Luftwaffe Ground Forces Faction Concept

Posts: 1153 | Subs: 1

I like this faction but... what would Relic do with this?

Posts: 401

The faction concept seems interesting enough, would defintely give it a try. However, I think the Aggression & Defensive part in Tier 2 & 3 doesn't seem clearly different. At the last tier you can clearly see the diffence: A mobile tank vs a stationary tank destroyer, but in previous tiers, the two just seems fairly similar, not much seperable between them

Posts: 1063

30 Jul 2016, 03:22 AMWilliam Christensen

The faction concept seems interesting enough, would defintely give it a try. However, I think the Aggression & Defensive part in Tier 2 & 3 doesn't seem clearly different. At the last tier you can clearly see the diffence: A mobile tank vs a stationary tank destroyer, but in previous tiers, the two just seems fairly similar, not much seperable between them

I agree instead of Hetzer vs Marder, how about Hetzer and Flak 88? The Flak is the signature weapon of the Luft groundforces.

Posts: 1216

I don;t hate the idea, but the main problem is that it A) still takes so much from other German factions, B) Based on early war, and C) Just mish-mashes non-German Axis into a single faction.

In addition, there's got to be a way for Relic to milk the shit out of us again with DLC stuff via commanders, can't have all the good stuff in one package.

Ultimately I'd prefer if the ideas were just put as commanders for Ostheer and OKW. It's not like we NEED another faction.

Posts: 13

Cant we just add the SS?

They could have a special retreat ability that destroys all the buildings they run past during their retreat

Posts: 362

30 Jul 2016, 04:14 AMnee

I don;t hate the idea, but the main problem is that it A) still takes so much from other German factions, B) Based on early war, and C) Just mish-mashes non-German Axis into a single faction.

Honestly how? First, the only units borrowed from existing factions are the Panther and Sd.Kfz 250 - and the Hetzer if you include the flamethrower variant. Second, almost all units here entered the war in 1943 or later. Only exceptions are the Italian small arms, motorcyle, Sd.Kfz 250, and the Panzer III. Third, I can't imagine an Axis faction working in CoH2 without featuring a ton of German equipment. Hungarian/Romanian/Finnish/Italian technology was not sophisticated enough to stand up to Allied weapons by 1944-45.

30 Jul 2016, 03:22 AMWilliam Christensen

The faction concept seems interesting enough, would defintely give it a try. However, I think the Aggression & Defensive part in Tier 2 & 3 doesn't seem clearly different. At the last tier you can clearly see the diffence: A mobile tank vs a stationary tank destroyer, but in previous tiers, the two just seems fairly similar, not much seperable between them

I largely agree with you but it's hard to feature entirely new units and such and still make everything work as far as balance and history are concerned. I thought maybe about replacing the Sd.Kfz 250/1 halftrack with the Italian AB-41 armoured car. Think I'll put that in a doctrine though.

Honestly, btw, I know this is 99.9% never going to happen, but I enjoy designing stuff like this and trying to fit everything together.

Posts: 571

30 Jul 2016, 04:33 AMDas_Hag

Cant we just add the SS?

They could have a special retreat ability that destroys all the buildings they run past during their retreat

Should we leave dead bodies of PoWs and civilian behind while we are at it? xD

Posts: 128

29 Jul 2016, 19:22 PMSchmitz

I think they stopped using Feldblau pretty early on.

Well, the Luftwaffe Field Divisions never really stopped wearing them per sé, but after being turned over to the Heer in late 1943 the uniform items to replace broken and used ones that would be issued would be feldgrau. So they would gradually phase out the feldblau stuff, but never had time to do it completely.

Didn't find anything solid on the HG PzKorps, but since that was never turned over to the Heer, I suspect that they would retain the Luftwaffe uniforms simply as a matter of being distinct.

In any case, I think having them all wearing feldblau and splinter camo is not straying too far from history.

Posts: 4314 | Subs: 7

29 Jul 2016, 19:21 PMSchmitz

If you want Afika Korps, play Coh1 with the Blitzkrieg mod and the Afrika '43 addon. Afrika would be straight retarded for this game though.

because soviets playing with USA against western wehrmacht is not retarded.....

Posts: 88 | Subs: 1

30 Jul 2016, 09:35 AM__deleted__

because soviets playing with USA against western wehrmacht is not retarded.....

Yea, I agree, it is and we don't need anymore of that.

Posts: 88 | Subs: 1

30 Jul 2016, 08:30 AMSappi

Well, the Luftwaffe Field Divisions never really stopped wearing them per sé, but after being turned over to the Heer in late 1943 the uniform items to replace broken and used ones that would be issued would be feldgrau. So they would gradually phase out the feldblau stuff, but never had time to do it completely.

Didn't find anything solid on the HG PzKorps, but since that was never turned over to the Heer, I suspect that they would retain the Luftwaffe uniforms simply as a matter of being distinct.

In any case, I think having them all wearing feldblau and splinter camo is not straying too far from history.

My bad, I thought the transfer was in 42. Yea, that would be cool then.

Posts: 88 | Subs: 1

30 Jul 2016, 02:49 AMCarlos Danger

Yeah, I linked to the Panzer 38(t), but the vehicle I was actually referring to was this semi-obscure variant:

According to the Wiki, somewhere between fifty and seventy of these things were constructed in 1943-44.

That's an interesting one, what about the Flakpanzer 38(t)? I think it was more common.

Posts: 362

Not that it's ever going to happen, but here's six commanders:

Entrenchment Doctrine

Breda modello 37 Team

Deploy an 8mm Breda modello 37 heavy machine gun to the battlefield. Comes with a five-man Italian Soldati crew.

Entrench Support Weapons

Luftwaffe support weapons can dig in, turning them into static emplacements and greatly improving their durability.

8.8cm Flak 18 Emplacement

Fallschirm-Pioneers can construct an 8.8cm Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun on a cruciform mount.

Obice da 149/19 modello 37 Howitzer

Fallschrim-Pioneers can construct a modello 37 149mm howitzer to bombard enemy positions. Comparable to the ML-20/LeFH-18.

Defense Artillery

Entrenched support weapons can call in artillery on nearby enemy units.

Italian Assault Doctrine

Soldati

Deploy a six-man Italian infantry squad armed with Carcano 1891/38 carbine rifles to the battlefield. Comparable to Osttruppen.

Abilities:
- HEAT Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade
- Bomba a Mano Grenade Assault
- Sprint (Requires Veterancy 1)

Modello 40 Flamethrower

Soldati squads can be upgraded with a Modello 40 flamethrower.

Bomba a Mano Grenade Assault

Soldati squads can assault an enemy position with a hail of OTO modello 35 impact grenades.

Autoblinda 41 Armoured Car

Deploy a light armoured car equipped with a 20mm Breda modello 37 autocannon to the battlefield. Comparable to the Sd.Kfz 222 armoured car.

Infantry Support Artillery

Any enemy units in sight of Luftwaffe infantry squads are targeted by artillery for the duration of this ability.

Salvage Doctrine

Mechanics
Armed with P08 Luger pistols, Mechanics are essentially useless in combat, although they can quickly repair vehicles.

Abilities:
- Repair Critical Damage (Requires Veterancy 1/Squad can instantly repair critical vehicle damage.)
- Overrepair (Requires Veterancy 3/Squad can add additional health to Luftwaffe tanks.)

Point Resource Reclamation

While this ability is active, capturing fuel or munitions points from the enemy will immediately provide players will a small resource bonus.

Repair Smoke Cover

Units engaged in repairs are automatically covered by a barrage of concealing smoke.

Bergepanther Armoured Recovery Vehicle

A Bergepanther armoured recovery vehicle is deployed to the battlefield. The Bergepanther can return destroyed vehicles to working order.

Mistel Bomb

A Ju-88 bomber loaded with explosives is dropped onto an enemy position.

Panzerjager Doctrine

Panzerwurfmine Assault

Luftwaffe Field Troops are issued additional Panzerwurfmines, allowing them to assault enemy armour with a hail of anti-tank explosives. Comparable to the Soviet RPG-40 Grenade Assault ability.

Panzerjager Squad

A four-man squad of anti-tank specialists is deployed to the battlefield. Armed with two Panzershrecks.

Abilities:
- Fire Panzerfaust
- Panzerwurfmine Assault
- Lay Teller Mines (Requires Veterancy 1)

Sd.Kfz 250/10

An Sd.Kfz 250 fitted with a 3.7cm PaK36 is deployed to the battlefield to combat enemy light vehicles.

Abilities:
- Fire Stielgranate 41 Shaped Charge (Requires Veterancy 1/Vehicle fires a high-damage shaped charge at a targeted enemy vehicle.)

FG1250 "Sparrow Hawk" Infrared Sights

Panthers and Jagdpanthers can be upgraded with FG1250 infrared spotting scopes for additional range against enemy tanks.

Panzer Support Artillery

All enemy tanks in sight of Luftwaffe armoured units are targeted by artillery for the duration of this ability.

Fallschirmjager Doctrine

Geballte Ladnung 3kg Concentrated Charges

Luftwaffe Field Troops and Fallschirmjagers can hurl concentrated charges at enemy forces for a large explosion. Comparable to Soviet satchel charges.

Booby Trap Equipment

Fallschirmjagers can place booby traps on abandoned support weapons and vehicles. Any enemy unit that attempts to capture a booby-trapped weapon will set off a large explosion.

Fallschirmjager Assault Squad

A four man Fallschirmjager squad is dispatched to the battlefield. Unlike OKW Fallschirmjagers, this squad cannot infiltrate building. Also armed with FG-42 rifles but uses different abilities.

Abilities:
- Model 24 Grenade Assault
- Tactical Advance (Requires Veterancy 1)

Marksman

An elite Fallshirmjager marksman is dispatched from the Eastern Front. Armed with a FG-42 fitted with a ZFG-42 optic, the marksman does not kill individual models but can quickly whittle down the health of enemy squads with bursts of accurate fire.

Abilities:
- Suppressive Fire (Requires Veterancy 1)

SD2 âButterfly Bombsâ

A number of SD2 âButterly Bombsâ are dropped at the targeted location.

Italian Infantry Doctrine

Soldati
Deploy a six-man Italian infantry squad armed with Carcano 1891/38 carbine rifles to the battlefield. Comparable to Osttruppen.

Abilities:
- HEAT Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade
- Light mortar barrage
- Construct Flame Fougasse
- Sprint (Requires Veterancy 1)

Breda modello 37 Team

Deploy an 8mm Breda modello 37 heavy machine gun to the battlefield. Comes with a five-man Italian Soldati crew.

Brixia modello 35 Mortar

Soldati squads can deploy a Brixia modello 35 light mortar to saturate a targeted area with 45mm shells.

Flame Fougasse

Soldati squads can construct flame fougasse incendiary mines to burn enemy infantry.

Obice da 149/19 modello 37 Howitzer

Fallschrim-Pioneers can construct a modello 37 149mm howitzer to bombard enemy positions from afar. Comparable to the ML-20/LeFH-18.

Posts: 1216

30 Jul 2016, 05:28 AMCarlos Danger

Honestly how? First, the only units borrowed from existing factions are the Panther and Sd.Kfz 250 - and the Hetzer if you include the flamethrower variant. Second, almost all units here entered the war in 1943 or later. Only exceptions are the Italian small arms, motorcyle, Sd.Kfz 250, and the Panzer III. Third, I can't imagine an Axis faction working in CoH2 without featuring a ton of German equipment. Hungarian/Romanian/Finnish/Italian technology was not sophisticated enough to stand up to Allied weapons by 1944-45.

Allow me to clarify my statements:

What I meant by taking too much from Germans I meant from CoH1 as well as this game.
Specifically not by way of direct unit ripoffs (ie Panther) but units that operate much like them, ie a Panzer 38t with 2cm being effectively Luchs. IMO the units can be more fleshed out to be similar in role but not to the point that they are pretty much the same; unlike Allies with have the benefit of country-specific variants (Firefly is hardly like Jackson, for example), Germans don't really have that benefit, so it's not exactly an easy job to begin with. This is afterall just a rough sketch of an idea.

To more specifically scrutinze some of the idea's features:

-Starters, the faction name: identical to an OKW commander; simple solution is to just rename to something like "Luftwaffe Field Divisions", of which is an actual name for formations like the Hermann Goering Panzer-Division. It's short and to the point, it features Luftwaffe stuff you'll be using on the ground. Of course this depends on whether the faction is supposed to be about Luftwaffe ground forces, or merely a faction that's featuring a ton of Axis (ie Italian) units so it feels like an "Ersatz Axis" faction.
Another name, mimicking Panzer Elite from CoH1, is to have a fictional "Luftwaffe Elite Forces", which emphasizes a few and the brave playstyle and features Luftwaffe-based units. Then again so many elements of this faction is just a hybrid of Italian and German units.

For units, a simple summarized list of units so far put into OP:

T0 units
-Luftwaffe Field Troops mainline infantry
-120mm heavy mortar
-motorcycle
-AT sniper crew weapon OR 2cm flak crew weapon
-Officer as starter unit

T2 units
-RR AT Gun
-Luft-Pios engineers
-250 MG halftrack OR 250 AT halftrack

T3 units
- medium AT tank
- medium AI tank
- one tank destroyer per specialization

T4 units
- howitzer assault gun
- crewed artillery weapon
- Panther OR Jagdpanther

Officer unit as starter (presumably an actual squad and if killed, respawns with existing upgrades intact? Would help mitigate it being a weak unit, and this "invulnerability to wipe" can be compensated by a very slow or not particular powerful veterancy system, for example the buffs and powers he offers are affected by the change in specializations...or he has no veterancy at all, the power he offers to the player and the army is entirely determined by teching/ specializations: of which unlock specific powers.

In general, I think one way to make this faction more unique from the others is that it's a "small but tough" faction: you have a smaller actual unit roster, but those units are more versatile and powerful than you'd find playing OKW or Ostheer.

For infantry it is a bit too similar to OKW: you got an assault builder unit and 5-man mainline infantry squad. The former are basically FJs that can build, and their weapons mean that you'll never use the weapon racks on them, of which seem entirely limited to the 5-man squad, so you either might as well just make it a classic unit upgrade, or offer different roles through the weapon racks: ie AT weapon in place of the LMG.
One way you can revamp this is to make it similar to the Panzer Elite infantry model: one actual squad, but of which gain new abilities when teching up: the squad can be upgraded at cheap cost to perform various special roles, but once upgraded are permanent- AT variant for example cannot build stuff, nor do they come with good AI weapons. For example, the Luft-Pioneers are instead an upgrade path for the maineline infantry, they just allow them to build and repair things, but at the expense of not being good at anything else.
THis makes the main faction play about using good units, whereas doctrinal infantry call-ins are mainly themed around less powerful but more numerous and cheap squads, the opposite of how doctrines are normally designed around. Luftwaffe Field Divisions can be like Osttruppen where they suck at everything besides fighting.

In terms of the vehicles, there seems to be numerous overlaps, but which can be easily rectified by either amalgamating some abilities and removing others as doctrinal or specialization unlocks.
I'll make an example of the T2 halftracks: instead of the specialization unlocking one or the other, they unlock the 2cm flak gun which can suppress and shred light vehicles as well as AA role, or the short 75mm gun which is more suitable against infantry fortifications and. This removes a few units from the overall roster, but it still allows you a unit that can be upgraded to fulfill both roles; the cost and time to upgrade might have to be shortened, though, otherwise you might have a faction that has many options but can never afford to pick one, let alone both.

I also think the Specializations system be revamped so they are more ability unlocks instead of unit unlocks- obviously this is more in line with how I think the upgrade paths works, but it also means that it's less of an imitation of UKF specializations (which had two, and one only unlocked unis, the other a few late-game abilities plus unit).
For instance you can choose both, or perhaps one at a time but it is relatively easy to choose another when convenience or necessity presents itself. This means that a large part of the player's strategic thinking involves constantly "macromanaging" the faction as a whole; the results of which determine the micromanagement of the units it influences. This will have to make the specializations a little less major in their changes, like removing some abilities and adding them to the overall roster or locking them behind doctrinal abilities.

I also happened to be thinking about CNC Generals at the time I was reading this, and what came to mind regarding specializations was that game's USA Strategic Center, of which had a specialization mechanic: in that game you can choose three modifiers to your units: Bombardment gives units more damage, Hold The Line which improves durability, and Search and Destroy, which improves sight and weapon range. You could change the modifiers at any time, but it meant that all your units and defenses cannot move or fight for a few seconds.
What you can do with that idea in this faction is you can choose and change one specialization of each tier specialization by way of selecting them in the respective tier, and when changing it you are deprived of all specializations until the change is complete. The change may either take a long time and not heavily affect your units' abilities, or it's short but can leave you in a seriously weakened position that the enemy can exploit, for example your units have ZERO special abilities when transitioning specializations, or they have temporary combat penalties like reduced movement speed, or even just a considerably gimped economy so players aren't encourage to constantly shift specializations- players can quickly easily adapt, but it always costs a lot.
As the change only affects the respective tier and not the entire army like it does in CNC Generals, this allows some flexibility to the player regarding what units get gimped at any time; changing T0 specializations for example, even if it contains abilities that T4 units can use, won't be that serious a gimp to your medium tanks simply because most of the changes affect T0 stuff. It could be serious if you're in a sore spot and one specialization offers your damaged tanks increased repair rate, but ultimately your tanks don't get the same type of penalties as if it was a change in T4 specialization.
An example of changing specializations is that they simply determine some upgrade possibilities as well as availability of unit abilities: for example, T4 specialization is required to Panther/ JPanther as well as S-mine launchers or skirt armour: in my scheme you can get Panthers with skirts and JPanthers with S-mine launchers, and be able to change the abilities (the unit unlocks are either permanent or removed entirely from the specialization scheme), but can never do both at any time. A player can this in the middle of a game opt for an aggressive stance from his original defensive benefits, but when changing T4 specializations, cannot use either S-mines or upgrade to skirt armour.

Additional nitpicks in regards to specific units:

Mortar: IMO it should instead be a lighter but faster and more mobile "Kz GrW42 81mm" instead of a heavy mortar comparable to Soviet HM-38. Using a Luftwaffe theme, the "Kurz Mortar" has lower range, but comes as early as USF's mortar, fires reasonably faster, and specializations unlock unique powers like flare shell without vet1, and "Bouncing Bomb" which causes airburst effect: the shorter range makes for tactical drawbacks, but the weapon is cheaper, requires only one guy to handle (cannot be decrewed by just bringing it down to 1 man), and versatile due to ability to change specializations mid-match. Other unique advantages is being quicker to set up/ tear down, moves faster or has no movement penalties, and can toggle camouflage that reduces rate of fire, but can hide if the enemy is too close and trying to kill it off; this means that the unit offers less firepower per se, but offers more survivability in return.
In addition as part of a halftrack revamp, the mortar can be put inside the 250 and be used much like the Ostheer Mortar Halftrack: it can do all of its abilities on the ground, but with the addition of greater speed. The obvious drawbacks are that its in a vehicle, require a vehicle, and easily lost because its a light vehicle.

250 halftrack: as stated earlier it can be modified to have a multi-dimensional role for your units: it can transport the 2cm AT rifle, the mortar, and gain special abilities depending depending on the specialization and upgrades they have; for example, an un-upgraded infantry squad offers increased line of sight, making it a good recon unit while still can fight, or unlocks suppressive fire ability if the squad is equipped with any LMGs in the game, from Soviets' DP-28 to OKW's LMG34. 2cm gun means it can Button or Tread attack enemy vehicles, and mortar allows for incendiary shell. Naturally, this means that the 250 halftrack expands your other units' abilities, you just need to have both put together to be able to use them. This might end up being a huge micro burden, though, as it might end up forcing the player to constantly shuffle units with eachother just to do certain things; the idea might probably be better in a very limited form, but depending on doctrinal unlocks offers a wide range greatly expanded options, but unlike specializations the doctrinal ones are permanent.

Panther: I think it might be more suitable if the tank was a doctrinal call-in with some unique caveats, ie a infrared sight so it can also detect nearby units in fog of war instead of a pintle MG. In its place, the JPanther could just be a third T4 unit that doesn't require specialization. I don't think anyone would prefer Panther over Jpanther especially if there's already two factions that offer it, people would just always prefer the Jpanther unlock.

The Nebelwerfer seems a bit lacklustre, basically Land Mattress clone, and doesn't really fit a Luftwaffe theme: the closest we have to Luftwaffe rocket launchers are only found on planes.
I can't say I have a suitable replacement for it outside of a SPG or making the StuH42 fill a dual bombardment/ assault gun role; I was thinking of the 88mm emplacement, but it's an emplacement and I think might be better if it was a doctrinal unlock (and knowing Relic they'll likely go for a DLC commander that sells popular stuff). It is also not like T4 needs an artillery unit, neither UKF nor OKW does for asymmetrical reasons. StuH42, the Kurz Mortar idea, and according to wikipedia the LG40 Recoilless shared the leFH.18 howitzer's shells, which arguably means that can also have a bombardment ability as either an alternate toggle or a special ability. All these allow this faction to have powerful artillery without needing a T4 unit that mimics Panzerwerfer. If found in a commander, it can at least be an emplacement under a defensive themed doctrine.

Panzer III Ausf. L: Seems nice enough of an idea, it could be a hybrid of the Panzer4's generalist capabilities and the Puma's speed, weapon range but not weapon sight; this requires at least one or more units to ensure the Panzer III keeps firing from a safe distance. The weaker stats compared to Panzer 4 means a player can't just treat it like another P4 faction.

I'm not too keen on so many Panzer 38(t) based vehicles in a faction without them being doctrinal, IMO the Flakpanzer 38(t) could instead be Wirbelwind, Panzer4 chassis for good armour and quad 20mm flak guns for shredding infantry. It presents a bit of a dilemma in gameplay where you opt to spend your first T3 fuel on good AI or starting to focus on mobile AT armour. The Flakpanzer 38(t) ideas can instead of doctrinal call-ins, opting for earlier but lighter and weaker flak firepower for an earlier AI advantage. In any case, a flak-based tank can have a toggle ability to go stationary, offering suppressive fire if there are no other units that do so, and/or increased rate of fire- in the case of Wirbelwind, all four guns fire at rapid pace, increasing DPS and ROF.

Hetzer + Marder III: hey seem too similar, Hetzer actually had very thin armour, it relied on low profile, mobility and alphas strike for survivability. What you can do is remove Marder III, but getting Hetzer requires going either Agg or Def specialization.

That is all I got on the faction stock stuff, I'll make a reply focusing on commanders later.

Posts: 1891

I don't like the infantry- base troops seem like upgrade reliant Volks, engineers seem to be Sturms. It makes sense to just make engineering part of an upgrade path for the core infantry somehow, building on the flexibility theme.

I also think the officer should be the cornerstone of the army, and that "specializations" should just be fuel based upgrades like with the Brits.

More on the officer: it would be neat if he could give off different kinds of auras depending on his level/upgrade/doctrine, like a "Zeal" aura where units fight harder but die faster, or a "construction" aura where buildings and repairs and maybe capturing are done faster. Slap him in a 250 Halftrack and you have a solid commander that can zip around buffing different parts of the army at ease.

I would make the officer less about active abilities and more about passive ones, and auras.

In terms of teching I think the faction is similar (too much) to the UKF. It would be nice if there was more early game choices to be made, because I see 3 core troop into a motorcycle into tech as the BO every time.

IMO make "aggression" and "defense" fuel based upgrades that aren't mutually exclusive (but hella pricy to get both) and use side upgrades to stagger the arrivals of new units to add variety into teching. (T0 side upgrade for the Skz 250 for instance.)

Overall 8.5/10 on the faction, I love it and could see it honestly.

EDIT: on infantry, it would be interesting to copy the Space Marines model from DoW2, the 5 man line troops acting as cappers and light cqc/garrison clearing while the FJ are elite 3 man teams that's sole purpose is to output ranged dps, tank, and defend territory. Core troop must choose between engineer upgrade, LMG upgrade, or SMG upgrade. FJ must pick between FG42 or Shrek upgrade.

Posts: 1216

I admit I'm not a fan of having Italian stuff in a Luftwaffe faction, so expect my opinions to carry that bias and reflect in some changes I suggest when going over more stuff.

Also, a point or two on a new faction's commander scheme:
I think a good twist to this faction's commander design is that there are additional Specializations for specific tiers, which can be added in addition to the regular Agg/ Def specializations. This gives a unique twist to commanders while serving to offer unique powers to your stock units, rather than relying largely on call-ins and off-map stuff. The design would have to be carefully done to mitigate balance issues, and not necessarily offer large bonuses. The good thing is that these can be limited to specific tiers, so the commander's design may be geared towards specific ranges of units through specializations, whilst call-ins can offer lighter or heavier options. I'll try to make a few examples in my review of current commander ideas.
Another idea is that the Field Officer's abilities are enhanced depending on the doctrinal unlocks a commander offers, for example, an air support commander grants airstrikes when the Officer performs his abilities.

Entrenchment Doctrine

2 Aug 2016, 00:07 AMCarlos Danger

-Breda modello 37 HMG
Deploy an 8mm Breda modello 37 heavy machine gun to the battlefield. Comes with a five-man Italian Soldati crew.
Entrench Support Weapons
Luftwaffe support weapons can dig in, turning them into static emplacements and greatly improving their durability.
8.8cm Flak 18 Emplacement
Fallschirm-Pioneers can construct an 8.8cm Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun on a cruciform mount.
Obice da 149/19 modello 37 Howitzer
Fallschrim-Pioneers can construct a modello 37 149mm howitzer to bombard enemy positions. Comparable to the ML-20/LeFH-18.
Defense Artillery
Entrenched support weapons can call in artillery on nearby enemy units.

Maybe instead of an Italian HMG it could be a German second-rate one use by Luftwaffe ground crew? They tended to salvage old MGs to augment their troops whereas the beter stuff goes either to the Fallschirmjaeger or other branches.
In that case I see the MG15 can be used: it is an adaptation of the MG30 (which is predecessor to MG34) for use in aircraft; often taken apart to be used by ground forces. It is pretty much an MG34 in performance. This is the most documented of aircraft-mounted MGs that saw ground use.
There are two other aircraft-mounted MGs, the MG81 and MG131, but information on them heavily implies they were never or rarely used on the ground.

There are no stock emplacements for this faction, so the idea of turning crew weapons into quasi-emplacements is a nice touch. Another idea is that they normally can, but this ability makes them much tougher, suitable for a playstyle that wants to be campy, rather than a doctrine that just allows a player to go the camping rout.
Another idea that can be added is tank traps.

88mm emplacement is to be expected, nothing new to add. If anything this should be combined with a 37mm emplacement that allows for AA/medium ground defense; it would basically act like an immobile Ostwind, only more durable thanks to the aforementioned digging in.

I'm a bit ambivalent to another German faction getting another howitzer, especially given that the roster already offers some ground artillery options, arguably more than any other one faction. Howitzers are also the realm of Heer artillery.
I'm thinking that it can be instead some sort of aerial ability that enhances your army rather than a typical off-map airstrike. For example, it can be some sort of recon call-in whereby enemy units found in a friendly sector will call in a recon plane during the ability duration; enemy units found in frontline sectors will have flares thrown over them, allowing you to focus your artillery units or other forces to defeat them. The planes can still be shot down, so there is at least some form of counterplay for an ability that reveals units in your sectors.
Another idea is that instead of a howitzer, the 88mm emplacement mentioned early can fulfill a dual AT/ howitzer role; it's special ability is barrage target (it is possible for 88mms to be used this way, though obviously a rare occurrence given it's intended use). This also frees up a commander slot for something else.

If the ability for enhanced artillery units and 88mm performing artillery role is used, then instead of an ability to call in artillery, your units can call in airstrikes instead. However reading up on the Luftwaffe in Italy by seems by mid/late war there were few air groups due to pressing needs in other fronts.
What we can do however is sort of a counterbarrage scheme: you select the ability and select a target location on the map, and if there are enemy units in the area, off-map FlaK 128mm guns will fire onto them, similar to USF's powerful 155mm shells.

So here is a summary of how I'd imagine this commander:

1- MG15 heavy machine gun crew: HMG team deployed, crewed by 4-man squad of LFD troops, offers basic AI suppression. Early CP unlock and relatively cheap cost means they can be deployed quickly and alongside other suppressive units (similar to pre-patch OKW MG34 call-in).
2- Field Defense Specialization: T1 gains an additional specialization; once upgraded, allows builders to build a 37mm emplacements for improved general defense; in addition your team weapons and vehicles can he hull-downed.
3- 88mm FlaK emplacement unlock
4- Aerial Recon Support: Select a target friendly sector, if enemy units are currently in LOS in said sector, a plane spawns and recons target area; the plane will also drop flares over the sector once it arrives. Plane can be shot down prior and after it arrives and throws flares.
5- FlaK 40 Creeping Barrage: Target location will be slowly bombarded with heavy 128mm shells Effective against all targets, damage is comparable to USF 155mm shells.

Italian Assault Doctrine

2 Aug 2016, 00:07 AMCarlos Danger

Soldati
Deploy a six-man Italian infantry squad armed with Carcano 1891/38 carbine rifles to the battlefield. Comparable to Osttruppen.
Abilities:
-HEAT Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade
-Bomba a Mano Grenade Assault
-Sprint (Requires Veterancy 1)
Modello 40 Flamethrower
Soldati squads can be upgraded with a Modello 40 flamethrower.
Bomba a Mano Grenade Assault
Soldati squads can assault an enemy position with a hail of OTO modello 35 impact grenades.
Autoblinda 41 Armoured Car
Deploy a light armoured car equipped with a 20mm Breda modello 37 autocannon to the battlefield. Comparable to the Sd.Kfz 222 armoured car.
Infantry Support Artillery
Any enemy units in sight of Luftwaffe infantry squads are targeted by artillery for the duration of this ability.

In terms of focusing on a Luftwaffe theme a doctrine that is basically Italian units and other stuff isn't a terribly good or even creative idea. Most of the stuff listed however can simply be solved with simple name changes. Name-wise, the commander can be something like "Luftwaffe Field Division Doctrine" which gives away a theme of using the notorious Luftwaffe Field Division troops of which were comparable to Osttruppen, with the presumption that many of the abilities will involve supplementing your faction with cheap but weak stuff, to sort of give it an economic twist to playing a faction that normally involves using powerful but small units.

Soldati call-in: This can be replaced with troops sent from the notorious Luftwaffe Field Division troops of which were comparable to Osttruppen, and the abilities using German names.

Soldati Flamethrower upgrade: A doctrinal ability whose sole usage is to be used with another doctrinal ability isn't a good idea. Second, in terms of a Field Division theme this isn't terribly useful either; perhaps this can be instead incendiary grenades for some of your units, as well as any doctrinal call-in squads? It would still serve an anti-cover/ garrison ability, costs munitions, yet more versatile because more units can use it.

Soldati Grenade Assault: Again, a doctrinal ability that serves only to augment a doctrinal unit. But it can just be changed to be a vet1 ability for the Soldati unit, and thus free this slot for something else.
Regarding my idea of doctrinal specializations, this can be changed to be an infantry-themed specialization for one of the earlier tiers. For example, it can be called "Infantry Specialization", can be upgraded alongside T1's usual specialization choices, and offer among other things a grenade assault unlock for one or more units. An example would be in this assault theme, the specialization can modify the Sprint ability to last longer and offer a bonus to squads sprinting that makes them harder to hit when under Sprint effect.

Scout car call-in: I'm not too keen on another 2cm unit, especially when it's just largely a 222 clone.
The faction already has, at time of writing, a 2cm crew weapon, one of two halftrack chouces geared for anti-infantry, and 2cm flakpanzer, all as stock units.
A different take on this doctrinal idea is that the car serves a recon/ camo role; it's only got a pitiful MG, but can cloak, toggle to increased sight range, or a toggle to lock down sectors, so it is more similar to Panzer Elite's 221 scout car. While this is a bit contradictory to an assault-themed commander, it would allow you to focus on your troops for an attack while leaving a few light vehicles behind to hold territories, hopefully long enough for your men to make a crucial difference in a fight.

Infantry Support Artillery: Seems a bit generic, and also a bit one-dimensional in that it doesn't encourage nor reward combined arms.
A different take is that, while the ability is active, any enemy units engaged by your infantry become Marked and take increased damage from your vehicles. This means that to capitalize on this, you need vehicles fighting alongside your units. The effect works similar to UKF's Anvil Hammer tactics whereas the UKF lets you sight units that run away when hit, they gain a slight damage increase from AT sources, but only as long as your infantry are engaging them as well.
If you really want it to remain infantry themed, then you just make the effect work like one squad has to channel the ability (re the way Button Vehicle works), so you need multiple squads engaging a single target- counterplay is where the enemy can either try to run away and give ground, or attempt to destroy the channelling squad and remove the damage bonus put onto them.
And again, with so many artillery options at your disposal, an auto-off-map arty seems almost redundant; any artillery units you have in the field can benefit from this channelling ability as well.

With that said here's how I'd redesign the commander:

1- Luftwaffe Troop Replacements: 6-man squad of cheap troops, they are used much like Osttruppen. These spawn with Panzerbuchse AT rifles for light AT duty.
2- Incendiary Weapons Specialization: T1 gain an additional specialization, when unlocked it grants your mainline infantry and LFD troops to throw a mix of incendiary and regular grenades; your builders can upgrade to use flamethrowers.
3- 221 Scout Car: light vehicle can toggle to secure friendly sectors and detect nearby stealth units. Lightly armed but can toggle camouflage, a free smoke screen ability in an emergency, and can self-repair like the motorcycle. Otherwise fragile unit best left to spot targets for your army.
4- Infantry Support Tactics (passive): when your vehicles destroy other enemy vehicles, infantry near the fight are inspired and gain temporary buffs.
5- Officer Aerial Support: Timed ability that when activated, allows all of your Luftwaffe Officer's abilities to include airstrikes:
a)- using Concentrated Fire/ Sight will spawn a recon plane to fly over the target area
b)- using Forward Rally Point/ Forward Retreat Point spawns a supply plane to drop a supply crate at the Officer's location; supplies restore rallying squads' ability cooldown and temporarily inspire units to move faster. Use in conjunction with local medpacks or medical center to quickly replenish your squads and return to combat.
c)- Using the Coordinated Defensive Tactics/ Directed Fire abilities spawn a stuka plane that strafes target area with its MG151 autocannons, slightly damaging all enemy units when hit. Use to support regular attacks or to finish off a wounded target.

Salvage Doctrine

28 Jul 2016, 20:19 PMCarlos Danger

Mechanics
Armed with P08 Luger pistols, Mechanics are essentially useless in combat, although they can quickly repair vehicles.
Abilities:
-Repair Critical Damage (Requires Veterancy 1/Squad can instantly repair critical vehicle damage.
-Overrepair (Requires Veterancy 3/Squad can add additional health to Luftwaffe tanks.)
Point Resource Reclamation
While this ability is active, capturing fuel or munitions points from the enemy will immediately provide players will a small resource bonus.
Repair Smoke Cover
Units engaged in repairs are automatically covered by a barrage of concealing smoke.
Bergepanther Armoured Recovery Vehicle
A Bergepanther armoured recovery vehicle is deployed to the battlefield. The Bergepanther can return destroyed vehicles to working order.
Mistel Bomb
A Ju-88 bomber loaded with explosives is dropped onto an enemy position.

I like the idea of improved repairs, but I can't say I like it in a squad that will suck at everything else. Maybe instead it's a doctrinal specialization? Call it "Repair Specialization" and just have mainline infantry give slow repair rate, whereas the builder unit can do critical repairs and overrepairs.

I do like the Resource Reclamation idea; I think it should just be applied to all sectors rather than just the one or two FU/MU points in most maps.
Another take on this idea however could be more combat-related, for example when ability is active, either selected sector or all sectors will basically perform a Recoup Losses effect, based on the amount of enemy units you kill (as opposed to OKW's which are based on casualties suffered).
Or if you really want to go all the way into the idea, the ability makes it where a targeted sector will grant a Recoup Losses effect for you, regardless of whether units lost are friendly or hostile.

I think instead of timed ability similar to UKF smoke cover, the Smoke Cover ability is an ability unlock so that individual vehicles can use it at your convenience; they get a button to stop and repair, and when activated grant a temporary smoke cover. This means that individual vehicles can be chosen when to use the ability, and can be coupled with the doctrinal repair buffs to rapidly repair stuff under safety. The catch is that, like OKW Emergency Repairs, the vehicle must be out of combat, and when active, damage taken has a risk of abandoning the vehicle.

I never liked Bergepanzer and the mechanic of recovering vehicles, especially in a doctrine where vehicles can be repaired rapidly. The Bergepanzer was also apparently armed to ward off infantry with 20mm flak and MGs, so if those are also present, then you got a medium tank that's more often used to shred infantry, which also means replacing stock units' usefulness. There is also the fact that, like in CoH1, you get balance issues where destroyed heavy units can be recovered to bypass usual vehicle limits, plus more often than not the enemy would merely wise up to the tactic and just attack wrecks.
Maybe instead of a large dedicated recovery unit, this is a passive unlock for certain vehicles like the halftracks: when activated, the halftrack is immobile, but deploys NPC salvage crews that automatically scrap any destroyed stuff nearby. This gives you fuel and munitions and allows you a way to increase economy without any need to engage in combat and without risking a lot of your combat units. It also cuts down on micromanagement as the salvage crews do it automatically. I also thought of them doing repair stuff too, but that might overlap with the other repair abilities in this commander.

The unmanned suicide bomber idea is nice, if a bit bland and typical, but then again an airstrike's an airstrike.
Maybe to expand the idea, it is a regular bomber bu after dropping its payload, also drops a paraflare?

So to redesign the idea:

1- Field Service Specialization: T2 specialization unlock, allows mainline infantry to repair akin to Conscript Repair Kits, and builders can perform Critical Repairs and passive Overrepair friendly vehicles.
2- Resource Reclamation: Select any one sector in the map, and while active enemy units you destroy in that sector will grant you a small amount of their manpower cost. Killing infantry only gain a little, but destroying enemy vehicles grant substantial amount. Costs some munitions and has long cooldown.
3- Repair Smoke Cover: Individual vehicles can fire smoke and repair themselves for a little bit of health; infantry that repairing under the smokescreen are inspired to repair a little bit faster until smokescreen expires.
4- Halftrack Salvage Crews (Passive): Your halftrack unit(s) can toggle to deploy mechanics that salvage all nearby wrecks; halftracks cannot move when mechanics are deployed. Salvaged wrecks grant you fuel.
5- Schnellbomber Attack Run: A Ju-88 bomber drops a medium bomb over target location; the plane also drops a flare to reveal the area as it flies away. Payload inflicts moderate damage, but flares can assist you in finish off the target. Plane can be shot down, preventing either bomb or flare or both.

Panzerjager Doctrine

28 Jul 2016, 20:19 PMCarlos Danger

Panzerwurfmine Assault
Luftwaffe Field Troops are issued additional Panzerwurfmines, allowing them to assault enemy armour with a hail of anti-tank explosives. Comparable to the Soviet RPG-40 Grenade Assault ability.
Panzerjager Squad
A four-man squad of anti-tank specialists is deployed to the battlefield. Armed with two Panzershrecks.
Abilities:
-Fire Panzerfaust
-Panzerwurfmine Assault
-Lay Teller Mines (Requires Veterancy 1)
Sd.Kfz 250/10
An Sd.Kfz 250 fitted with a 3.7cm PaK36 is deployed to the battlefield to combat enemy light vehicles.
Abilities:
-Fire Stielgranate 41 Shaped Charge (Requires Veterancy 1/Vehicle fires a high-damage shaped charge at a targeted enemy vehicle.)
FG1250 "Sparrow Hawk" Infrared Sights
Panthers and Jagdpanthers can be upgraded with FG1250 infrared spotting scopes for additional range against enemy tanks.
Panzer Support Artillery
All enemy tanks in sight of Luftwaffe armoured units are targeted by artillery for the duration of this ability.

Instead of a few ability unlocks, referring to the doctrinal specializations idea you can instead have T0 get an infantry AT specialization, granting numerous powers, in this case mainline infantry can fire panzerfaust, and builder units throw Panzerfurmine grenades; both squads can lay Teller mines. The idea is that no one unit gets concentrated AT abilities, and since you're likely to have some T0 units running around all game you might as well give the doctrinal powers to them.

I must express that I never liked a dedicated Panzerjaeger squad for this game; for their part, Panzergrenadiers and Sturm/ Volks with Shrecks have the benefit of serving multiple roles. A small 4-man squad whose sole job is attack vehicles I find will have a hard time being useful throughout a match simply because their job limits what they can do as infantry.
If you really want a doctrinal AT squad as call-in I suggest two possible options:
-A cheap six-man squad with 2x Panzerbuchse that can be used to re-man crew weapons but poor infantry firepower;
-OR an elite 4-man Fallschirmjaeger squad with 1x panzerschreck and 3 FG42s- they are more comparable to Panzergrenadiers/ Stormtroopers, and thus serve as a small but powerful (and expensive) shock unit that can still hold their own against other threats.

Using my suggestion of removing Panther from stock and using as doctrinal unlock, it can come equipped with the infrared sight and gains a permanent IR track in front of the vehicle- this is basically an IR version of SU-85's self-spotting toggle- all enemy vehicles in front can be tracked, and the Panther can still fight like normal. This "NachtPanther" can still upgrade to a pintle MG42 as it was not incompatible with the sight.

I personally don't think a halftrack with light AT is needed due to the prevalence of AT options both in this commander and in the faction in general. Perhaps instead it is an upgrade to your stock halftrack that does either of two ideas I have in mind:

a) your halftracks can upgrade to use the 37mm PaK and the shaped charge idea, replacing is default weapon;
b) it is either a call-in or an upgrade that acts as artillery observation, calling in a light artillery barrage that deals good damage to vehicles
I'm personally leaning on the latter after reading that the shaped charge idea, coupled with the 37mm calibre's overall lack of power, doesn't seem necessary to a doctrine with so many AT stuff.

I like the artillery support idea, in fact I read up a bit on 88mm flak as artillery support to try to squeeze in a Luftwaffe vibe to the idea. What I brainstormed is that instead of firing at enemy units you are attacking, they are fired in conjunction with the Field Officer's abilities.

Redoing the commander makes my idea look somewhat like so:

1- Antitank Specialization: a third T1 or T2 specialization option, unlocks Panzerfaust for mainline infantry, Panzerwurfmine for builders; both can lay down a field of Tellermine 29s, light AT mines that temporarily immobilize enemy tanks that run over them, similar to PMD-6M mines from Soviet Tank Hunter Tactics.
2- Fallschirmjaeger Anti-Tank Team: 4-man FJ squad with 1-2 panzerschrecks, powerful but expensive squad that can also hide and ambush enemy vehicles with alpha-strike damage bonus. Panzershcrecks limit anti-infantry firepower.
3- Luftpanzerwagen Observers (Passive): Your 250 halftracks gain provide increased line of sight, and can use the "Tank Detection" toggle ability, which renders it immobile, but reveals all enemy vehicles within its detection radius.
4- Panzerwaffe detachment "NachtPanther": Panther tank with pintle mounted IR sight. Can use the "Infrared Sweep" toggle ability that reveals all enemy units within the Panther's radius when not moving. Vet1 unlocks the "Fire Sprgr. 42", a single shot directional ability similar to Pershing and Tulip, deals low damage but will stun vehicles when hit.
5- Officer Artillery Support: Timed ability that when activated, allows all of your Luftwaffe Officer's abilities to include artillery strikes:
a)- When using the Concentrated Fire/ Sight abilities, off-map 3.7mm flak shells will attempt to fire on affected enemy units in the radius. This is similar to Bofor's indirect volley fire.
b)- If Forward Rally Point/ Forward Retreat Point are active, enemy units within the Field Officer LOS will be attacked by a slow and small barrage from off-map 88mm guns. Shells inflict modest damage but stuns enemy vehicles when hit.
c)- Enemy units targeted by Coordinated Defensive Tactics/ Directed Fire will have OKW's Artillery Flares fired on their location, revealing the target area.

Posts: 179

I like this

reminds me of my faction idea, except more german and less italy.

Posts: 1216

Fallschirmjager Doctrine

28 Jul 2016, 20:19 PMCarlos Danger

Fallschirmjager Doctrine
Geballte Ladnung 3kg Concentrated Charges
Luftwaffe Field Troops and Fallschirmjagers can hurl concentrated charges at enemy forces for a large explosion. Comparable to Soviet satchel charges.
Booby Trap Equipment
Fallschirmjagers can place booby traps on abandoned support weapons and vehicles. Any enemy unit that attempts to capture a booby-trapped weapon will set off a large explosion.
Fallschirmjager Assault Squad
A four man Fallschirmjager squad is dispatched to the battlefield. Unlike OKW Fallschirmjagers, this squad cannot infiltrate building. Also armed with FG-42 rifles but uses different abilities.
Abilities:
-Model 24 Grenade Assault
-Tactical Advance (Requires Veterancy 1)
Marksman
An elite Fallshirmjager marksman is dispatched from the Eastern Front. Armed with a FG-42 fitted with a ZFG-42 optic, the marksman does not kill individual models but can quickly whittle down the health of enemy squads with bursts of accurate fire.
Abilities:
- Suppressive Fire (Requires Veterancy 1)
SD2 âButterfly Bombsâ
A number of SD2 âButterly Bombsâ are dropped at the targeted location.

Geballte Ladnung is just the bundled Model24 grenades used by Panzergrenadiers, an unlokc that just gives units that one ability isn't very appealing. Using the specialization idea, it can be used in conjunction with other unlocks, for example Boobytrap and camouflage.

I was thinking that instead a clone of OKW FJs, they can be a more versatile all-round unit similar to Ostheer Stormtroopers; they spawn with 1 MG34 and 3 rifles, but can upgrade to have FG42s, AT weapons or improved scout equipment. Another idea that can be used is that they come in an unarmed 250 halftrack, similar to Mechanized Assault's 250 w Panzergrenadier call-in.

I'm personally not a fan of 1-man unit call-ins, so I think a better idea of the Marksman is that it's part of the scout upgrade mentioned earlier. It would be more versatile but also means that picking that upgrade means you trade firepower for the respective squad.

In line with the Officer doctrinal boost, the Field Officer can unlock to have his abilities come with some form of air-dropped stuff. Also, the Officer's bodyguard unit become Fallschirmjaegers, increasing his combat power.

A slightly redesigned FJ commander would have it looking like this:

1- Airborne Specialization: T0 or T1 can upgrade to third specialization, grants camouflage upgrade to all infantry quads, Bundled Grenade Assault for mainline infantry, and boobytraps for builders. Bundled Grenade Assault works like OKW Infiltration Grenades, all members throw them, it cools down when not in combat, and has cheap munitions cost. The Luftwaffe Field Officer gains FJ bodyguards, greatly improving durability.
2- Fallschirmjaeger Assault Squad: 4-man squad that can use Bundle Grenade Assault and Boobytraps without needing the Airborne Specialization. Has versatile upgrade options:
a) Antitank Upgrade: 2 members gain Panzerbuchse AT Rifles, unlocks Button Vehicle and Panzerfaust.
b) Machinegun Upgrade: All members gain FG42s and unlocks Tactical Advance and Suppressive Fire.
c) Scout Upgrade: One member gains scoped FG42 and unlocks the Snipe ability; the unit also has passive sprint and can heal out of combat.
3- Glider Support: Luftwaffe glider drops to target location, allows you to reinforce nearby infantry and can be upgraded to lock down friendly sector it lands in. You can also spawn your Fallschirmjaeger Assault squads from the glider by selecting it as destination.
4- SD-2 Butterfly Bomb Drop: Two planes will fly overhead, dropping SD-2 bomblets: the first bomb's payload explodes on impact, lethal to all infantry units in the area; the second payload have anti-handling fuzes, becoming anti-personnel landmines. Damage identical to Ostheer's AP minefields/ Fragmentation Bombs.
5- Luftwaffe Officer Infantry Support: Timed ability that when activated, allows all of your Luftwaffe Officer's abilities to include buffs to nearby units:
a)- using Concentrated Fire/ Sight causes all nearby friendly infantry to sprint
b)- using Forward Rally Point/ Forward Retreat Point causes all nearby friendly units to capture/ decapture sectors
c)- Using the Coordinated Defensive Tactics/ Directed Fire abilities cause all nearby infantry units to gain combat bonuses

Italian Infantry Doctrine

2 Aug 2016, 00:07 AMCarlos Danger

Soldati
Deploy a six-man Italian infantry squad armed with Carcano 1891/38 carbine rifles to the battlefield. Comparable to Osttruppen.
Abilities:
- HEAT Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade
- Light mortar barrage
- Construct Flame Fougasse
- Sprint (Requires Veterancy 1)
Breda modello 37 Team
Deploy an 8mm Breda modello 37 heavy machine gun to the battlefield. Comes with a five-man Italian Soldati crew.
Brixia modello 35 Mortar
Soldati squads can deploy a Brixia modello 35 light mortar to saturate a targeted area with 45mm shells.
Flame Fougasse
Soldati squads can construct flame fougasse incendiary mines to burn enemy infantry.
Obice da 149/19 modello 37 Howitzer
Fallschrim-Pioneers can construct a modello 37 149mm howitzer to bombard enemy positions from afar. Comparable to the ML-20/LeFH-18.

I can't say I like this commander idea, it's basically a unit call-in, two crew weapons, an unlock that only benefits the first call-in, and an emplacement in a faction that has some good artillery units in it. It is also a second Italian commander, meaning this faction idea might as well just BE Italians.

The Italian squad is a good idea though, I'd keep it and expand on it, but make them more like Assault Grenadiers; they aren't great at most things besides adding numerical presence on the map so your other units are free to engage enemies or force them off territory, or building stuff. TO do this they'd have to be armed with SMGs (this also means taking away the SMG weapon rack, of which isn't of much use IMO anyways). This also means limiting their abilities so they aren't replacements for mainline infantry; I don't mind keeping their AT Rifle Grenades or low mortar barrage.

An HMG and Mortar call-in seems pointless, even when it looks like a cheap but quick call-in. Gameplay wise you're trading a great deal of manpower just for quickly putting some units into the map without having to tech, which wouldn't be bad if the units varied in their expected tech-time: Mechanized Assault for example had four call-ins, but spread out over CP and expected roles (from 0CP AssGrens to 13CP Tiger). These unis however seem more like 0-2CP; any higher and they'll be useless as better units and counters will appear.
What could be done in their place is perhaps a "replacement" ability that, when active, allows all your crew weapons to be trained as Swiss Solothurn S-18/1000 AT rifles, and if the Nebelwerfer is in the faction roster and decrewed, the Italian mortar instead; the advantage is that they come faster and cost less; if used effectively can win you more fights simply because you got more of them in the field- effectively a trade in quality for numbers, which in some cases matter more. These obviously don't replace your better stock team weapons, but an ability that lets you quickly train cheaper versions can help in a pinch as well as fulfill the commander's Italian reinforcement theme.

Fougassi unlock needs to be more useful besides benefiting just Soldati, so it should be an unlock for Soldati as well as your builder unit. Otherwise it's a good incendiary mine.

Although I normally dislike howitzer emplacements due to their limited range on larger maps, I cannot pass up the 149mm howitzer due to it's particular stats as well as it's history under German usage. Exactly how it can work for the faction is up to debate, but I got some ideas after reading some wiki pages. This changes the howitzer's role from leFH equivalent to instead act more like the Soviet's B3 230mm howitzer.

Given the comments I'd craft the Italian commander something like this:

*Rename it (Italian) Auxiliary Doctrine
1- Auxiliary Specialization: Unlocks third T0 specialization; the Luftwaffe Officer and all mainline infantry squads can lay Fougasse incendiary mines, and can use the "Mortar Counterbarrage" ability, where off-map Gr. 34 81mm batteries will attack enemy artillery and emplacements within the squad's range. The barrage ability has a global shared cooldown, so multiple squads cannot use them independently.
2- Soldati Italian Infantry Squad; this unit can lay flame Fougasse and use Mortar Counterbarrage without needing to unlock the Auxiliary Specialization. Armed with Italian SMGs, their large squad size and cheap call-in/ reinforce cost and low popcap makes up for poor combat performance. Also has Merge ability to instantly reinforce friendly squads; Merging with squads incurs a temporary speed and accuracy penalty.
3- Relief Heavy Weapon Crews: A timed ability that when active replaces your normal crew weapons with cheaper Italian ones: the Solothurn S-18/1000 AT rifle will replace your T0 unlock, and the Brixia M35 Mortar for your Nebelwerfer. A total of 5-6 units will be replaced to prevent spamming. These units are inferior to their respective equivalents, but have faster build and reinforce time, as well as lower reinforce cost.
4- Heavy Howtizer Emplacement: builder units can construct the modello 37 149mm heavy howitzer. Can barrage targets by itself at locations within range, or can be toggled to "Designated Battery", were it fires only when certain abilities are being used; however when in "Designated Battery" mode the howitzer has no range limit.
Abilities that trigger the howitzer when toggled to Designated Battery includes "Mortar Counterbarrage" and the Luftwaffe Officer's Coordinated Defensive Tactics/ Directed Fire abilities.
5- Luftwaffe Officer Auxiliary Support: Timed ability that when activated, allows all of your Luftwaffe Officer's abilities to include buffs to nearby units:
a)- using Concentrated Fire/ Sight causes all nearby friendly infantry to have the Zeal effect: if affected squads take losses, the surviving models will gain a bonus to defensive stats: the effect ends immediately if squad is reinforced or stops fighting.
b)- using Forward Rally Point/ Forward Retreat Point causes your nearby squads to spawn Soldati soldier models when being reinforced; these troops are weaker, but cost less manpower and reinforce faster. Unlike Soldati squad's Merge, this does not incur penalties. Lets you rebuild forces faster and for less cost, but have lower combat performance.
c)- when the officer uses the Coordinated Defensive Tactics/ Directed Fire abilities, your artillery units will fire onto the same location if not currently barraging other targets. Also, if built and toggled to "Designated Battery", the Heavy Howitzer emplacement will also join, but fires only one shell.

Posts: 571

Unlocking both tac advance AND suppression seems a bit excessive.

Posts: 1216

Not exactly sure what Tactical Advance is, so it depends on what it does.
OP might have misspelled it and intended to be Stormtroopers' Tactical Assault ability when they upgrade to StG.44s, of which the effects are "Squad moves at half speed, +50% accuracy, +50% received accuracy, +150% burst length, lasts 10 seconds. Even on retreat."
This ability doesn't inflict suppression and it makes the unit move slower.
I also assume that Suppressive Fire of the FJ Marksman's vet1 unlock is the USF Paratrooper ability of same name when they upgrade to M1919 LMG, it offering "-75% cool-down, +1% suppression, +200% burst length" according to the Ability Guide. Haven;t used that ability in a while so not sure if it would work well in a unit with the Tactical Advance ability.
In any case the two abilities can still possibly be put together by way of sharing cooldowns- if you use Suppressive Fire you cannot use Tactical Advance. Or of course one ability is shifted to another weapon upgrade.
Also it could still work in combination but would prove a big munitions sink into a single call-in squad.