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The Soviet Union is the original Allied faction featured in Company of Heroes 2. As a member of the Allies, it is paired with the US Forces and the British Forces. Unlike the Axis, the Soviet army radically differs from the Wehrmacht. A lot of its units are versatile, with a few specialized units mixed in with the Red Army. As a general rule of thumb, Soviet units, particularly weapon teams, are usually more survivable due to their larger squad size, but less effective than their German counterparts. The Soviet player usually has to employ more units to bring down a single German unit, as many of their tanks and their anti-tank weapons are generally considered inferior.
Soviet Buildings, Units and Vehicles[]
Soviet Union | |
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Regimental Field Headquarters | |
Special Rifle Company | |
Support Weapon Kampaneya | |
Tankoviy Battalion Command | |
Mechanized Armour Kampaneya | |
Defensive Structures & Constructions | |
Doctrinal Units | |
Doctrines |
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The Soviets can build a total of four base buildings, each with their own specialty. Note that not all four have to be built. The Soviet Union has a strong mid game presence, relying on mass hordes of numerous but weak infantry. However, the Soviets have inferior handheld AT units to deal with the German late game, particularly the Ostheer Wehrmacht. Their early game infantry also struggles against the aggressive OKW.
Regimental Field Headquarters[]
The Regimental Field Headquarters serves as the Soviet's starting base structure. It can produce the following units:
- Combat Engineers: A four-man unit with poor combat abilities and tasked with building structures, repairs, laying mines and demolitions. They can be upgraded with a minesweeper upgrade or a flamethrower upgrade.
- Conscripts: A six-man unit armed with Mosin-Nagant rifles. The backbone of the Soviet Army, they have the ability to combat a range of German units. Once upgraded, they can throw Molotov cocktails and AT grenades. They can also build sandbag fighting positions for directional heavy cover.
Special Rifle Company[]
The Special Rifle Company serves as the Soviets main building for the recruitment of specialist infantry and transport. It can produce the following units:
- Scout Sniper: A one-man unit. Each shot kills an infantry model, given that it doesn't miss. They have the ability to become camouflaged while in cover, making them invisible to the enemy until they fire.
- M3A1 Scout Car: A cheap fragile scout car, supplied by the United States, able to carry a single squad. Up to four members of a transported squad can fire at enemies in the range from the open top of the M3A1. Veteran rank 1 will unlock the 'overdrive' ability, greatly increasing the M3A1's speed and acceleration for a short time.
- Penal Battalion: A six-man unit armed with SVT-40 rifles. These improved rifle infantry have higher damage output than conscripts. They can be upgraded with a flamethrower (2x Anti-Tank Rifles in multiplayer). They can throw a satchel charge at close ranges, which is sufficient to destroy most ambient buildings and inflict considerable damage to anything caught in the blast.
Support Weapon Kampaneya[]
The Support Weapon Kampeneya serves as the Soviets main building for recruitment of support weapon teams. It can produce the following units:
- M1910 Maxim Heavy Machine Gun: A six-man unit equipped with a Maxim machine gun, tasked with suppressing and pinning enemy infantry squads. Has a small firing arc but fast set-up/pack-up time. Veteran rank 1 will unlock the 'sprint' ability, greatly increasing the team's movement speed.
- PM-41 82mm Mortar Squad: a six-man unit equipped with a mortar, tasked with shelling enemy squads and dislodging static positions, such as buildings. Also capable of using smoke rounds to block line of sight. Veteran rank 1 will allow the mortar team to fire flares to reveal fog of war.
- ZiS-3 76mm Divisional Field Gun: a six-man unit, wielding a long range AT gun capable of engaging and destroying enemy structures, vehicles and tanks. Capable of providing a light artillery barrage for a moderate resource cost. Veteran rank 1 will allow the gun team to reveal nearby enemy infantry on the mini-map.
Tankoviy Battalion Command[]
The Tankoviy Battalion Command serves as the Soviet's main building for light tanks, vehicles and assault guns. Whilst not the only building that can construct tanks, the vehicles constructed from this building are best suited for combating enemy infantry, light vehicles, and medium tanks. It can produce the following units:
- M5 Half-Track Transport: A sturdy lend-lease half-track from the United States, similar to M3 Half-Track, able to carry up to two squads, reinforcing infantry and supporting squads. Can be upgraded with an AA upgrade, improving the M5's performance against infantry and enabling it to shoot down enemy planes at the cost of transport capability. The AA upgrade also allows the M5 to suppress enemy infantry, but only after sustained fire.
- T-70 Light Tank: A cheap light tank. Its role is that of a harasser, attacking enemy units early on before the dedicated AT units start to roll out. Its main gun is highly accurate against enemy infantry, and it can prove effective in skirmishing on the flanks to seize territory while the bulk of enemy forces are distracted. It can toggle a 'recon mode', greatly extending the T-70's line of sight in exchange for disabling the tank's weapons whilst the function is toggled. Becomes obsolete in the late game, as many anti-tank weapons will out range the T-70. Overall considered to be the second best light tank in the game, next to the USF M5A1 Stuart.
- SU-76M Assault Gun: A fairly fragile and somewhat inexpensive assault gun, armed with a subpar main gun with a fairly short reload time and the ability to periodically fire a light artillery barrage. The main gun has a negligible effect on infantry, questionable abilities against light vehicles and structures, and mediocre abilities against medium armor. The above-average range of the SU-76M means that it can still provide minor support to more adequate anti-tank options throughout the middle and late game if it survives. In multiplayer, it is generally the first mobile vehicle to have good anti-armor power and is a good counter to OKW Panzer II "Luchs" Light Tank rushes.
Mechanized Armor Kampaneya[]
The Mechanized Armor Kampaneya serves as the Soviet's main building for heavier vehicles and rocket artillery. Whilst not the only building that can construct tanks, the vehicles constructed from this building are best suited for destroying enemy tanks, fortifications and dislodging enemy positions. It can produce the following units:
- BM-13 Katyusha Rocket Truck: A fragile truck carrying missiles. Fires four volleys of three rockets from a faraway distance, raining destruction on unarmored targets. In the campaign, Veteran rank 1 allows the platform to make precision strikes, firing a smaller volley of rockets in a tight cluster. In multiplayer, however, the precision barrage is replaced with a creeping barrage, in which the Katyusha fires multiple volleys of rockets in a line rather than within a circular area.
- T-34/76: A sturdy general-purpose tank, capable of engaging infantry as well as vehicles. The main gun is not as accurate against infantry as the T-70, but it is more capable of engaging structures and light vehicles. Has difficulty dealing damage against tanks frontally and becomes obsolete in the late game. It is equipped with a 'ram' ability, which will temporarily stun a targeted enemy vehicle in exchange for the T-34's main gun and treads being disabled from the impact. This ability has undergone several changes, originally being a guarantee of at least disabling the targeted tank's main gun and engine, but changes to the ram ability make it only recommended for crippling enemy heavy tanks. An arguably better alternative is to directly order a T-34 to drive into the path of an enemy vehicle. This will generally leave the T-34's armaments intact and have a similar effect of forcing the enemy vehicle to stall while it reacts.
- SU-85: A sturdy, dedicated tank destroyer, very capable of dealing damage to tanks at long range; one of the better Soviet anti-armor options. Lacks a turret and has subpar mobility. It can toggle a focus-vision ability to extend the tank's frontal line of sight, whilst further reducing mobility, as well as sacrificing the tank's peripheral vision.
Doctrinal Units[]
Doctrinal units are units that are called in from off map locations. Usually, these units are extremely effective at what they were designed to do. These will be a mixture of general infantry, large artillery guns and command units. They are the following:
- Guards Rifle Infantry: Guards Rifle Infantry are the elites of the Soviet army, given the best equipment and weaponry. Initially called in with PTRS rifles and can be upgraded with DP light machine guns. Only available to Guards Doctrines.
- Shock Troops: Elite Troops equipped fully with PPSH sub-machine guns, deadly to infantry from close to medium range and equipped with armor. Can toss smoke grenades to blind the enemy or frag grenades to damage them. Shock troops can soak up some damage while dishing out massive return fire. Only available to Shock Doctrines.
- HM-38 120mm Mortar Squad: Compared to the non-commander specific PM-41 82mm Mortar Squad, the HM-38 120mm Mortar Squad is more expensive, but deals much greater damage to infantry in a wider area of effect. This also makes it more dangerous to use in support of infantry in close quarters combat, but the bigger shell and longer range make it very effective at demolishing emplacements and buildings.
- ML-20 152mm Gun-Howitzer: The M2 152mm Howitzer is not truly a Defensive Structure, but more of a Weapon Team. It consists of the gun itself, and three crewmen: two to operate the howitzer, and an additional crewman to provide some covering fire with an M1 Carbine semi-automatic rifle or replace one of the other crew members if they are killed. The Howitzer does not automatically open fire at enemy targets. Instead, it needs to be ordered to fire manually, using an ability called Heavy Artillery Barrage, which will fire a 8-shell salvo at any designated target. This is an impressive range for an artillery piece, possibly reaching the enemy's base if the weapon is placed far enough forward. The salvo may be fired into the Fog-of-War.
- T-34/85 Medium Tank: An upgraded version of the T-34/76 with an 85mm cannon which allows the tank to engage enemy armor better. Only available to certain doctrines. It is equipped with a 'ram' ability, which will temporarily stun a targeted enemy vehicle in exchange for the T-34's main gun and treads being disabled from the impact. This ability has undergone several changes, originally being a guarantee of at least disabling the targeted tank's main gun and engine, but changes to the ram ability make it only recommended for crippling enemy heavy tanks. An arguably better alternative is to directly order a T-34 to drive into the path of an enemy vehicle. This will generally leave the T-34's armaments intact and have a similar effect of forcing the enemy vehicle to stall while it reacts.
- Partisan Troops: Infiltration unit available if Partisan Tactics is chosen. Small in number but good at close range with PPSH sub-machine guns, grenades, and molotovs. Can spawn from unoccupied civilian structures or called in from map's edge. They are particularly effective when firing out of an M3A1 Scout Car. Page needs to be created.
- DShK 38 Heavy Machine Gun: Heavy machine gun with a narrow arc of fire. More expensive than the Maxim, but packs more power and can penetrate light vehicles more easily. Most effective when firing out of buildings. Available to a few doctrines.
- ISU-152 Heavy Assault Gun: Heavy Assault gun with extreme range but a very slow rate of fire. Can switch between AP rounds to devastate even the heaviest armor or HE rounds to lay waste to infantry targets in an area. Available to certain doctrines.
- IS-2 Heavy Tank: A heavy tank that is the counterpart to the Wehrmacht Tiger, the IS-2 is effective against all targets. It can devastate any enemy tank when flanking. Available to certain doctrines.
- M4C Sherman: Part of the Lend-Lease program, the M4 Sherman was leased to the Soviets, who in turn equipped it with 76mm cannons with a fairly low reload time. This tank can be upgraded with a machine gun to better improve anti-infantry capabilities. Only available to the Lend-Lease Doctrine.
- KV-1 Heavy Tank: Heavy tank that is generally better at absorbing damage than dealing it, its 76mm cannon is still effective against all targets. Counterpart to the British Churchill Mk. VII infantry tank, this unit is cheaper than many heavy tanks.
- KV-2 Heavy Assault Tank: Heavy tank that can deploy into an immobile position to act as a heavy medium-range artillery versus all targets.
- KV-8 Heavy Flamethrower Tank: Heavy tank that can switch between its flame projector to burn infantry and buildings, or a 45mm cannon to provide some firepower against light vehicles. Page needs to be created.
Doctrines[]
Advanced Warfare Tactics: Gain vital intelligence and exploit enemy movements with PPSH equipped conscripts and the most powerful incarnation of the vaunted T-34 tank armed with a hard hitting 85mm cannon. Page needs to be created.
Airborne Troops Tactics: Employ VDV airborne tactics to supply infantry, paradrop elite Guards troops, establish forward positions, and call in devastating air support.
Anti-Infantry Tactics: Kill or drive off your enemy's vital infantry forces; Shock Troops provide short-range attack power while artillery and the fearsome flamethrower-equipped KV-8 are terribly effective against infantry.
Armored Assault Doctrine: Heavy and mobile armored warfare; mix the power of the IS-2 heavy tank with the mobility of the T-34/85 for armored versatility. Air power can destroy enemy forces identified arriving on the battlefield.
Conscripts Support Tactics: Build strategies around your core conscript soldiers; more effectively trained and heavily armed conscripts are resilient under MG fire, can repair supporting heavy armor, and will have their losses in combat replaced.
Counterattack Tactics: This doctrine allows you to strike back at the enemy with overwhelming firepower. Use a recon plane to pinpoint the enemy weak-points before attacking with the combined firepower of assault infantry, heavy tanks, and the B-4 205mm super heavy artillery. Page needs to be created.
Defensive Tactics: This doctrine provides additional defensive game-play options. Additional structures can be used to slow the advance of the enemy, while the advanced DShK machine-gun and light M-42 AT gun provide valuable fire support. Page needs to be created.
Guards Motor Coordination Tactics: Guard Armies were issued better weapons like the improved T-34/85 with its more potent gun, and the heavy 120mm mortar. Improved training and knowledge allows crews to repair their own vehicles.
Guard Rifle Combined Arms Tactics: Guard Armies were underpinned by versatile infantry. Providing short-range SMG's to conscripts boosts infantry combat capabilities while IL-2 aircraft, KV-1 heavy tanks and 152mm howitzers pulverize a variety of enemy types.
Lend Lease Tactics: Take the weapons from the Western Powers and combine them with Soviet tenacity to form a formidable force. Utilize resources delivered from the West to fuel vehicle production, and then overwhelm the enemy with imported Sherman tanks.
Mechanized Support Tactics: Support armored operations; Guards Troops and camouflaged anti-tank guns can screen the flanks of armored columns while IL-2 ground attack aircraft and heavy assault guns destroy fortifications or enemy Pak concentrations.
NKVD Disruption Tactics: Use the intel gathering capabilities of the army within an army; NKVD code breakers can track enemy orders while a Commissar can oversee frontline operations and inspire nearby troops. Page needs to be created.
Partisan Tactics: The Soviet armed forces coordinate with local partisan groups to improve operations behind enemy lines. Utilize unique Partisan squads to harass the enemy and take out key targets, while local spies and the Soviet air force provide information on enemy movement.
Shock Motor Heavy Tactics: Shock armies are equipped with heavy breakthrough weapons; durable Shock Troops and ISU-152 heavy assault guns can break enemy lines while special training helps identify enemy tanks for bombing strikes. Page needs to be created.
Shock Rifle Frontline Tactics: Engage enemy heavy tanks and troops; IS-2 heavy tanks and KV-8 flamethrowers can engage heavily defended locations along with submachine gun armed Shock Troops. Aggressive action is backstopped by camouflaged anti-tank guns.
Soviet Combined Army: Soviet Armies promoted a doctrine of supporting combat arms - elite infantry, air corps reconnaissance and bombing, divisional artillery, and armored divisions created versatile forces.
Soviet Industry Tactics: Use the might of the Soviet Union's vast industries to overwhelm the enemy with vehicles. Support your tanks with advanced repair stations and repair crews before crushing the enemy with the formidable Kliment Voroshilov KV-2 Heavy Assault Tank. Page needs to be created.
Soviet Reserve Army: Constituted to replace massive losses suffered during the first months of the war and with the need to feed forces into the endless churn of battle, these armies are focused more on infantry.
Soviet Shock Army: Shock Armies were heavily stacked with heavy weapons and a much greater number of short-range submachine guns to crush the defensive lines of the enemy.
Tank Hunter Tactics: Disable enemy tanks and armored vehicles more easily with a variety of upgrades and abilities to support existing AT options. ML-20s can shell the enemy from afar and when that fails IL-2 planes can deliver a devastating anti-tank bombing run. Page needs to be created.
Terror Tactics: Terror - to cause fear. Short range Shock Troops, flamethrower-equipped KV-8 tanks, 152mm heavy artillery, morale-sapping propaganda, and 50kg bombs delivered by the IL-2; scared yet?
Urban Defense Tactics: Focused on defending dense urban centers with extreme resilience, this doctrine offers additional means to fight in tight spaces. Forward Headquarters will offer a frontline staging ground to support nearby troops, while traps and incendiary artillery slow the enemy advance. Page needs to be created.
Company of Heroes | |
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Company of Heroes 2 | |
Company of Heroes 3 |