Spring:1944 - American Unit Guide

United States

American troops focus on average units in great numbers - Sherman tanks and American infantry are generally mediocre. The US army lacks an acceptably effective counter to heavy armour; their 76mm anti-tank gun is not impressive by any definition of the word though it forms the backbone of their ground-based anti-tank capability. To make up for this, it was common for US forces to utilize larger-caliber artillery, such as the 105mm, to counter Germany's heavily armoured tanks. Despite their somewhat sub-par combat effectiveness, however, their massive industrial might provides a sound base for good macro-oriented commanders.

Infantry

Infantry Types

Because infantry are built in squads which varying composition, we'll start by noting the specifics of each individual infantry unit. American infantry are moderately effective. They are somewhat weak individually but have several specialized weapons.

Garand Rifle

Medium range, accuracy and damage, medium rate of fire. Garands are semi-automatic and can fire quicker, but at shorter ranges than the other country's riflemen. Armed with secondary grenades.

Thompson Submachinegun

Medium range and accuracy, low damage, high rate of fire. Armed with secondary grenades.

BAR Light Machinegun

Long range, medium accuracy, medium rate of fire. Good at pinning troops. Fires in short bursts. Armed with secondary grenades.

Browning Machinegun

Long range, medium accuracy, high rate of fire. Excellent at pinning troops. Can fire when undeployed. When deployed, rate of fire, range and pinning ability increase, as well as defense against frontal attacks.

Scout

Short range, good accuracy, light damage, low rate of fire. Has large line-of-sight radius, can move around undetected.

Sniper

Long range, excellent accuracy, excellent damage, low rate of fire. Very effective at pinning troops at long range. Can usually kill with one hit. Can remain undetected when firing.

Bazooka Anti-Tank

Medium range, good accuracy, excellent damage, low rate of fire. Can kill vehicles in one hit. Larger tanks may take several hits. Can move around undetected. Ineffective against infantry.

M1 Mortar

Long range, low accuracy, high damage, low rate of fire. Very effective at pinning troops at long range. Can fire over obstacles and terrain. Can also be effective against light vehicles (if they hit).

Flamethrower

Short range, medium accuracy, brutal damage, high rate of fire. Incredibly effective at pinning troops. Can move around undetected, although ineffectively. Very good at destroying buildings and burning group of infantry. Damage on target will continue for several seconds after firing.

HQ Section Squad

6-man combat squad equipped with four rifles and two submachineguns.

Besides deploying Engineers, the Headquarters' main purpose is deploying small 6-man squads to supplement Barracks production. The American HQ squad contained four semi-automatic M1 Garand rifles and two M1 Thompson submachineguns.

Rifle Platoon

12-man combat section containing 8 Garand riflemen, 2 Thompson submachinegunners, and 2 BAR automatic riflemen.

The Rifle platoon is the standard infantry fighting unit. The Garand with which they are equipped is semi-automatic, capable of faster firing than bolt-action rifles but at slightly reduced ranges. The two Browning Automatic Rifles (BAR) afford the rifle platoon increased long-range suppressive firepower. Overall, American rifle platoons can put out more shots than most other rifle platoons.

Assault Platoon

12-man combat section armed with submachineguns.

Standard assault platoon, armed solely with Thompson submachineguns for maximum short-range combat capability.

Machinegun Squad

3-man squad containing three medium machineguns.

Like the German machinegun squad, the .30 caliber Browning MGs fielded by this squad is capable of firing as medium machineguns from a prone position, as well as deploying into a heavy machinegun on a tripod mount.

Scout Team

3-man Scout squad armed with pistols.

Scout Teams, or reconnaisance sections, are forward observers, armed with pistols and binoculars. Their sole purpose is to sneak around the battlefield, revealing enemy positions while remaining hidden. When caught, they are usually quickly killed.

Sniper Team

A Sniper team, containing one Sniper rifle and one recon infantryman.

Sniper teams operate in two-man teams, with a gunner and a scout. While the scout hurries ahead to spot enemy targets, the Sniper can sit back away from harm and pick off the enemy.

Anti-Tank Squad

3-man team armed with Bazookas.

Bazookas are large weapons which fire a rocket-ignited anti-tank warhead over short distances. They are too large to allow their wielders to sneak, but are generally longer-ranged than weapons like the Panzerfaust and PIAT, though slightly less powerful.

Flamethrower Squad

3-man team armed with flamethrowers.

Flamethrowers are unique weapons which unleash torrents of liquid flame. They are excellent for use against buildings, bunkers, and often vehicles, and are potent against closely-grouped enemy infantry. They are also highly demoralizing.

Mortar Team

Three-man mortar team equipped with three 81mm mortars.

Mortars provide infantry with a very valuable tool; the ability to attack enemy infantry and armour from great distances, over intervening terrain and other obstacles. Mortars, quite simply, launch high-explosive warheads high into the air, which then fall on the enemy. They are inaccurate but in numbers can saturate a large area with explosives. Because of the demoralizing nature of high-explosives raining down upon them, mortars are great for suppressing and pinning enemy infantry.

Light Vehicles

GMC 2.5t Truck

Utility truck which is capable of transporting a platoon of infantrymen (12 men) and can deploy into small supply piles.

The GMC 2.5-ton general purpose truck is the workhorse of the American army. It is capable of transporting 12 infantrymen, and cap deploy into a small supply stockpile.

M3A1 Halftrack

Lightly-armoured utility halftrack, capable of transporting a platoon of infantrymen (12 men) and armed with a .50 caliber heavy machinegun for local defense.

The M3 is the variant of the Halftrack domestically used by American forces. Like the truck it is able to transport 12 men, and support them on the field with a .50 caliber heavy machinegun.

M8 Greyhound

Armoured Car armed with a 37mm cannon, coaxial and anti-aircraft machineguns.

The M8 Greyhound began life as a light tank destroyer. As heavier vehicles started being fielded, it was adapted into a reconnaissance armoured car. Its 37mm gun is still quite powerful, very effective against light armour, but lacking against infantry.

M8 Scott GMC

Light tank armed with a 75mm Pack Howitzer.

The M8 Scott Gun Motor Carriage is essentially a light self-propelled gun, armed with the 75mm Pack Howitzer, a decent infantry support gun. Although based on a light tank chassis, the M8 has decent armour, particularly for a vehicle produced from the Vehicle Yard. It has an open-topped turret however, and is somewhat vulnerable to small-arms and grenades from infantry.

Artillery

M8 Pack Howitzer

75mm infantry support gun.

The Pack Howitzer is a design similar to the German leIG 18 infantry gun. It is light and man-portable and gives ground troops good direct-fire support when vehicles are not available.

M5 Anti-Tank Gun

3-inch (76mm) Anti-Tank Gun.

Earlier in the war, America's standard anti-tank gun was only 57mm. As the war progressed the need for a larger anti-tank gun resulted in the 3-inch M5. It is a decent gun, though ineffectual against super-heavy tanks like the Tiger II and IS-2.

M2 105mm Howitzer

105mm field howitzer.

The M2 105mm is the standard light artillery piece of American forces. It has excellent range, accuracy, and firing rate for a gun of this size, performing better than its German counterpart.

Armor & Tank Destroyers

M5A1 Stuart

Light tank armed with a 37mm gun and coaxial machinegun.

The M5 is an advanced light tank, with decent armour and speed. Although the 37mm sounds small, it has decent potential against enemy armour, having about the same penetration power as the larger 75mm tank gun. It has little high-explosive power for use against infantry, however.

M4A4 Sherman

Standard medium tank armed with 75mm gun and coaxial machinegun.

The Sherman is the standard tank used by US forces. Only the T-34 was produced in larger numbers. Though a decent tank, it is woefully insufficient in countering enemy heavy armour, and must rely mainly on mass of numbers to overcome them. It is armed with a decent high-explosive shell, however, making it excellent against infantry and other soft targets.

M10 Wolverine GMC

Thin-armoured tank destroyer armed with a 3-inch (76mm) anti-tank gun.

The M10 Wolverine was developed to afford US armoured forces some amount of anti-tank capability. Armed with the high-velocity 76mm gun, it is much improved at penetrating armour despite being only a millimeter larger than the standard 75mm gun. The Wolverine is based on a very thinly-armoured chassis, however, as it was designed as a high-speed tank destroyer, much like the M8 Greyhound, its predecessor. It is also open-topped, and with no high-explosive or machinegun armament, is vulnerable to enemy infantry.

M4A3(76) Sherman

Sherman tank armed with the high-velocity 76mm gun and coaxial machinegun.

The 76mm Sherman was a stop-gap measure to provide increased firepower for tank forces. Armed with high-explosive shells and a coaxial machinegun it is still capable against enemy infantry and soft-targets, unlike the Wolverine.

M4A3(105) Sherman

Sherman tank armed with a 105mm close support gun and coaxial machinegun.

The Sherman armed with a 105mm direct-fire support gun was developed to provide increased fire support for infantry. Like the 95mm-armed Cromwell, it is a capable tank, highly useful against enemy infantry, structures and defenses.

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