Infantry

If an infantryman could survive his first few weeks on the battlefield, he could generally be relied upon to avoid doing anything stupid. Being unlucky was another matter, but recognizing when to duck no doubt helped his chances.

In infantry skirmishes, especially in the early game, the most important thing is to get into a good cover position and stop moving. Moving decreases a unit’s accuracy and should only be done to dodge grenades, to reach heavier cover, or to engage at closer range if your unit has weapons suited for that (for example, flamethrowers or submachine guns on assault squads).

Combat Engineers vs. Pioneers

Combat Engineers tend to win early-game one-on-one fights against Pioneers, so do your best to avoid these when playing as Germans. However, the advantage of fighting from cover can tip the balance in your favor. Conversely, as Soviets, you ought to try to push away Pioneers when you’re capping, but be careful not to get into a situation that forces you to Retreat one of your first few squads, as this denies you capping power at a critical point in the game.

Anti-tank Infantry

German infantry anti-tank training stressed aggressive action in engaging enemy tanks. A variety of weapons, both standard and field-modified were used, including anti-tank guns of all calibers, Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks, mines, Molotovs, pole charges, and grenades of several types. Smoke or anti-tank trenches were often employed to allow infantry to close with an enemy tank and destroy it.

Learn the reload times of heavy tanks (for example, 11 seconds for the Brummbar) and try to spread out your squad by moving or getting behind heavy cover when they’re about to fire. Your weapons have higher accuracy at close range, but take care not to get close enough to be crushed. Jump into a building or retreat if a fast tank rushes in to crush your squad. Against slower tanks, the infantry AI’s natural evasive maneuvers are sufficient to avoid being crushed, but be sure not to give the squad any movement orders as these counteract their evasive tendencies. Learn the reload times of your own anti-tank weapons. Move after firing to get into a better position, like behind the target vehicle or into cover, but stop moving in time to shoot again as no infantry anti-tank weapons can fire while moving.

Do not chase tanks and light vehicles unless your target is literally one hit away from destruction. Your squad is not fast enough to catch anything except vehicles with damaged engines, and you need to be careful not to run into a trap, like an MG. Think of Panzerschrecks as anti-vehicle weapons used to deter enemy attacks, and to support your AT guns and vehicles in fights, not as a counter to vehicles by themselves.

Healing Infantry

Veteran infantrymen had sometimes served in frontline combat for years, eventually learning when to temper aggressive action, when to give in to caution, how to avoid panic, and what it’s like to gauge the feel of a battlefield and take stock of his enemy.

German Healing Bunker and Soviet HQ Healing upgrades provide medics that heal nearby members of infantry units. Each individual soldier in Company of Heroes 2 has associated HP, so you can often be in the situation of having a fully reinforced squad that may only have 60 percent HP. Each faction has a building upgrade that addresses this situation, and both are wonderful investments in reducing your reinforcement costs and increasing the longevity of your infantry squads.

Reinforcement on the Field

Half-tracks and German Command Bunkers are the two ways to reinforce units without returning them to your base, and these are invaluable units to have in support of an infantry force. For example, your entire army might consist of four infantry units while your opponent has eight infantry units, but if you consistently force him to Retreat units to reinforce while yours remain in the field continuously, you are able to operate to maintain an equivalent battlefield strength with a significantly lower resource investment.

Casualties

Sometimes when a member of an infantry squad is killed, it will remain on the battlefield for a limited time in a “severely wounded” animation. Enemy men provide line of sight to your opponent, so be careful moving squads by them if you’re trying to sneak by or don’t want to be spotted by artillery. They can also be interrogated by German infantry squads with the Jaeger Infantry Commander’s G43 upgrade to reveal the positions of nearby infantry squads on the minimap.

Conscripts

One of the best uses of Conscripts in the early game is rushing directly to a high-value sector, usually a Fuel Point or an opponent’s cut-off, and then building a sandbag wall. Because Conscripts can be built using the HQ while Grenadiers and MGs require the Tier 1 building, the first Conscript squad will always beat anything other than a Pioneer squad to any sector. Pioneers can’t effectively fight Conscripts, so make use of this early advantage. This is especially useful in areas without much natural cover so that the Ostheer units must fight without cover or run directly up to the sandbags themselves. Against a German player using the Tier 2 start, prepare to fight Panzergrenadiers by building multiple sandbags walls and placing Conscripts behind them—in this situation, Conscripts will actually beat equal numbers of Panzergrenadiers, without accounting for the use of bundled grenades or Molotovs.

If you’re about to retreat a Conscript squad that isn’t in severe danger, see if you can merge some of its squad members with a nearby infantry squad. You never want to lose an entire squad by merging, but if you have two units of four Conscripts in the field, it’s better to merge and Retreat two men than not merge and Retreat four men.

When fighting Grenadiers, get close and into cover. Against a squad with an LMG standing in cover, your only hope of winning is a good Molotov, otherwise you’re better off leaving and harassing somewhere else. Against Panzergrenadiers without Panzerschrecks, Conscripts have a decent chance if they’re stationary and in heavy cover while the Panzergrenadiers charge (especially across negative cover, like a road). In any other situation, the Conscripts will be destroyed unless they outnumber the Panzergrenadiers two squads to one, or more. Grenades change the balance, but the Bundled Grenade is superior to the Molotov, so be careful not to be hit by it. If the Panzergrenadiers have Panzerschrecks, the same ideas apply, but you don’t need to worry about being charged as much—just get into cover, watch for grenades, and try to get a numerical advantage. Against Pioneers just charge straight in and you’ll win handily, unless they have a Flamethrower. In that case, treat them like Panzergrenadiers who are a bit less tough and lack grenades—definitely do not charge them and try to force them to charge across open ground to engage you. Focus firing Flamethrower Pioneers with multiple Conscript squads is a very good idea in battles involving multiple units.

Mobile Infantry

When you have a more mobile force, like a Conscript-heavy army facing a mixed group of HMGs and Grenadiers, don’t try to fight battles head on. Simply avoid the weapon teams and force your opponent to come to you. How? Get behind his lines and start harassing his sectors. Eventually, he’ll abandon his front line to deal with his rear, allowing you the opportunity to recapture that area of the map.

Elite Infantry

Extra military training paid off in a number of ways; infantry were more comfortable with their roles on the battlefield, weapon use became second nature, and camaraderie was improved through more effective training exercises.