"Airborne, death from above!"
"Hope Jerry doesn´t mind us droppin´ in."
"Eagles in the fight!"
"We need a goddamn bazooka for this shit!"
"We´re airborne, we´re meant to be surrounded!"
"Give me some hustle Airborne!"
"Keep killing the bastards! Give them Hell!"
"Let him eat pineapple!"
"Reporting target annihilated!"
"Airborne, get your butts mobile!"
Paratroopers are an Allies Infantry Unit featured in Company of Heroes.
Game Info
Paratroopers, or known by many as the Airborne Force are made up of a squad of 6 highly trained Infantry that can be dropped anywhere visible on the battlefield. They are available if the player chooses the Airborne Company doctrine. These guys are tough, better trained compared to their Riflemen allies. Most of them are armed with the M1 Carbine rifle. But like, other Allied Infantry, they are capable to pick up and handle dropped light weapons. Paratroopers can also be upgraded with the AT Recoil-less Rifle, design to knock out enemy armored units. Paratroopers also have abilities such as throwing grenades, satchel charges (high explosive demolition) that are designed to demolish buildings and base structure but they are also effective against enemy Infantry and Vehicles. They also have the "Fire Up" ability, which makes them to immune to suppressive fire from a machine gun or flamethrower. Paratroopers are usually dropped behind enemy lines to harass and attack undefended position where most Axis Commander least expect it. Paratroopers can also take the care of securing dropped supplies, and support weapons such as mortars, machine guns and AT Guns. Unlike other Infantry Units which require a HQ or a half-track to reinforce, Paratroopers require only manpower resources to reinforce as reinforcements are dropped directly on the battlefield. All Axis Commanders beware, paratroopers bring "Death from above"! It is a good idea to use the Recon Plane commander utility to fly over the area you intend to drop into. This allows you to pinpoint your drop zone and allows better threat assessments if you know where the enemy units will (and won't) be.
Description
Falling from the skies to surprise the enemy, the paratroopers' main role is to surround and cut off enemy forces, seize territory, as well as dropping in to protect the flanks of troops already on the ground. This unit is only available as a support option for the Allied Airborne Company Commander.
Details
Airborne Paratroopers
| Role: | Raiding and Containment, Anti-tank Support |
| Primary Armament: | 6x M1A1 Carbine Rifle |
| Secondary Armament: | 2x Recoilless Rifle |
| Requirements | Allied Airborne Company Commander |
| Manpower | Munitions | Fuel | Pop Cap |
| 375 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Available Upgrades
| Name | Resource Type | Cost |
| Anti Tank Recoilless Rifle | Munitions | 125 |
Weaknesses
Paratroopers can be dropped behind enemy lines, but this also means that they are dropping into unknown territory. This also means their first drop could be their last. If dropped into a kill zone of a machine gun bunker or another fortification they could be wiped out fairly quickly as they have low individual health. The Ostwind Flakpanzer and Wirbelwind Flakpanzer can shoot them out of the sky before they have a chance to hit the ground, so they are best dropped or reinforced on a more secure position where the enemy will least expect it. Paratroopers deal little damage against garrisoned buildings, one way to overcome this weakness is to use satchel charges against buildings. Airborne are however easily overwhelmed if not supported well. Once an Axis commander finds out Airborne have infiltrated his/her territory, be sure to expect an extermination force to hunt them down before they do any severe damage. Due to their only weapons being M1 Carbines, Grenadier units or other infantry equipped with Stg 44's/MG42's can easily pin them down and kill them. Whilst the Recoilless Rifles provide better anti-armor, they are still not that effective against tanks especially if pinned down by Grenadiers as they won't be able to fire them. To counter this, use the other Strafing Run abilities to take out enemy vehicles and infantry or airdrop the Airborne 57mm Anti Tank cannon in simultaneously to provide anti-armor capability. Paratroopers didn't have any fast-firing anti-infantry weapon upgrades, except they grab other dead infantry weapons such BAR Automatic Rifles or any enemy waepons. Try to avoid direct contact with Grenadiers armed with MG42LM or Stormtroopers with MP44's.
Airborne Infantry
Beside the Paratroopers, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts also features two new airborne infantry, the British have the Commandos while the Panzer Elite have the Fallschirmjäger at their disposal, both Infantry squads can drop behind enemy lines.