| Kampfgruppe Kompanie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The Panzer Elite Kampfgruppe Kompanie Structure | |||
| Role | Support Production Structure | ||
| Unit Cost |
 220,  20 | ||
| Produced By |
Panzer Grenadiers, Assault Grenadier Heavy Infantry, Tank Buster Heavy Infantry | ||
| Production XP | +20 xp | ||
| Health |
 1,000 | ||
| Armor | None | ||
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The Kampfgruppe Kompanie is a support-unit production structure constructed by the Panzer Elite in Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. It is primarily responsible for enhancing infantry anti-tank capabilities, by creating Tank Buster Heavy Infantry squads and allowing regular Panzer Grenadiers to be upgraded with Panzershrecks. It also provides faster repair rates for the entire Panzer Elite army, and can increase sector capture rates for infantry. Finally, it can also construct two types of support halftracks: the Infantry Halftrack and Mortar Halftrack.
Overview 
Edit
The Kampfgruppe Kompanie is one of four production structures available to the Panzer Elite. It can be constructed almost immediately at game-start, and offers several important though unrelated units and upgrades for purchase.
A Kampfgruppe Kompanie can be built by a team of Panzer Grenadiers, Tank Buster Heavy Infantry or Assault Grenadier Heavy Infantry, for the cost of 220, 20. It must be placed in your HQ territory. More than one Kampfgruppe Kompanie can exist at the same time, provided you have the resources and available space required to do so.
The range of units and upgrades provided by the Kampfgruppe Kompanie is perhaps the most eclectic of all Panzer Elite base structures, offering the Infantry Halftrack (a logistical vehicle), the Mortar Halftrack (a mobile light artillery), and the Tank Buster Heavy Infantry squad. The latter is often considered the most valuable, as it provides the Panzer Elite army with a solid anti-tank capability. Nonetheless, the other units can provide crucial services to the Panzer Elite army as well.
Furthermore, this structure offers no less than three Global Upgrades. The first, called the Kampfgruppe Kompanie Upgrade, unlocks the creation of Tank Buster Heavy Infantry, and also allows Panzer Grenadiers to be outfitted with Panzerschrecks when required. Another upgrade, Advanced Repair, will give engineering units like the Panzer Grenadiers or Kettenkrad a much faster repair rate, improving maintenance operations for the mobile Panzer Elite vehicle force. Finally, a Field Craft upgrade significantly improves the sector capture rates of the basic Panzer Elite Infantry units (which is otherwise below average), and allows then to easily spot mines whenever they are standing still.
Finally, the Kampfgruppe Kompanie can reinforce any nearby Axis infantry units within a 25-meter radius of itself.
Due to the non-specialized variety of units and upgrades it offers, the Kampfgruppe Kompanie is rarely constructed as the first Panzer Elite structure. Instead it is usually built once the Panzer Elite army has grown a little more powerful and thus in need of supporting vehicles and the bonuses from its upgrades.
Either the Logistik Kompanie or Kampfgruppe Kompanie must be constructed to enable building the two higher-level Panzer Elite Base Structures.
Production Edit
The Kampfgruppe Kompanie offers production of three very different units. Two of these, the Infantry Halftrack and Mortar Halftrack, are support vehicles meant to provide assistance to mobile Panzer Elite groups. The third, a squad of Tank Buster Heavy Infantry, is in fact little more than a slightly different way of recruiting Panzerschreck-armed Panzer Grenadiers, like the ones available from the Panzer Elite Headquarters.
Infantry Halftrack Edit
- Costs 240, 20, 4
- Takes 45 seconds to produce
The Infantry Halftrack is a purely logistical vehicle, designed to transport troops to and from the front lines. An open-top halftrack armed with a single Light Machine Gun, it can ferry up to two squads of infantry (8 men or fewer in total) at vehicle-speed.
The halftrack's MG42 light machine gun is not very accurate but it does provide suppression at close range effectively making it a mobile machine gun. This will give support to the troops it brings into combat.
In addition to carrying infantry, the Infantry Halftrack can also reinforce any Axis infantry unit within 20 meters of itself.
This unit is primarily used for allowing infantry to move together with lighter vehicles in a combat group without slowing the group down. Additionally, once the group has encountered enemies, the infantry can be ferried quickly to a flanking position from which to attack the enemy's side or rear. Though the truck is flimsy, it only needs to drop the soldiers and can then retreat behind the rest of the force. After the battle, lost infantrymen can quickly be replaced without having to retreat to base or seek a Reinforcement Point.
Mortar Halftrack Edit
- Costs 240, 40, 4
- Takes 45 seconds to produce
This is another open-top halftrack, with a two-man mortar crew in the back, crewing an 81mm mortar. Mounting a mortar on a halftrack gives it great mobility, protecting it from enemy retaliation and (to some extent) small-arms fire. This is the only mortar unit available to the Panzer Elites, barring abandoned mortar picked up by infantry from the field.
Like other mortar units in other armies, it can rapidly launch several shells at an enemy target using its free special ability. However, it also possesses the unique ability of Incendiary Mortar Round. Upon exploding, this round will shower a small area with a long-burning fuel, igniting it. The resulting fire causes damage over a long period of time, potentially killing any infantry unit caught inside. It is exceptionally useful for killing infantry in buildings or Slit Trenches, as it will cook them alive unless they abandon their protective position. This type of shelling is excellent in support of infantry or other units.
Tank Buster Heavy Infantry Edit
- Costs 360, 3 or 4
- Requires the Kampfgruppe Kompanie Upgrade
- Takes 25 or 34 seconds to produce
Though they wear a different uniform, a squad of Tank Buster Heavy Infantry is, for all intents a purposes, a Panzer Grenadier squad armed with a single Panzerschreck Anti-Tank launcher. This small infantry team can tackle enemy light vehicles with ease, and with proper tactical use can do some damage to heavier vehicles as well.
The same squad can be acquired by recruiting Panzer Grenadiers from the Panzer Elite Headquarters and arming them with the Panzerschreck upgrade. The difference is in resource and time consumption: a Tank Buster Heavy Infantry squad costs 105 more, but it comes ready with a Panzerschreck, whereas the Panzer Grenadiers would require the separate installation of a 
75 upgrade which takes 30 seconds to complete.
Nonetheless, the end result is exactly identical in both cases. Granted, the light-brown uniforms may make the Tank Busters a little harder to spot, but only in some environments and definitely not when playing against an AI.
Abilities Edit
The only manually-activated ability of the Kampfgruppe Kompanie building is the ability to reinforce infantry units in its vicinity.
Reinforce Squad Edit
- Costs vary based on reinforced unit
- Activation: Through the target unit's menu
- Duration varies based on reinforced unit
Any infantry squad within 20 meters of the Kampfgruppe Kompanie can replenish lost men for a specific cost and duration determined by the type of unit being reinforced.
Note that the Kampfgruppe Kompanie does not heal wounded infantry.
Global UpgradesEdit
The Kampfgruppe Kompanie offers three different Global Upgrades for purchase. One of these, the Advanced Repair upgrade, is crucial for an army that relies heavily on vehicles. The other two, Kampfgruppe Kompanie Upgrade and Field Craft, are crucial for an army that relies heavily on infantry. Since more Panzer Elite armies are built around the combination between vehicles and infantry, all three upgrades are usually very important.
Kampfgruppe Kompanie Upgrade Edit
- Costs 160, 35
- Takes 40 seconds to install.
This upgrade enables the Kampfgruppe Kompanie to recruit Tank Buster Heavy Infantry squads.
In addition, it unlocks the Panzerschreck upgrade for the basic Panzer Grenadiers. You can use this to turn a regular (cheaper) unit of Grenadiers into a Tank Buster Heavy Infantry in all but name (and uniform), for the cost of 75 and half a minute of installation time.
With this upgrade, you can start producing anti-tank infantry, which can be very important both for protecting your assets against enemy vehicles and for infantry-based flank attacks on enemy positions. It is a very important upgrade for any Panzer Elite force relying on infantry use.
Also note that the Kampfgruppe Kompanie Upgrade is one of three required components to unlock the Activate Panther Battlegroup Global Upgrade at the Panzer Elite Headquarters.
Field Craft Edit
- Costs 160, 20
- Takes 35 seconds to install
The Field Craft Global Upgrade serves two functions:
- It will allow your basic infantry to capture sectors at a 66% faster rate. This is very important, because all Panzer Elite infantry initially have a very slow capture rate (half that of most infantry units in the game).
- Whenever they stand still for a whole 3 second, your basic infantry will be able to detect Mines within a radius of 10 meters around themselves. If the unit moves, this bonus disappears.
Field Craft is exceptionally valuable when purchased early, as it allows a faster land-grab with infantry, reducing reliance on Kettenkrads and Scout Cars and putting more responsibilities on the infantry. Therefore, it is very useful for an infantry-heavy Panzer Elite army. Later on, infantry squads can perform minefield reconnaissance by stopping near choke-points to determine whether they've been mined.
This upgrade affects the following units:
Advanced Repair Edit
- Costs 220, 35
- Takes 35 seconds to complete.
The Panzer Elite army has access to a wide variety of vehicles, and often comes to rely on them for all sorts of combat and non-combat purposes. It also has plenty of units that can repair damaged vehicles, but the repair rates are agonizingly slow compared to those of enemy Engineer Squads and Sappers. This can cause problems after major battles, when many vehicles must be quickly repaired before an enemy can counter-attack.
The Advanced Repair upgrade solves this problem, and then some. It replaces the Rudimentary Repair ability for all units that have it with the Advanced Repair ability, which performs the same function (repairing vehicles and buildings to 100% health) but at almost 3 times the speed. In fact, this makes your repairs go almost 40% faster than any other faction's. This allows you to quickly return any vehicle or structure to working order.
This upgrade affects the following units:
TacticsEdit
At the start of a battle, the player's Panzer Grenadiers can construct only two structures: a Logistik Kompanie and a Kampfgruppe Kompanie. They both cost the same, and at least one of them is required in order to unlock the higher-up structures. Of these two options, the Kampfgruppe Kompanie represents a more long-term investment in a force based on infantry.
With the Kampfgruppe Kompanie, Panzer Elite players can begin ferrying their grenadiers around the map to capture territory quickly and hold very forward positions against early enemy advance. By the time contact is made, Panzer Grenadiers might even be able to fend off vehicles thanks to the Panzerschreck upgrade, and at the very least the Infantry Halftracks should be able to reinforce lost men, thereby allowing Panzer Grenadiers to hold the new ground captures against enemy assaults.
Later on, the Kampfgruppe Kompanie's Global Upgrades are an important step towards creating a very powerful infantry force - though the Advanced Repair upgrade is absolutely crucial for more vehicle-oriented armies. Mortar Halftracks very one of the most useful units for dislodging infantry from structures, and can also be used to get rid of enemy emplacements. Of course, the availability of Panzerschreck-equipped infantry is going to be very useful when enemy vehicles begin to appear more often on the field.
Early ProductionEdit
In the very early game, construction of a Kampfgruppe Kompanie gives access to the Infantry Halftrack. With this unit, you can begin ferrying infantry to various points on the map for quickly acquiring territory. This is an alternative to the use of light Kettenkrads or Scout Cars.
Infantry ferried by such a Halftrack can also be dispatched to intercept enemy infantry units coming to take your territory, or (with the Panzerschrecks upgrade) even take out early enemy light vehicles. This gives you good control over your early territory, especially since any man you lose can quickly be replaced thanks to the Halftrack's Reinforcement radius.
A Mortar Halftrack or two can prove invaluable during this stage as well: by shelling a resource point, you can prevent enemy infantry from approaching to capture it, especially when using the Incendiary Mortar Shell ability which can basically deny a point to the enemy for quite some time. Judicial use of this Halftrack can prevent the enemy from capturing land, earning you an early strategic advantage.
Late Production Edit
Later on, the most important unit produced from this structure is probably the Tank Buster Heavy Infantry squad. This is essentially a "cheaper" and faster way of acquiring anti-tank infantry, saving the Munitions and time required to turn regular Panzer Grenadiers into anti-tank units by paying extra Manpower instead.
Mortar Halftracks and Infantry Halftracks become less useful overall in the later stages of the game, though each of these units can still be used to support your mobile attack forces. This is especially true if you rely on large infantry battlegroups, as these will need the logistical and artillery support provided by these two Halftracks.
Global Upgrades Edit
All three Global Upgrades provided by the Kampfgruppe Kompanie are pretty much essential, though only the Field Craft upgrade has any real value at the early stages of the game.
Acquiring Field Craft early on means a better ability to use your Panzer Grenadiers and derivatives for capturing land rapidly, especially when ferried around by Infantry Halftracks. Again, this means you can rely less on light vehicles like the Scout Car and Kettenkrad, instead creating more infantry as a long-term investment.
Kampfgruppe Kompanie Upgrade tends to come next, as it provides you with early anti-vehicle measures. Early enemy light vehicles will have great trouble infiltrating your territory when Tank Buster Heavy Infantry are around, and again this represents a long-term investment in an infantry-based anti-tank force. This upgrade is absolutely crucial when you plan on choosing the Tank Destroyer Tactics doctrine, as it will eventually allow Grenadier units to carry two Panzerschrecks per team.
If your army focuses more on vehicle production, eventually you will want to construct a Kampfgruppe Kompanie at least for the purpose of acquiring the Advanced Repair Global Upgrade. This will make maintenance of your vehicle fleet incredibly easier, and is a must-have when heavier vehicles become available. Of course, once you have the resources, this Global Upgrade is probably useful regardless of how many vehicles you have.
Weaknesses Edit
As with all base structures, the primary vulnerability of the Kampfgruppe Kompanie is that it is stationary, and thus a good target for enemy artillery bombardments. Make sure to keep your base structures as spread out as possible, to avoid losing several of them to a single artillery strike.
Keep an engineering unit nearby (but not too close) to repair the structure as necessary when such attacks occur.
