Your really use trenches, and if you fill them with Osttruppen?? You should't do that. Osttruppen benefit of the distance between the men and the quick refresh rate. Put them behind a sandbag-wall and build as quick as possible a HQ-bunker or a Sdkfz. 251. If your enemy isn't a soviet, or you know he will not build a M3-clown-car, don't build T1 and push in a new Osttrupp instead or build a MG42 (normally a HMG42 is the biggest enemy of Osttruppen, suppression is bad for Grens and way worse for Osttruppen DPS). Better build a 222 or a PnzGren with Schrecks if you need a AT.
Osttruppen only have 1 weapon-slot, why not:
T3 2*Panzerbüchse39 for one slot.
T4 1*HMG42 for one slot.
Edit: The new Defence-Commander is the better Osttruppen-Commander, because it fills the lack the old one has. The 88 is an option for late-game, while the classic one simply has no options. It also needs a revamp (while the revamp happend is really bad… made of people don't play Osttruppen):
1. Giving Osttruppen non-doc sand-bags would be first thing.
2. Giving Osttruppen a upgrade for 2*Panzerbüchse in T3, in T4 a HMG42 upgrade.
3. The trench-ability has to be replaced with hull-down. (since the trench-ability of Defence-Commander was changed with Bunkers, tank-traps and treches).
4. The air-drop can be removed with a Beute-T34/76, a call-in tank.
-Osttruppen
-Artillerieoffizier
-hull-down
-Beute T34/85
-Gustav
The Osttruppen doctrine actually has the Pak 40 from the air drop as well but to me it's nothing more than a manpower sink since it's like around 400 manpower or more to call down, I can get 2 Osttruppen squads for that price, and the MG34 you get from it as well is simply just not worth it, especially when you add to the fact that you have the best MG from the get go already.
Personally what you're saying about the Entrenching Tools, Air Drop and the Defensive Doctrine's Pak 43 is starting to make sense to me now that I actually think about it.
If the Osttruppen are given double Panzerbusche 39s that would eliminate the need for both of the doctrines to have additional AT.
But my take is a bit different than yours, a bit.
For Osttruppen Doctrine:
- Osttruppen
- Artillery Officer
- Panzer IV F1/StuG III E/Beute T34 Panzer like you suggested
- Defensive Tools (Tank Traps, Repair Bunkers, and so on)
- Schwerer Gustav barrage
For Defensive Doctrine:
- Osttruppen
- Command Panzer IV (fits in with the defensive theme of the commander better)
- Defensive Tools (same as above)
- Hull Down
- Sector Artillery
But yes I also agree that Hull Down is good for things like the Panthers and other tanks with a turret but not so much for Turretless vehicles like the StuG.
Alternatively Hull Down can be combined with Entrenching Tools/Defensive Tools since on it's own in it's current state is pretty bad because of what above explanation.
Generally speaking yes, now that you mention it Osttruppen would probably be a lot more useful with just sandbags as Trenches as I have noticed don't really save the men inside as they did compared to CoH for example.
And Hull Down I have not really seen it being used with anything else but Panthers honestly.
And Defensive Tools I only like because of the Tank Traps and Repair Bunkers, that's about it.