- This is an article about the original Company of Heroes.
The Allies, or the Allied Powers, are a playable faction in Company of Heroes.
Game Info[]
In the base set of Company of Heroes the Allies are represented by the United States, a much cheaper, more numerous, and more versatile army compared to the smaller, better trained and more advanced Wehrmacht army.
The main infantry units of the Allies are the Riflemen squads, armed with M1 Garand and M1 Carbines. These can be upgraded to B.A.Rs (Browning Automatic Rifle). Other abilities that can be researched for use by the riflemen are the Mk2 "Pineapple" Grenades and the Sticky Anti-tank "Bombs". They can also pick up or use certain weapons to give them an advantage against the Axis troops. The American engineer squads, armed with three M3 "Greasegun" submachine guns, are able to build defense weapons such as Machine Gun Emplacements and 105mm Howitzers. The allies can also field M4 Shermans and M10 Tank Destroyers. The Allies have faster armored vehicles in exchange for weaker armor and firepower.
In game you may select a "company" for the Allied teams which provide various unique strategies. The American Companies are Infantry Company, Airborne Company, and the Armor Company. The Infantry Company is set more around defense, with the ability to let riflemen build defences and have engineers build them even faster, although some abilities can be used offensively such as the howitzer, elite Army Ranger squads or artillery strikes. The Airborne Company has the ability to call in airdrops such as paratroopers, AT guns and supply drops while also being able to call in air support such as a P-47 Thunderbolt strafing or bombing run. These are ideal for light recon and raids against the enemy. Lastly, the Armor Company is best suited if you plan to have the majority of your army as vehicles. Slowest to build up, you will be able to call in the best allied tanks and also use other special abilities such as field repair and being able to replace tank losses for 200 munitions.
In the stand-alone expansion pack Opposing Fronts, the player can play as another Allied Force: the British. They are more defensive oriented when compared to the US. They are experts in constructing defensive weapons such as the 17 Pounder, 3" Mortar Pit and the fearsome 25 Pounder. Their infantry and vehicle units rely on high rank commanding officers to increase their combat effectiveness such as the Lieutenant, Captain, and Cromwell Command Tank. Their HQ is also vastly different from the other playable teams as they are mobile command trucks which can hold Strategic Points to prevent capture and can increase the resources endowed by that point. These trucks can also drive through houses and trees with ease. Their command trees are the Royal Artillery Support, Royal Commandos Support and the Royal Engineers Support. The Royal Artillery is just as it sounds, with the ability to call in more powerful, longer ranged artillery with some new tricks to perform such as the creeping barrage. The Royal Commandos is similar to the American Airborne company, where you can drop gliders out of the sky to spawn commandos anywhere you want on the map, plus more such as being able to spy on the enemies alerts and fake artillery strike smoke, as well as a real artillery strike. Lastly, the Royal Engineers allow you to call in more tanks and increase the effectiveness of emplacements as well as improving your command truck.
Tales of Valor is another and currently the newest expansion to Company of Heroes. It adds new units that can be toggled on or off to replace older units. For the Americans, these are the T17 Armored Car, which has increased anti-infantry effectiveness and vehicle-blinding White Phosphorous rounds as an ability, and the Hellcat tank destroyer, a more mobile version that excels in hit-and-run attacks. For the British, there is the Kangaroo Carrier (replaces the Cromwell Tank ) which is pretty much a tank with no turret, but instead allows you to transport troops inside. These troops are heavily armored by the tank and shoot out the top in place of the turret, effictively turning the kangaroo carrier into an armor bonus for troops. The other British Tales of Valor unit is the Staghound Armored Car which replaces the Cromwell, which is faster and less vulnerable, but lacks the Command abilities.
Allied leaders at the Tehran Conference (1943)
Company of Heroes 2 features the third major Allied nation in the war, the USSR. The Soviet Union places heavy focus on cheap and expendable units, such as the conscript squad.
History[]
The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during World War II. The three major countries of the Allies were the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union.
- The British joined the war a few days after Germany had invaded Poland, and alongside the French Army they fought a losing battle for France and continued to stay in action throughout the entire conflict.
- The USSR on the other-hand joined the conflict when Germany (halted by the British and the English channel) turned to the East for more territory, resources, and other materials, and in doing so, declared war on the USSR and started what they called "Operation Barbarossa". At first (due to German Blitzkrieg tactics taking the USSR defenses entirely by surprise) the assault showed some success. After some time, however, experienced soldiers and officers began to take control and turn the tide of the assault, along with the help of the fierce Russian winters, which the Germans were wholly unprepared for. By 1943 they were fighting a desperate fight to hold back wave after wave of fanatical soldiers and advanced tanks like the T-34/76 and other highly successful tanks. After the battle of the Kursk (the largest tank-battle of the entire war) it was clear that Germany were losing the war.
- The US joined joined the war because of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor and supplied what is estimated to have been one half to three quarters of all the supplies of the Allies and assisted or spearheaded attacks on the Pacific, Africa, and on Europe itself. It is during the Normandy Campaign and other campaigns in Europe that Company of Heroes is based. The US Army, as shown in game and real life, relied on strength in numbers and had several advancements in warfare technology,such as semi-automatic standard issue M1 Garands, superior to the issued Bolt-Action rifles of other nations' armies.
- Canada joined WWII shortly after Britain did (only 1 week later) and aided the UK greatly in many battles including D-Day itself.