Riflemen Up Close and Personal

Hey all,

In the current struggle OKW there's a large emphasis on gaining the edge early game or being pretty screwed. What I have been doing more and more is using the riflemen like near-smg units and always trying to get them right next to the enemy infantry. In my experience, OKW/Wehr players usually don't see riflemen charging their squad volks in cover as a disadvantage, but if i can relatively minimize losses by either drawing fire from another squad that is farther away (or just by starting off at mid range), then getting up to their cover and neutralizing the bonus means they have lost the engagement as the superior fire rate of the m1 garands tears their units up in cqc. Sturmpioneers are, of course, an issue, though RM can certainly put up more of a fight up close than any other allied infantry.

After being super aggressive with my units, I usually switch to making my riflemen seek long range engagements to throw off the enemy, who has decided to lead with smg units like sturmpios, and I target the sturms first as they move towards my lines so that a combin force of sturms and volks gets their close range units picked off during the assault and ends up with less effective units when they finally get close to the riflemen. This works especially well with the heavy cavalray commander, where the rangers can lie in wait to ambush the enemy units if he decides to revert back to longer ranges, or serve as protection from sturmpioneers. You also get quicker CPs for a pershing and more veterancy for the AT rifle snares. Combine this with riflemen being able to make their own heavy cover and you have a very versatile anti-infantry army that gives me the early game edge I need against OKW.

However, I'm not a pro player and I'm not sure if this is just due to me being lucky or facing off against lower ranked players. Does this seem like a valid tactic or should I abandon in favor of more cautious play with riflemen?

This is a well done guide for people who need help fighting okw. This is exactly how I and many other players I have played with have been fighting with our riflemen.

Just a quick tip, it is best to support your rifles with a light vehicle (M15 AAHT is my favorite due to its mix of timing, ai, and at). The light vehicle will give you a bit of protection from enemy infantry, but more importantly will make it harder for enemy vehicles to punish your squads and harass your territory. Usf is a combined arms faction, so don't forget to mix your units!

Don't forget to use the weapons rack to enhance the anti-infantry capabilities or the anti-vehicle power.

I have a tendency to have two squads of riflemen with a BAR and a bazooka while I have a third squad that goes double BARs or act as my third squad with a BAR and a bazooka to at least force off the enemy vehicles or tanks.

When do y'all BAR up? I usually have a tough time deciding early BAR for early map control or Capt for anti-Luchs duty.

I've been doing this since forever, but after playing British forces I've learned the benefits of cover, standing still, producing as much DPS, and prolonging a fight.

You never charge a unit in a 1v1 engagement. You only do this in a 2v1 engagement. This is because when there's two squads fighting the Volks can only shoot at one squad, and since there's two squads next to each other doing a lot of DPS, the Volks will have to retreat really early or face getting wiped. I also long charging enemies like this to throw grenades.

But most of the time you should NOT be charging your Riflemen beyond mid-range. I've learned this and it has helped me quite a lot avoiding MP drain and casualties. There's a point where u can get too aggressive.

Distanced engagements also means plenty of time for your HMG or Pack Howitzer to shoot at it.

Yeah, charging over a long range doesn't produce good effects, but 1v1 engagements still seem to play out well if i can get next to a volks even if I lose a model. Pack howitzer is also great. I usually rush those out to counter any attempt at long range play. In fact, I usually opt for skipping leutenant and going straight to captain, whose "on me!" ability seems to be pretty under-appreciated for taking out MGs.

Smoke grenades