere. If your opponent is not experienced, he will loose simply by hitting them frequently.

The weakness of Partisans are in the late game. Partisans are squishy and die quickly against heavys. Then the manpower bleed starts, because they are expensive to reinforce. A good opponent will garrison buildings with his units. Especially where his support weapons are. Then you cant call them behind enemy lines anymore.

I dont recommend using them in team games (especially 3v3 and 4v4). Everybody rushes to tanks and after a few minutes partisans become almost useless. Marked target and spy network are the only useful abilities at this stage.

I love them in 1v1 because they arent the usual call-in commanders and very unique. I thought about creating a guide on youtube how to use them properly, but I am too busy right now.

You seem to view the Partisan Tactics completely different to how I would play it. I like that.
On regard of dealing with armor in late game 3v3 or 4v4, provided that you have 1 - 2 AT guns lying around, Partisan can repeatedly reinforce the AT gun as well as having their own selection of AT weapons. If the teammates are capable, Partisan can still play a helpful role in dealing with the excess tanks lying around.

But yes, you are correct, good player will counter them very quickly by occupying or destroying buildings. Unless it's a map with a lot of buildings, Partisans can be countered.