Shock Troops | |||
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Army | Soviet Army | ||
Role | Elite close-range anti-infantry | ||
Men per Squad | 6 | ||
Unit Cost |
360 9 | ||
Upkeep per Minute | 13.5 per min | ||
Prereq. |
Urban Defense Tactics Shock Motor Heavy Tactics Soviet Shock Army Shock Rifle Frontline Tactics Counterattack Tactics | ||
Produced By | None, called in from the field | ||
Cost to Reinforce |
30 1 | ||
Health per Man | 80 | ||
Received Accuracy | 1.0 | ||
Basic Weapon | 6x PPSh-41 | ||
Firing Range | 35 metres | ||
Sight Range | 35 metres | ||
Max. Speed | 3.0 m/s | ||
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Shock Troops are highly trained assault troops that specialize in destroying infantry at close-range. They are equipped with SMGs, grenades and light body armor.
Typically, all shock infantry are tasked to lead an assault, in conjunction with the use of artillery to break enemy fortifications and hard defensive points before creating a final breakthrough. Shock troops saw widespread actions in the street firefights in Stalingrad and Berlin, as most Red Army formations in the battles of Stalingrad and Berlin were shock armies (the instrumental being the 3rd Shock Army in the Battle of Berlin). Shock armies has higher proportion of engineer and field artillery. But unlike their guards rifle counterparts, they suffer poor artillery support.
Traits[]
Shock Troops possess light body armor, meaning they have an armor value of 1.5, as opposed to typical 1 armor that most infantry possess, allowing them to sustain more punishment. Merging in Conscripts with the squad preserves the Conscript's health and armor value of 1, making the squad overall more fragile.
They also are deal more damage on the move, so combined with their armor you should look for opportunities to advance and eliminate enemy troops, which shouldn't be hard considering these elite infantry's armor and abilities.
The damage of their PPSh submachineguns, as expected, is terrible at a distance (they will not even fire when standing at rifle range!) but increases exponentially as they get close, to the point of near-instantly killing German infantry that they are right beside.
They are superior to single squads of Assault Grenadiers, Panzergrenadiers and Sturmpioneers in close assault, but will still take damage and casualties in the fight, and will likely lose against two squads without proper micro and usage of grenades. Grenadiers and Obersoldaten squads upgraded with MG42's will seriously threaten Shock Troops if allowed to continue firing, but will cease to be a threat once the Shock Troops close the distance, and can also be hit by the fairly long ranged frag grenade.
Abilities[]
RG-42 Anti-Personnel Grenade - Shock troops throw a grenade at the target location, causing damage in a large area to infantry, regardless of cover. This is best used to take out bunched up infantry, garrisoned infantry, infantry behind cover, or weapons teams. Costs 30.
RGD-1 Smoke Grenade - Shock troops throw a smoke grenade at the target location, creating a cloud of smoke lasting 30 seconds that blocks line of sight. This is most useful to screen the squad (or friendly squads) from attacks coming from a particular direction. This can allow them to maneuver into a more favorable position. Costs 15. Since it does not share a cooldown with the Anti-Personnel grenade, the smoke grenade can be used to conceal the squad as it moves in the smoke. The squad can then toss a grenade out of the smoke without line of sight; best used on weapon teams.
Fire Superiority - Shock troops walk towards a target enemy infantry squad, firing long bursts with their PPSh-41 SMGs. This will suppress the target squad. Costs 25. Available in the campaign.