Thanks for the link. For someone who wasn't in the Alpha that's a cool insight into how the Brits are designed.
So more for you
“We wanted the players to be able to choose between offense and defense, so from that standpoint the British have kind of a custom feel,” Duffy said. “As you move up the tech tree you get to make choices in what we call the Hammer and the Anvil. The Hammer units are hard hitting and mobile, things like the cruiser tanks, whereas the Anvil units are able to absorb punishment and hold a piece of ground, and in that choice you get more replacements, you get the heavy infantry tanks like the Churchill, things that can take a beating.”
So their niche is the ability to be either mobile and heavy-hitting or defensive, with engineers building emplacements and infantry tanks locking down areas, letting enemies smash themselves up against them.
These two divergent paths also makes them well suited to team games. One player can play the Anvil role, defending zones and creating an area for teammates to fall back to, and another can play more aggressively, going down the Hammer route, roaming and rampaging throughout the map with their cruiser tanks.
“It’s a relatively simple army to play in terms of the tech tree,” Duffy noted. “There are a couple of pivotal choices you make moving up, in terms of whether you go Hammer or Anvil, but the base is basically established for you, so you can spend more time out in the field focusing on tactics. The base even as you expand comes with the 25 pounders, so as you move up the tech tree you’re adding artillery to your base and that gives you some extra firepower and coverage.”
http://www.pcgamesn.com/company-of-heroes-2-the-british-forces/the-british-are-coming-in-company-of-heroes-2-the-british-forces-and-theyre-tough