Overview
Hello and welcome, fellow players! For this guide I will be discussing in-depth the units and abilities of the Osttruppen Doctrine of the Ostheer faction, and how to use them to their fullest potential in a team-based match. By the guide’s end, I hope you can employ these tactics to great affect and even add in your own twists as the versatility of the Osttruppen commander is one of its greatest pros.
Your Role As An Osttruppen Commander
You are at the forefront of your team’s assaults!
When you choose the path of Osttruppen, be aware that you benefit your team with cheap and readily available combat units as soon as the match starts, whereas the enemy is at a slight disadvantage due to your team having an influx of infantry units very early in the game. You will be capping territory and ammassing your Osttruppen at key locations to automatically start applying pressure on the enemy team. The goal is to set up a forward frontline station and fiercely defend it, the lives of your men buying your team precious time to set up defenses and launch attacks of their own (You are a bulletshield, remember that!).
Strength in numbers! Never send your Osttruppen piecemeal. This tactic works best when using Osttruppen as your core combat unit.
Osttruppen Squad
The core of your army – Hilfswillige – ready to serve the Fatherland until death! At 0 CPs, they are available immediately for service. As noted previously, STRENGTH IN NUMBERS; it is better to retreat a lone squad and regroup with others than have that squad take unnecessary early game damage and casualties. At the very start of the game, spread out your Osttruppen and capture territory while also thinking of an ideal location to set up foward defenses.
<– An example of a foward station with Osttruppen.
When you have selected said spot (such as a chokepoint, easily defendable area, or simply an area too important for the enemy to have), route all your Osttruppen to that location, preferably from different locations as so if you do encounter enemy resistance, they will be dealing with multple Osttruppen squads zeroing in on them from all sides. Osttruppen suffer from poor accuracy and low squad health and must be kept in cover to benefit from their max accuracy and extend unit survivability. However, this can be easily countered by keeping the next Doctrinal unlock – the Field Artillery Officer – with them at all times and the Osttruppen squad’s insanely fast reinforcement rate; a squad of one can be back in action in less than 3 seconds, making Osttruppen ideal for wars of attrition and holding out against overwhelming numbers. To deal with armored threats, utilize the panzerfaust. One or two may not be much, but 4 or 5 Panzerfausts on a single tank can be devastating. I would also like to note that Veteran, Officer, and Recruit Training bulletins DO work with Osttruppen squads (Ostruppen are a ‘Conscript’ entity, and the three listed bulletins apply to both grenadiers and conscripts, soooo yeah), which is quite nice since not only do you have superior Osttruppen, but also a universal bulletin loadout that will also work for your Grenadiers!
Three squads of Osttruppen – 18 men – guarding a point. Surely, an intimidating sight early game!
Artillery Field Officer
At 1 CP, the Artillery Field Officer compliments the Osttruppen well and it is strongly advised to get one as soon as possible! The Officer has a number of abilities which benefit both an offensive and defensive approach which work very well with Osttruppen. The ‘Concentrated Fire‘ ability improves the accuracy not only of your infantry, but to your vehicles as well – perfect for fighting off an assault on your lines or rushing an enemy position and having the luxury of firing accurately on the move! The second ability for the Officer, the ‘Smoke Barrage’ – though nothing too special – can work wonders when your men are pinned by enemy machinegun fire or one of those pesky American AA halftracks that are preventing you from advancing. Simply call down the smoke, and as soon as your men unpin, rush the enemy and surround units/panzerfaust any vehicles that did not retreat to a safe distance. And last but not least, ‘Coordinated Fire’. If you have your own artillery, and have previously fired it but see an enemy force moving towards your positions, the Artillery Field Officer can use this ability to rain the fury of ALL your artillery pieces (Mortars, Howizters, Panzerwerfers, etc) down upon the selected spot of your choosing within the officer’s reach. Use the officer well and keep him to the rear of your Osttruppen. If the officer is killed, you will not be able to use his abilities until the squad is reinforced again, so watch out!
Trench
It’s a trench. You build it. You place units in them. Huzzah! Kidding aside, the trench is a nice asset for a defensive oriented player as they cost nothing to build, build fairly quick, and – unlike the Bunker – units can fire from all sides when stationed inside. Like the Bunker, flame weapons are your worst enemy and explosives will still damage your men and the trench over time. However, since it is a world object, anyone can put their units in them if it is unoccupied, and it wouldn’t be very good if the enemy were to commandeer them. Guard them well, or spam trenches everywhere to block the terrain, ruin the pathfinding of enemy units, and turn your opponents hopes of an armored assault into a nightmare when he cannot cross due to a sea of trenches.
Supply Drop Zone, The Panzer IV, And The Bigger Picture
Dear players, you have made it this far into the game! Your Osttruppen are dying but still holding the line, your allys holding on their own lines, and you believe the enemy is very close to calling off tanks. What do you do?
Simple! If the enemy has placed numerous fuel caches, it is evident they plan on making tanks – and fast. If you see this – and you dont necessarily need to play defensive but just want to play it safe – build a 75mm Pak and keep it near the Osttruppen, since the combination of mass Panzerfaust + Pak will quickly neutralize any armor threat.
But if you’re more assault oriented, then feel free to get Panzergrenadiers and equip them with Panzerschrecks for mobile anti-tank. Keep in mind, these two examples should only be carried out if you think the presence of an enemy vehicle is imminent! Why, you may ask? Well, your Osttruppen force, HMGs, and any other support weapons you have or have been lent to you by a teammate will do a great job at holding the enemy at bay, and by this point of the battle you should have several fuel caches built. Building Pak guns and Panzergrenadiers costs fuel (the price you paid for the building) and excessive amounts of manpower.
Manpower that should be used reinforcing your Osttruppen and saving up for nothing other than ‘that early Panzer IV’! The trick to Osttruppen is holding the enemy at bay for long enough that you can get out your first tank. The Panzer IV is in my honest opinion the best tank to go with Osttruppen simply because of its amazing versatility against all targets, speed, production rate, relative cheap price, and all-round efficiency and expendibility. First you build one, then two, three, four, maybe five if your popcap allows it. A fleet of veteran Panzer IVs backed up by a large force of Osttruppen, steamrolling through the enemy lines. Oh, such joy! You need to play your Panzer IVs aggressively but intelligently (different from cautiously). Speed is key! Keep them together! If the enemy has tank superiority, that is when you switch over to Panthers, and if that is to no avail as well, then scratch tanks out of the picture completely and focus on infantry. However, due to recent changes, Redistribute Resources has been replaced with ‘Supply Drop Zone’ which is a drain on manpower and not worth the risk of calling down to have it seized by the enemy and it is EXCELLENT, since at only 3CPs, especially the majority of every map having a fuel and munitions point safe within your own territory, you can call down several of these to help rush an early tank or to assist any OKW allies you may have pump out late game heavy armor at a much quicker rate and even earlier. Also nice to equip your infantry with upgrades and to use abilities, since the munitions drop totals at 150 munitions. Just be sure to keep the point you are calling resources down guarded well during the duration of the ability.
Osttruppen + Panzer IV Fleet = Ultimate Axis ‘Shock and Awe’ Strike Force
Railway Artillery
Railway Artillery! One of the best forms of intimidating off-map support! At 200 munitions, it’s a somewhat decent price to pay for THREE MASSIVE SHELLS OF ULTIMATE ANNIHILATION, however the downside is the obvious red smoke markers signalling you called some unholy schieße down onto your foes, but also the unique sound it makes before it lands. Being as expensive as it is, and how no player is slow/unintelligent enough to not move out of the way, ‘Railway Artillery’ must be calculated expertly, used sparingly, used on static/defensive emplacements, or as a means to prevent an enemy from advancing/retreating. With the ‘Supply Drop Zone’ also included in the Osttruppen Doctrine, the fear of having your munitions depleted is rather slim once you have reached pop cap and no longer need to spend manpower on units, allowing you to call down a constant rain of resources. Don’t let the high cost of this formiddable ability scare you though, for if you do score a hit, the satisfaction is truly glorious!
Be wary, and look to the sky…
Conclusion
Read this guide, absorb its contents like you would the energy around you, my brothers, learn from it! This is a general playstyle for Osttruppen that I personally used and tinkered with over time. In essence, a tried and trusted tactic. It is versatile and works well with any playstyle. Now, run, run and roam the great plains! And if you ever need me again, my brothers, I shall be by the river’s edge, more than happy to infuse you with even more wisdom. PanzerJuice signing off!
