Tips on US Play (Video link included)

Hello all, I've lurked on these forums for quite some time, occasionally uploading a video of something silly I experienced in game. However, I've been flirting with the US faction recently and have been trying my hand at improving my allies play. I have extensive experience with the OKW, but my USF play is still very new.

I've attached a video below and would like any constructive comments on my play. Things that I'm aware of- I lost a few rifles to the Ostwind due to stupid scouting and late reaction. I probably could have hunted the Ostwind to death a lot sooner and better played my Sherman against the Puma. I left allied units idle on a lot of capture spaces that should have been moved out to other open capture points. I attribute this to "learning as I go", as you can see I debate the doctrine I will choose midway through the game in what I would describe "excruciatingly slow decision making".

I love the community here and hope to represent the US faction with better micro/macro and less stupid move making!

By giving you all a direct feed of me behind the driver seat, I hope you get an indepth view of the mistakes I make and why I made them. Please feel free to roast me if needed

Hello all,

I would be glad to do a replay review, but I find the youtube thing to be a bit of a bother for how I operate, I'm afraid.

I am not a very pro player especially in 1v1 but I played USF A LOT in team games so I will give you some general US tips against OKW from what I see in yr replay.
1. Ambulance is very important and it can really put pressure to OKW or otherwise their aggressive placement of medic HQ can really ruin you.
2. Expect panzershreck at 6 min so I really question yr AAHT and 50cal mg would work much better as supression platform against OKW (it will also not be easily countered by puma although puma is an overreaction by yr oppenent which delay his tech to schewer HQ) Also yr halftrack delays yr teching to major which can be a problem if yr opponent goes fast luch. 10min sherman works wonders sometimes if RNG favours you And you can wipe volks with shreck.
3. Infantry company doctrine is not that good in 1v1 as you lack AT. airborne would work best. Armor can also but you will need to be aggressive as you need 7cp to unlock m10.
4. Also priest is bad in 1v1. Yr best chance of using it is by attacking his medic HQ when all his troops retreat using creeping barrage that is unlockable at vet.1 You shpuld not expect priest to be an area denial against OKW

1.I agree with the ambulance, I was way behind on that.
2/3. The AA ht did not work as I planned and is probably not an excellent choice for that map. I'm not sure how I feel about that commander being bad because of lack of AT. If I play against ost I just go captain and get an AT gun plus mines through the doctrine. Against okw if I see no early armor around 5-6 minutes I can expect an early T4. I was trying to cut off his fuel as early as possible. The jaegers gave away his plan but I was still surprised to see an Ostwind. It's also nice that riflemen get 5 muni mines. A small cluster is enough for a med tank to get damaged engine.
The m1919 is just so valuable against okw with the rifleman ability to hit the dirt and suppress. This gives ur rifles more utility to combat okw death blobs and a fighting chance against obers/falls (of which my opponent surprisingly omitted).

4. I've had success with priest against fortifications/defensive doctrine. That priest was definitely NOT cost effective in this match, I agree 100% with you.

All in all I keep hearing praise about airborne but I can't seem to get the value I need out of it. I love paratroopers but they are so expensive and p47s air strikes are awesome but also expensive.

If you go infantry company go captain since you won't need AI from the lieutenant.
I'll break down your replays later today if someone else hasn't already. I think turbo means you need to actually upload the replay and not s YouTube video


The priest is good against Pak43

If you go infantry company go captain since you won't need AI from the lieutenant.
I'll break down your replays later today if someone else hasn't already. I think turbo means you need to actually upload the replay and not s YouTube video


The priest is good against Pak43

You are right about LT t2. My indecisiveness on a doctrine made that a poor choice. The AT and Stuart could have come in handy...

I hope I have a replay I forgot to save it last night..

You are right about LT t2. My indecisiveness on a doctrine made that a poor choice. The AT and Stuart could have come in handy...

I hope I have a replay I forgot to save it last night..

Yeah there's a lot of thing that go into doctrine choice. I'm on mobile right now so I can't send you a descriptive wall of text but I will later today
Few thing I can say is Stuart is poopoo right now. And i wouldn't get it.
Infantry company also isn't neccessary against most ostheer players, airborne LT with AT gun drop is good against Ostherr callin stall meta.

Infanfrrt mainly good against Okw

4 rifles, ambu, nades, captain and at guns. with m1919s . Time on target and priest(only after getting 2 tanks from major) to destroy fortified strongpoints and HQs.

Infantry is not that bad on huge and open maps which generally known favoures axis factions.
Also the trick with the priest is to decrew it after shooting your barrage so you reduce his upkeep.You can get 2 priest(big potentiel to deal some dmg) and just have to pay 8 pop cap,ergo enough mp for your infantry or other needed stuff.

My indecisiveness

At the beginning you look like you're more focused on looking at what the commanders have to offer than listening to the FOW for a kubel,or looking at buildings he might be garrisonning.

Try to have an idea of what you're gonna do in the loading screen. Look at his loadout,match up your commanders with his: "If he goes Breakthrough im going Infantry and im gonna try to do this"

Very PRO of you to use control groups.

The fighting position was kinda awkward. you shouldve captured that next point so he wouldve had to go there and deal with the fighting position to connect those munitions. THEN you place the fighting position on that cutoff.

Your opponent,no offense was pretty stupid to repair that kubel in red cover while under fire from 2 squads. Dont expect better players to throw you a bone like that.

You build a LT with 4 rifles and you said you go Infantry Company.

Like I said earlier,4 rifles LT makes no sense and leaves a huge gap. unless you're gonna go Captain as well. Ill call that Double Officer Tech.

Here are some good build orders/commander choices,Dont mix and match them and youll be fine on unit composition,all you'll have to do is Micro.

Against Ostheer,3 Rifles= Airborne Company,LT,M20,Paratroopers,AIRDROP AT GUN>Major>Sherman>DependsStrongest against Ostheer

3 Rifles= Armor Company,4th Assault engineer,LT>AA HT>Captain>AT Gun>M10>M10>Dozer Sherman,Strong against Ostheer.

4 Rifles=Rifle Company,LT,AA HT,Captain>AT GUN>Easy Eights>Major,Good against both factions but stronger against Ostheer.

4 Rifles=Infantry Company,Captain,AT Guns,Major>Jacksons>Priest Strongest against,OKW

4 Rifles=Recon Support,Captain,IR Pathfinders,M8 Greyhound,AT GUN,AT GUN,Major,Jackson,Good for 2v2.
I didnt list mechanized company because its not good at all and I wouldnt recommend using it unless you're trolling and dont care about winning or losing.
I put the best builds in bold.

Your opponent clearly isnt putting alot of pressure on you,and to be honest you didnt need an AA HT in this case. This guy was very passive. You couldve gotten by with this build - the AA halftrack because of it.

at 7:24 You needed to chase that squad, it was low on health. Wiping Axis infantry is very important.

When the Puma came,that is the problem with Going AA ht without a captain,or with going AA HT in general with Infantry company. If you dont go for that AA HT,and go Captain instead,you basically can have a sherman or a jackson while he has nothing but a puma that has to deal with your Bazooka'd Captain. Instead your LT sprays it and does nothing,and your 110 fuel investment is useless.

You start blobbing a little bit once you get m1919s,try not to.

You still have most of the map

When you engaged the puma at 15 mins,you shouldve just used attack ground. SPAM click the E Key,(Grid key layout) and click where the target is if you can "see" it but your unit wont fire.

14 Mins:
Now theres an ostwind and puma which basically counters your whole army since you went Lietnant and had no AT guns or bazooka captain to at least slow them down.

When your riflemen are over extended and theres an Ostwind, OR luchs.. Retreat. Immediately. even if you dont see the tank yet. RETREAT. These units are amazing at wiping units on retreat. even if you retreat as soon as you see it. these vehicles can turn a game around INSTANTLY.

You do have the advantage at this point though because you had most of the map,so now your jackson is Inbound and SHOULD counter his vehicles,and your infantry should handle his infantry,except you over extend your rifles again,and you retreat the wrong squads.

You're starting to lose the infantry war because of this.

Youll get better at that with time and repetition and experience.

At 17 mins you're also starting to look confused. You have a sherman,a bunch of vetted well equipped,infantry, and a jackson. GO!!! Go kill him!! Go get him tiger!!! Instead you pussyfoot around at the south fuel that you already have under control.

Now you're getting passive. You're getting scared. Go get him man. You were winning up to this point but now youve sat around twiddlin your thumbs and you let him regroup, I guess you were waiting on the priest which was a bad move. Only get a priest if youre dealing with things like a Pak43 or a strongpoint. What he had wasnt a strong point. it was an ostwind. you'll figure that out with time though no worries.

RETREAT your men!!! at 20 mins

When you want to kill something thats abandoned,or burn down a building,or destroy a tank trap,tc etc,click it with ATTACK MOVE NOT GROUND

You can do this to take out OKW Wire,abandonded team weapons,etc, with BAZOOKAS. and its much more accurate against abandoned units and vehicles than attack ground.

Your opponent was pretty bad,and in ways you were bad too,but thats what im here for.

Congrats on trying to get better instead of complaining about it. Anything else feel free to ask.

At the beginning you look like you're more focused on looking at what the commanders have to offer than listening to the FOW for a kubel,or looking at buildings he might be garrisonning.

Try to have an idea of what you're gonna do in the loading screen. Look at his loadout,match up your commanders with his: "If he goes Breakthrough im going Infantry and im gonna try to do this"

Very PRO of you to use control groups.

The fighting position was kinda awkward. you shouldve captured that next point so he wouldve had to go there and deal with the fighting position to connect those munitions. THEN you place the fighting position on that cutoff.

Your opponent,no offense was pretty stupid to repair that kubel in red cover while under fire from 2 squads. Dont expect better players to throw you a bone like that.

You build a LT with 4 rifles and you said you go Infantry Company.

Like I said earlier,4 rifles LT makes no sense and leaves a huge gap. unless you're gonna go Captain as well. Ill call that Double Officer Tech.

Here are some good build orders/commander choices,Dont mix and match them and youll be fine on unit composition,all you'll have to do is Micro.

Against Ostheer,3 Rifles= Airborne Company,LT,M20,Paratroopers,AIRDROP AT GUN>Major>Sherman>DependsStrongest against Ostheer

3 Rifles= Armor Company,4th Assault engineer,LT>AA HT>Captain>AT Gun>M10>M10>Dozer Sherman,Strong against Ostheer.

4 Rifles=Rifle Company,LT,AA HT,Captain>AT GUN>Easy Eights>Major,Good against both factions but stronger against Ostheer.

4 Rifles=Infantry Company,Captain,AT Guns,Major>Jacksons>Priest Strongest against,OKW

4 Rifles=Recon Support,Captain,IR Pathfinders,M8 Greyhound,AT GUN,AT GUN,Major,Jackson,Good for 2v2.
I didnt list mechanized company because its not good at all and I wouldnt recommend using it unless you're trolling and dont care about winning or losing.
I put the best builds in bold.

Your opponent clearly isnt putting alot of pressure on you,and to be honest you didnt need an AA HT in this case. This guy was very passive. You couldve gotten by with this build - the AA halftrack because of it.

at 7:24 You needed to chase that squad, it was low on health. Wiping Axis infantry is very important.

When the Puma came,that is the problem with Going AA ht without a captain,or with going AA HT in general with Infantry company. If you dont go for that AA HT,and go Captain instead,you basically can have a sherman or a jackson while he has nothing but a puma that has to deal with your Bazooka'd Captain. Instead your LT sprays it and does nothing,and your 110 fuel investment is useless.

You start blobbing a little bit once you get m1919s,try not to.

You still have most of the map

When you engaged the puma at 15 mins,you shouldve just used attack ground. SPAM click the E Key,(Grid key layout) and click where the target is if you can "see" it but your unit wont fire.

14 Mins:
Now theres an ostwind and puma which basically counters your whole army since you went Lietnant and had no AT guns or bazooka captain to at least slow them down.

When your riflemen are over extended and theres an Ostwind, OR luchs.. Retreat. Immediately. even if you dont see the tank yet. RETREAT. These units are amazing at wiping units on retreat. even if you retreat as soon as you see it. these vehicles can turn a game around INSTANTLY.

You do have the advantage at this point though because you had most of the map,so now your jackson is Inbound and SHOULD counter his vehicles,and your infantry should handle his infantry,except you over extend your rifles again,and you retreat the wrong squads.

You're starting to lose the infantry war because of this.

Youll get better at that with time and repetition and experience.

At 17 mins you're also starting to look confused. You have a sherman,a bunch of vetted well equipped,infantry, and a jackson. GO!!! Go kill him!! Go get him tiger!!! Instead you pussyfoot around at the south fuel that you already have under control.

Now you're getting passive. You're getting scared. Go get him man. You were winning up to this point but now youve sat around twiddlin your thumbs and you let him regroup, I guess you were waiting on the priest which was a bad move. Only get a priest if youre dealing with things like a Pak43 or a strongpoint. What he had wasnt a strong point. it was an ostwind. you'll figure that out with time though no worries.

RETREAT your men!!! at 20 mins

When you want to kill something thats abandoned,or burn down a building,or destroy a tank trap,tc etc,click it with ATTACK MOVE NOT GROUND

You can do this to take out OKW Wire,abandonded team weapons,etc, with BAZOOKAS. and its much more accurate against abandoned units and vehicles than attack ground.

Your opponent was pretty bad,and in ways you were bad too,but thats what im here for.

Congrats on trying to get better instead of complaining about it. Anything else feel free to ask.

Thank you for the feedback. I have a lot to work on, particularly being offensive when I have the upper hand.


I do have a few questions, however. When going a doctrine like airborne, should I be upgrading my rifles to bars or should I instead focus on saving for m1919s for paras. Ideally I want both but I'm not sure which is the better investment since it costs fuel, unlike most weapon upgrades. Another question is pathfinders, do pathfinders have a place in an airborne army? I understand the concept of the unit, and love the sniper ability sub 70, but it is manpower that could be saved for para. So I usually wonder if I should get them before, after, or at all.

I appreciate everyone's feedback in this thread. Thank you all.

No bars with airborne...unless you have tons of (400-600+) munitions and are winning pretty handedly.

Regarding pathfinders, it depends.


An interesting build is one I got off this site in the guide section, it's called YOU Heard the captain!

you get 3-4 rifles pathfinder and captain, and crew team weapons with the pathfinders.
The rest of the guide is sort of outdated though.


Personally If I use pathfinders I put a beacon near or on the enemy fuel. And from there I drop paras in and have them constantly cause havoc and destruction, and force the enemy to take extreme action to push off one para squad.
This takes some skill,and luck, and fortune to pull off ,much like a real para drop operation.
You can also use pa,thfinders on a map like langreskata to spot for your Scott's and what not when trying to barrage and attack the middle. Without throwing squads into a meat grinder.Just don't forget hold fire and retreat when squads get close.

Well I came home and played about 5 games today, all but one against Ostheer. The BO you suggested for Airborne is excellent. I also had another go against an OKW player today with the Infantry Company...I feel like it wasn't much better but I tried to consciously follow what you suggested.

I think it's taking me a while to get used to managing so many units late game. I spawned my priest in the wrong spot, I lost a sherman for no reason, and I lost a few other squads. My AT gun also pretty much got zero use the whole game before being wiped (I forgot to recrew it....). But I hope to continue practicing. Here's a replay for anyone who's interested-

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  1v1 USF vs OKW Xing in the Woods

  by: LQD_Consecrated map: Crossing in the Woods

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To start your capping is odd. Spread out and cover more ground so you're opponent wont know where you're coming from so easily. You're not Ostheer. You dont have to focus on one side. you cede a fuel because of this when you couldve taken it (with 4 rifles vs 3 volks)


The SPECIFIC build order is 4 Rifles>Captain>Nades then ambulance or ambulance then nades>AT Gun>AT gun>Major>Jackson. Equip M1919s ASAP after hitting 3 cps. You dont have the spare manpower for a fuel cache and this build is designed so that you can still function even if your fuel is cut off at any point. You get the AT guns to kill vehicles like Flak Haltrack and Luchs,(think of it as the M42 light AT gun from soviets if you're familiar with that)

At 6 mins: NEVER put squads inside of those little wooden sheds. Thats ASKING to lose a squad,and sure enough you did. With this build like I said you cannot afford to lose squads,or waste manpower.

The key to beating okw is winning BIG early with your infantry, and countering their vehicles if they come,and preserving your men. From there the late game is easy because you have the whole map or most of it,and then vetted and well equipped troops with armor support.

Not having that extra rifle now sucks because your AT gun gets bumrushed at 8:00 mins,and your opponent now has more volks and panzerfusilier than you do rifles,+ the sturmpioneers.

Losing the infantry war that badly will not cut it against OKW. You have to TRY to wipe out squads,and keep yours alive in the process,and even the odds. Because being outnumbered and outvetted is an easy way to lose the game.

Turn on vehicle Priority to mitigate an opponent bumrushing your AT gun because its shooting at infantry, and keep the AT gun in defensive position,with infantry squads with M1919s nearby at all times to stop a bumrush.

Your opponent has two obers and a bunch of infantry and flak and you have a sherman coming and M1919 rifles. The PERFECT counter. if you play your cards right.

when picking your first T4 armor,
Sherman if you had both fuels up to that point,a panther wont be anywhere in sight anytime soon.
Jackson if you had only 1 fuel,because a panther may come shortly after you get your sherman in this case
If you're not sure and its up in the air get a sherman,be cautious and add another AT gun for a total of 2.
NEVER build scott first in 1v1

The other key is keeping your armor alive so you continue to gain a numerical (and veteran)advantage over time,so when that Panther,or KT finally arrives,IF it arrives, you can engage cost effectively and win a decisive engagement.

Also USE CAPTAIN supervise TO SPEED UP UNIT BUILD TIMES,including teching. cannot emphasize this enough. If you dont have a vehicle like a Puma to kill with your captain just leave him in the base so he can supervise. he cant take on a flak HT consistently.


After this you have your sherman but you dont use it to its full potential
Go get him man,same as before. Indecisiveness. GO run his infantry over. He has 1 shrek. You couldve won the game right then and there.

When a bunch of infantry is standing out in the open engaging your sherman,Try to "Crush" them. This is NOT illegal,its not frowned upon,with TANKS its not abuse..and is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED when playing against OKW.



^^^ This does NOT work with Supply trucks anymore but works with all vehicles heavier than Armored Cars ^^^

You accelerate with your tank,then TURN sharply onto the enemy infantry when they infantry try to move out the way,and run em over.

Either that,or just drive directly into them(Dont do this if you think theres an AT gun nearby) and push them around so they wont fire their panzershrek or weapons. This works with the M20 too against lone shrek squads.It looks wierd driving your tank into a bunch of infantry like that but its the best way to destroy a BIG unsupported blob or force it to retreat. Its also hilarious.

You got too cute with your sherman at 19:00. No need to dance in front of two raketens and a blob. Either commit and do some pain or get away. dont stop shoot and stop. Be DECISIVE,but not reckless.

Also a tip with the sherman smoke. Its meant to screen an assault,so shoot it at a building your opponent has a Raketen werfer in,Or shoot it at a blob so they wont fire,then rush in and crush them with your tank,They wont even bother to move out of the way if they're in the smoke cloud.

youll be on your way to winning alot of games soon,just keep improving and keep playing,win or lose try to learn something every game.

you just need to be more efficient with your resources at times and make some better DECISIVE decisions when you have the advantage.

To start your capping is odd. Spread out and cover more ground so you're opponent wont know where you're coming from so easily. You're not Ostheer. You dont have to focus on one side. you cede a fuel because of this when you couldve taken it (with 4 rifles vs 3 volks)


The SPECIFIC build order is 4 Rifles>Captain>Nades then ambulance or ambulance then nades>AT Gun>AT gun>Major>Jackson. Equip M1919s ASAP after hitting 3 cps. You dont have the spare manpower for a fuel cache and this build is designed so that you can still function even if your fuel is cut off at any point. You get the AT guns to kill vehicles like Flak Haltrack and Luchs,(think of it as the M42 light AT gun from soviets if you're familiar with that)

At 6 mins: NEVER put squads inside of those little wooden sheds. Thats ASKING to lose a squad,and sure enough you did. With this build like I said you cannot afford to lose squads,or waste manpower.

The key to beating okw is winning BIG early with your infantry, and countering their vehicles if they come,and preserving your men. From there the late game is easy because you have the whole map or most of it,and then vetted and well equipped troops with armor support.

Not having that extra rifle now sucks because your AT gun gets bumrushed at 8:00 mins,and your opponent now has more volks and panzerfusilier than you do rifles,+ the sturmpioneers.

Losing the infantry war that badly will not cut it against OKW. You have to TRY to wipe out squads,and keep yours alive in the process,and even the odds. Because being outnumbered and outvetted is an easy way to lose the game.

Turn on vehicle Priority to mitigate an opponent bumrushing your AT gun because its shooting at infantry, and keep the AT gun in defensive position,with infantry squads with M1919s nearby at all times to stop a bumrush.

Your opponent has two obers and a bunch of infantry and flak and you have a sherman coming and M1919 rifles. The PERFECT counter. if you play your cards right.

when picking your first T4 armor,
Sherman if you had both fuels up to that point,a panther wont be anywhere in sight anytime soon.
Jackson if you had only 1 fuel,because a panther may come shortly after you get your sherman in this case
If you're not sure and its up in the air get a sherman,be cautious and add another AT gun for a total of 2.
NEVER build scott first in 1v1

The other key is keeping your armor alive so you continue to gain a numerical (and veteran)advantage over time,so when that Panther,or KT finally arrives,IF it arrives, you can engage cost effectively and win a decisive engagement.

Also USE CAPTAIN supervise TO SPEED UP UNIT BUILD TIMES,including teching. cannot emphasize this enough. If you dont have a vehicle like a Puma to kill with your captain just leave him in the base so he can supervise. he cant take on a flak HT consistently.


After this you have your sherman but you dont use it to its full potential
Go get him man,same as before. Indecisiveness. GO run his infantry over. He has 1 shrek. You couldve won the game right then and there.

When a bunch of infantry is standing out in the open engaging your sherman,Try to "Crush" them. This is NOT illegal,its not frowned upon,with TANKS its not abuse..and is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED when playing against OKW.



^^^ This does NOT work with Supply trucks anymore but works with all vehicles heavier than Armored Cars ^^^

You accelerate with your tank,then TURN sharply onto the enemy infantry when they infantry try to move out the way,and run em over.

Either that,or just drive directly into them(Dont do this if you think theres an AT gun nearby) and push them around so they wont fire their panzershrek or weapons. This works with the M20 too against lone shrek squads.It looks wierd driving your tank into a bunch of infantry like that but its the best way to destroy a BIG unsupported blob or force it to retreat. Its also hilarious.

You got too cute with your sherman at 19:00. No need to dance in front of two raketens and a blob. Either commit and do some pain or get away. dont stop shoot and stop. Be DECISIVE,but not reckless.

Also a tip with the sherman smoke. Its meant to screen an assault,so shoot it at a building your opponent has a Raketen werfer in,Or shoot it at a blob so they wont fire,then rush in and crush them with your tank,They wont even bother to move out of the way if they're in the smoke cloud.

youll be on your way to winning alot of games soon,just keep improving and keep playing,win or lose try to learn something every game.

you just need to be more efficient with your resources at times and make some better DECISIVE decisions when you have the advantage.

Thank you again. Now seems like a good time to practice several months to put into motion what I've learned. It's one thing to understand, but another thing to execute. I think my biggest thing is just playing to safe. This is why I drive with 2 car spaces in front of me in RL lol. I just refuse to practice with bots so it's luck of the draw if my opponent is good or not.

Also, I was not aware of that crushing move. It makes total sense, just never really tried it myself. So epic, although the sws truck definitely deserved that nerf

Thank you again. Now seems like a good time to practice several months to put into motion what I've learned. It's one thing to understand, but another thing to execute. I think my biggest thing is just playing to safe. This is why I drive with 2 car spaces in front of me in RL lol. I just refuse to practice with bots so it's luck of the draw if my opponent is good or not.

Interesting you put it that way.

Well when playing as USF you don't want to drive with two car spaces in between,

you want to ride people's bumper, and if they don't speed up to your liking,, then you swerve around them, if there aren't any cops or oncoming cars around.