Company of Heroes 2 - Five British Strategies (UKF Guide)

This guide is written by a British beginner (pvp-wise) to help out other British beginners. So it is pretty obvious that it will not be perfect and that you should not get mad because of it. :D A Guide like this one would have been helpful for me. That is why I decided to share my 5 main strategies for my favorite faction. I have several friends that are even more unexperienced in pvp as well and wanted to use this guide as a tool to help them.

UKF Strategy Guide

Start Build Order (Same For All Tactics)

That's how I usually start out with any commander:

4 Infantry Sections (start section is included).Platoon Command Post.Forward Assembly.2 AECs.

On some maps Vickers MGs are incredibly good at locking down some certain points of interest. That's why I sometimes use them.On maps with only very few choke points to defend you probably won't need AECs and it is completely fine to use the 6-Pounders instead.If you have chosen the Advanced Emplacement Regiment early enough, you don't need Royal Engineers because you can build the Assembly with your Infantry Sections. Furthermore you will have repair stations for vehicle repairs.

The "Turtle" tactic doesn't use this build order. We get back to that topic later.

Advanced Emplacements Regiment

Strategy 1: Mortar Map Control

This tactic really excels on maps that have so small distances between two victory points that you can cover 2 VPs at the same time with each mortar emplacement. Repair Stations, constantly cover denying mortar pits and Infantry Sections that can build and repair forward assemblies offer so much useful utility. Infantry fights are much easier thanks to the indirect fire, Tanks can get in and out of danger several times in short time windows thanks to the fast repair and you won't need to waste any MP and population to get Royal Engineers. Furthermore the durability upgrade for emplacements and the counter battery will enable you to guard your mortar pits much better. Your repair stations can fix your allies' vehicles as well, so it's good for team play.

• Research medic upgrade for one Infantry Section.
• Research Bolster Upgrade.
• Research weapon racks if needed.

Mortar Pit with upgrade.Repair Station Upgrade at Forward Assembly.AEC Mk. III.Research Weapon Racks at Main Building.

- Give one PIAT and one Bren Gun to each IS as soon as you have the munitions for it.

- PIAT first against vehicle heavy enemies and Bren first against infantry heavy enemies.Mortar Pit with upgrade.Company Command Post.One Sherman Firefly with both upgrades.Several Cromwells with upgrade.

• Always place your two mortar pits in a way that allows you to cover two victory points with it.
• AEC Mk. III gets an active ability at veterancy rank I that allows to cause heavy engine damage for a short time, which could enable you to win tank fights you would usually lose.
• The smoke ability of your mortarpits can be used to recapture points more safely
• by denying hostile vision on your forces. I highly recommend using smoke to capture points that are guarded by MGs. You could use one mortar for smoke and the second mortar to attack the MG if you know where it is placed.
• Use the fortify ability of your mortar pits when you notice signs of incoming heavy artillery. It will deactivate the unit for a while but the pit will take much less damage. Examples: Walking Stuka firing sound, red flares near your mortar pits
• Do not worry about green flares. They are a sign of supply drops or scouting abilities.
• If games are long enough to get huge amounts of fuel, you may research the anvil tactics at the company command post and build Churchills as front line tanks instead of Cromwells. Iusually don't recommend this path though. It just doesn't feel as cost-effective for me. Fireflies should always be used as powerful tank destroyers firing from the back line.

Strategy 2: The Turtle

This one is my most defensive strategy and also the most situational. ONLY consider using it on very choke point heavy maps ("Achelous River" for example) where you can defend at least the half map by locking down 1-3 key areas with emplacements. So yes, this strategy is basically emplacement spam. The British emplacements are able to deal insane amounts of damage and are also pretty durable. The big downsides are the limited range paired with their stationary nature. That's why you are usually playing yourself off to you by spamming them. A big part of your population slots will be invested in stationary units, so your enemy just needs to move around them instead of trying to break through. Then your enemy can completely destroy your base and you won't have enough mobile units to defend yourself. However, on some extremely choke point heavy maps there is no possibility to ignore your emplacements and that's where this strategy can be very useful, especially in team games.

3 Infantry Sections (start section included, feel free to replace 1-2 of them by MGs).1 Mortar Pit & 1 Bofors Flak (both with upgrade).

- Mortar Pit first if you have MG(s), otherwise Bofors first.Forward Assembly with repair station upgrade.2 6-Pounder AT guns (eventually replace them with one 17-Pounder later).

• Repeat the list above for each choke point that you want to defend.
• Once you've collected enough fuel you may hire Royal Engineers to remove the emplacements and replace them with tanks (upgraded Cromwells + 1 upgraded Sherman Firefly are my recommendation)

• Bofors and 17-Pounders won't damage each other or the Mortar Pit but they can't shoot through structures and they can accidentally damage your Forward Assemblies. That's why you shouldn't place them inside their fireline.
• Activate the fortify ability when you expect heavy attacks to happen very soon. I already described indicators for such strikes in the section of my first strategy.
• Counter barrage will be avilable at your two base expansions and should be used to defeat any kind of indirect fire units that are attacking your emplacements.
• Mortar pits are able to initialize counter barrages as well but their strength is not even nearly as impressive as the strength of the base howitzers.
• The artillery strike is great for destroying hostile defenses or blobs. Furthermore it might assist your units in fights versus very powerful enemies. However, keep in mind that your foes may use the delay between the red flares and the artillery strike to dodge the incoming fire.

Lend Lease Assault Regiment

Strategy 3: Normal Storm Tactic

The two storm tactics are my most offensive strategies. You will completely delete any hostile infantry with your Storm Sections and your early game will be outstanding. Furthermore you can reinforce your own and even allied infantry anywhere on the map with the M5 Half-Track Transport. It even works in hostiles bases. I don't recommend adding the Flak to it because the reinforcement ability will be lost then. Vehicle Crew Repairs allow fast repairs anywhere on the map at each time as long as you have enough ammunitions.

• Upgrade each Infantry Section to a Storm Section.
• Research the Bolster upgrade at your HQ.
• Reasearch the medic upgrade for your Forward Assembly.

1 Sherman Firefly with upgrades.Several Cromwells with upgrade.M5 Half-Track Transport if needed.

• Always try to position your Storm Sections as close as possible to hostile infantry to maximize their performance.
• Try to postion your tanks in safer spots before you activate the repair ability because they can still be attacked in the smoke if your enemy uses the attack ground command or artillery strikes and similar game mechanics.
• If you are facing an MG or defense spamming enemy, the mobile mortar squad can be a very useful addition to your army.

Strategy 4: Fast Storm Tactic

This one is pretty similar to the normal storm tactic but faster / cheaper.

• Upgrade each Infantry Section to a Storm Section.
• Research the Bolster upgrade at your HQ.
• Reasearch the medic upgrade for your Forward Assembly.

6 M10s.M5 Half-Track Transport.

• Always try to position your Storm Sections as close as possible to hostile infantry to maximize their performance.
• Try to postion your tanks in safer spots before you activate the repair ability because they can still be attacked in the smoke if your enemy uses the attack ground command or artillery strikes and similar game mechanics.
• If you are facing an MG or defense spamming enemy, the mobile mortar squad can be a very useful addition to your army.

Royal Engineers Regiment

Strategy 5: Resilient Breakthrough

This tactic really excels versus extremely defensive players who build a lot of stationary units. The Falme Mortars and the AVRE will tear down structures very fast. Furthermore this strategy requires a lot of fuel and that's why it reaches its peak during the later stages of a game. However, the end game potential of this tactic is completely insane. I don't recommend it for duels though because of the weak early game and because the AVRE is a much better unit for team games in general. You will need at least 30 seconds (with first veterancy rank) to reaload its gun, which makes you pretty vulnerable without team mates. Furthermore the AVRE is a good blob counter and big amounts of units in a smaller area should be more frequent if there are more players in that game.

• Research medic upgrade for one Infantry Section.
• Research Bolster Upgrade.
• Research weapon racks if needed.

Add a fifth Infantry Section.Research anvil tactics at Company Command Post.Maybe the Churchill AVRE.2 upgraded Sherman Fireflies, 3 if you didn't build AVRE.

- Use the command vehicle ability on an AEC and place it near your Fireflies.

- Double brens on the Infantry Sections are recommended to complement the Fireflies.

• The flamethrower upgrade for your Royal Engineers can be useful to attack hostile units in green cover or buildings. However, I usually save the ammunitions for other puroses because Royal Engineers are still not the best Infantry for combat.
• The Flame Mortars are incredibly strong against structures. Defenses/Emplacements take much more damage from flames than other units. You can also deploy it into the retreat path of infantry blobs so that they can't escape death.
• Try to postion your tanks in safer spots before you activate the repair ability because they can still be attacked in the smoke if your enemy uses the attack ground command or artillery strikes and similar game mechanics.
• The Fireflies will fire much quicker thaks to the command vehicle buff. It gets even more powerful when they reach veterancy rank 2.

Source: https://gameplay.tips/guides/6221-company-of-heroes-2.html					

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