US Strategy

Hello everyone,

First post. Bazookas aren't useless in my opinion. Now I haven't had access to higher levels of play so what I say may not work in a tournament. I do feel however that they are more effective than you think. Rifleman are amazing infantry, completely flexible while amazingly effective. I think we can all agree. The US Forces by nature of design rests in the hands of these able infantrymen even into late game. Now, in my past experience I know about 8-9 bazooka shots is enough to take out a Panzer IV especially if they contact the rear or side of the tank.

This sounds like a lot but in reality it's only 2 volleys from a basic core of 4 rifles.

The ambulance and bazookas means constant pressure on a vehicle without compromising the infantry kill power of the squad. Constantly moving and using cover ( clarification: 4 rifleman squads with 1 bazooka per squad. 240 munitions.) Your rifleman should always be spread out not too far, not too loose.

AT rifle grenades received by a veteran level 1 rifleman squad will nearly always grant a damaged engine if the vehicle is already low on health.

Veteran 1 on a rifleman squad should happen naturally through combat and fairly early. Always aware of the enemies and your own income, if you cannot hold fuel, take munitions. Use those munitions against your enemy in combined abilities.

Your ambulance staying nearby your front lines is crucial.

Quickly reinforcing and HEALING your troops on the front lines is one of your most powerful tools. It is fragile but powerful. Pushing your opponent away is the goal and not having to retreat back to base to refresh your soldiers is amazing. Avoid having your troops retreat at all costs. This is where keeping your rifles spread out is key. Consistently inflicting damage on the enemy will cost him time, resources, and map control.

Use your rifleman like a fishing net.

They are fast, efficient killing machines. Keeping them spread apart allows a variety a tactics to quickly be put into play, keep traps from eliminating the presence of multiple squads, and machine guns from pinning your men.(We never want to have to retreat, never give them an inch of ground. For every inch a life.) keeping them spread out also allows you to see larger portions of the map. The net should close in from all sides of opportune cover. If your enemy engages a squad I select the rest and send them to the enemies location. When selected as a group I look at the location of conflict and decide. Where is there heavy cover? Where are their buildings with a good line of sight/many windows facing the enemy? When I have chosen what I think will be good positions I press TAB to cycle through my individual squads in the selection and clicking separate locations so when they simultaneously arrive they take up good positions of fire and force the enemy away.

I don't use BARs if I don't have to, or late game to compete with elite infantry. Grenades and bazookas are my first purchases if I need them. If I the enemy goes with infantry, rear echelon troops pinning fire to hold the most threatening squad. Smoke to disable machine guns/ cover controlled retreats. Fragmentation grenades on enemies in cover. All of these tools are at your disposal. 1 bazooka to a team. Keeping them alive is key. 4x Veteran 3 rifle squads with bazookas and grenades can hold your enemy off till tanks.

That little Rear Echelon unit, can be an essential unit if used right.

At the start I like to try to get out 4 rifles and an ambulance. You should extremely aggressive in the beginning and start your match by immediately pressing F1-> R. Selecting your Rear Echelon and selecting a point that will get you to the closest fuel. Once you've gotten 3 you make a choice. If your in need of more firepower, your 4th rifleman. If they harass you with vehicles, upgrade bazookas and begin to change your play style. You are not in the business of collecting fuel anymore. Your going to need munitions. Start taking munitions points and uncapping cutoff points to their fuel.

This is where the Rear Echelon is KEY. We want to SECURE our supply lines. You will likely need to build caches on 2-3 points. This is to secure your lines as you push! These handy units can also pop into combat to provide a cheap suppression effect. If you can use your rifleman effectively, asses situations early game to decide what to requisition to counter your enemy mid game you should be aggressively at this point attacking his resources. Spreading out and uncapping points to deny fuel and building your AT via bazookas. You can even go for 300 munitions if you can collect it and get a bazooka for the Rear Echelon, bringing them in to support when you encounter heavier opposition.

You now have mid game, AT rifle grenades, 4-5 bazookas, smoke grenades. I don't know what you guys think but I'm sure that's enough to make any Panzer IV, Ostwind, AAFlak, a smoking hulk or desperately hitting U key to reverse away. All the while if you remember to use that manpower mid game to build 2-3 caches based on resources required (Usually fuel because it should remain largely contested/decapped.) you will be not be floating manpower, making it more difficult for your enemy to back cap you and cut off your supplies in return, and gaining in the other resources.

And with that income, I hardly ever build a lieutenant first, his abilities aren't that great, he's just a fancy rifleman. Captain is usually my choice. Why would I do that I already have AT? Yes, and he requires more fuel? Yes, but if I'm only going to build one of them, I'd prefer the one that has the blob retreat and rapid production. This means that I'm not going to use him till late game for an extra punch and easy escapes/ charges, he will be allowing for rapid reinforcement which is amazing mid game on a lucky mortar/tank shell/grenade that wipes your squad. You should have enough manpower generally to purchase another rifle squad while your waiting on fuel for your Major.

With that you can get that rifle team back out on the front much faster to fix bad situations rapidly. You can use him to great effect if your main force is encountered by a vehicle. Flank with your Captain and charge the vehicle with your rifles, setting one to AT rifle grenade. Since the AT grenade takes longer than the bazookas you should get one salvo and the AT grenade off. With your now flanking Captain, activate his ability. Your troops should be closing like a net around the vehicle. If they are on a screens area centered around the Captain they will SPRINT to him, gaining damage boosts as well for the next 4 bazookas now hitting the rear.

I tank hunt severely because it's hard to stop a rifleman group from pushing on one, even if they have an MG, smoke/frag can easily deduct it from the equation. The way I see it, if I can take out a single vehicle it will be a compounding blow on my enemy. My troops will be stronger, and he will have less resources to counter the now stronger troops. Rifleman equipped this way and supported with appropriate munitions are unstoppable. Light vehicles, bazookas. Groups of infantry, infantry in cover, frags. MGs, Smoke. Cheap solutions to very expensive problems. All German vehicles should fear your rifles closing for an AT rifle grenade.

If you can stave off the enemy forces and have your Captain and enough resources to produce your Major I'm happy for you. =D

I retreat my Captain to base before my resources are ready and have him Supervise the T4 building. The goal is still holding necessary points, denying the enemy precious fuel, and keeping your troops fresh. Now the orientation of production has changed. Sherman's are the name of the game. They can be produced in less than 30 seconds when under supervision, providing rapid reinforcement. I know it's known, as much as I know that I hate giving away my strategies. But I believe in bettering the community through shared knowledge.

So I say this.

If you are able to produce Sherman's now, when they arrive if you have the munitions, upgrade the machine gun. If you don't need it on the front, stop it safely by your bases machine guns cover, let the machine gun finish upgrading if it is, the DISEMBARK the vehicle! It will allow you to stockpile a reserve of Sherman's in a similar idea used by the US and Allies that quantity and balance is more efficient than quality. We will keep your armored forces in reserve. This tactic will also reduce the upkeep requirement of the tank from your manpower income now only leaving you with upkeep for a vehicle crew!

I try to keep as much armor off the front lines for as long as I can. This does not mean that I let them sit idly in my base for the entire match. I will go to different strategies depending. I will ALWAYS take that first Sherman and depending on what my rifles are encountering upgrade the MG, switch my rounds to what is required and go hunting. Pushing with my combined rifles and new Sherman I can usually push the enemy back, taking a few units or a vehicle out in the process. If I need more AT on the front after that I supervise the production of an AT gun and move that to support my "net" assaulting with rifles and Sherman and a combined effort, when encountering heavier armor falling back to my ambulance and awaiting AT gun. All the while making Sherman's and tank destroyers, setting them outside my base and disembarking them. Keeping my manpower income flowing as high as possible.

After the 4 rifles with bazookas, a Sherman, AT gun, and ambulance you should have a solid front with your Major supporting as a forward retreat point and ordering a possible recon if your enemy has been acting suspiciously. Your accumulating an armored assault force constantly shipping units to the front lines, using only the tools you need and leaving any unnecessary vehicles on "standby" at base you can keep your manpower flowing, allowing you to afford the casualties you might sustain to your rifles.

Along the way you should be purchasing counters AS REQUIRED. If they go for infantry supported by air units and your being harassed by stukas, purchase an AA instead of an AT gun. If you spread out your troops artillery shouldn't be a problem. You have plenty of AT at your disposal through your rifleman till late game. Grenades should be enough anti infantry if you are smart and use them by taking cover within throwing distance THEN throwing it at units in cover. Bazookas also have another wonderful capability once one masses a few. They are great for destroying cover, leaving enemies no where to hide, and quickly damaging buildings. Don't let me forget they "scatter" enemy troops like all explosives buying your men precious pauses in enemy fire.

Use your tools and flexibility and keep constant pressure on your enemy, float resources only when making critical build decisions. MGs or vehicles? Bazookas or Grenades? Another rifle or ambulance? Rifle if you need to take more territory, ambulance if you need to hold what you have. Do I need an AT gun or AA gun? Did I secure my resources with caches so they can't cut me off? Can I keep the fuel from him or will I have to keep it in contention? If so I will need munitions to stave off the Axis ability to stage terrifying spearhead assaults.

I don't know if any of that will work against higher skilled opponents but in my experience these tactics and strategies have been highly effective. I wrote this to be posted on a thread saying bazookas are useless and this is what it turned into.

It's an okay strat against Ostheer in less micro-intensive competition. But running around with an infantry blob is a death sentence when facing OKW who have various anti-infantry weapons ranging from the Flak HQ to Stuka to Obersoldaten, Fallschirmjager, and even Sturmpioneers.

How would you change your strat to compensate for the OKW bringing up Obers and MGs with their Konigstigers to mitigate your infantry blob while they crawl up to your base? Obers can wipe out an entire 3-Veteran Rifleman squads in no time at all if they're out of cover.

It's an okay strat against Ostheer in less micro-intensive competition. But running around with an infantry blob is a death sentence when facing OKW who have various anti-infantry weapons ranging from the Flak HQ to Stuka to Obersoldaten, Fallschirmjager, and even Sturmpioneers.

How would you change your strat to compensate for the OKW bringing up Obers and MGs with their Konigstigers to mitigate your infantry blob while they crawl up to your base? Obers can wipe out an entire 3-Veteran Rifleman squads in no time at all if they're out of cover.

paratroopers.

Assault Engineer Rush Gameplay
*Should have went with frags first. I make a few mistake but it's my first game of the day and I wanted to show how being aggressive can work.
20:35 Watch demo charge on North Eastern most VP flag. Rips his troops apart. Oddly you will notice at this moment. He has mine sweepers that detect it, but they DO NOT auto-fire on it. While watching the playback from OKW perspective, he DOES NOT receive a warning. Meaning you have to not only HAVE a mine sweeper, but SEE the charge and get away from it/diffuse it.

In this playback I realize that the K.Wagon didn't warrant the purchase of bazookas in this case I expected there to be a more vehicle heavy opponent upon detecting it. I also noticed that along with getting grenades first, smoke will render the K.Wagon useless for minimal munitions. I would have also put 2 bazookas in each rifle team as Tank Busters and left assault engineers with their 4x M3 sub machine guns to counter Sturm Pios.

There is a point where I group at the fenced area around my ambulance. I tried to stand my ground behind some boxes. This was a massive mistake at this part but someone was knocking at my door and I was distracted =P. It shows though, why grouping your entire force is bad. You see too many units trying to cram behind almost zero cover. Leaving units out in the open, and together in a giant mass, your enemies sub machine guns can't miss. I am torn to shreds and have to retreat. The ability to throw frags would have changed that outcome severely, so would those missing SMG's on my engineers.

Sturm pios are my favorite to kill.

First off, as stated before. Never blob unless your finishing a push of your opponent. You ever seen how a "net" works? Ok, if MGs are giving you trouble your not using your rifles right. Keep them SPREAD OUT. They should have their lines of sight touching. Allowing you to see more of the map and not allowing yourself to be "trapped." When you make contact you have 3 real choices.
1) Take cover and hold till reinforcements arrive.
2) Fall back and regroup.
3) Attack aggressively and try to eliminate the threat as fast as possible forcing a retreat.

MGs just need a smoke grenade and swarm them. A KT is somewhere around 260 Fuel. If your fuel income is equal you should have on the field by then an AT gun and a tank or two. That's 4 bazookas, 6 with the Captain brought forward. An AT gun. 1-2 Tanks/Tank destroyers. AT grenades. Smoke and frags. If your opponent has been holding enough fuel to build a KT and you have none, you have lost already.

Sturm pioneers are dangerous yes but a beautiful counter I've found is when the game starts. This works best if you know you will encounter them. F1 -> R to queue up Rifleman. Select Armored Company. As your rifleman are finishing, just before/after. Order in an assault engineer. They should come within seconds of each other. Group them together and go hunting while waiting for manpower to order your 2nd rifle team. Assault engineers are amazing troops. Perfect counters to Sturm Pios. Rifleman in cover in MEDIUM RANGE push the Sturm Pios from a different angle with your assault engineers, negating their cover and once you feel close enough hit S and watch them rip the Sturms apart. You will likely lose 1 Assault Engineer in this conflict. (single soldier, leaving you 3/4 not 1 entire squad. This will only happen if they micro the Sturms to focus your engineers.

The beauty behind this counter is you are fielding 2 powerful units SIMULTANEOUSLY. Using this and pushing on that Sturm on the beginning in this manner will allow you to damage the enemy till he retreats. You can then spread out and take 2 points from him. If he tries to attack with another squad, fend them off by using cover it's still a 2v1 for him. Now your 3rd rifle is on the way and your Rear Echelon has been securing your supply lines in the rear of your lines. You can now get 2 things. An ambulance, or a 2nd assault engineer squad. I prefer the 2nd assault engineer squad in most cases because I like the power of 2 short range and 2 long - med range units. Remember, buy counters as you need them. MGs start supporting the sturms, grenades. Light vehicles start rolling in, bazookas.

Assault engineers are the "bomb" =D.

For a hefty 90 munitions you can eliminate an entire enemy squad. Or for 95-100 Munitions a very power Anti Tank/Vehicle trap. When you capture a fuel point. Check your munitions constantly. Once you have the appropriate resources set your team to spread out around the fuel point and a single assault engineer to place a demolitions charge on the point where the enemy should approach from. Cap and retreat. When he tries to take it back, detonate the charge and turn his squad into McDonalds cheeseburgers. Boom 90 munitions for 320 manpower. All the while your off capping other points leaving him in disarray as to where his sturms went.

You can also use these in combination with rifles to smoke a machine gun nest at the enemy base and setting a demolition charge on it and with a controlled retreat through the smoke you are now in position to make a great raid on his base. Assemble your forces and once a conflict has been fought, quickly bring up your ambulance to reinforce and heal your troops. Push into the base detonating your charge on the way in. This will force your opponent to withdraw all his forces to defend his base from the bazookas now threatening to back tech him. This technique can be used with rifles and paratroopers as well.

Another technique with the demo charges is to set one outside of the enemy base in a major vehicle route and set it with (I prefer 2.) light vehicle mines in an echelon left/ right through the road here is an example.

|\ | | /|
|D| |D|
| \| |/ |

D= Demo Charge
/ = Light Vehicle mines

Producing a massive anti tank charge, destroying all but the heaviest tanks outright. 95-100 munitions to cancel a 300+ manpower and 90+ fuel. Wonderful. Particularly since infantry won't set it off. Harass the KT with bazookas and use one squad to bait the Tanks over the charges into an awaiting AT gun. No more KT. 260 fuel 720 manpower is now smoldering in the street. I'm looking at a squad DPS chart right now. Assault engineers will only lose to Sturm Pios between ranges 7-11. This means near point blank range, (5 feet away and less, so when you rush cover.) as well as just beyond medium range, (12 or more, when you are holding in cover distracting for a flanking squad.) Assault Engineers will win. This backs up my statement earlier of losing one engineer soldier per rush on Sturms which occurs when you hit the threshold where Sturms do more damage. As you break that you will take the loss of one man but will take at least one of his with combined rifles and assaulting engineers, you might get a few more as he mashes the T button.

Also I read Stukas. Stukas make a very distinct sound which can be heard from all over the battlefield, like all artillery. The beauty behind the Stuka is it's predictability. It fires in a path, like a bombing run. Strafing your infantry left / right is preferable. Be careful if you decide to split your troops both ways. This will divide your forces reducing temporarily your force multiplication. Force multiplication being, you have now split your troops to dodge a Stuka. Your opponents waiting Panzer IV may have feared your 4 bazookas shooting him and the inevitable AT grenade that would soon follow to disable him. But 2 bazookas isn't nearly as risky, allowing him to initiate a push. Causing casualties and keeping your infantry on a controlled retreat. I like to let him feel brave and chase my infantry while my other squads close in from the rear, one set with AT grenade ready. Turning my retreating troops to assist in hopefully disabling the beast.

That was big ... Ambulance front strategy is extremely risky any good player will focus it down.. It has terrible speed so you cant back up even walking grenadiers can out run a ambulance.

That was big ... Ambulance front strategy is extremely risky any good player will focus it down.. It has terrible speed so you cant back up even walking grenadiers can out run a ambulance.

+1

to put 4 mines and 2 Demo charge just outside of the enemy base require a lot of time....where the enemy is?

How does this counter an Axis infantry blob? You have no anti-infantry outside of riflemen with bazookas, and an Assault Engineer team which will die nearly instantly against a blob.
No AAHT capability since you don't have an LT and the Stuart is very vulnerable.

Sorry but 4xRifles with bazookas is awesome against armor, but really puts you in a hole when it comes to elite infantry later.