Company of Heroes

A while ago I wrote a guide on T2 terror. I got a lot of positive feedback and I decided that since I was on a computer that cant run CoH, I'd write a guide on Tier 2 Terror's older, crazier cousin: Tier 3 blitzkrieg. T2 Terror is a responsive strategy - one that requires you to adapt to your opponents moves and beat him at his own game. T3 Blitz, however, is an offensive strategy. It keeps your opponent on his toes and makes him bring in counters of his own. Used well, both can bring you a lot of wins. In my opinion, T3 blitzkrieg requires a little more skill and a little more microing, but the payoff is amazing when it all comes together.

If you'd like to read my T2 Terror guide, heres the link:
http://www.gamereplays.org/community/index...howtopic=316959

I would suggest reading that one first, as its an 'easier' strategy to use and some of the jokes I use here play off the jokes I make there


The Pros and Cons of this strategy
Pros:

• A combination of fast moving and sneak attack units, giving you the 'strike anywhere' ability.
• Once its up and running, the strategy itself has the ability to take a close game and turn it into a lopsided game in your favor very quickly due to the explosiveness of your units.
• Like T2 terror, these ideas are tried and true. I'm not making stuff up, nor am I trying to take credit for inventing any of these ideas, I'm just explaining them.
• If T2 terror were a general, it would be Moltke. T3 blitz would be schlieffen. Commando spamming would be Richard Simmons. T3 blitz is a lot of risk taking and gambling. Sometimes you get hit hard and really lose your footing. Sometimes you dominate the game entirely.

Cons:

• Your units are explosive - both in a good way and a bad way. As quickly as you can turn the game into a victory for you, you can turn it into a loss as well.
• Veterency gets expensive, you'll often be fielding less units than your opponents so you're forced to rely on unit mismatches (pumas vs commandos, storms vs Stuarts) to come out on top
• Stolen schrecks will ruin your day. Trust me when I say that two dropped schrecks can ruin your mid game completely if commandos pick them up.

The Early Game

: Tier 1
The Early game starts off the same despite what faction you're facing. Build another pio squad and a Wehrmacht Quarters. If you are on a big map (IE: semois) and you are facing the BRITISH, its often wise to send your first pio squad out to start capping, and build another two pios, putting those two to work on your first building.

Volksgrenadiers
Volksgrenadiers should be your first unit. Granted you always want your units in cover, but you should try to stay as far back as you can against rifles. Remember to focus fire and dont lose squads. Losing a squad of volks early can put you in a hole that you have a problem climbing out of. Stay in cover if you expect incoming riflemen or tommies. If you have a few spare seconds, set up some sandbags. These guys have to go a long way because T3 is over 100 fuel away. They will be your main fighting force for a while so dont be careless with them.

MG42
The MG42 is almost necessary against a decent player. Supported, it can really win the early game for you. Unsupported, you're generally out of 260 manpower. Keep in mind that these guys build slower than volks, as well. The Americans can normally flank an MG easily, so keep support with them and dont be afraid to pick up your MG and move it so it faces a different direction. You want to always suppress at least 2 units, hopefully giving you the advantage in the number of squads in the field. Dont have your volks shooting at suppressed units, use them to shoot at the flankers and try not to clump up that much, as an incoming grenade may land on top of your MG.

The British dont have a hard time countering MGs out in the open, but they really struggle to kill MGs in houses until they get riflegrenades. Keep in mind that a supported MG in the open can really wreak havoc as well, but unsupported it will just get walked all over. Dont play stupid and lose your MG to a sniper team. If it only has one member left, retreat it. Keep in mind that the British move slower than dirt so a flank is going to be slower than an American flank and may be easier to fend off. Just remember to shoot the LT if he's out in the open.

The Sniper
Normally, against the Americans, you don't make a sniper unless you see a WSC. Since your army wont really be vulnerable to a WSC later on, the only time you should make one is if you see a WSC opening or a very very early WSC (like after 2 rifles). Use it to countersnipe his sniper first, or else you're risking losing 340 manpower to one shot. Once he's done that, he's done his job. And he could have been a luf...fuck I've already used that joke. But once he's killed his opposing sniper, he's free to shoot MG teams and mortar teams.

Against the British, however, your sniper is damn near un-counterable. Backed up by an MG, your sniper can freely snipe anything the British have. Keep him at max range, and the British recon squad simply cant reach him to fire back. Fire a shot and immediately walk backwards. If they chase you, get back into the cover of your MG. If they stay still, just keep sniping him. NEVER close off your retreat route. Always keep your base behind your sniper and try not to let anyone get behind him. Retreat him if the recon squad is getting a little close, and never ever get inside that sniping range. If you do end up in a bad situation, retreat is better than death, as a recon unit can miss a retreating unit due to retreating defensive bonuses. Covered by an MG, the British have almost no counter and your sniper is free to pick apart their expensive infantry. Keep in mind that an LT will take around 3 sniper shots to kill, so dont aim for him unless you can kill him quickly. Take down those Tommies. They're expensive.

Your sniper probably wont last the whole game (hello mr glider) but it should do enough damage in the early game to give you the MP advantage. Also, its great for picking off sappers as they're only a 4 man squad. Often its best to use a forward observer, like a bike, or a volks squad in a house/around the corner to give your sniper father vision so he doesnt have to change his underwear every time a recon squad takes 2 steps twards him.

The early game isn't easy, especially against the Americans. Riflemen are like ants. They're all over and they're really annoying. Chances are, you'll face a period of time where you are outnumbered, because you have to spend massive amounts of manpower on teching whereas they spend almost none. Your first priority should be fuel, but, you cant ignore munitions. Keep in mind that you're going to need both fuel for your T3 units and munitions for Shrecks.

Due to being outnumbered, you're going to have to rely on at least one MG42 team. There will be times when he has two more squads on the field as you. Just dont get driven off the map and try not to lose your fuel. Be aware of flanks and retreat if you're fighting a losing battle. If you see a riflemen squad come at your MG team from a angle where they wont be suppressed, its time to yell 'runs hans run,' and make a break for your base because giving up an MG (or just losing the squad in general) is 10 times worse than just losing the point they are defending.

Of course, feel free to cut off an American player is the opportunity presents itself. Dont expose yourself too much, but if opportunity knocks, hand him a machine gun and put him to use.



Tier 3:
As soon as you can afford it, you want to get to T3. Its 200 MP and 35 fuel to get to T2, and another 200 MP and 50 fuel to get to T3. When thats done....

The Sturm Armory
This thing costs even MORE and MP and MORE fuel. If you're not dead by the time you build it, you're probably in at least decent shape. The first unit out of your brand new shiny building depends on what you're up against.

SdKfz 234 Puma
The full name of this unit is the SdKfz 234 Puma. Since I cant spell that without cutting and pasting, from now on it will be called a 'Puma.' A puma should be the first unit out of your sturm armory when you're facing the Americans. Its fast, it does decent damage against infantry, and it repairs quite quickly. Your first puma out will be the biggest impact unit you have. Often times , your American foe wont have any AT at all. Whatever you do, dont let riflemen get in range for stickies. An engine damaged puma is a dead puma. American 57mm AT guns, PIATs, Bazookas, Bofors, and Recoiless Rifles all present a deadly threat, but keep in mind that infantry AT weapons have poor accuracy at range. Kite Airborne/Sappers/Rangers just like you would riflemen. If your puma gets hit, retreat it and put your pios to work repairing it. Use these things against units that have no AT capabilities. I'll go into mismatches more, but the best matchup you can have is a puma against a commando squad. Chase away those stray riflemen/tommie units, just dont fall into a trap your opponent has cleverly layed out. If something looks too good to be true (a lone commando squad capping somewhere removed from the action), it may be a trap.

The Stug
A lot of people like making Stugs first against the British. Personally, I prefer a puma, but Stugs work well, too. Unlike the Puma, Stugs can hold their own against one or two anti-tank infantry squads. As long as your frontal armor is facing the attackers, you're in good shape. Airborne troops present the most threat, as recoilless rifles have pretty good penetration, but bazookas barely scratch the new paint on your hood so dont worry about them. Sappers and Bren guns provide a formitable foe, so keep your Stug at max range and do your best to back out of buttoning range. Dont get your Stug into a position where you cant get it out of easily. These things turn slower than hell, and can be circle strafed by quicker units like M8s and Cromwells.

The Nebelwerfer
Holy raining death, batman. This unit went from being absolutely worthless to being almost overpowered. The rockets now suppress and have a burn area of effect. In other words, if your opponent is too stupid to retreat, his guys are dying faster than Urkel's career. They cost no fuel, have a 60 second cooldown, and have a decent range. If the British were a vampire, the nebelwerfer would be a heat-seeking silver bullet coated in garlic. Against the Americans, I make 1, MAYBE 2, just to nail blobs and keep them on their toes, but against the British, its not uncommon for me to make 4 or sometimes 5. Constantly keep those rockets reigning down upon the British blob. Find his base and never let up. They have no defense of their own, so you need to keep these guys protected. I'll go over commando raids later, but protecting them against infantry is fairly simple, keep an MG by them if they're outside of your base and pay attention to them. You may have to call a Puma over asap if you see a blob of infantry, and you may have to keep a Stormtrooper squad closeby if you see light armor on the field. Or..you could rely on the last unit to come out of the Sturm Armory...

The Officer
The officer isnt worthless. He's almost worthless. He serves one purpose: Keeping your nebels healthy and happy. If you're facing commandos, or a run-and-gun happy American player, it may be worthwhile to keep an officer near your nebels. His forced retreat can turn a glider full of problems into a disappointing fission mailed for your commando-happy opponent. His observed fire ability is -decent- late game if you can get him in range of a British HQ truck and time it with a nebelwerfer strike.

Stormtroopers
By the time you get your Sturm Armory up, you should have the ability to call in Stormtroopers. These guys are amazing anti tank infantry. They have the unique ability of getting behind a light vehicle or tank and blowing it to shreds before your opponent knows whats going on. With this strat, they should very rarely engage infantry in a firefight. They're primary use is killing armor, with a secondary role of eliminating support units. In a pinch, or if you have enough of them, they can be used to fend off infantry but for the most part you want these guys lurking in the shadows, hunting armor down.

• The Panzerschreck.
  The panzerschreck is the best anti-tank weapon that infantry can buy. In the hands of a unit that can camo, you now have a unit that can kill pretty much anything with wheels on it. A double-shrecked Stormtrooper unit is more than twice as effective as a squad with one shreck. Why? Because a one-schreck stormtrooper unit wont ever kill that M8. It'll scurry off before you can finish it off and get repaired. Now, when two schrecks get up close and personal, that M8 turns into scrap metal. I try to keep two squads of double-shrecked storms around in the mid game, and later I make more if I sense armor coming. Build as many as you [b]need[b], but keep in mind that they're expensive, and special-ops troops for the most part.
• Bundled Nades
  Dont go crazy with these, they're hella expensive. Sorry for using the word 'hella.' Using them on key MG teams, AT guns, or any other threat to your Pumas/Armor can make a big difference. Keep in mind that AT guns can be killed with schrecks and 50 munitions is a lot of munitions for one nade.
• MP44s
  For 75 munitions, you can give your Stormtrooper squad two MP44s. These come late in the game, and normally cant pack as much of a punch as some of your other tools due to the slow moving nature of the Stormtrooper. If your opponent is going mass infantry and has almost no armor, it may be worth giving a few squads of these guys some MP44s, but if your opponent is using a mix of infantry and armor, its often best to let your vehicles handle his infantry and your Stormtroopers handle his armor.
• Camo
  Camoing allows your stormtroopers to get where they need to go without too much interference. Dont walk near any dead enemy bodies (the dead have eyes!), or near any enemy bodies that have yet to be deadened. Its worth taking the long way most of the time. This is your answer to artillery. Camo around, blow it up with a schreck, and run like the ice cream man just passed your house.

This strat is all about creating the mismatch. The ability to make stormtroopers, pumas, stugs, and nebelwerfers breaks down quite nicely, and if played right, allows you to dictate the control of the game and use the right tool for the right job.

• Basic Infantry.
  Not just tommies. This includes riflemen, commandos, anything that cant directly damage a vehicle or has a poor time doing it. These are the guys you use Pumas against. Stugs work on larger blobs. The only things to watch out for when facing these guys are Bren Guns and Stickies. Stickies are easy to avoid, just keep backing up so they cant plant their fruit of the looms on your Puma. Brens are a bit more of a pain. Try to keep your puma at max range, and if you do get buttoned, back out immedeatly and you'll roll out of button range.
• At Guns.
  Stormtroopers eat AT guns for lunch. A double schrecked squad of Storms can maneuver in while camo'd and blow these things to bits before getting hit too hard themselves. You may have to send two squads in to kill them if they're supported. Once you see a Brit AT gun, its not exactly hard to avoid it. Keep in mind that British AT guns cant hit pumas very well, so feel free to use your frisky little friend without too much fear of it getting blown to shreds. American AT guns are a bit trickier, but if you're keeping an eye on your pumas you should be able to retreat after the first shot, and then send in your storms to blow those things out of the water. If you do end up killing the crew before you kill the AT gun, use the 'Attack Ground' command to kill an unmanned AT gun. Whatever you do, don't march your StuGs into an AT gun's firing arc.
• Light Armor
  Be vewy vewy quiet, your stormtroopers are hunting vehicles. ehehehehe. Stormtroopers tear these things to shreds if used correctly. Get them camo'd move them close, and let your fireworks fly. Most light armor goes down in 3 shots or less. A greyhound might be a little tougher but not by much. Idealy, you want your first volley of schrecks to kill it. If its unsupported, its worth getting behind it (or waiting until it drives by you) and then unloading. The whole idea behind Stormtrooper AT is the surprise 'screw you!' and then the hasty retreat back to the comfort to your own base.
• Medium Armor.
  Medium Armor is fought the same way light armor is fought. You lure the vehicle into an open area and proceed to pop out of the woodwork with a nasty surprise. Keep in mind that you'll need more Stormtroopers to fend off medium armor, but one thing you can do against armor is confront them up front with StuGs. Shermans and Cromwells need to circle a Stug in order to come out on top, and if they're forced to come in close to circle it, your stormtroopers are poised and readly to help out their friends inside the Stug. I wonder if Stugs smell like normal grenadiers.
• End Game Armor
  End Game armor is a bit trickier. Pershings can keep their range and Fireflies have a massive killzone without putting themselves at risk. This is where you can camo your Storms, send them around back, and unleash from a flank. Combined with a pre-emptive Nebelwerfer strike, you can really cause some damage as his infantry will be pre-occupied with nebeldeath. Of course if they overexpose themselves, feel free to let loose, but for the most part you want to be behind these suckers to ensure they end up as scrap metal.
• Anti Tank Infantry
  Anti Tank Infantry will be the toughest nut to crack that you'll face. Keep in mind that bazookas have very bad accuracy at range, and that sappers out in the open die pretty quickly. If the AT infantry is 'dug in,' either in trenches or positioned in heavy cover, you may want to soften them up with a bundled nade or a nebel strike before sending in your pumas. If you can help it, never expose a low health puma or StuG to anything that can damage it. Repairing is free, and one puma can go the entire span of the game if you keep an eye on it. If you find that their AT infantry is mixed in with the rest of their infantry, see the next step.
• Blobs!
  Its the blob! The best way to counter blobs? You guessed it, nebelwerfers! The more blobby the better. Try to aim your nebel strike right on them. If they're moving, you have to adjust to where they're going to be. Any units caught in a nebelwerfer rocket strike will either retreat or die. This is one situation where the retarded crawl AI works for you. If you do end up hitting a building with these, the roof is on fire. The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. We dont need no water let the mot....bleh you get the gist of it.
• Commandos
  Whatever you do, do not let these little bastards get ahold of a schreck. Without shrecks, just use a puma on these guys. They're not so bad when they're just mixed in with the rest of your opponents army, but when they get ahold of a panzerschreck, they turn into a deadly force where you have no counter to. I'll cover this in more detail later, but just keep your finger on the retreat button, dont lose stormtroopers, and try to keep these little bastards out of your base. If they DO grab a screck, you have to find a way to kill them somehow. A StuG can take them on from the front, or you may be able to catch them with a bundled nade or a nebel strike, but for the most part, you've dug yourself a deep hole if they grab more than 1 schreck.

Combined arms presents a little more difficult approach. For example, if they have armor supported by infantry, anti-tank infantry, and elite infantry all supporting eachother, you have to use all of your tools.

• 
  Keep your StuGs facing the enemy. They have incredibly frontal armor and can handle any American or British medium armor with ease provided that both tanks slug it out from the front. If a StuG gets low, reverse it out of action and bring it back for repairs. These things can mess up infantry blobs, take on medium armor, and take a beating, so its good to have at least one of them in a large scale engagement.
• 
  A nebel strike in the middle of his army can really mess up his day. Its either retreat or die for him, and neither one is appealing. Aim for the middle and let loose. Just make sure your stormtroopers arent standing in the blast radius.
• 
  Pumas aren't really that great in large scale fights, but that doesnt mean they're worthless. Use them to harass infantry and go in from the flanks. Keep in mind that you dont want to lose them, so the same rules as before apply. Keep them away from stickies and AT weapons, and they can be the icing on the cake of a large battle.
• 
  Stormtroopers will be the bulk of your infantry, but keep in mind that you should have some T1 units left from the early game. These guys are great shooters, and putting them in green cover can make them last a long time, giving you the perfect opportunity to set up for a nebel strike or for your tanks to get into position. Use these in combination with your volks/MGs from early on to hold positions that are critical and to scare away any light armor that may be MG hunting. Keep one or two of these guys back by your stugs to prevent allied armor from circle strafing your StuG(s).

Things to remember:

• 1) Keep your Stugs facing forward.
• 2)Nebel strike them, the more infantry you hit the better
• 3)Pumas are nice, but dont turn them into cannon fodder
• 4)Retreat if you have to, not every fight is going to go your way. Better to lose the battle and win the game than lose the battle and lose the game.

This strat doesn't benefit from sitting on its ass. Dont be reckless, but you should always be out looking for trouble if your pumas/stugs are at full health. Charging into their base is bad, but looking for tommies/riflemen to sic your pumas on makes great use of your superior speed and firepower. Nebel their base, nebel a spot where you think they are, just nebel something. Cut him off if you can. Just don't play stupid. If you know your opponent has a 17 pounder, dont attempt to go shake the crew's hands with your StuG. If your opponent is still venturing out of his base, you havent instilled enough fear in him. Just watch out for AT guns.


The wolfman is a lone unit. He creeps in the dark, lurks in the woods, and has to wipe with leaves. But he may inflict incredible damage at a key point in time. What is a wolfman, you ask? Its a lone squad of cloaked Stormtroopers creeping every so slowly towards that oh-so-important allied territory. Armed with at least one panzerschreck, he can not only spy on the allied HQ setup, but he can drop bundled nades of death (we've all seen those riflemen clumps around a triage center), or he can clean out Artillery. He's a great scout and has a lethal poison on his dagger. If you have appropriate anti-tank capabilities, you may consider sending one or two squads of Stormtroopers out to live in the woods for a while. Get them in view of the allied base and make the best use of them. Take those paths less traveled so you dont bump into something and mess the whole thing up. Dont be afraid to retreat these guys, its better to get them back home safe than to lose them.


Commandos are, by far, the most annoying bastards to ever exist in any game ever. They're more annoying than those little shield guys in Halo 1. You HAVE to fight these things with vehicles. Pumas are a great choice because of their speed, but a StuG will do, as well. Do NOT attempt to fight these guys with stormtroopers as you'll just end up frustrated and short on stormtroopers. Out in the field, these guys arent too bad, but the big problem you have is when they drop in on your base just as your stormies are retreating. Well, you have a few defenses against this.

• The Officer
  I told you he wasn't worthless. His forced retreat can, in a pinch, save your ass and shoo those commandos away. Keep him in your base, but not right by your HQ, because thats normally where they come-a-knockin. Its some of the best 50 munitions you'll ever spend, and it may save the game for you.
• ++ Flamer Pios in a Bunker.
  Place this bad boy right infront of your HQ, and your retreating units will be safe. I turn mine into a repair bunker, just so I can bring damaged vehicles back and they auto-repair, but thats not necessary. Despite what a lot of people think, commandos can't demo this thing. If they smoke and demo, they'll get flamed just before or just after the smoke duration, and they wont be able to finish laying the demo charge. Nades wont hurt them due to the fact that they're in a bunker, and for the most part, any commando within range of this thing is either going to take damage or retreat. Do NOT think you can skimp, and make a MG bunker. Those are easily avoided, smoked, demo'd, and trounced on.
• The Puma.
  The puma is a decent counter to commandos in your base, but if they grab a shreck off a retreating Stormtrooper squad, kiss your puma goodbye. A vanilla squad of commandos in your base giving you problems? Send the puma after them, and they'll be gone in a few seconds.

Rangers will be tough opponents, no doubt about it. They will shred your Stormtroopers pretty quickly and can fend off your pumas, but they're not invincible. You have a few weapons.

• Pumas
  A puma, kited properly, can kill a ranger squad easily. Bazookas do decent damage, but rangers are all nearsighted - get a decent distance away and you can continue to shoot back while they send off pretty fireworks all around you. Keep in mind that you're not going to kill 4 squads of rangers with 1 puma, but 1 puma can easily kill 1 squad of rangers if you do it right.
• StuGs
  If you dont feel like microing, a StuG is another choice. As long as you keep your front armor facing the Ranger(s), very few bazooka shots will get through. At vet 2, these guys shred rangers pretty well and at vet 3 rangers turn into nothing but cannon fodder.
• A Tiger Tank
  If you actually have one of these bad boys, its not a bad choice to use against rangers. It can 2-3 shot a ranger squad easily, and bazooka shots rarely penetrate front armor.
• Its best not to use infantry against rangers. Why? Rangers shred anything you have, unless you have vet 2/3 Storms with MP44s. Since that force comes late game, and rangers come at 3 cps, its often a good idea to let your Pumas and StuGs deal with the ranger problem and let your Stormtroopers take care of the AT weapons your opponent may be fielding.

Artillery
Artillery isnt that big of a problem with this strat. Sometimes the first barrage can mess you up, but the solution to this is fairly easy. Take a few Stormtrooper squads with schrecks, and sneak them around to the howie. Watch out for mines along the way. Generally, if you see a section of wire with a hole in the middle, theres a mine there. It may be worth uncamo'ing to blow a hole in the barbed wire with your schrecks and proceding that way, because theres almost always a mine in that hole. Either way, get to his artillery and blow it to bits. Do NOT just kill the crew. Blow the whole goddamn thing up. Use the attack ground key if you have to. Schrecks thrash artillery pretty easily, and you should be able to get in there, do the dirty work, and retreat all without losing too much.

If you're unable to get there for some reason (massive turtling), its time to break out the nebels. Barrage, move your nebel, barrage, move your nebel, repeat. Just dont group your stuff up and ask for a howie shell.


As much as I hate to admit it, this strat has a hard time with early trenches. Assault nades dont work on trenches anymore (thanks Relic), and you don't have access to grenadiers. Flame pios are the only quick way out. However, you can use a sniper to clear out a trench if its left unsupported. The sniper has horrible accuracy (I think its 40%), but its not like they can come chase him down. The trick is to not let your opponent make a trench anywhere that could screw you.

However, once you get Stormtroopers, bundled nades are the perfect solution to Trenches. Not only can you often clear an entire squad out of a trench, but you can leave it open for the stealing. Often times, British players will make a 'defensive' trench near their HQ. Well, perfect, time for the stealing. Cloak em, smoke em, and take their real estate. Keep in mind that one bundled nade probably won't kill a full health squad, but sometimes it works better than the Orkin man.



Veterency is expensive, and its important to know what you're getting when you pay for it. I cant give you a rigid set of guidelines on what to buy and when, you need to adjust to how you're playing and play to the strengths of your units. I WILL, however, let you know what everything does.

• Vet 1: Worthless. You get a SMALL regeneration on your health. When I say small, I mean insignificant. If you're not going to get vet 2, dont bother getting vet 1. You wont even notice it, I guarantee it.
• Vet 2: This is a big step. Your infantry now gets the 'elite infantry armor,' which means it takes less damage from small arms. This makes or breaks soo many firefights, so if you're using a lot of infantry, this upgrade is almost a necessity.
• Vet 3: Vet 3 gives your guys a 20% life boost. At vet 3, your Stormtroopers turn into monsters. Its simple. More life means your guys last longer.

• Vet 1: .85 received damage. Basically, everything that damages your puma does 15% less damage than it normally would. Not a bad choice if you're using a few pumas, due to the fact that its a cheap upgrade and bazookas can really ruin your day.
• Vet 2: Weapon range increased by 12.5%. This makes it easier to kite AT infantry, slightly, but normally isn't worth it if you only have 1 puma on the field.
• Vet 3: 30% damage buff. Normally, if you've gone this far up the vehicle vet ladder, you've got quite a few pumas on the field. This turns them into formidable killers.

• Vet 1: .85 received damage. Same thing as above. This can save your tank's ass many times. It pays for itself many times over, if you're using more than 2 tanks.
• Vet 2: Vet 2 is different for different tanks. Some tanks get a machine gun on top, some get a 15% health increase. A StuG gets both. A Tiger gets the 15% health increase.
• Vet 3: StuGs get armor skirts, which turn into a God-send against AT infantry, and a Tiger gets .75 received penetration, basically making it an unstoppable beast that causes your opponent to wet himself when he sees it. (NOTE: Pampers paid me to say that)

Support infantry vet is different for everything. For the nebel, vet 1 is speed increase(lol), vet 2 gives the crew more health(lol), and vet 3 gives a 15% boost to damage. The first two are laughable, and the third one just isnt worth the major investment unless you have like 8 nebels on the field.

Keep in mind that you WILL be outnumbered on the field, and choosing which veterency(s) to invest in will often make or break the game for you.

Keep in mind that you'll be using a lot of different units and those with veterency will be more effective than those without. Change your gameplan accordingly.




Keep in mind that your opponent isn't comatose. Sooner or later, he's going to come after your nebels. For the most part, you want to keep your nebels in your base or just outside, still within the protection of your starting machine gun bunkers. Soon enough, your opponent will get sick of these things killing their mans, and they'll come after them. Its either going to be a form of elite infantry, a quick moving armored vehicle/tank, or a mortar. Commando strikes? Use the officer forced retreat. Its the quickest way to get those bastards out of your base and doesnt require you to move a large part of your army back to your base. Often times a puma wont kill them in time, and a StuG can often miss at a critical moment, leading to those pesky bastards cleaning out your entire nebelwerfer staff.

Armor is a trickier card. Often times you need multiple groups of stormtroopers to fend off a few tanks before they can roast your nebels, and it wouldnt make sense to keep that much manpower sitting in your base doing nothing. The solution? Knowing its coming. Keep an eye out for armor movements and if you see your opponent making a b-line for your nebels, get your Stormtroopers back to base and unload. Trading 1 nebel for 1 sherman or a cromwell is normally a good trade. Keep in mind that on some maps, you can place a mine at the main entrance to your base to score some engine damage and deter any further tank raids. Doesnt work so well on ango, but on maps like Semois you can sometimes set up chokepoints with mines. If you have an idle squad of pios, you may want to set up tanktraps to funnel them into a mine.

Mortars have to get into range of your nebels, and often one bundled nade does the trick. But if you cant get in range of the mortar, keep your nebels moving and just send a barrage of fiery rockets his way. That'll show the little bastard who's boss.

If you DO have to move your nebels out of your base (to get in range, for example), placing an MG in a building nearby can go a long way. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a rifle squad come in and clean out 3 nebel crews.


Isnt it odd that 6 months ago, nebelwerfers were deemed useless and were probably one of the least used units in the game. Now they're a staple of the T3 blitz strat. Either way, once you get more than one of these guys out, you want to start a nebel rotation. Personally, I hotkey my nebels 6 through 9, and I start what I call the nebel rotation. First off, I always keep one active incase I need it. But if two are ready for firing, I immedeatly pick a spot where I know the enemy is and let it fly. If I dont hit anything - no big deal, the cooldown will be back in a minute. If I do catch a few squads off guard - great, free kills for me. The more you use them, the more you get a feel of how to use them. The important part is keeping one ready for firing in case you see a blob coming at you. Normally, I only use 2 nebels against the Americans (unless they get really campy), but as for fighting the Brits - the sky is the limit. As long as they're infantry-centered, nebels will continue to dominate the game.



As the late game rolls around, you will have an opportunity to tech to T4 and make a Panzer Command. But is it worth it? Well, there are a few questions you have to ask:

1. What do I get out of this?
   1. For one, you get Knights Cross Holders, a three man squad with MP44s. Keep in mind that if your opponent has enough anti infantry (commandos, rangers, or worse, a sniper) that you may just be wasting your manpower. If your opponent already has machine guns all around, a sniper, or a few squads of elite infantry already, these may not be that hot in combat. Keep in mind that they're a 3 man squad and you DONT have zeal. One sniper shot and it may be a good idea to retreat these guys. If you dont have at LEAST vet 2 on your infantry, dont even think about making these guys.
   2. Panzer IVs. Keep in mind these things arent even a shadow of their Panzer Elite brothers. They are more manuverable than a StuG, and have a turret, but dont offer much more in terms of firepower and frontal armor in comparison to a StuG. They're also significantly more expensive, so keep in mind that you will be fielding less than them if you do make the jump to T4.
   3. Panthers. Panthers are one of the few units able to chase down and kill a firefly. Its a fairly poor anti-infantry tank, and relies on a powerful anti-tank/vehicle main cannon to blast away anything on wheels. Keep in mind that a Tiger is still better, and although a panther can chase down a lone firefly, 1 squad of Bren guns can ruin your panther's day. Against the Americans, I still have yet to find a good use for these guys. Americans really dont have the heavy armor outside of a Pershing, and those are capped at one and not as powerful as a Tiger. StuGs and Storms can handle M4 shermans and M10 Wolverines easily, provided you dont let them circle strafe you to the grave. The Panther, still, is the heaviest non-call-in-tank in the game. However, its MP and fuel cost often make it more effective to purchase other multiple copies of other units.
   4. The Ostwind. The Ostwind is a great anti-infantry tank. It cant damage an M8 worth crap, but it sure can blow the hell out of anything with legs. Vetted, this thing is a monster, and can handle rangers/airborne/sappers fairly easily, within reason. If you are facing a mass abundance of anti-tank infantry (coughrangerspammercough) it may be worth getting a vetted Ostwind out to soften up that blob a little. Just be careful not to lose it.
2. Is it worth it? How soon will the game be over? If the game is running low on victory points, often times putting a large investment into another tier and another building will cost you the game. However, moving up to T4 when theres 200 victory points on each side may win you the game, as well.
3. Can T4 units do anything my current units cant? StuGs are decent tanks. Stormtroopers are great Anti-Tank weapons. If you need maneuverability, or you need that armored anti-infantry monster, T4 may be the answer. If you're just getting beat by anti-tank guns, T4 probably isnt the answer.

As the late game comes around, you should have Stormtroopers running around, Nebels firing, and StuGs still in service. Your Pumas may or may not have been blown to bits, but hey, shit happens. You should have purchased enough veterency to get you through the game, and your Tiger should be fast approaching. You have a couple tasks. First, you need to get rid of those fireflies, 17 pounders, 57mm AT guns, or any other major threat to your armor. If by the off chance that your opponent went Armor and a Pershing is on the field, you don't have to kill that until you get your Tiger. Once you've cleaned out the AT weapons on the field, its time to break out the heavy guns.



Hopefully, you'll have purchased some tank veterency before this guy even comes on the field. When he does show up, it suddenly becomes the best unit you'll have. Keep in mind that it does cost 900 MP, and saving up for it as you approach the 9CP mark may be a good idea. This guy is fast, has great armor, a great main cannon, and an MG 42 to boot. If you've been playing T2 terror, this thing actually comes in as a nice surprise, as its speed doesnt hold it back. With the exception of a Pershing and a Firefly, these things don't have anything that can stand up to them 1v1, and actually have the speed to escape a death situation it one comes up. Don't be reckless with it, but utilize it's speed and get in there and do some damage. Remember, you CAN get another one if yours dies, but thats not an invitation to charge it in unsupported. If you do get into a slugfest with a pershing, try to manuever your Stormtroopers to the flanks, unleashing when it gets low and hopefully killing it before it can escape. A Vetted tiger is superior to a vanilla Pershing, but with crew repairs and allied war machine, you need support there when going head to head.

Its important to repair this guy when he gets low. Its NOT a King Tiger. It starts off with 1064 hitpoints, a King Tiger starts with 2000. With a 15% health buff, you get 1224 hitpoints. Still far from the 2000 that a King Tiger has. It does take damage, and it can be killed, so pay attention and dont overextend. Hopefully, by this time, you have control of the game and can grab the VPs, ending this sucker.



The Blitzkrieg Doctrine is one of the more balanced doctrines in the game. Some players chose to get assault grenades first, and then go down the left hand side of the tree. Normally I just go straight down the let hand side of the tree.

Stormtroopers
Stormtroopers come in at 2 CPs and are not only a great asset to your army, but a bulk of your anti-armor capability. Keep in mind that you must be in at least Skirmish phase (tier 2) to purchase panzerschrecks, and in Assault Phase (tier 3) to use bundled nades. Later on, when/if you get to Battle phase (tier 4), they have the ability to upgrade to MP44s (2 MP44s for 75 munitions).

The StuH
The StuH is a StuG with a different main cannon. Instead of a normal tank barrel, its 105 mm artillery cannon. It has a great range and can really mess up infantry blobs. One of the most important things to remember about this is that the animation looks a lot more powerful than the actual damage. It is NOT the same as an American 105 howie, but since theres no cooldown you can just simply keep blasting infantry as long as you can see them. Keep in mind that you dont have a 'barrage' ability like normal artillery, as well. It is a great mobile artillery weapon. Keep it alive and it can kill dozens of riflemen/tommies.

The Tiger
The Tiger tank comes in at 9 CPs and costs 900 manpower. Believe me, its worth it. This thing has decent speed, excellent armor, amazing firepower, and can go 1 on 1 with just about any unit the allies can muster up. Supported, it can win you the game. Unsupported, it can turn into green cover for riflemen. Its main cannon can easily one-shot a riflesquad if they're bunched up, outside of cover. This thing is your Michael Jordan, your Patrick Roy, your Joe Montana, your Babe Ruth, your Pele, and your Lance Armstrong. (It is, however, NOT your Dale Earnhart) A vet 3 Tiger is one of, if not THE, scariest foes to tackle in this game.

Assault!
This one point ability gives your infantry the ability to lob grenades at your intended target. What used to be a great ability has turned into the broken version we have today. This ability used to be the best T1 counter to trenches available. So guess what? Now it doesn't even work on trenches at all. Your only counter, up until you get a nebel or a stormtrooper squad (whichever comes first) will be flame pios. Due to the impotence of this ability, I generally go down the left hand side of the tree first, bypassing this ability until after my tiger is on the field. However, play as you wish. Another note to this is that its not incredibly effective on garrisoned troops unless your opponent is comatose. If you use the ability on a building that has, say, riflemen in it, as soon as the riflemen exit the building, your soldiers stop chucking nades. A good opponent will exit and immediately re-enter the same building he was in, and you're out 50 munitions.

Another note is that the more people you have in your squad, the more nades they throw. Volks throw more nades than grenadiers/stormtroopers, and grenadiers/stormtroopers throw more than KCH (assuming they're all at full strength). The nades work wonders on units in the open, forcing them to move out of cover and run for their lives in fear of being mashed like potatoes.

Blitzkrieg!
150 munitions. 30 seconds. All your units use stimpacks. Infantry, tanks, and vehicles move faster, tanks and vehicles get a DECREASE in accuracy, but its normally made up by the fact that all your units (infantry, tanks, and vehicles) fire faster. Your tanks (from StuG to Tiger) get heavy crush, if they didnt have it already (for the record, Tigers already have heavy crush). Its an expensive ability, but if you have munitions to burn, it may turn the tide of the battle. I've always viewed it as a speed increase and not so much of an actual combat increase, but your units do in fact fire faster.

Resource Blitz
A resource blitz will eat up 200 of your munitions and give you 900 manpower instantly. The downside? Your Manpower takes a 75% reduction for 3 minutes. That may not sound that bad, but your upkeep is not affected. If you have a pretty big army, your manpower generation may actually stop altogether. Its not a BAD ability, but dont think its free manpower. In a pinch - is a 200 munitions to call in a Tiger that may or may not save your ass. Just dont use this ability 'because you have it.' It is a manpower boost (its a little under 300 'free' manpower) but its expensive and cuts off your ability to make new units for 3 minutes once you've used up that Friday paycheck.

Closing Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed the guide! Keep in mind that this strategy isnt an 'I win button.' Its a strategy, a gameplan, not an unbeatable juggernaut. Use the right tool for the job, dont get overrun, play to your strengths, and you'll probably come out on top. Suicide units and think that your units are 'too sexy for cover,' and you're going to lose. Dont get frustrated, dont get discouraged, and dont try to force this strategy. Sometimes T2 works better, sometimes T3 works better. Go out there, have fun, and hopefully win the games.

And, as always, good luck, have fun, and may the force be with you.

reserved


Nice T3 sturz game. Shows how to kill armor pretty well. I got lazy with my sniper and lost him though.

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I literally just played this game. I felt bad, but after watching the replay to acknowledge that he did, in fact, go commandos I didn't feel bad. Rav is a top 5 brit player, and this is textbook T3.

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This game had me sweating the entire game. God I hate snipers. I should have made a bike earlier. This game really shows off how Stormtroopers can handle M8s.

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This is another game I was sweating. I wasnt too happy seeing devastat0r as I was hoping for an easy game but it turned out to be a fairly exciting game.

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This game isnt bad, my opponent gets a little annoying at times but it shows how you can turn a fairly even game into a victory for you pretty quickly.

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Game against imrahil. I'm still shocked that I won.

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Game against Psavo094. Some of you may have seen this game. God I hate commandos.

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If you only have time to watch a few, I guess watch the First and the Last game posted. The first one is a game where everything (almost everything) goes by the book. The last one is a all-hell-broke-loose-and-ontop-of-that-here-comes-a-glider kinda game.

Post any question you may have and I'll try to do my best to answer them.

This post has been edited by SayNoToStim: Jan 12 2008, 11:31 AM

Woah that looks really great, I loved ur T2 guide, im gonna read this now. Great job.

EDIT: Holy shit man that was awesome! You covered pretty much everything ever, although some of the jokes were pretty bad . Im gonna go check out some of those replays then have a go myself! I salute you !

This post has been edited by Calneon: Jan 11 2008, 14:51 PM

oh this is cool, strangely of the 3 doctrines I suck most with blitz, but I know how super strong their units are. Thanks a bunch for putting loads of time into this!

This is cool.....waiting for T2? Defensive doctrine guide!

Excellent synthesis, thank you.

Great guide buddy!

Actually vampires dont let off heat, it would have to be some other form of accurate bullet

And nice guide, although i already knew this you wrote a shitload more than i would have, i cant explain strats at all its build this build that kill (as i presume they know all the micro hints and such)


And the blitz ability rocks tbh, they can chase down everything, if your fighting and losing or winning hit that button and bam you start to own everything, mp44 storms charge and rape everything (and they are the better wolfmen tbh, in this inf blob game that we are in though bundled nades dont do any damage to retreating tommies )

This post has been edited by Two: Jan 11 2008, 19:33 PM

I just finished reading through the entire guide. Very Nice! Where can I find a link to your other one?

As a T3-Blitz player I would like to suggest 1 shrek and 1 MP40 for storm squads.

MP40s don't drop and the shrek gets passed around. Odds of it dropping are very low. This reduces the risk of shrek'd commandos running amok.

In addition, the MP40 gives the squad the ability to handle rangers and (with luck and range) commandos.

vet 3 storms with mp44's can charge commandos and win, hell 2 squads can charge a blob of 7 units and win with nades used

in my sig

Oh hahaha, thanks

Against Americans I usually go double shrek to handle my biggest problem: M8s.

I simply cannot beat these things when they're micro'd by a good to great player. Stugs can't hit them (I've experienced stugs taking MORE damage from a puma at long range than it was doing to the M8). Shreks miss 50 to 75% of the time, and an M8 with a roof mounted MG can suppress a storm squad before they can get off the second salvo, meanwhile the M8 is killing almost one stormtrooper per salvo with pinpoint accuracy.

yeah m8's are really ownage machines now, they were good in vcoh but not that good, like cromwells they 1 hit all inf most of the time

This post has been edited by Two: Jan 11 2008, 20:00 PM

Awesome guide, thank you. I believe I'll try working on this to give me another option besides T2/Defensive.

The little animation below Commandos cracks me up...

Another very well done guide stim!

Why did relic have to do that to assault nades?....it was basically then only counter to trenches for wher.

entertaining to read, especially the pic for storms, so true.

I was LMAO at that sniper one. That little bugger pestered you the entire game. And that first motorbike chased him back only to get stickied. I guess that guy was running low on munis cause he didn't use stickies much.

In a couple of the other replays I watched it seemed you got a little loose with your Pumas and let them die too easily. But it was nice ambushing those M8's. Why didn't you upgun your Pumas at all so they'd also be a threat to the M8's? Just for bait? You had tons of munis.

Very good job!

That's one negative thing I noticed as well. WAY overly agressive with the Pumas. In one of those replays the OP did a great job securing fuel, then threw the advantage away by running his puma straight into the enemies base and losing it with 20 seconds of it being built. If that wasn't bad enough the 2nd puma died just as quickly. 70 fuel down the drain makes baby jesus cry.