Playing as Wehrmacht

This guide is meant to teach new players how to use this faction, and how to respond to certain situations, and put all units to use.

Intro

The Wehrmacht is a very special faction, and has no tutorial. That's really a shame, but hey that's why I'm here. We'll discuss most of the units, and how to use them effectively

Infantry

We'll discuss infantry from command trees later on, this section talks about units that you can get regardless of what command tree you go.

Pioneers
Alright, when you start off the game, you are given a squad of these guys. Although there may only be two of them, don't think they are weaker than American engineers. There is only one real way to use these guys, and that's as a support unit for attacking forces and with the flamethrower upgrade. I've actually been surprised at how a squad of these guys, with flamethrowers is able to battle a rifleman squad and actually do some real damage on them. But I am not encouraging using these guys as a main attack force. I said it before, and I'll say it again, these guys are not meant as a fighting unit. They are meant for constructing buildings, and building defences. There are only three times I would say go for it, at the beginning of the game where you really have nothing else to use besides them, but at least send two of them out together. Two, when you desperately need something to defend your base, and even then with the flamethrower upgrade, if you can afford it. Three, when you see an opportunity to flank an MG or mortar.

Volksgrenadier
These guys can take on any threat, especially with the mp40 upgrade and full veterancy. These guys do well when you send 2-3 squads of them out as an attack force, but when you attack do it spread out. Unlike rifleman squads, volks squads are better from a distance. And if they run into a vehicle such as a armored car, their Panzerfaust will take care of it. But be careful when using the Panzerfaust ability as it can drain your munitions up quick, so make sure those shots have a good chance at hitting your target.

MG42
This unit is great vs infantry units, (minus mortars) but they are weak when flanked. And if they are kept in a building, all the infantry squad has to do (provided they get close enough) is keep running around the building to keep the MG42 from having a shot. So if you want your MG to do well, have at least a pioneer squad with the flamethrower upgrade up there. I'd preferably have a sniper or volks squad with my MG to secure the flanks. I find that keeping an MG in a building and having a sniper up there with it, turns into a deadly duet, ready to take on any infantry threat (minus mortars for obvious reasons).

Mortars
Alright, there are certain times to get this unit, but they are rare and not rare at the same time. Sometimes it's better to put that man power into something else. And when you do send them out, it ain't a good idea to send a mortar squad out by themselves and expect them to come out victorious, you need to send them out with a support unit, such as a volks squad or sniper or machine gun. A great trio is a MG, sniper, and mortar. I found that this weapon was great for breaking stalemates, and amazing at causing havoc for enemy infantry that decided to charge my volks squads/MG/etc.

Snipers
This guy is one of your best friends, as I said earlier this guy along with an MG can send "the cowboys" running home. He can be sent into the enemy's base to let you see what he has, and (provided you have a unit that has an arty ability) give them a fireworks show. But like all units, this unit has great weaknesses. For those of you who have pop ups on, when your sniper snipes, the other player gets a "unit sniped" pop up, and all that player has to do to locate your sniper is click on the pop up that will take his camera to where your hunter is hiding regardless of whether he is invisible or not, then it's just a matter of him rushing your sniper. So be careful when you use these guys. And please, do not be one of those pricks who spams snipers, it's annoying and sure you get a lot of kills, but all the enemy player has to do is get a jeep out and bam. He's got you.

Grenadiers
Alright, where do I start. These guy's aren't nearly as good as I expected them to be. Sure you can upgrade them with a small MG42 Light Machine Gun and a Panzerschreck. But surprisingly, all the enemy player had to do is attack you with with a rifleman squad that has the bar upgrade and use the "Suppression Fire" ability and bam, your squad is pinned and losing men, and when your guys die they leave that MG42 Light Machine Gun and Panzerschreck behind for the enemy troops to pick up and use against you. Personally, I would just go for Volks squads. These guy's however are decent vs vehicles when they have the Panzerschreck upgrade, and are okay vs infantry (provided they have the MG42 Light Machine upgrade) when in a building, but that's about it. Save your manpower and munitions.

Officer
This guy is more for late late game when you need a way to get your pioneers to build defenses faster, or something that can call in arty or force blobs of enemy infantry to retreat. This guy ain't no rambo, don't expect him to fight a rifleman squad and win, that's just saying "come kill me." I personally don't use this guy very much, unless I see a reason to have him such as "I need something to help get those bunkers up quicker." Or "I need something to help me with these blobs of infantry."

Nebelwerfer 41
My oh my oh my, say hello to my little friend. Alright, don't even think about bringing one of these out unless you know without a shadow of a doubt that you can defend it. You don't want to lose this gun to the enemy. I find it's best to use this gun in groups ranging from 2-4. I've held areas, driven back enemies, destroyed enemy's bases using this gun, never count this gun out when considering arty.

Knight's Cross Holders
These guys are pretty useless unless they have all three veterancy, getting 2-3 volks instead is better, at least until you get all 3 veterancy. And when you use them, use 2-3 squads of them to be effective.

Vehicles

BMW R75 Motorcycle
This vehicle is great at hunting down snipers. But there is another great purpose for these vehicles in my book, for harassing engineers early game, just make sure you don't get to close, and if the engineer squad has the flamethrower upgrade, don't even bother. This vehicle is not meant to really be a support unit, however it can serve as a good distraction, flanking that Machine gun and drawing its attention as you have your volks squads rush forward. Just don't try to use this as a defence vehicle.

Schwimmwagen Type 166
I guess it can be used with the same idea as the motorcycle, you know what, I'm gonna shoot straight with you. I have never used this vehicle. I always found the BMW R75 Motorcycle to be of more use, if any of you guys have any suggestions on how to use this vehicle, leave it in the comments down below. Sorry for not having more to offer on this vehicle.

Goliath
There's much to be said for this suicide bomber, if used correctly, it can be the enemy's worst nightmare, if used wrong, say goodbye to your goliath along with whatever other units you have standing nearby. Don't send this guy to blow up rangers, or airborne for that matter, they are just gonna blow it up before it gets there. In fact there are only two real times I would say use it. When you are attacking an enemy's base and you have a way to get it up to a building without it getting blown up, and when you have a decent chance of getting close to enemy's rear armor. There was this one game where I was playing with a friend on a bridge map, and we needed something to break the stalemate. So he built 10 goliaths and sent them all running at the enemy. It only took one shot from a antitank gun and boom, chain reaction. Destroying all his goliaths along with some infantry we had sitting to close, and all he could say was "oops." Don't do that, when you use these guys to break stalemates, send them in 1 at a time from different directions and you'll be fine.

dKfz 234 Armored Car
Alright, this guy can be one of your best friends as long as you get him out at certain times. Before the enemy has anti-tank guns on the field, and before there are loads of enemy tanks on the field. The way I use this vehicle is to keep it in reserve, revealing it when the enemy proves to strong for my infantry, and when I reveal it and they have to retreat ( and if there base is close enough) I follow them back to their base and finish off as many as I can. But I don't stick around long, I'm not a complete monster...sometimes. You should only get the upgrade "Puma 50mm Gun" if the enemy gets something out that you can't handle like 2 m8 armored cars and I desperately need something to counter them. This vehicle is weak when taking fire from anything antitank related, so be sure to let your infantry lead the way.

SdKfz 251 Half-track
Behold, the great halftrack. Capable of delivering troops to the front, and allowing you to reinforce on the field rather than having to retreat. This is one of the first vehicles I get up to the front, simply for the reason of not having to retreat my infantry when I need to reinforce. The "Flammenwerfer" upgrade on this vehicle is not really worth buying. But the "Walking Stuka," man that has broken so many stalemates I have found myself in. This vehicle however is very weak when taking fire from anything antitank related, so be sure to let your infantry lead the way.

Geschutzwagen
Whenever I use this vehicle, I use it on maps like hill 331, where I need to be able to get something antitank related up there quick. This vehicle is weak when under fire from anti tank guns/tanks/infantry with anti tank weapons, and should be kept in the rear while your infantry lead the way. This tank is as weak as a halftrack and should be treated as such, however it can deliver a knockout punch when it comes to fighting tanks.

Pak 38 50mm Anti-tank Gun
Alright, this gun is beast vs tanks, especially when there's 2-3 of them, but you need to keep units close to defend them from infantry, preferably a volks squad with the mp40's upgrade. This vehicle should be kept near places where roads meet or choke points. Feel free to turn it invisible, but keep an eye on it as it will not open fire on enemy tanks when they come into view and must be made uninvisible before they will open fire.

StuG IV
This tank has better armor than a sherman. This tank is decently fast, but it's slow when turning, which basically means that a sherman can just keep driving in circles around you and you can't get a shot off. If you use this tank, use it as part of your attack force and keep it in the rear, only revealing it when you run into enemy vehicles and need a tank.

Panzer IV
Alright, this tank is more than a match when you run into enemy armor, but don't get cocky, unlike the sherman which can be upgraded to be able to fight infantry, this tank cannot. (At least not till you get all 3 veterancy on tanks which might be a while) I find that it's best to run these guys in groups of 2-3, that way when you run into those antitank guns or infantry, you have a better chance of surviving, not to mention that you stand a better chance in a tank battle.

Ostwind Flakpanzer
If there is one tank I'm okay with taking into battle against rangers and airborne, it's this one. It's ability to spam off shots that can kill an enemy squad within seconds is very valuable. However, I don't always choose to go for this, if I want something to fight infantry, I'll probably just get 2 MG's instead, but if the enemy player is doing a spam of snipers and rangers, that's when I'll bring out 2-3 of these. But yet again, don't have this tank lead the way of your attack force, have it in the rear but close enough up so it can shoot.

Panther
This tank is feared by many, including myself. When it enters the field of battle, I know it's on. This tank is best used in groups ranging from 2-4 and at full veterancy. Get that all together and you have an attack force all to itself, just don't rush them into into antitank units and you'll be fine. And remember this tank is more than a match for any tank the allies can produce.

Command trees

Unlike how I said for playing as America, how you need to consider if there's bridges, how big the map is, and where your starting. Playing as Wehrmacht is an entirely different matter.

Here are some good questions to help you decide what command tree you should go.

1:Are you more of a defensive player? If you are a player that likes to gain territory little by little and full on charge the enemy constantly, then defensive doctrine might be what you'll want to go. However be wise when you set up your 88mm Flak 36 AT/AA as they cost a lot and take up a lot of population. Put them in places where they cover in every direction if possible, and maybe put some sand bags around them. Be careful when using the 280mm Rocket Artillery as it will drain up all of your resources nice and fast.

2:Are you an offensive player? If you are a player that likes to constantly be pushing further into enemy territory, then go blitzkrieg. It's early stuh that is hard core anti infantry will help you push forward early on, and it's great at taking out buildings. The infantry that come with it aren't the best, but the fact that they can turn invisible is a plus. Not to mention the tiger you'll be getting which is pretty good vs armor.

3:Where are you starting at? If you are away from the rest of your group, then use your best judgement and go.

Terror doctrine isn't really worth it in my book, as you can only call out the king tiger only once, and making enemy infantry retreat takes up a lot of munitions, that doctrine just isn't worth it to me. Feel free to leave a comment about this subject.

Conclusion

One of my most favorite things about this game is that there are so many possibilities, and so much to learn and master. This is a game that I find myself being able to come back to time after time and never get bored.

Remember, it's not about winning, it's about doing your best and having fun. Whenever you're playing against a player, and your wrecking him, don't cuss at him for being a dumbass. Whenever you're playing with a player that's doing worse than you, that doesn't mean you're in charge and can yell orders at him. I'm sure for you experienced players will remember what it was like being new, and I bet you didn't have a good time when your teammates were yelling orders at you, and didn't know what to do.

Alright, go out there and have fun, Out.

[Dawud Sandstorm]

9/11 with V-1 is amazing, only reason for terror

[Sawdor]

Hey new players, once you finish this guide be sure to check out "Sgt. Kilroy's Combat Manual for Players of Company of Heroes." It's a great guide that I learned a lot from, it will teach you other things that I did not cover here that are essential to winning.

[Chucky Dickens]

Good guide, though one thing that may be worth including, is that the Motorcycle has no reverse gear, Jeep and Schwimmwagen do.

Also, I cannot remember if this only applies to panzer elite, but if doing a guide about them, remember to include the different abilities between the Kettenkrad and Schwimmwagen.

Enjoyed reading both this, and your American guide, thank you for the contribution.

[Sawdor]

Fantastic Fwoosh, no problem.

[Fantastic Fwoosh]

I must have overlooked it, my mistake; apologies.

[Sawdor]

Fantastic Fwoosh, I did put in the half track.

[Fantastic Fwoosh]

I find it suprising you didn't think to mention the half track, a versatile unit that lets you reinforce all your infantry in the field as basically a driving forward base with TWO cones of minor suppresive MG fire that can stop a flank.

Plus it lets you rush and destroy MG encampments in the early-mid game, potentially if you can roll out assault, upgrade one of these bad boys to a flamethrower, you can just burn a pre-tank and AT gun british base down no problem and recoup your losses.

[Sawdor]

Thank you Chrome for the more info.

[Chrome]

Something I forgot to say:

Panzer 4's are really, really fucking good with the blitzkrieg doctrine. They are somewhat cheap and spammable and when used with the blitz ability, they tear through everything except bridges filled with AT guns. They are very good at dealing with infantry as long as the Panzers are in groups of at least three and have lvl 2 vet or higher. At the same time, they pose far less of a threat of friendly fire and are much harder to flank than the StuH 42, the Tank called from off map in the Blitz doctrine.

[Chrome]

King Tiger Cont.

Be warned, once you call it in your manpower rate will be severely cut down for 5 minutes or until the King dies, but if your King Tiger lasts shorter than 5 minutes then you have bigger problems. Never, ever, ever, ever send the King Tiger accross a bridge that can be destroyed unless you are absolutely certain that there is no way that bridge will be destroyed while it is crossing. If it dies on an exploding bridge then its wreckage is gone too, meaning there is no way for you to get it back even with a Panzer Elite as an ally. If you are on a map like Achelous River where there are only bridges, then send everything else accross first and keep the King Tiger back until the bridge is secure.