The Great US Strategy Thread

USF is currently one of the more challenging teamgame factions. I'd like to make this thread a place for players to come and see different strategies that can be used for US forces

This is a mechanized company build that has worked very well in 2vs2.

The idea of this build is to take advantage of the refit option in mechanized, and use it to keep constant pressure on your enemies. This build is most effective against double OKW, but has merits vs. mixed ostheer and double ostheer.

Early Game:
Rifle
Rifle
WC-51
Rifle

The idea of the early game start is to take advantage of your mobility to overwhelm your enemy, and use the WC-51's mobility on large maps to flank and cut off the enemy. If you see volks in green cover, use 2 rifles to engage from range, while your WC51 flanks to the side and drops off your third squad to deal heavy damage to the flanked position. The WC51 hardcounters the kubelwagon and gives very good supplemental damage vs. sturmpioneers. Remember that it doesn't have very good armor or HP, so you must always be paying attention to it.

If you find a lull in the action, take your WC-51 deep and try to find your opponents truck building. If you destroy it, you will have more or less won the game.

Mid game:
LT
M20 (if large map)
AA HT
BARS
Major

Next, you must take advantage of your early game fuel presence to push even deeper into enemy territory and secure your rear. Refit your Jeep as soon as you either see a raketen or as soon as your LT comes out.

On maps such as Vaux Farmland and Minsk Pocket, build and use an M20 (without skirts, they will be a waste of money) to lay 1-2 AT mines on roads and flanking positions. As soon as you are done with the mines, replace the M20 crew with your RE squad, and refit the M20 to return your MP and fuel.

Rush out the AA HT, and use it to supplement your riflemen as an effective field force. Move your riflemen out in front of your AA HT and push back the enemy with the combination of suppression from the HT and CQC damage from your rifle squads. Upgrade bars after your AA HT, and equip your rifle squads with one each, then 2 each (don't forget your LT). Build a Major.

Build Fuel caches as soon as you start floating MP from taking reduced losses.

Late Game:
Sherman
Sherman
Jackson
Sherman
Sherman
...

Typically, your late game will depend on what you prefer as your USF lategame armor composition. I prefer a sherman-heavy build with 1 jackson as support. Use the AA HT until you are about 40 fuel away from a sherman. Replace the crew inside with an RE squad, and refit it. As soon as the sherman enters the battlefield, replace the sherman crew with your AA HT crew.

Use the HE rounds on the sherman to support your infantry as they push into enemy territory. Late game should rely on your armor to win battles and wipe as many squads as possible while your Jackson punishes the tiger that will come out at 11CP.

You should have at least 1 sherman + 1 Jackson by the time the Tiger arrives. Use AP round shermans and flank the tiger if he overextends. Try baiting him over your defensive mines if you have any.

Remember, if you lose your jackson when you don't have enough fuel for another, use withdraw and refit on your most damaged sherman (with your worst crew) to quickly fund the production of another jackson. Crew the new jackson with you best sherman crew so that you have access to AP rounds.

Crews are important, if you have a highly vetted sherman crippled during an assault, get the crew out and get them away from the frontlines so that they can boost the vet of one of your other vehicles. Finish the crippled vehicle with your jackson, or just secure it and bring the crew back up after winning the battle.

One last tip, if you find yourself floating fuel late game, consider teching to a captain to use the supervise function in order to pump out as many tanks as you can. You may find it useful to take him into combat and get him to lose most of his models so that he doesnt become a drain on your popcap.

Doctrine:
The strategy I have outlined makes use of the first two abilities, and has the other 3 as supplemental options.

Use the recon overflight to sscout out enemy positions prior to your main push.

Use the mechanized arty + 2-3 rounds from a sherman to destroy the OKW base buildings.

The M3 halftrack can be useful for the ass-engie mines and demos. Remember that getting the M3 is going to slow down your teching and your building of fuel caches. If you decide to get one, you may want to refit it quickly after 1-2 pushs with it as a soft retreat point. I would recommend getting it late game, disembarking the ass engies, and refitting it immediatly. It won't be efficient, but it may be life saving.

Support

The best support for this doctrine would be a soviet player who goes for a con heavy start into t2+t3 and a t34 into callins. The T34 will be useful in supplementing your own armor (and ram will punish any overextended panthers/tigers), as well as keeping the pressure on the enemy.


What are your guys' strategies?

I mean its the US forces, there isn't many different strats

I mean its the US forces, there isn't many different strats

That's why we gotta find all of the more interesting ones. :}

Variant of your early strat (depend of the map)

RE
Rilfe
RE
WC51

You're going to be waaaay faster into pushing. In fact, your WC51 comes 2-3 second after your second RE. So you put the squad in it from your base.
It give you a strong numerical advantage and also let you repair faster the WC51.
If you succeed your push you can build a fast and forward position and hold it for quite a while before they come back with AT capabilities to take it down.

4v4 Strat (don't hate me)

Started playing 4v4's at the end of last patch after being bummed out with the balance, figured I'd just play scrub 4v4 matches as USF where I don't mind too much about a loss and can enjoy the show. 4v4's are very different to real competitive play, but hell, they are kinda fun when you see mega tank battles and flanks pushing or collapsing in massive style.

Since the patch I have been having a lot of success - got an 11 win streak at one point and am now in the top 10 as USF 4v4 auto (lol). A strat is a strat, so I'll share it for those interested in dipping into the filth of random large team games every now and then.

Purpose

This is an individual strategy for automatch team mode games. It is not a guide for a full team of 4 people. 4v4's work best when all the team is supporting each other, but explaining that would basically need a guide in itself. Also you will come across some truly terrible team members playing 4v4 randoms, as well as disconnects and drops within the first 2 mins. Hopefully with this strat, even as a lone wolf, you can punch forward and carve out a hold on the map with enough dominance to come to the support of your allies.

Prep Work

Veto Sittard Summer, Hill 331 and City 17.

Early Game

Instantly pick Armour Company

Build order:
Assault engineers
RE
Rifles
LT

Chuck your first RE and assaults up to the fuel/muni point on your side. Get one squad in a good building if you can. With the two units working together you should be able to take and hold the point, meanwhile back-capping with your 2nd RE squad.

On some maps - Mud, Steppes - build a fighting position as soon as possible IN the cap circle of the important point. This will help you hold out until help arrives - the enemy won't be able to de-cap with your squad garrisoning in the circle. On all other maps there should be a building there you can grab.

Get your rifle and LT up and be as aggressive as possible. Put demo's down if you can. This point you should start to see what strategy your opponent is going for. Most likely if OST they'll spam grens through to P4's, if OKW then it's volks, obers and panthers.

Use this knowledge to pick the right tech in the mid game:

Mid Game

Versus OKW go Double AA Halftrack. Keep them at range and you'll chew up their inf blob. Keep them together and they'll kill the Puma or Luchs sent to counter them pretty easily - but make sure you know when it's coming.

Versus OST it's more tricky - grenspam is the 4v4 meta with a Pak to support. This will wreck your AA Halftrack, and your infantry force will be a weird mis-match of Assault engineer, RE, RE, rifle and LT. They'll start getting LMG upgrades making your life uncomfortable and you'll be tempted to get BAR's. Don't. Hold, and fast tech to sherman.

Get your sherman out and push them back again. Beware the PIV and the Pak. The PIV will hit soon, and coupled with an aggressive Pak and gren faust snare (guaranteed) it will be in trouble soon. Use smoke - in 4v4 maps there will only be a couple of places the Pak will be, and keep it supported with your RE's and Assault engineers to quick repair.

Versus OKW the sherman is less necessary as the AA's can do the crowd control and they're less vulnerable to being immobilised. So if you feel like it skip the major and save up for an M10, and if you need a sherman late game then you've got the excellent Dozer sherman to use.

Pretty soon you'll have the points to call in an M10. Do it and keep it second line to push off an aggressive tank that comes for the sherman or your AA. Since the patch it's a very viable unit, it also squishes OKW blobs incredibly well, which is always hilarious. Don't try it against grens as they'll just faust you.

This gains early map control, gets just ahead of them tech wise and holds it mid-game with vehicles.
However; games are won by building up a good core force of infantry, and in this strat you can't spend any fuel on weapon unlocks or your vehicles are slowed too much. So how to fix this?

Late Game

Here's where it gets more fun. Jump the crew out of the sherman and the M10 or the AA Halftracks, and swap the RE squads in. Upgrade the crews with Thompsons, and you've got two mini shock troops who will either already be on Vet 3 or will be so very quickly. Now your force is looking healthy - 2x Thompson Crews, Rifle, LT, and assault engineers - a great anti-infantry hammer force. Super cheap in terms of Pop-cap.

As the game calls for it you can now use your fuel to spam M10's and get an ambulance out. M10's are beasts since the patch and are incredibly cheap - throwing one away to kill a P4 is a trade in your favour. Build up an unstoppable force of M10's and shock them off the field like you're playing vCoH.
Bonus of throughout the game knowing you're a coh hipster using vehicle crews with thompson upgrades in a useful way.

1v1, 2v2 build with Soviet partner:

For early-game: Note that I always go for Infantry Company;

-Rifle
-Rifle
-Rifle
-LT
-AAHT
-Nades

It's basicly about getting the fuel and harrassing the enemy's with all forces. RET build FP to defend the fuel and munitions point if it can. Later on 1 muni, 1 fuel cache goes up.

Mid-late game:

1 M1919/Rifle and blobbing up for Freedom!

If we are screwed:

-Captain --> ATGs

If not:

-Major
-M36 + M8a1
-M7b1 (more than one if there is OKW)

I dont like this guide

too much focus one early game

Interesting guide. WC15 is a fun little toy to play with but I find going infantry commander and starting with vet 1 infantry with AT grens is a better and more efficient counter to kubal. Just one with a tiny bit of focus fire will take it out. IMO.

Thanks

I dont like this guide

too much focus one early game

It's really not that bad. You forget that since it's mechanized, if you keep your light vihicles alive you can always refund them to keep your armor teching at a reasonable pace.

Double m20, spam AT mines (defensive locations), Get pathfinder + 6 m8scots = instakill everyhing (even p4's) win. Kappa