Overview
The “Elite troops” doctrine as we all know, is a real pain in the butt to handle. Early game it is handled with shock+script coordination, but late game no matter how much of the map you control, once the german player calls in the Tiger Ace, most of your armies forces are food for this tank. This guide will serve to help you in your fight against the against standard german commanders, Elite Troops commander and ultimately the Tiger Ace. I hope my tips and tricks helpful guys 😀 This is being updated for the new western fronts. so please stay tuned for more info!
How to employ Script suppression tactics against standard Reich commanders, and the Elite Doctrine!
. Concripts are the hardest soft counter the soviets have against the germans infantry force. Armed with mosin nagant rifles. Early game they can knock out most german infantry with molotovs and superior numbers. They will win the map for you for like 3 minutes before reinforcements arrive and push you back, or force you to dig in. Do not be afraid to retreat your conscripts. If you cannot win a battle, send in shocks to break through and keep scrips at the rear sniping the german infantry. Script suppression tactics are employed by coordinating Rapid joint strikes and ambushes across the map with shock troop support. Or using the pincer attack against the german infantry. They have really weak armor, and terrible rifles and accuracy. Bulletins help that but than you do not have any room for armor bulletins. So let me explain how you can turn an inexperienced conscript into a force to be reckoned with. They are like AI that adapt as they face new enemies. For instance, when fighting grenadiers, you’ll notice they panic a lot and miss multiple shots. it’s like, 2 out of 6 shots will hit the enemy. They have never experienced combat before, and have standard training that you could teach an anarchist. But do not fear, putting them in the heat of battle early game is the key to making them better soldiers. As they vet up, they gain morale boost, and better accuracy and survival chances in combat. such as a significant increase in chances a bullet will miss instead of hit a script in the chest, or head<->(That’s an RNG crit shot.) To be exact, Vet 0 they have terrible stats and will mostly drop really fast in combat against the superior trained grenadiers. Vet1, they unlock a flare but still have bad stats. Vet2, this is where it gets good. They have morale boost and increased survivability. So perhaps you won’t lose as many, in a big battle, and they may be able to stand against flamethrowers, just like there shock brethren. Vet3, this is where they become true soldiers. Their combat experience has honed them into true fearless troops willing to die for the motherland. They gain an even greater morale boost, and have better accuracy. Allowing u to employ them in cover and expect to give germans heavy losses from mid range. But be careful, the Panzer grenadiers are an Extreme threat to them. They will mow down scripts in seconds. So unless u have script squads firing at 1 pgren from range, you should run or send a nearby shock to help. So in total what are conscripts weakness?
1. Terrible armor and crappy battle RNG chances early game.
2. Terrible accuracy early game.
3. Molotov takes forever to cast
4. Cannot defeat pgrens 1 on 1 unless they have number advantage and focus fire.
They can also throw molotovs to burn infantry and AT grenades to damage tanks engines or blow up light vehicles! But beware, teching for them cost you a lot of manpower, and sometimes AT nades bounce if your scripts arent vet 3. Against tiger ace forces, you’ll most likely encounter vet 3 grenadiers or weapon teams at the beginning of the round, or under the 10 minute mark. But this is actually an advantage for you! It cost the germans a ton of fuel and a bit of manpower to vet a unit up without throwing them into combat. 
So if you manage to kill pioneers, you’ll be costing him quite a lot of manpower. If you manage to kill grenadiers, you cost him some fuel which could’ve been used for teching. Vet3 pgrens are a NIGHTMARE to fight, but shocks can defeat them if the numbers are on their side. Or if supported with scripts, but putting scripts next to vet3 pgrens are a SERIOUS RISK no matter what vet they are. REMEMBER THIS COMRADE!
What makes penals effective against the “Elite troops” Doctrine?
Penals are men serving time for minor offenses. Such as free thinking, speaking out against the government, rebelling against commanders, etc. These men are EAGER for battle. Eager to prove themselves for the motherland! And to gain glory! They are the saboteurs of the soviet army. They are armed with SVT sniper rifles 
(no scope version) so they can fight effectively in long/mid/short range. They are the trade off, of shock troops in stats. They are fast, aim better, and have good armor, but dont kill as fast as Pgrens or vet3 shocks. At vet 1 they are fairly powerful, but don’t get any real stat boost. Vet 2, they have better morale, survivability RNG and aim better. Vet 3, they become a nightmare for even vet2 pgrens. As since they are armed with sniper rifles, they can qucikly dispatch any german infantry before they have a chance to close in for the kill. And If they do ever get close. The penals flamethrower 
will make quick BBQ work of the german infantry squad. The flamethrower upgrade gives them the ability to insta kill a german soldier or 3 in seconds with RNG. Sometimes they even kill entire squads with 1 burst of the flame. It’s range is short to mid. They also are saboteurs in the sense they can maneuvar around the battlefield quite quickly, and take out german infantry, equipment, tanks, and caches with the satchel charges. They also are able to kill the Tiger Ace in 4 shots with the satchel charge (ONLY IF MARK TARGET IS ON THE TIGER ACE!!) Weaknesses?
1. They cost a lot to reinforce.
2. There satchel has a 3.5 second detonation time.
3. They are fair against Pgrens in close range Unless vet 2 (flamethrower is gr8)
Against tiger elite, you won’t have to worry much when your penals arrive to the battle. They can snipe german infantry from range, and keep them back long enough for you to arrive with reinforcements! Just keep the pressure up with penals and you’ll be destroying tigers in no time 
How do Shock Troops help?
Shock troops are one of the finest Soviet Infantry troops that you can get. They have good armor, PPSH Submachine guns that have a high rate of fire and thus lethal damage output, grenades for grouped germans, and smoke grenades to cover their retreat. Such qualities are perfect against combatting a commander armed with Elite Troops as they play an efficient role in eliminating units and fortifications along the way.
At the start of the game I’d reccomend that you call in a Shock squad as quickly as possible to stem the German’s advance by attacking light infantry across the map, if you ever catch a lone pioneer squad, go after them and destroy them but be careful as you never know what might lay waiting for you whether it be mines or another squad. But by eliminating the opposing player(s) units, especially pioneers, you’ve slowed his construction and point capture speed all the while buying time for yourself. Furthermore, your opponent has also lost manpower as he cannot reinforce his squad and must now spend a lot more manpower creating a whole new pioneer squad. 
Directly reinforcing your Shock Troops at your HQ is also expensive in manpower when compared to other methods of reinforcement. This is why keeping a Conscript squad nearby to merge with your Schock Troops is always a good idea. Not only does it keep your unit on the front line but it also costs 36 manpower to reinforce Shock Troops and 20 for Conscripts. So after merging a Conscript squad with Shock Troops, reinforce your conscripts at your HQ to save some manpower. This extra manpower can be used in other ways when it is necessary and can ultimately determine the tide of the battle.
It is important to note that through taking damage and killing the enemy do Shock Troops gain experience. They are nearly unbeatable once they achieve vetrancy, with better accuracy and morale boost at vet 2, you’ll start to notice they are not as easily surpressed by flamethrowers(We aren’t afraid to be burned for glory comrade!) and at vet 3 they become a nightmare for Grenadiers and a match for vet 2 Panzer Grenadiers with yet another increase in survivability, morale, and accuracy. The odds are on their side once they have reached vet 3, but do not toss them into the fray without conscripts for reinforcements.
Once again be careful if you choose to pursue retreating units mid/late game. They may have mines laid in the area, an HMG waiting, a tank ambush waiting, or other units waiting to ambush you.
Although the Shock Troopers come with many strengths, they have only a few minor flaws:
1. Poor accuracy at vet 0; hey still however are fairly good in close range.
2. Poor morale until vet 2; (WE EAT FLAMES FOR BREAKFAST)
3. Poor defense againt Stg rifles; another reason Conscript support is a must.
For most of the game your shocks should hold the line against german counter attacks. When on the offensive, Shock Troopers should be ambushing and not charging head on because Grenadiers have good accuracy and without scripts you are at risk of losing your unit.
When the Tiger ace finally rolls around, it will most likely be accompanied by infantry. You will need to send your shock troops around in order to hit from either side, striking at the infantry in order to soften them up. You will have to retreat your Shock Troops eventually because they ultimately stand no chance against the Tiger. But it is imperitive that you do this in order to clear the way for your own armor to combat the Tiger.
Good luck comrade!
Kv1 and its Role against the Tiger Ace.
This tank is a powerhouse against infantry, and any mainline german tank that can be built. for 440 manpower and 120 fuel, this tank can be called in (GREAT DEAL) and can kill up to 2 german tanks by itself before going down for good with the 3% more armor bulletin. (Be warned though, this tank takes up 15 pop cap!) It becomes a hard counter to even panthers if you have 3 kv1s on the field. And if you manage to take out the panthers engine or main gun your chances of keeping all your kv1’s alive increases substantially. It’s penetration is pretty good, even against tigers, and It’s only weakness is paks, panzerfaust, shreks. and stugs. It isn’t a Tiger killer tho. Only in numbers can it bring down that super tank! Always support it with scripts and shocks, and make sure you have engineers nearby to keep this tank repaired and ready for battle. As it vets up, the reload speed gets better and the crews training in driving the tank also are better. Strengths?
1. It has 3 machine guns.
2.It’s main gun has a bit better penetration chance than that of a t-34
3. Heavy armor and small chance to bounce panzerfaust.
Against the Elite troops doctrine you may have a big problem. Vet 3 grenadiers panzerfaust has a high chance of penetrating the armor of thee kv1 and damaging its engine. But do not fear, It’s able to hold it’s own against most infantry. Panzer grenadiers are good food for this tank, as without shreks, the kv1 will decimate them within seconds. When fighting the elite troops doctrine. It is HIGHLY reccomended you get double Zis to support your KV1 tanks against the tiger ace when it finally hits the field. But before u engage it, take out its escort and try to knock out its engine with conscript AT guns or if you have a very good economy. Have 1 t-34 on standby and ram it from the rear, and if u manage to damage the engine and gun. Send your 2 Zis to finish it off 
and your kv1’s to block its escape. Now the german player knows if he loses this tank it’s GG so he will send all he can, to rescue it. This is where your Script suppression tactics come in. Prepare a good Ambush for the Pgrens, and grenadiers. And when the battle commences for infantry. Activate *For mother Russia!* And your shocks and scripts will fight harder than ever before. Their defensive and offensive stats are increased dramatically, to the point of god mode, use it to ur advantage when they try to rescue the Tiger ace!
KV2 support tactics against the tiger ace
What happens when you fit a big gun on the hull of a KV1? MORE POWER!! This is the same tank as a kv1. except it does not have a rear turret, has a slower firing rate, a bigger cannon which fires long range HE shells capable of annihilating infantry and tanks alike. Only weakness is its slow reload time, and probably slow speed (since its carrying a BFG) as it vets up, its reload speed and accuracy increases. It is very effective at combating the tiger ace, and can decimate elite troops with its super shell within 1-2 shots! (Better chance of insta kill with higher KV2 vet!!) This tank belongs to the soviet industry doctrine and is quite expensive. It can be used for long range tank sniping, artillery, or a meat shield for advancing armies. It also can generate a lot of aggro against noobish germans. USE IT WELL! 
It has the same weaknesses as the KV1. Their isnt any “increased armor” although it has more penetration and a slower reload time. It also can fire from gr8 distances. About 25-30 % of map range with high veterancy and LOS I believe.
How the Mighty IS2 can stand up to the Legendary Tiger Ace!
The IS2 aka iosif stalin tank Version 2, was a tank designed to break through heavy fortification lines, and to destroy heavy tanks. Such as the panther, and Tiger 1. It’s firepower is incredibly good in CoH2. It’s able to take out infantry blobs in 1 shot from its 120 MM gun which fires HE shells with enough velocity to crew shock any tank germany has. EVEN the tiger ace. It is upgradable with a DsHk MG turret which deals incredible amounts of damage against Panzer grenadiers and most blobbed infantry. It has medium accuracy tho, so don’t expect it to be like a super MG42. It’s still capable of suppressing though so do not despair comrades! It’s main purpose is a support tank for infantry when assaulting a fortified area of the map. Or taking the fight to the enemy as a breakthrough tank when fighting against enemy armor. But do not leave it by itself hoping to smoke all enemies you see on the map with 1 shot. It’s still able to be pak’d and fausted. Though its chances of deflections are medium so theres a bit of hope. ALWAYS KEEP it with ur army, moving to provide a fear factor or a meat shield when fighting armor. 
DO not worry, it’s frontal armor is strong and it will crew shock as well most of the time, so u can AT nade the enemy tanks! Against elite troops you may have a serious problem late game, as you wont be able to build much armor support for it unless you control the map and have fuel caches like a hoarder. Vet1-RNG chances of deflections, and faust absorbtions becomes higher. Vet2-Vehicle maneuvarability increases such as drivers skill in moving it in the various types of terrain it will do battle in, and it’s reload speed increases. Vet3-Reload speed increases, accuracy increases and overall skill of the tank increases. Against a tiger ace, it may be a huge waste of fuel, but if you can manage to get it some T-34 support, you will need to take out all of the Tiger aces escort with your infantry units. And if possible AT nade the Tiger ace. If you have penals try to get a satchel on it from a rear ambush so that it’s turret doesn’t obliterate you in 1-2 shots. If the satchel doesn’t work, no worries. Send your t-34s in around a flank to ram it, over and over till its gun is disabled. then repair the T-34’s FAST AS HELL to get them back in action! But as the tiger struggles to return to base send your IS2 in to finish it off!
Is2 weakness?
1. Panthers
2. Faust.
3. Stugs.
4. Paks with veterancy.
5. Panzer Shreks.
6. Flak 88’s
Is2 strengths?
1. Powerful armor.
2. Devastating cannon.
3. Able to survive SOME pak shots and a good way of breaking through enemy lines.
4. Effective at obliterating infantry, bunkers and any mainline tank but panthers. (Better against infantry blobs)
How can the legendary T-34/85 stand up against the “Elite troops” Doctrine?
This monster of a T-34 in real life was known for knocking out panthers with ease. And sometimes, if they were able to close in. Tiger tanks! In game they are incredibly expensive for a call in but definately worth it, and are most effective when used with *gaurd motor coordination tactics* doctrine. Why use it from this doctrine? Because the 120MM Mortar can keep back infantry, while conscripts and gaurds assault a german panzerIV and slow it down long enough for a t-34 or a T-34/85 to finish it off. Or you can just damage it and take it out with AT nades and the PTRS guns. The T-34/85 is able to decimate EVERY unit germans can throw into battle. Even the tiger ace! How? I’ll explain. It’s armed with the SU 85’s mighty 85MM gun. It’s incredibly fast, and has heavier armor than a standard t-34. It is able to penetrate Every tank ingame and RNG is always on this tanks side. Idk about elefants but you wouldn’t have to worry about that, for the fact that it’s slow as hell, and can’t rotate fast enough to bring it’s mighty gun to bare. You can also use *mark target* an ability which makes enemy armor take massive amounts of damage when fired upon. Effectively turning your 2 T-34/85’S Into IS2’s with super speed and faster rotation. Beware this is risky as this ability should only be used if the enemy AA has been knocked out. To defeat the tiger ace with this tank, you will need to constantly circle around it and hit its rear, and try to damage its engine, thats the main objective when fighting this tank. Cause without a working engine, your Zis guns can catch up to it, and destroy it before it gets away. Plus the T-34/85 is able to ram. So if that pesky tiger ace is trying to make a run for it. get behind it and REAR Ram, and finish it off with ur 2nd tanks gun and Zis’s. As it vets, Your T-34/85’s will gain better maneuvarability, and reload speed. Just remember they are expensive, and always will need an escort! Weaknesses? 
1. Pak AT gun
2. Panzerfaust
3. Tiger tanks.
4. Panthers in numbers.
Against elite infantry you may have a problem without shock troops. This is where you’ll need to rely on suprior tactics and penals to hold the line for you. Bleed the german of his manpower so he cannot get any supporting tanks! And always control the fuel when using this doctrine. It’s extremely vital you have enough to get at least 4 T-34/85’s so that you may blast through anything the german player sends at you!
How to effectively deploy the 203 MM Artillery station against the “Elite troops” Doctrine?
The 203MM Arty station, is a powerful gun that fires shells across the map, that is capable of leveling buildings within 1-2 shots. It’s only able to fire 1 round per minute though. So it’s 60 seconds cooldown I believe. This gun is good for halting advancing germans, and good for base shelling from a safe distance, where as with mortars you’d need to be right outside the enemies base. It’s able to take out 30-45 % of a panthers health, and 45-90% of a mainline german tanks health if it hits it upfront. 90-100% if it hits it from the rear. It’s extremely slow on target aquisition and it’d be best to keep it far from the main battleline. So that you won’t have to worry about it getting killed by the enemy. Always employ it against infantry advances, static defenses, tanks hulled down or on the retreat with damaged engines, and for base shelling. The more it vets up, the greater the accuracy, and the better the cooldown rate. It can probably score a hit against an elefant but without veterancy, you may miss by a few inches. Weakness?
1. Slow firing
2. Takes forever to rotate
3. Doesn’t have any protection cause the 6 man crew is busy operating it
Against elite troops this gun can surely buy you time to prepare your forces for the ace! Do not be afraid to employ this gun against the Tiger ace, but know that the only way you’ll be able to hit it, is if you stop it from moving and get ur 203MM gun to at least vet 2! Also. The closer the target is, the better the accuracy of the shell!
IL2 Fighter Bomber Death Runs
The Soviet IL2 fighter bomber is extremely deadly against every unit ingame but a tiger. It cost a lot to call in and requires constant recon surveilance to be able to see the infantry on the ground, and perform its “insta kill death run” It can kill entire infantry squads in 1 attack run. The only weakness it has are tigers (Yes they can actually shoot down an IL2 with its main gun, but that’s an RNG crit) ostwind flak guns and turret mg42’s on german tanks. Other than that, this flying super fighter, will decimate any infantry the Ace doctrine can throw at you, within seconds of its attack run. It can also knock out paks as well.
The NKVD fear/disruption factor (Bonus section for those who like to use mind games)
The NKVD as we all know is completely evil, and whatnot. And was incharge of making sure everyone was a true communist, willing to die and fight for the cause.
Lets discuss how you can fool the enemy into thinking you are everywhere, and have each soldier of his outnumbered by hundreds. How can you accomplish such a mind numbing game? I will explain! In order to do this, you will need to focus on capping and harrasment early game. Dissapearing and laying ambushes at once. Placing mines, and demolition charges in areas where you expect the enemy to be headed. You MUST kill as many troops as you can when oppurotunity presents itself. To ensure you can cause him fear and panic. And make him believe your army is massive. It will cost you tons of manpower in the long run but do not worry, conscripts are cheap and with Maxim support. I’m sure you can, but you must appear to be all over the place with a massive army able to provide support to eachother. This is easily accomplished by selecting the “NKVD disruption tactics” Doctrine. How can you use this doctrine to defeat the Ace without shocks? Well this is where it gets difficult. You won’t be fousing on preparing for the ace with this doctrine. Infact you will be focused on getting as much infantry on the field and AT guns with MG support as fast as possible. Keep them hidden until you see an oppurotunity to strike a retalliation force, or a tank that is by itself which you are SURE you can succeed at destroying. Try to hide your infantry and give him the illusion that your numbers are endless, without making him think you’re spamming. This may not work on hardened veterans, but everyone has a breaking point against the tactical masters of illusion!
You will also need to take out his AA defences if he has any, and any bunkers his base has when u finally are able to mount a full on offensive (TRY TO DO THIS BEFORE HE GETS THE TIGER ACE!) Because if you can succeed. You can march your troops into his base and take out his HQ which is ur ONLY CONCERN as without his HQ he has no comms and cannot call in his tank. so focus fire on that, once you are able to break into his base. THEN finish off all the other structures. It is reccomended that you target the infantry buildings first. Starting with The Pgren building. To avoid him sending heavy infantry at you. If you are ever being pushed out of his base, get your maxims to suppress, and your AT guns to mortar the area. If all else fails, send in your IL2 fighter bomber to take his forces out. This tactic is a gamble, as 1 small mistake can turn the entire tide of battle. So you must ALWAYS pay attention and be good at micro. Make use of all abilities this doctrine has, AT ALL PERFECT OPPUROTUNITIES. That is the key to forcing him to either surrender in fear, or make a tactical mistake. Do not forget that this doctrine has radio interception thakns to the motherlands spies! 
Scout Car LOL troll tactics
Red Factory Support Tanks and SU 85 Tank destroyer tactics
The SU 85 Tank Destroyer is an asault tank designed to destroy german tanks at long range before they have a chance to pass through bottlenecks break through defenses. This tank is effective against all tanks but the tiger, unless you activate its long range mode which limits vehicle speed and rotation. Its penetration is incredible and it can turn the tide of battle before your numbers aren’t a factor anymore.
Strengths are
1: Long Range
2: Devastating penetration against mainline tanks
3. Strong frontal armor
Weaknesses are
1: Horrible rotation speed
2. Slow movement speed
3. Weak side and rear armor
Veterancies
Vet1: I FORGOT..
Vet2: Better vehicle handling and penetration
Vet3: Better vehicle handling and penetration
The SU 76 support tank is designed to siege enemy fortifications, knock out light tanks and crippled panzers, and mortar garrisoned buildings or blobbed units. It’s got light armor but is pretty fast by itself and has the same penetration stats as a Zis AT gun. Making it effective at taking out panzer etc (AMBUSH WISE)
Strenghts
1: Mortar mode
2: Damn good AT gun
3: Fast tank
Weaknesses
1: Light armor
Veterancies
Vet1: I FORGOT
Vet2: Better reload speed and penetration
Vet3: Better accuracy, and penetration
