Company of Heroes

All three American doctrines work pretty well with this strategy. Generally around this time is when you want to pick a doctrine. Don't pick a doctrine until you're actually going to benefit from it. Choosing Airborne but not calling in Airborne Infantry generally doesn't help you in any way, and later on you may be regretting it as Armor would have been a better choice. Each one works 'best' in different scenarios:


I find myself selecting Infantry the most, it seems. Get Rangers ASAP, and then move down the right hand side, picking up offmap and onmap artillery. If your opponent is trying to use multiple Marders to lock down an area, and you don't think your M8s can get in there without taking heavy casualties, Rangers might be your best bet. Keep in mind that even un-upgraded Rangers still have their most useful attributes; Bazookas and their Elite Armor. They can, at the very least, chase off Marders and let your M8s get in to do some damage. Bazookas also seem to make contact with Armored Cars more often, rather than 'phasing through' them like recoil less Rifles have a tendency to do.

Later in the game, if he's felt the need to clump up his Marders, and he has so much support around them that your Rangers aren't able to clear them out, you have the backup option of offmap artillery. Onmap artillery, is fairly expensive, and I wouldn't recommend building more than one 105mm Howitzer, but if you do get it up you can use it to blast Marder groups, or anything else that's clumped up.


Airborne is a solid choice if your opponent has gone T4 and is relying on AT-HTs for his Anti-Tank needs. Why is it better than infantry in this situation? Because if your opponent manages to immobilize one of your M8s and you don't have immediate support on it, you can air drop a 57mm AT gun in to save your M8. Recoil less Rifles also work very well against AT-HTs, and Airborne Infantry reinforces on the field..

Its important to go straight down the left-hand-side of Airborne. Don't be tempted to get strafing runs, because infantry generally isn't a threat to this strategy and you'll rarely be floating any extra munitions. Those airdropped AT guns can really save your ass if you're in a pinch, and later on, the supply drops not only fuel your munitions supply, but give you cheap .30 cals you can use to hold VP points late in the game.

Keep in mind that recoil less rifles have a tendency to 'phase through' Armored Cars and do no damage to them, so you cant rely on them to fend off armored cars. Your M8s and AT guns should be doing the jobs for you.


What's this? Armor? In a real strategy guide? Well folks, the right hand side of armor is a real kick in the groin to PE. Raid gives your light armor the ability to go harass points, which just extends onto the strategy of the early game. While Allied War Machine is far too expensive for what you'd get in return on this strategy, the Calliope is probably the best Anti-PE unit the Americans can field. It does great damage to light vehicles and absolutely murders infantry. However, it comes in late game, so there are only a few times when I would say Armor is the best doctrine.

1. You've taken control of the map by the mid game and he has very few AT units up. You've been able to cut his fuel supply off.
2. You're confident enough in your micro to be able to eliminate Marders and/or AT-HTs with only M8s, Riflemen, and AT guns.
   OR
3. You've collected quite a few command points (I'd say in the area of 5 or 6) and the game is still fairly even.

As you can see, Armor isn't going to really be a viable option every game. There will be many games where, unfortunately, you're going to need some sort of Elite Infantry AT weapon.

As for using your calliope, its generally best to not just randomly fire into the darkness. Wait until you see a juicy target and let loose. Everything he has will have to retreat or get bashed over and over by rockets. That part is important - don't fire until you see their blob.


The mid game is generally where the game is won or lost. Granted, some games will extend into the late game and you may see units like Jagdpanthers or 88s, but for the most part, this strategy will either fail spectacularly or dominate during the mid game. It all comes down to your micro, your planning, and how many of his vehicles you can pick off without losing your own.



One of the most common counters to this strategy is, of course, Panzerschrecks. This is, of course, the worst counter possible. Schreck accuracy at range is horrible, and hitting a moving M8 with a Panzerschreck is rare. Keep your M8s moving and retreat and repair ones that get low. Panzerschrecks inside an Infantry Half track are a bit more dangerous, which is why you need that AT gun watching your M8's back.

Now, if he goes crazy and makes like 12 Schreck squads, don't panic. Make a Quad, and just keep that thing at range. One Quad .50 can easily kite Schrecks, and if it doesn't get hammered by an AT-HT or Marder, it can easily suppress/pin a pretty big blob of Schrecks and nullify them all. Watch out for flanks, however, because if they can get up close, your Quad doesn't last very long at all. Keep in mind that the quad isn't so hot against anything other than Schreck'd grenadiers, so if your opponent already has AT-HTs/Marders on the field, don't even think about making one.


Schrecks, are, however, somewhat useful when used as a support weapon. A Marder with 2 Schrecks watching its back can sometimes be a pretty deadly threat to your M8s, so you may have to come up with some quick thinking on the fly. You may have to bring your riflemen with you, just to chase off any Panzer Grenadiers.