Armored Company

Hello and Welcome. Due to the fact that I'am on Thanksgiving break and I have a week to just relax and take it easy I've decided to take it upon myself to do another Company Of Heroes Doctrine guide. I will be doing an in-depth review about the unique characteristics of the US Armored Company. I hope to those who take an interest in my guides will enjoy reading it and perhaps learn something new about the the Armored Doctrine that didn't already know about.

Armored Company General Overview

The US Armored Company is a bit of an odd-ball doctrine that is not commonly played a whole lot in the current multiplayer setup of CoH2. And honestly I've had a tough time trying to place the position of this Doctrine based off of my own experiences playing them. In my overall view I see the US Armored Company as mid-game and late-game aggressive doctrine that trys to build-up its forces first and then attempt to steamroll the enemy. The Company likes to use early game defense to throw off their opponents (cause usually allies like to be more aggressive) and then just try to hold their territory to build fuel cashes until they can call upon later armored assets to put the final nail in the coffin for their enemies by simply having more units then the enemy. The doctrine itself actually works well in both open fields and urban environments.













Overall the US Armored Company focuses its efforts more in the late game phase using heavy tanks like the infamous Bulldozer to annihilate infantry blobs and using the cheap and reliable M10 Tank Destroyer to hunt down Axis armor. In 1v1s or 2v2s this doctrine is outstanding in dealing with the Axis, but in much larger team games like 4v4s the doctrine itself tends to lose its potential advantages as the Axis will dig in hard and it maybe difficult to remove them.

Assault Engineer Squad

280 Manpower


The Assault Engineers are the first thing you get as the US Armored Company, coming at 0 Command Points, meaning you can immediately start calling off these unique Engineers at the start of the game. The Assault Engineers are equipped with Grease guns making them only good at close range combat, their somewhat comparable to the Wehrmacht Pioneers but are stronger, though they are not good enough to take on the OKW Strumpioneers in 1 on 1 engagements. The Assault Engineers are support units so they must be accompanied by riflemen in order to do any good on the battlefield, either that or they should be on the side lines building cashes or building certain defenses. These Engineers could "if you wanted to" can completely supplement the role of Rear Echelons. Again, I maybe repeating myself, but the Assault Engineers should not engage the enemy on their own, they are very weak by themsevles they need other units like Riflemen to take the hits for them.



One of the prime reasons why Assault Engineers are deployed in the early game is their ability to be upgraded with a flamerthrower. The flamethrowers upgrades means you don't have to necessarily upgrade your riflemen with grenades in order to force your opponent out of buildings or heavy cover, and not having to spend ammo in throwing them. So having the flamethrower allows you to be more direct/aggressive in your apporach towards the enemy. This ability is particularly useful in urban environments, while in more open fields, the Assault Engineers can be a bit lackluster.

60 Ammunition for Flamethrower upgrade







As the game progresses onward into the mid/late game phase the Assault Engineers will begin to lose their fighting edge against the enem as the Axis will be bringing in better units to the battle. For this period in the game the Assault Engineers will take more of a logistical support role in the back-lines of the fight, their main purpose will be to use any leftover ammo you have to build mines and demo traps to harass and annoy the enemy. Axis players usually won't expect mines and demo traps being layed by an American faction so you'll have the surprise advantage against your opponents and may be able to wipe out a few squads.
90 Ammunition



30 Ammunition, These mines are good against any target.

Tips and Tricks of the Assault Engineers

• If you have extra ammo and if you so wish, you could equip the Engineers with BAR's along with their flamethrower make them a good all round unit. Make sure you upgrade the flamer first though.
  
  
• Always keep the Engineers near riflemen so they can support each other.
  
  
• The Engineers enjoy a distinct advantage when fighting in urbanized and close quarters setting but however when it comes to open fields and long range combat they will suffer greatly.
  
  
• Don't forget that their Engineers they can repairs things!

Elite Vehicle Crew Upgrades

A rather strange and uncommonly used ability the Elite Vehicle Crew Upgrade is available at the very start of the game. The upgrade costs 90 ammunition to give all 4 models of a vehicle crew Thompson Submachine Guns, sometimes only 3 models may get the Thompsons it varies. But this upgrade is rather surprisngly effective, giving the Thompsons to the crews practically makes them on par with Strumpioneers and even STG Obersoldaten (and from my experiences I've seen them really kick ass against Strums/Obers). The only downside to this is, if you want to use the Vehicle crew as an infantry unit then you'll have to use Rear Echelons to replace them in their Vehicles. Which can be somewhat annoying, but actually worth the cost.



The Vehicle Crews are really good when you tend to group them up with around maybe 2-3 of them or even 4 together (thought it pretty much is blobbing) their like cheap Rangers that are easier to reinforce and can repair on the battlefield when needed. They can fight against the enemy on their own with the upgrades, which makes them a rather strange and niche like unit that you enemy usually won't expect.

90 Ammunition

Tips and Tricks of Elite Vehicle Crew Upgrade

• They can fight against the enemy on their own, they don't really need rifle support, though it is recommanded.
  
  
• The Vehicle Crew from the M20 Utility Car cannot be upgraded with the Thompsons, due to the fact that they already come with a bazooka.
  
  
• Don't forget that these guys can repair on the battlefield, especially their quick-time critical repair, that can even fix up destroyed/damaged engines of your vehicles and that of your allies, so they don't have to needlessly die from the enemy pushing forward.

M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer

300 Manpower


90 Fuel

The M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer is the unique vehicle that comes with this doctrine, being unlocked at 8 Command Points making this unit a good mid-game / late-game call in. Theres only one purpose for this vehicle and its to hunt down other enemy tanks, pretty simple. Unlike its much larger cousin the Jackson which can ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ a Panther in no time, the M10 can also do the same job at a much cheaper price. But there is a trick of using this unit in the correct way, failure to do so will result in wasted resources and losses. The M10 has only two advantages over the Jackson and that is... first having superior numbers, the M10 is a spamable tank destroyer so you can get a lot of them, usually 2-4 total to be effective and second it has really good speed so rushing the enemy and getting in close to flank/block the enemy vehicle and hitting it in the rear is a must in order to achieve success.




The M10 Wolverine is a pack hunter, so it needs numbers on their side in order to take on much larger tanks such as a Panther etc etc, but other vehicles like Panzer 4s or Stugs the M10 can most certainly take on, even in a 1 vs 1 duel. In addition to the flank and spank tactics employed the M10, it is very VERY situational tank destroyer. You can only use the Tank Destroyer in open fielded maps where the M10 can enjoy a lot of freedom of movement in order to circle around the enemy or make quick escapes. But in urban areas or areas that are heavily defended by the enemy the M10 is practically powerless to do anything. So in those scenarios you'll HAVE to go for a Jackson.



Remember its brawler Tank Destroyer, it has to get in close and circle around an enemy tank to destroy it. The M10 is sort of a blitzkrieg style unit, rushing quickly in and then out.

Tips and Tricks of the M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer

• The Wolverine TD is a pack hunter, use it in massed numbers.
  
  
• The M10 is only good in open field settings, DO NOT use it an urban or enclosed environments.
  
  
• At Vet 1 the M10 has access to HVAP rounds, spam the ♥♥♥♥ out of that ability to ensure max damage when doing a flank encirclement.
  
  
• At Vet 2 the M10 has unlocks a speed boast ability making it go really damn fast, I think its the fastest unit the game when using the ability. Its pretty much like the blitz ability.
  
  
• Remember its a Tank Destroyer! Don't pit it against Anti-Tank Infantry or Paks and expect it to win, cause it will lose, horribly.

105mm Bulldozer Sherman

380 Manpower


140 Fuel


This tank here is probably one of the best reasons why some players pick this Company. The 105mm Bulldozer Sherman is an outstanding vehicle! One of my personal favorates coming at 10 Command Points the 105mm gun can absolutely annihilate enemy infantry blobs, this tank can also take on emplacements such as HQs or Bunkers pretty damn good as well. Even paks can be dealt with, though you have to be careful. The Bulldozer pretty much replaces the standard Sherman that you can get from your base and does a better job at dealing with infantry then the normal HE rounds, the only problem is that it has no Anti-Tank abiltiy whatsoever, so it will need some kind Anti-Tank Support. But even when faced off against other tanks the Dozer is pretty much like a mini Churchill it can take A LOT of hits before finally going down. Which makes the Dozer an excellent frontline unit.



The Bulldozer has one weakness that comes with it. It cannot shoot accurately while on the move, in order for the 105mm gun to get good solid shots on enemy infantry the vehicle has to be stationary. So you must employ a take and hold strategy with this tank. You cannot simply do drive-bys like players do with the standard sherman tank. Inaddition you can also upgrade a machine turret for the tank just like the Sherman and you can also deploy smoke as well to your advantage.


75 Ammunition For MG



30 Ammuintion for Smoke


Another useful yet uncommonly used ability by the Bulldozer is its ability to build dirt barriers which pretty much act as Anti-Tank traps that also have a heavy cover bonus. You could block off certain parts of the map against enemy advancement and you could also make these barriers to provide heavy cover for your infantry on the front lines. Making it harder for your opponent to push you back. And if you no longer fear an enemy offensive or if you want to make use of a flank that you blocked off earlier you can use the Dozer to dismantle the barrier to open the way up.

Tips and Tricks of the 105mm Bulldozer Sherman

• The Bulldozer pretty much replaces the standard sherman, but its more expensive so, you'll usually only need about 1 or 2 of these units on the field at any given time.
  
  
• Use M10s or Jacksons, and even Anti-Tank guns to help support the Dozer, remember it can't take on enemy armor.
  
  
• Keep the Bulldozer stationary at the frontlines or at a zone of conflict in order for the 105mm cannon to get good squad wipes, it can't fire well on the move.

240mm Howitzer Barrage

250 Ammunition


Being unlocked at 12 CP's the 240mm Barrage is the equivalent of the German Railway Barrage. It drops several shells into the target location that can deal massive damage, this ability is really great at softening up German Opponents that like to play heavy defense. Thats pretty much all to it.


The 240mm Howitzer shots are good against Stationary targets like Bunkers, HQs, Pak-43s and LeFH Artillery pieces.

Tips and Tricks of the Howitzer Barrage

• Use the Barrage before a massive assault against the enemy.
  
  
• Prey to the RNG gods for a good hit.

Conclusion

This concludes my review of the Armored Company. I hope you enjoyed reading the information, as much as I enjoyed making it in the first place. I also hope again that maybe more people will pick up on this doctrine and start using it more often after reading this guide.

Creditted source for the doctrinal unit pictures and ammo/fuel/manpower tags:
https://www.coh2.org/guides/19066/u-s-forces-commanders#729

[[MSAF] Unbekannt Obsidia]

Wolverines are the best anti-blob Tank Destroyers in the game. Just activate flank speed and watch it run over the entire blob. The Symbiosis Strategy works well with Armoured Company too, especially with Elite Vehicle Crew Training.

[MathiasCZR01]

No it wasn't rude. I'd even consider it as an Easter Egg of sorts Lol. I also play the Original Coh from time to time out of nostalgia.

[Zombie Killa]

sorry i didnt mean to be rude, i myself was suprised to see those and thought something was wrong with my pc lol. i played the first COH back in 2006-2008 and re bought it on steam just to ahve it digitally.

[MathiasCZR01]

Uhh two reasons, one I can't find the avater or the picture of that specific ability online so I just find what I can take. Two I don't know how to extract those file images from the game and I'm too lazy to make the effort in learning how to do it.

Good question though. Never thought someone would notice.

[Zombie Killa]

If this is a COH2 guide how come you use the COH1 icons for units and unit abilities?

[Aarotron]

I have missed these guides. Hoping to see more of these marvelous tips :)