Overview
A guide from one amature Canadian on how help guide another player into giving an under estimated nation a chance.
Why Try Canada?
Canada is interesting nation to play as due to its constraints. You will likely not be able to launch many large scale successful assualts. However you will be able to play a solid support and defencive role if you are careful and skilled.
Logistics
Canada has a decent roster with logistics with no big downsides or advantges. There isn’t much here to talk about so you will very little time here. The stand out here is the Canadian version of the Chinok supply helicopter and the Grizzly CP. The Grizzly is very fast and light armed. Other options are a command jeep and Leapord CP. The Gizzly is the fastest of the group and is modestly price at 140CP. The jeep is fairly quick but not fast and is cheaply price at 100CP. Lastly the leapord is heavily armed and armoured tank capable of taking quite a bit of damage before its destroyed making it ideal for seige scenarios but probably to pricy for regular use in other modes. Canada also has the option of supply trucks or supply helicopters. Both choices in this are valid should go to the way you want to play.
Infantry
Canadian Infantry are among the best in the game. Canada also has very fast lightly armed transports capable of getting your men to the battle quickly.
TRANSPORTS
I personally transport my shock troops and special purpose infantry in helicopters so they can grab ground and get behind enemy lines quickly. My regular infantry and specialists are brought in by ground using the Grizzly due to the speed. However you can do this in any variation I STRONGLY recommend going for speed with transports. Lastly there is a tracked M113 to use I wouldn’t recommend against it since Canada generally wants to go for speed and it doesn’t really bring armour and weapons to the table so I see it as a solid avoid.
Canadian Rifles
Canada fields good line infantry which I find to somewhat better then most nations line infantry and to be quite dependable. Due to the most recent patch Canadian Rifles tend to best suited to ranged combat but can hold their own in CQC. I would use Canadian Rifles for reinforcing my troops, supporting my assaults and supporting my allies in combat. The Canadian Rifles are quite versatile and should not be underestimated.
Vandoos
These are Canada’s shock infantry and are extremely effective. The Vandoos can work miracles if you use them right in both defensive and offensive actions. Unlike the Canadian Rifles the Vandoos have a CQC gun which enables them to fight in urban centres far more effectively. The price for Vandoos is quite reasonable as well coupled with Canada’s fast transports these men can either grab land early on or reinforce a vital spot in your advance. I use my Vandoos in the CH-135 helicopter armed with a Gatling gun. Vandoos are best used to spear head your assaults and make special incursions on what the enemy wrongly thought was safe ground. In my games I usually have my Vandoos go out first to secure urban centres near the centre or in enemy territory and bring up reinforcements before the enemy can mount a concentrated assault to dislodge them. The Vandoos are one of your best weapons as Canada I love using them.
Highlanders
Canadian Highlanders are an interesting unit. They have a very short range guided missile (875) which gives them some range but not a lot against tanks. One downside to them is that their missiles travel extremely slowly and they can be easily countered by an enemy.
MAW
The MAW is by all accounts a fairly average infantry unit with one distinct advantage over its peers. The rate of fire with their anti-tank weapons is extremely high and be quite useful in forests near roads and urban centres With the infantry patch their SMG’s have a faster fire but lower accuracy at range. MAW lacks a support weapon which limits its role against infantry. I use MAW to guard choke points and help hold the outer areas of urban centres I transport Maw’s with Grizzly’s and I use them as reinforcements to back up my Vandoos and Canadian Rifles.
Blowpipe
Don’t bother with these guys. The Blowpipe is cheap and weak most missiles won’t hit and if they do theirs a good chance it will not be destroyed. I was forced to use them as it was Canada’s only AA until they got the Javelin. I won’t go over transports with these guys because you seriously should not invest in them at all.
Javelin
Short range MANPAD can be useful for guarding your urban centres and getting unwary pilots if they get too close. They come in pairs so use them sparingly you don’t get many. Transports can go either way but these guys are a must have. Like all AA keep them back and don’t expose them as Canada you really don’t have much AA.
Genere Du Combat
To be fair since the most recent patch I never really used these guys however the most recent patch gives flamethrower troops a fair chance at survival. The flame troops need to micromanaged as they are delicate and will draw a lot of fire. There range is also short flamethrowers can only shoot up to 375M. Their primary weapons are SMGs which cement their role as CQC troops. I would use them support my assaults and to target the best enemy troops. There casualty rate is very high and their uses are limited so you can debate if you want this unit in your deck or if you want other options.
Tanks
Tanks
Canada does have some tanks. At best they are unexceptional and pretty average at worst they good for little more then good spam attacks.
Cougar
This tank is an oddity it doesn’t have treads but rather it has wheels and is very reminiscent of the Grizzly APC. It fires HEAT so it will always do a minimum of one damage to a target’ whenever it hits at-least. The Cougar also has acceptable range and accuracy but poor armour AP and HE. For the price of 25CP it could be useful as a lightning rusher but I avoid it as armour is a weak suit and this tank isn’t worth it to me.
Centurion Mk 5,6 and 11
The Centurion tanks are for the most part spam tanks. Each version of the Centurion is an improvement on the last with 5 being the worst and 11 the best. I would recommend getting the latter as the improvements are significant (still not a good tank). They are cheap with average accuracy and HE underwhelming range and AP power. However their cheap price makes them a decent choice if want a cheap spam tank other wise avoid.
Leopard C1
Last on the list of the best tank Canada has the Leopard C1. The Leopard has good range, mobility, armour, AP, HE and accuracy. The price comes a 50CP not bad for what you are getting. However the downsides to this tank are that compared to other tanks its only average and can hold its own against enemy tanks but will not win the day for you as Soviet tanks would.
Support
Support
Canada has a very limited range of support options. Canada’s Achilles heel is 1 AA option (but its amazing) and 3 choices in artillery.
M-25
Motors similar to the American version it has good range, fire rate and very useful for storming cities or clearing out forests it is a must have for all infantry focused decks. Also it has a HMG on it so you will have some limited local defence (although you should never put them near a threat).
M109 RCHA (Royal Canadian Horse Artillery)
The M109 is inaccurate but cheap artillery it has medium range and an okay rate of consumption for supplies. If you want to arty spam use this other wise not worth the points.
M109A2 RCHA (Royal Canadian Horse Artillery)
This a better version of the M109 it has superior range and accuracy the price of 55CP is well worth it. In all other ways it is identical to the M109. This should be your artillery since it is very cost efficient.
ADATS (Air Defence Anti Tank System)
The ADATS is unique in WALB it can destroy tanks with easy and effectively render the enemy helicopters useless. However it has several flaws. First no armour at all so survivability is low. Short range vs planes (limits survivability) and it has a small numbers so they must be used with care. They are also a prototype so if be careful if they know your Canadian they will hunt your AA and cause death from the skies. Keep in mind that the ADATS missiles are guided so they fire guide kill and reload.
Recon
Canada overall has some decent recon its not outstanding but its pretty good for Canada’s military. There aren’t any particular bad choices for Canada as everything is pretty decent.
Ferret Mk 1.
Very small armoured car from the British. decent optics pretty fast and lightly armed. Not a bad choice its pretty cheap and acceptable stealth. Not much to say.
Lynx
Another armoured car very similar to ferret in terms of states. Slightly better but with an creased price tag. Not much to say.
Cougar Recon
Identical states to Cougar “Tank” which is okay. Its pretty cheap but not very good stealth and with a gun you run the risk of being detected very quickly. Still good option for force recon and its cheapish.
Path Finders
These are airborne based infantry that have very good optics and stealth. Very useful for infiltrations, front line recon and even plugging gaps if needed. These men are well equipped and trained plus they have special forces rank with the new patch which increases their effectiveness dramatically. I highly recommend either one or two cards of these in your deck.
CH-136
A recon helicopters armed with mini guns. Very good optics with very quick speed ideal for sweeping behind your lines or peaking in on enemy. Still be cautious they are delicate and must be handled with care.
Vehicles
Chimera
This is Canada answer to heavy tanks. With up to a maximum of four units that can be called out costing 135 PTS and being very slow with low autonomy it seems like these are very poor choice for rapid warfare. However armed with a accurate heavy hitting gun capable of knocking out even they the best of the Motherlands tanks and armour that can only be counted by mass use of Hinds and ATGMs. However use these sparingly as it is easy to get cocky and move them out of your AA ring. Also these are a indicator that your only using a national deck. Lastly they are huge targets for enemy jets and and draw a lot of attention so be careful.
M113 106mm
Don’t get these. They are a cheap reconciles rifles that does very damage they have no armour relatively short range and won’t do much damage to an enemy other then annoying them. The cheapness is not worth getting this unit.
TOW missiles on Jeeps
This mini section is to sum up TOWS on jeeps vs TOWs on armoured carriers. The missile doesn’t change and only matters if you want speed or armour. Jeeps are small fast and easy to kill with everything. Armoured carriers sacrifice some speed but give you more armour and better off road traverse speed. I prefer armoured tracks since I need them to last longer and kill more tanks then the jeeps can provide. Jeeps also carry fewer missiles so the armoured carriers have a edge over jeeps.
TOW I (and its variants)
The TOW I is a decent ATGM able to destroy most light and medium PACT tanks with ease (provided they hit) The other variants are slight upgrades of the TOW I design (the later designs are only available on the armoured tracked version.
The TUA (based off the American TOW II)
Is a improvement over the previous TOW I systems with greater accuracy and AP power however the cost comes at a 70pts price and limited availability. These are however extremely effective at stopping even the heaviest PACT armour (provided they are supported).
Helicopters
Canada does not have any attack helicopters. The only helicopters you get are for recon or for transport.
The two transports are the CH-135 and the CH-118. The CH-135 are armed with a gattling gun capable of dealing sever damage to light targets and are faster the CH-118 but come at a higher cost. The CH-118 armed with a .50 cal are identical to the CH-135 but in the speed and arms category. Both are good options coming down to if you want quality or quantity for your transports.
Aircraft
Canada has a a few options with a mixture of cheap and expensive aircraft that can fill a small variety of roles (Canada does not have a dedicated ground attack or sead planes only air superiority or multi-role)
CF-188 Hornet (multi-role)
Costing 165pts to call in this multi-role jet is armed with 2 short range missiles, a Vulcan cannon and 8 cluster bombs that will make short work of anything provided it gets close enough. This jet should be used carefully however as it can be shot down by AA and interceptors.
CF-18 (air superiority)
This is Canada’s newest jet armed with mid range side winders it is capable of taking out most jets fairly quickly and can provide vital AA defence to your troops. It costs 155 and you don’t get many so be careful
Starfighter
armed with a Vulcan gatting gun and and HE ground attack rockets this is best used to make runs on isolated light targets or to flank and attack lightly defended targets. It has terrible ECM and poor survivability so don’t get to invested in them. They are pretty cheap however making them decent spam.
Freedom Fighters
costing 70pts these jets are best to be used early in the game as anti helicopter assassins or to protect against napalm/ iron bombers. They are also cheap and don’t live long you will not need many of them.
Tips
Tip/authors final notes
I play Canada a lot and although I wouldn’t call myself a master I do think I am better then a novice. Canada is not the first country you should play as if your starting out I recommend any of the minor PACTs and all of the major NATO/Soviet countries first. Your infantry are your life line make sure their experienced.
Tactics other players will use against you
Napalm on roads- Beware of this it can cost you many lives and it is admittedly a very cheap tactic used by other players. Your Grizzlys are fast enough and well armoured enough to get through napalm but still be cautious. Tracked vehicles get it the worst.
Mass heli rush- Far less common but a skilled Polish or Czech player will use cheap helis to overrun your few AA defences.
Death from above- Canada has few short range AA systems that can if destroyed easily. If you lose your AA the enemy will bomb you mercilessly.
Mass Arty- Typically used against urban targets the enemy will use mortars and other artillery to shell your men to death. This can be dealt with some counter artillery or aircraft.
Tactics to use as Canada
Rush urban zones with Vandoos or Rifles
Don’t just camp in cities take your men and send them over mountains and through forests to give them an unpleasant surprise.
Short range tank combat can be useful if you place your tanks smartly you can easily get the jump on even heavier T-72s.
Pathfinders are amazing and are great for CV hunting.
Remember the basics of infantry warfare never send them out in the open. They will die horribly.
I hope to see more people play as Canada although it has its obvious flaws it can be a very effective force against the enemy and can easily stop a soviet offensive in its tracks. Thank you for reading please leave any other tips or creative criticism in the comments.
This guide was created by ad306 with a special thanks to Flyguy 2000 for helping get into this game and helping teach me about how to play.
“From Sea to Sea” (GO HABS GO)