This guide is made for improving your strategy, specifically against the AI as I am not one for playing against others competitively. Forward me your concerns or comments and they will be adressed. FAQ at the end.

Early Game

As expected, I start every game by building a barracks, and I work for two Grenadier Squads as soon as possible whilst I immidiately send my Pioneers to go capture something. After I have two squads, I send them in a different direction. I find a location with only one main entrance not too close or far from my base and put a MG Bunker there; I typically do this if it can block off 20-25% of my front lines.

After two Grenadier Squads are out and I have a portion of the map blocked off, I recruit a Sniper and then get the battle base upgrade for the next building in that order. I have seen guides that recommend using Panzergrenadiers with Panzershreck upgrades for your early game AT, but I prefer relying on Grenadier's Panzerfausts. I will build usually two Panzergrenadiers right away, and send them in a different direction than my Grenadiers. I keep my squads grouped with at least two together, spread out to be close enough to at least attempt to take back any territory as I advance.

By this point the only vehicles in the enemy opposition are armored cars or halfracks, and Panzerfausts make quick work of them. Infantry coming in contact with my German Infantry fall prey easy. If you are having difficulty with vehicles, one squad with Panzershrecks may be optimal.


Mid Game (Updated 13 July)

By the time all territory is secured and lines are drawn, you enter the mid game (my opinon at least). It is now that getting battle base phase 2 is your primary task at hand, while keeping your manpower pool relatively low with fresh Grenadiers and some Snipers. The Snipers are very powerful as in the original CoH, and with veterancy they can wipe an entire squad with their ability if done right. I continue to build them rthroughout the course of the game, try to keep 2-3 active at a time.

Now that your tank factory is up, you have accesss to the StuG III, Ostwind, and Panzer IV. Depending on what my enemy is using at the time, I will choose an Ostwind for infantry supression, or the StuG III for tank elimination. The Panzer IV is a versatile unit that can assist in both fields, but is more expensive and does not as much range as the StuG III.

Throughout the games I play, I will build an Ostwind around 75% of my matches as soon as possible. This little Hexagon will shred your enemy's squads apart, taking no damage from small arms or flame-based attacks. Depending where I am at in the game, I will sometimes send an Ostwind alone to go pick off running or advancing troops. Without a sizeable opposing AT force, you can run around like you own the place.

By now you should have, or have replaced, several Grenadier or Panzergrenadier squads with some medium armor as backbone support. Having significant vehicle troubles? I personally like to avoid upgrading my Panzergrenadiers, instead I recommend a Pak 40 or another StuG. Panther rushing is an expensive rookie mistake.

Now that you have some command points and are hopefully holding your own, or even closing in on their base, your tactics may change a little. Do you want artillery? Tank Destroyers? I personally love the Jaeger Infantry Commander that gives me Gewehr 43 rifles and the ambush infantry upgrades. Everybody loves the Tiger I, and it is a force to be reckoned with when you use it with combined arms. Lately I have found the Tiger to be my preferred choice with at least one Ostwind among the rest. Still never underestimate the power of infantry, I will always keep at least four Grenadier Squads active at all times possible.


Late Game

Ivan has brought out the ISU-152. What do you do? A lot of people I play with on automatch think that by the time the Panzer IV and T-34 enter the battle that all infantry are suddenly obsolete. I could not agree less with that statement. One reason why can be found at the legendary battle of Kursk. Germans deployed the Elefant on the front lines, using their very high-velocity 88mm guns ti target Soviet infantry and armor (A German soldier in his diary referred to the Elefant's gun as Quail hunting with a Bazooka). What was not expected, were infantry assaults against such vehicles; The vehicles had no machine gun anywhere on the vehicles and the entire battlegroup was captured.

Moral of the story? Never underestimate the power of infantry. I notice that I stop building Ostwinds late game because what they throw at me are medium and heavy tanks. If they were to conscript rush me with anti-tank grenades, that could be trouble. At the same time, the slowly-reloading IS-2 would have a troubling time fending off Panzershrecks as opposed to punching a hole right through my Panzer IV.

In the late game, I still use infantry as much as I would in the mid game. The only difference is I have heavier armor to use, and so do they. But this is where Germany really shines. Put A Panther up to a T-34/76 and they will have a very bad day. So what is my strategy for this stage? If they are still alive I will usually bring in a Panther and a Strumpanzer IV a.k.a. Brummbar backed by Grenadiers.


FAQ/Contraversial Decisions

Grenadiers or Panzergrenadiers?

One reason I love the Jaeger Infantry is for the Gewehr 43 upgrade. The entire beta I was utterly convinced Panzergrenadiers were the thing of the future; The dot.com bubble of the 1990s if you will. Panzergrenadiers are very powerful, but I have taken the side of the standard Grenadiers. Grenadiers cost 240 manpower as opposed to 360, and have acceptable AT capabilities, with Rifle Grenades and MG42, even if you don't use Jaegers. The unfair advantage lies in the rainge of the rifle grenade.

Panzer IV or StuG III?

The StuG III is an Assault Gun with a mantlet, 75mm gun, and medium armor. The Panzer IV is a tank with a turret, 75mm gun, and medium armor. The StuG III has roughly 1/4 more range than the Panzer IV. The Panzer IV has a rotating turret. This is really up to you. I prefer the StuG III because I like to keep my tank killers at range, but the Panzer IV can provide solid infantry supression as well as armor, so again it is really up to you.

What about the Mortars?

I like mortars and MG42 teams a lot, they are great. One tool I love is putting a MG42 team in a MG bunker to double the effect. As far as mortars are concerned, I'm a sucker for spamming the Sd kfz Mortar Halftrack when I'm on the move (or if I'm on a winter map). I find mortars to be specifically effective in the early game, but I kept this guide relatively simple and anyone could easily substitute mortars instead of my choice of snipers.

Rocket Artillery, Regular Artillery, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Artillery is awesome, yet I find myself using it much less in CoH2 compared to the first installment. The rocket artillery offered in the game is definitely useful, but I find it takes too long to get them to see a real hidden value in it unless your match draws on forever. The leFH 18 105mm Howitzer is very useful if you go that route. I find artillery most preferable when I play victory point conditions.



Thank you for spending your time reading, and I hope it helped one way or another. This guide again was made for people who are unsure how they should play the game against the AI, new player or not. This is by no means the only way to play, or even a method to success. This is just a recommendation based off how I like to play the game, and it seems to work well for me. Please emai/skype or add me on steam with any questions, concerns, comments that are appropriate for all audiances. All forms of communication are posted to my profile. And of course, add me if you would like to play.


To your success,

Aestris