WARNO: Divisions Guide

We have discussed all the different divisions in WARNO, the details that make the divisions special and many other important information for you in this guide.

Divisions Guide

As beginners, we realized that there wasn’t really a good way to learn what all the different parts did, so we decided to compile them all and give an overview of each. It is a written overview of every part that is in the game.

What’s a division, anyway?

Divisions are essentially the army templates that you pick to build your army based on. All divisions provide you with 50 activation points to build a deck with, and all the units that come with that division. Picking a USA division will usually mean gaining access to a lot of USA units but you probably won’t have nearly the same amount of French units to work with in that division. Similarly, an Armoured division will trend more towards tanks than an Infantry division would. The nature of divisions means your army will be specialised to do something well, but maybe not be too great at some other things.

Divisions are all graded with a letter to showcase how aggressive they are in the in-game armoury, with A being the most aggressive and C being the most defensive, B somewhere in between. This grade usually doesn’t matter too much and frankly, your playstyle is your own, be as slow or fast as you want, don’t pay too much attention to the provided grade.

Because of the Division system, WARNO forces you to specialise your army in a specific direction. You must pick what you want your army to be good at, you can’t be a jack of all trades, master of all. The divisions of each player are visible in the lobby and during deployment, allowing you to play to best exploit their weaknesses. For instance, when facing a tank division, you would be advised to drag the fighting into cities and forests where tanks are at their weakest, or you can prepare more AA than usual when facing an Airborne division.

There are currently 22 Divisions in the game, with a 23rd coming soon. All divisions are currently free for all players, there’s no DLC Divisions yet.

Types of Divisions

Divisions have different types, which define how that division will play.

Armoured/Tank Divisions

Tank divisions, unsurprisingly, have the best tanks. These divisions want nothing less than to pull their opponent onto a wide open field and pummel them from afar with the heaviest tanks they’ve got, rolling forward once resistance is crushed to victory. Tanks are expensive and fairly vulnerable to air assets, so these divisions also tend to bring a powerful anti air game to protect them, with strong air superiority fighters and long ranged radar AA to lock down the skies.

In terms of flaws, armoured divisions usually pay a premium for their hardware, which is quite logistically demanding. Also, getting manpower in large numbers is a struggle tank divisions tend to face, running out of men is a very real concern!

Armoured divisions are a favourite of many that prefer the hammer over the scalpel.
Recommended Beginner Divisions: UK 1st Armoured, Soviet 79th Guard Tanks

Infantry Divisions

Infantry Divisions usually thrive where Tank Divisions struggle, and struggle where the tanks reign supreme. Infantry divisions are best for assaulting and holding the forests and towns of a map, being the dominant close ranged combatants of WARNO. Assault infantry and Special Forces are at an abundance in these divisions, while IFVs and some tanks provide fire support. For dealing with enemy tanks, competent ATGM teams and strong anti-tank bombers are common in Infantry divisions. Usually Infantry Divisions don’t lack in any particular tab, possessing at least light tanks, making them great all-rounder armies.

infantry Divisions are generally pretty weak in the open and at longer ranges, relying more on staying out of long sightlines by forcing urban combat and getting close with smoke when that isn’t an option in situations where their tanks would be inadequate. Outside of transports, infantry are also quite slow, so it can be difficult to capitalise on an opportunity to push or retreat from a failed engagement without having transports nearby to ferry them.

Infantry Divisions bring manpower in abundance for any player that appreciates having a numbers advantage, or simply having a well balanced army.
Recommended Beginner Divisions: USA 8th Infantry

Mechanized Infantry Divisions

Sometimes, Infantry divisions focus less on infantry numbers and more on IFVs, heavily armed transports equipped with autocannons and ATGMs intended to drop off and assist your infantry, giving your squads a potent fire support element. More common in Pact, these divisions are very similar to Infantry divisions in most other aspects, though they tend to possess a few more tanks but less special forces and forward deployment.

Recommended Divisions: USA 24th Infantry, Soviet 39th Guards Motor Rifles

Airborne Divisions

While many divisions have some forward deployment to make use of, Airborne divisions specialise in it, leaving behind anything that would slow them down to ensure maximum speed. Strong elite forward deploying infantry and the best planes and helicopters in the game are all expected in Airborne divisions, allowing for extremely aggressive opening pushes to take lots of territory all at once.

After the opener, time is ticking. Airborne divisions have quite literally no tanks and don’t have the manpower of a dedicated Infantry Division to throw around. As the enemy AA network becomes more established and more tanks enter the field, Airborne divisions get weaker and weaker, they either win early or probably won’t win at all.

Very focused on the earlygame, Airborne Divisions suit aggressive players well.
Recommended Beginner Divisions: USA 82nd Airborne, French 11e Parachute Brigade

Reserve Divisions

Reserve Divisions specialise in the stuff you don’t tend to see fighting on the frontline. Good logistics, fantastic AA capabilities and extremely dangerous artillery are hallmarks of Reserve Divisions, alongside reservists, cheap fodder infantry to hold the enemy in place for said artillery.

Reserve Divisions are suitably great at support their team but tend to struggle in 1v1s where they’re expected to hold the line with second rate tanks and infantry. Its still possible to win, but you’ll always be on the back foot.

Great for team games, defensive players will appreciate Reserve Divisions.
Recommended Beginner Divisions: N/A

NATO

Sometimes known as BLUFOR, NATO nations generally employs a stronger air force and more powerful ATGMs than their Pact counterparts, but usually have weaker tanks and their units are generally more expensive than Pact counterparts. Everything else depends more on the individual nation and division than NATO itself, so focus on those instead.

United States of America

Riders on the storm

The United States of America are the face of NATO/BLUFOR, bringing some of the most technologically advanced death machines to the field, often with a price tag to match. The USA have one of the best airforce in the game, particularly in terms of Air Superiority Fighters. F15s can dominate the skies like no other jet while their A-10s and various LGB bombers can erase anything on the ground unfortunate enough to be spotted. Their helicopters are also incredibly scary, no tank is gonna like being hit with a hellfire rocket from an Apache gunship. No matter the division, you can expect America to be packing a very capable air force.

American ground forces are competent and dangerous, the crowning jewel of which being the Abrams tank and all its variants. They’re able to brawl with most other heavy tanks very comfortably and hold their own against the higher end of the soviet range, an exceptionally solid tank. Mechanised rifles, Bradley fire teams and engineers provide very crucial infantry support to this armoured mix, while the Rangers and Paratroopers of more specialised divisions are very capable of overwhelming towns and forests without requiring any armoured support.

American Divisions are generally quite well rounded, choosing rather to be generally good at all aspects and great at their speciality instead of making any major sacrifices (even their Airborne division packs the LAV-25!). Being well rounded gives them a great deal of flexibility on the battlefield, and when deckbuilding. For this reason, America make a great beginner faction, with their 8th Infantry Division and 3rd Armoured Division being excellent introductions to the concept of infantry and armoured divisions respectively. Its hard to play them the wrong way when American can do everything to an acceptable level.

The biggest issue that USA faces is the price of their units. You get great IFVs in the Bradley, but its also the most expensive IFV in the game. You have fantastic air assets like the Strike Eagle, but its also the most expensive bomber in the game. The M1A1 Abrams is an amazing tank, but it costs as much as a T-80. While the National Guard of the 24th infantry Division can help alleviate this, its still gonna be a struggle to afford all your fancy toys, especially at the start of a game.

In summary, the USA is great if you like:

• Re-enacting Top Gun with the best fighter jets in the game along with some fantastic helicopters
• Long range Infantry AT with the Dragon and Dragon II, essentially an ATGM inside of a regular squad
• Well rounded divisions that can do a lot beyond what they specialise in
• Great heavy tanks
• Good recon vehicles, with the Bradley CFV and the various Kiowas being omnipresent and strong. Many recon infantry squads can be brought in recon transports, and the 11th ACR fully specialises in the use of recon vehicles, up to and including recon heavy tanks.

However, the USA may not be for you if you dislike:

• Reliance on expensive units, sometimes in expensive transports
• Unimpressive light and medium tanks
• The most common bombers in America are pretty lacking, especially for their price tag.

3rd Armored Division “Spearhead”

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: M1A1 Abrams, M1A1 Abrams (HA), F-15 Eagle

The biggest guns in town

3rd Armored have consistently been one of the most reliably potent armoured divisions in the game, bringing powerful and expensive Abrams tanks in abundance, including the M1A1 Abrams (HA), one of the strongest tanks in the game coming at an eye watering 310 points. These tanks are protected from the skies by the hyper lethal F-15 Eagle Air Superiority fighter alongside reliable and cost efficient Pivads and Chaparals on the ground, though the 3rd lack any long range radar AA so they rely a lot on that F-15. The infantry is mainly made up of smaller 6 man fire teams in Bradleys, with engineers in trucks providing the manpower and assault element.

In situations where tanks might not be applicable, the helicopters tab of 3rd Armored is surprisingly good with Apaches and their hellfire rockets doing ungodly damage to enemy tanks. You get an unreal amount of helicopter slots and a lot of cards of Apaches and Cobras, you can really overwhelm the skies with gunships in a way that even the Soviets and their attack helicopter fleet would be impressed by, should you commit to it. If your opponent overcommits to dealing with them, you also have the Wild Weasel SEAD plane to bait enemy shots and destroy any radar AA that hits the field, giving 3rd an amazing helicopter game, especially for an armoured division.

Infantry manpower can be an issue that the 3rd face, even more so than most other tank divisions. The smaller squad sizes of Bradley fire teams and lack of availability for high strength squads makes it difficult to match the infantry numbers of other divisions. With only the Bradley CFV providing any forward deployment punch, 3rd can also struggle against enemies with stronger forward deployment elements, don’t expect to take much territory early until your bigger tanks come online.

3rd are about as simple as it comes for armoured divisions. No fancy tricks, just a lot of strong reliable tools. Drag your opponent out into the open and pound them to dust with American firepower.

Strengths:

• Best Air Superiority Fighter in the game with the F-15.
• Amazing heavy tanks that can rival even the best tanks of the Soviets.
• Shockingly good helicopter tab with a lot of Apaches. One of the best helicopter tabs in the game, its closer to what you’d see in an airborne division than an armoured one.

Weaknesses:

• 3rd Armoured’s reliance on 6 man IFV fireteams means they tend to struggle for manpower, expect your infantry to be outnumbered.
• No Radar AA to protect your tanks

8th Infantry Division “Pathfinder”

Division Type: Infantry
Standout units: Rangers, Mech. Rifles, A-10 Thunderbolt

Rangers lead the way

A very capable division, 8th Infantry Division provides a lot of high quality infantry in trucks, APCs and helicopters, supported by a solid tank tab, a great air tab, a good recon tab and a good AA tab. The star of the infantry tab are the Rangers, a very budget special forces unit that comes at pretty high availability, letting you really swarm with special forces squads like an Airborne division can. If you don’t need special forces, Mech. Rifles are one of the strongest line infantry squads in the game, a highly available large squad of with 3 LMGs and the Dragon II ATGM makes for an incredibly scary combatant to dislodge from a city or forests. While Rangers make fine assault infantry in most circumstances, Engineers can provide further support with flash rockets for particularly entrenched opponents, its hard to concentrate on fighting when you’re on fire. Rangers are your sword, Mech. Rifles are your shield and Engineers are your thermobaric rocket. A very strong infantry composition indeed.

8th Infantry have exclusively access to the M60A3, an unusually decent light tank for America, which doesn’t tend to get good light tanks. On the other end of the spectrum, the M1A1 Abrams provide strong fire support at a high availability with a comparatively high price. 8th Infantry have the option of cheaping out with the older M1 Abrams, though honestly you’re better off just spending the 40 points on the upgrade to the A1 instead.

As expected with America, their air tab is good. The A-10 Thunderbolt in particular is an excellent anti-tank plane, being great at obliterating even the heaviest of Soviet armour. Slow speed and low ECM make it quite vulnerable to enemy AA though, so be careful.

A good introduction to infantry divisions, 8th Infantry is easy to play and recommended for beginners.

Strengths:

• The only USA division to possess special forces in the Rangers, which are quite good.
• Best line infantry in the game with the Mech. Rifles
• Well rounded roster, nothing really missing.
• Very capable anti tank with TOW-2s, Dragon IIs, M1A1 Abrams and the A-10 Thunderbolt. You won’t be struggling to beat armoured divisions like some other infantry divisions might

Weaknesses:

• Surprisingly little access to forward deployment, especially for an infantry division. You’re more reliant on transport helicopters for early rushes.

11th Armored Cavalry “Blackhorse”

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: Recon Abrams, Recon Bradley

The best recon is accomplished with a tank assault!

11th ACR is what happens when someone looks at 3rd Armored and goes “You know that’s cool and all but can I have even less infantry in exchange for more tanks?” and someone listened to them and this division was the result. 11th ACR has an absolutely anemic amount of infantry with only 5 slots, including a couple West German Pz.grenadiers to pad things out. In exchange for this, you get an absolutely gargantuan number of M1A1 Abrams to throw at the enemy, the tank printer is on full blast and you get the entire supply, you probably won’t be running out.

The main draw of 11th is the absolutely stellar recon tab, they have pretty much everything the other American divisions have and a couple exclusively and very powerful new toys to always know where the enemy is. Chief among these is the M1A1 ACAV, a recon heavy tank with good optics that can really abuse its forward deployment to jumpscare your opponent with a heavy tank to the face. For more subtle recon death machines, the Bradley M3A1 and M3A2 provide a more stealthy recon vehicle, with the M3A2 being able to sometimes tank Pact ATGMs and survive, though you shouldn’t make it a habit. The ever reliable LRS give you an option for exceptional optics while the B.G.S serve as a pretty cheap and durable recon infantry to put in places where you wouldn’t mind losing them (though you should probably try keep them alive, you really need all the infantry you can get).

Outside of the absolutely stacked recon and tank tabs, there’s few other things going for the 11th ACR, skewing towards those two tabs is mostly why you play them. Worth noting though is the C-Nite and the A-10 Thunderbolt. The C-Nite is a very budget anti tank plane, carrying the lethal TOW-2 and possessing a bit of ECM to boot, great for its low price. The A-10 Thunderbolt is another solid anti tank option, obliterating soviet armour from existence, so long as it doesn’t have to contend with enemy AA.

A very unorthodox take on an armoured division. Difficult to play and not recommended for beginners.

Strengths:

• You have literally everything you could ever ask for in the recon tab
• Good forward deployment thanks to the stacked recon tab
• Extremely high availability on great heavy tanks

Weaknesses:

• Infantry tab is a disaster, good luck trying to take or hold any town
• Expensive units, you’re pretty pidgeon holed into paying a premium for everything
• Very poor performance in 1v1s and other smaller games, you will struggle to stretch your forces across an entire front without any help.
• Logistics tab ain’t great, you’re very low on slots, especially for an armoured division.
• Pretty underwhelming air tab compared to every other American division

24th Infantry Division “Taro”

Division Type: Mechanized Infantry
Standout units: Strike Eagle, National Guard (+ Military Police)

Highway to the Danger Zone

The most unique USA Division, the 24th Infantry Division is split into basically two different groups in a trenchcoat pretending to be a well organised division. The first group is your regular armed forces. packing the Bradley fire teams, powerful Abrams tanks and strong air presence that you would expect out of the USA, though at reduced numbers. The other group is represented by the National Guard, cheap reservists forces that bring old stockpiled equipment and poorly motivated soldiers to hopefully be shot at instead of the professionals. To provide them with ample motivation, 24th comes with large military police squads with significantly improved equipment over standard military police, great for making sure your National Guardsmen aren’t retreating advancing in the wrong direction. National Guard are usually much cheaper than their equivalent standard unit, and you can even get N.G Abrams and Apaches! You can get a lot and get it for cheap in the 24th if you’re willing to call in the reserves.

Despite all the National Guard shenanigans, at its core, the 24th Infantry are still a Mechanized Infantry division at heart, possessing great numbers of Bradley IFVs while being well rounded in all other tabs. The tank tab is mainly defined by the M1IP Abrams and National Guard M1 Abrams, both cheaper alternatives to the iconic heavy tank of their namesake. While the practicality of N.G Abrams is questionable, the M1IP is a respectable tank that can hold its own, especially against the tanks of other infantry divisions. Most of your strength is definitely in the Bradleys though, and the fire teams they carry. The tank tab can’t really carry on its own, but it will do you well.

The air tab is truly spectacular, even by America’s standards. The superstar unit is most certainly the F-15E Strike Eagle, a multirole fighter/bomber, able to engage in aerial dogfights against some of Pact’s strongest air assets while possessing an absolutely lethal LGB payload that tends to one shot anything you target with it, being amazing at both because of a ridiculous 40% ECM. If you use it smartly, your opponent will tear their hair out trying to deal with the Strike Eagle, and you get two cards! The only issue is it costs 350 points, making it the most expensive unit in the game. If you want to be even better at dogfighting you have access to the F-15C which packs more long ranged AA missiles instead of the LGB payload. The Wild Weasel is also available, giving you a good source of SEAD missiles for shooting down radar AA, pretty much the only threat a strike eagle might struggle against. The budget that isn’t going to the National Guard went straight to the air tab, because this division packs some truly remarkably planes. Ow yeah, 24th also gets National Guard Apaches for cheaper hellfires, because why not, they need it.

There’s enough regular forces in the 24th that you don’t have to use reservists if you don’t want to. All of the tabs can be made good using regular soldiers, and their best tab, the air tab, doesn’t employ National Guard at all. If you just want to play a well balanced traditional Mechanized Infantry force, 24th can totally work for that and be very effective.

Well rounded, with no major weaknesses, 24th Infantry are easy to play and a good Mechanized Infantry Division for beginners (though I would recommend Pact’s 39th as a better entry level mechanized infantry division).

Strengths:

• National Guard provide many cheaper alternatives to common units, letting you cut costs and afford your heavy hitters much sooner
• Bradleys are one of the best IFVs in the game and you get a LOT of them, often discounted thanks to National Guard
• Good heavy tank in the M1IP, packing great armour for its price
• Godlike air tab, one of the best in the game. America players cite the Eagle’s 104-0 record for a reason, you basically have the air power of a dedicated Airborne division at your fingertips.
• Well rounded roster, there will never be a map you can’t handle or an opponent you don’t have the tools to defeat.

Weaknesses:

82nd Airborne Division “Eighty Deuce”

Division Type: Airborne
Standout units: LAV-25, F-15C Eagle, Airborne (with Dragon II)

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die

As with all Airborne Divisions, the 82nd leave heavy armour like the Abrams at home in favour of more speedy alternatives to deliver a powerful earlygame rush. The tip of this spear come in the Airborne squads, well trained and highly effective shock infantry that can either be brought in full 10 man squads or smaller 5 man fireteams, though generally you’ll be taking the 10 man until you run out of availability and then moving onto the 5 man. Airborne squads already come with good anti tank weapons in the AT-4, but if you want them to pack an even bigger and longer ranged punch, you can upgrade most of your Airborne to carry the Dragon II, a very potent ATGM. Supporting this push, should it be needed, are forward deployment engineers with flash rockets for lighting buildings on fire and forward deployment TOW-2 ATGMs for lightning tanks on fire. You don’t really struggle against enemy tanks as much as other Airborne divisions, you can throw a LOT of anti tank at them.

82nd Airborne have a pretty good recon tab with a few unique goodies, though the LAV-25 is most impactful. A recon light autocannon vehicle with good optics and, most impactfully, good stealth, the LAV-25 can be a real nightmare at the start of a game to provide fire support to your early rush, destroying any overeager enemy transports or recon vehicles that get too close. After the start, the LAV-25 is great at abusing that good stealth value to snake its way into the enemy backlines, disrupting their logistics and destroying their artillery and AA assets, a thoroughly annoying unit for your opponent to deal with

The 82nd helicopter tab is one of the best in the USA, though you’re probably not gonna be bringing many of your unique units, the little bird unfortunately just kinda sucks. Thankfully Apaches are as good as ever and you get a decent amount. The air tab on the other hand is pretty solid. You have incredibly good choices for Air Superiority Fighters, the Eagle never disappoints, but your bomber fleet is comparatively pretty mediocre. Make no mistake, 82nd has a good air tab, they just won’t be hitting ground targets with the same strength that 24th Infantry can, which is very weird, you’d think it would be the other way around.

When it comes to the 82nd, its excellent paratroopers and potent recon vehicles are often the main attraction rather than its air assets. Abuse its strengths as an Airborne division to rush the opponent down early and hold what you’ve taken with Dragon II squads and other ATGMs for as long as possible, until your opponent runs out of time and you tick up to victory.

82nd are a good introduction for rush strategies and are very beginner friendly.

Strengths:

• Obscene amounts of Dragon II availability gives you a backbone against tanks that no other Airborne division in the game really has
• Airborne are powerful shock infantry that come at very high availability. With engineer support, they have no problem assaulting an enemy town
• Incredibly powerful forward deployment from both infantry and the LAV-25, your entire infantry tab forward deploys, including your ATGM teams
• Very capable Air Superiority Fighters in the F-15 at the high end and F-4 Phantom at the low end.
• Really good Leader infantry. Big squads and strong weapons let them fight on the frontlines to provide buffs very comfortably.

Weaknesses:

• Mediocre bombers for an Airborne division.

United Kingdom

It always comes down to the infantryman and his rifle

The United Kingdom are a major NATO/BLUFOR nation that trends towards not having the most modern or advanced technology on their own, with their helicopter and plane tab in particular relying heavily on the support of other nations, such as the French-British Jaguar or the American provided Nighthawk and Phantom, to match what the Soviets bring to the table. Its important to note the UK isn’t low tech, just expect to be filling in gaps in your roster with leased equipment from the rest of NATO, with West Germany providing additional manpower, should it be required.

What the British do bring to the table though comes through mainly in their Infantry. The UK is probably one of the most consistently good infantry factions in the game, with their armoured division packing unusually solid amounts of paratroopers, whilst their infantry division bring top tier special forces supporting capable truck and IFV infantry, all of which come at high availability and with acceptably large squad sizes. Higher end squads, including sometimes recon squads, often have the option of bringing the LAW 80, a very effective anti tank rocket launcher that can put a hole in anyone that gets too close. With two MGs in most squads, British squads (or sections, if you want to be fancy) will consistently perform well for their cost and can win battles off their backs. The biggest issue UK infantry faces generally comes with your assault troops, as Assault Pioneers and Terrier Pioneers only provide Satchel charges, you’ll have to get very close if you want to make the most use of them.

As mentioned, recon squads can sometimes get the LAW 80, but that isn’t the only thing that makes British recon strong. That would be the Fox, one of the best recon vehicles in the game. A light autocannon vehicle with good stealth, it is a nightmare for the opponent to deal with, especially when using its recon forward deployment to rush down the opponent’s transports and disrupt their strategies early, before transitioning into a more regular recon or backline disruption role as the game progresses. One of the best recon units in the game, the Fox is in the top 10 for sure.

British AA tends to be kinda meh, you don’t have any access to radar AA and you rely a lot more on MANPADs then most others, not ideal. What is noteworthy however is your actual air force, particularly in terms of bombers. The Harrier is a very cheap budget bomber that can be spammed at high availability whilst the Jaguars and Nighthawk are both competing to be called the best bomber in the game. The Nighthawk in particular is the only stealth bomber in the game and the British have exclusive access to it, so have fun!

In summary, the UK is great if you like:

• Very strong and capable line infantry with some access to potent LAW 80 AT launchers
• Some of the strongest special forces infantry in the game
• Great forward deployment options, its very easy to disrupt an opponent’s opening with Foxes and paratroopers.
• An absolutely terrifying bomber fleet with exclusive access to stealth bombers in Berlin Command
• Well armoured tanks that prioritise firepower and armour over mobility. The Chieftain in particular is one of the best medium tanks in the game
• Well costed roster, most units come fairly cheap compared to other NATO nations. Lots of cheap helicopters, tanks, IFVs and planes can be thrown at the opponent and tend to perform decently enough.

However, the UK may not be for you if you dislike:

• AA is a bit lacklustre. You’ll be relying mainly on the Tracked Rapier and MANPADs to provide AA, not the best.
• Most fighters have unique flaws, such as the Harrier’s slow speed or the Phantom’s complete lack of a main gun, or they simply cost too much. Hard to win dogfights sometimes.
• Helicopters are lacking. Anti infantry helicopters can hardly even injure infantry whilst anti tank helicopters don’t have a good enough ATGM and struggle to kill pact medium/heavy tanks. Atleast they’re priced accordingly.
• Satchel charges are the only assault weapon you have.

1st Armoured Division

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: Chieftain, Challenger, Tornado F.3

Godlike infantry tab for an armoured division

The 1st Armoured Division of the British brings the heavy gear you’d expect from an armoured division in the Challenger, a well armoured tank with a big gun. If you like the Challenger’s gun but don’t want to break the bank buying them, the British have a cheaper platform for more of the exact same big gun in the Chieftain (mainly mk11), the premier medium tank of the 1st Armoured and one of the best mediums in the game (though it won’t be winning any races as its a very slow tank). Chieftains are very well costed for how effective they are, so they’ll most likely be 1st Armoured’s main tank for early engagement, only calling in the Challengers when there’s a threat that the Chieftains can’t handle. The combination of the two tanks provides a durable and reliable hammer to smash your opponent with and be done in time for tea.

Supporting your medium and heavy tanks is the infantry tab and oh boy is it something special. 1st Armoured have pretty much the best infantry tab of all the tank divisions, packing practically an entire mechanized force to throw at the enemy. Riflemen and Mechanized Riflemen provide large amounts of manpower with line infantry that your tanks will come to appreciate, with the latter coming in the Warrior IFV, a very solid and capable IFV that continues the British tradition of having an unusually big gun, this time coming with a 30mm autocannon. Assault Pioneers are present to support these elements in assaults, though only coming with satchel charges limits their effectiveness to very close range fights, you have to practically be next door to the enemy fortified building to start tossing satchels. Alternatively, you can get in that building first with the Terrier paras, a budget paratrooper choice with strong forward deployment that can reach towns early and hold off the enemy until your tanks arrive to save the day. Add in cheap military police squads to pad out an army and provide vision if you don’t need a full squad, alongside the Milan 2, a very capable ATGM squad, and you get to enjoy what a Mechanized Infantry Division would be packing, only at reduced slots. Obscenely good infantry tab, it doesn’t get much more solid than this in a tank deck.

The recon tab of 1st gets the job very well. Scimitars and Scorpions (but mainly Scimitars) provide agile recon vehicles that can keep up with your armoured assets and provide vision, or push up ahead on their behalf and see what’s going on. Not the best recon vehicles in the game but they get the job done and their presence is appreciated. You can also upgrade your regular scouts to pack a LAW 80, a pretty potent anti tank weapon that makes them very lethal in an ambush, put them forward in a forest and watch overeager T-72s pop. Finally, 1st Armoured have exclusive access to the SAS patrol, an elite spec ops GSR airborne unit. While only 6 man strong, they pack potent anti-infnatry capabilities with SMGs, a sniper rifle and stachel charges, though this leaves them with no option against enemy vehicles. A very solid active recon and/or assault unit that can be left stationary to setup the GSR and upgrade to Exceptional optics when appropriate, SAS Patrol do a lot for your army and are used to prepare the battlefield for your tanks, being very good in the opener thanks to forward deployment.

The other tabs are decent enough. The AA is mainly provided by the Tracked Rapier, an effective missile cart that while lacking a radar, still does pretty well against aircraft and helicopters alike. For radar options, the Rapier FSA is an untracked rapier upgraded with radar. It’s not that great but radar can be nice to have. Javelins can also be used if a MANPAD would be more appropriate. All in all, the AA tab of 1st is acceptable, it won’t win any awards but it’ll get the job done. The helicopter tab is what you’d expect from the UK, very poor.

As you’d expect from an Armoured division, the 1st Armoured’s air tab brings the powerful Tornado F.3 Air Superiority Fighter to battle, a strong high end fighter with great stats in all aspects, including 30% ECM, to protect your tanks from bombers. Unfortunately you don’t have a budget fighter, the Tornado is your only choice, though it is far from a bad choice, its one of the best fighters in the game. 1st Armoured bombers have a bit more variety, with the Harrier representing the low end while Jaguars and Tornado GR.1s represent the high end. While not at its best in this division, the Jaguar is a potent high ECM bomber with very reliable payloads that is almost garuanteed to take out its intended target, and likely make it back home too. The Tornado is a bit worse as a bomber (it really does best as an ASF), though having access to Cluster munitions gives it the edge over Jaguars against armoured targets The Harriers don’t do too bad either, possessing a surprising 20% ECM and being very cheap for bombers makes them great to spam out and provide anti infantry air support to your army, HE2 bombs are very good! However, be careful of how slow Harriers are, they’re one of the slowest jets in the game, expect them to take a while to get to the target and spend a longer time under enemy AA. Often times, its gonna be a one way trip for the brave Harrier pilots of the British.

1st Armoured is easy to play and recommended for beginners.

Strengths:

• Extremely good infantry tab, especially for an armoured division. Infantry options for both trucks and IFVs are both very valid depending on what you want.
• Incredibly potent forward deployment. Terrier Paras, Recon SAS and Scimitars punch hard and fast in the opening of a game and can contest with airborne rushes that other armoured divisions would get folded by. Its unusual for an armoured division to be this excellent at forward deployment.
• Abundance of solid options for bombers, particularly anti infantry bombers.
• Chieftains are amazing Medium tanks while Challengers are solid heavy tanks, 1st pack a great tank roster, particularly in terms of firepower.

Weaknesses:

• You don’t have any budget ASF options, you’re forced to go high end for your ASFs.
• Bad helicopter tab with bad helicopters.

2nd Infantry Division

Division Type: Infantry
Standout units: SAS

Who Dares Wins

If there’s one thing you know for certain every 2nd Infantry player will be packing, it is most definitely the SAS, the disputed best special forces unit in the game. The SAS are the only infantry squad in the game to possess both an AT launcher and javelin AA launcher which, along with their rifles, gives the SAS the ability to fight everything in the game very comfortably. If that wasn’t good enough for you, they’re Special Forces infantry with the assault trait and fully maxed veterancy, giving all their weapons (their stinger included!) extremely high accuracy and keeping them cohesive in the fight. They basically turn their Stingers from MANPADs into hyper lethal anti air railcannons of death and obliteration that can lock down enemy air assets on the frontline. Thanks to also having Forward deployment, SAS are one of the most brutally effective infantry units in the game, a solid contender for one of the best units in all of WARNO, they’re really that good when used properly. SAS are singlehandedly the only reason you really should play 2nd Infantry over any other infantry division, use and abuse them.

Other than the SAS, this Division is planned to get a pretty major rework next update. I’ll write more about 2nd Infantry after the update because its likely a lot is gonna change about their playstyle (and maybe finally give the UK a good helicopter?)

Berlin Command

Division Type: Infantry
Standout units: F-117 Nighthawk

The one with the Nighthawk

Berlin Command is a fictional division based around the forces that would be holding their namesake. This means you’ll be getting a large coalition force, and while the British are the most common, there are tons of Americans, West Germans and French assets available to you, all at once. The only problem is that while all of these soldiers are as professional as you’d expect, their equipment is generally pretty outdated, since in WARNO’s lore, NATO didn’t want to put their strongest tanks and most impressive weapons in a city expected to be encircled very quickly. You’ll have a lot of different options from all across NATO in Berlin Command, just don’t expect much of it to be very modern.

Naturally, following on from the recoilless rifles and satchel bombs of the ground forces, this must mean that their air force is low tech too, right? Yeah no, they get exclusively access to the F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber, not even the USA get it. The Nighthawk’s stealth capabilities manifest in WARNO, being pretty much undetectable to ground assets, you can fly this beauty straight through an air defence network and nobody will be none the wiser unless you’re directly above high grade radar AA. The payload its packing is a powerful LGB bomb, capable of reliably taking out pretty much anything on the ground with a single bomb, and this bomber carries two! Unfortunately, opening the bay to drop the bombs vastly reduce the stealth capabilities of the Nighthawk (like how a tank shooting in a forest gives itself away), so it can be detected by ground AA whilst its in the process of dropping a bomb. Also, the stealth helps but modern enemy Air Superiority Fighters generally have the optics to detect it fairly easily, a death sentence for the equivalent of an invisible flying brick that drops bombs. Try not to lose your Nighthawk in a dumb way, its the main reason to play Berlin Command.

The infantry tab is good, if a little unorthodox. Berlin Command has no IFVs to speak of. Instead, you have Recoilless rifle squads to provide fire support against infantry and vehicles alike. They’re actually pretty good and can really tip infantry fights in your favour, keeping the enemy stunned and disoriented. British rifles come with the LAW 80, a good AT weapon, and thanks to having coalition forces, you can also bring French flamethrower troopers and American flash rockets with their respective assault units. You’re no longer reliant on satchel charges in Berlin Command, which is a welcome improvement compared to other British divisions.

The recon tab is pretty stacked with a lot of elite forces. The SEK are a west german assault teams who, with their max veterancy and MP5s, excel in urban warfare. The American PSSE-B are pretty unique, special forces soldiers disguised as civilians that pack AT-4s and satchel charges for sabotage. Their false flag trait means enemy units will target them last, assuming them to be civilians in the thick of battle. Combined with their shock trait, this can lead to a potent special forces recon unit that excels in supporting your forces in urban combat. While they don’t get the advanced recon vehicles the French are known for, the British Fox is more than enough to round out Berlin Command’s recon tab into something really quite solid.

Berlin Command has a couple tanks but availability is quite poor throughout. The few Chieftain mk 10s and M1IP Abrams you do get will have to do, with Humvee TOWs to support. The heli tab is atrocious even by british standards and with the most effective unit in the AA tab being MANPADs, things are dire. Add onto the fact your best fighter is a harrier in the air tab, Berlin Command utterly sucks as achieving the air superiority required for the Nighthawk.

Berlin Command is difficult to play and not recommended for beginners.

Strengths:

• You have the Nighthawk!
• Pretty good infantry tab. Recoilless rifles do work and you have a lot of different options for assault infantry
• Recon tab is great and supplements the infantry well, providing capable special forces with lots of funny shenanigans and the ever reliable Fox
• Even outside of the Nighthawk, Berlin Command’s other bombers are quite good.

Weaknesses:

• Undoubtedly the worst helicopter tab in the game.
• God awful AA. The Mistral MANPAD isn’t enough to carry Berlin, they struggle extremely hard at shooting down enemy air assets.
• Bad fighters don’t help achieve air superiority, with the Harrier being the only Air Superiority Fighter of Berlin Command and its not very good at its job here.
• Low availability on their good tanks either forces you to run a very small tank force or use less than stellar replacements out of necessity.

France

Recon tab of the gods

France are one of the major nations of NATO/BLUFOR. the French trend towards not having the huge heavy tanks that the other nations tend to prefer. Instead, France puts a premium attention on firepower and mobility, having some of the speediest death machines offroad, their tanks and light vehicles are pretty much unmatched for their light weight class. The infantry tends to substitute this firepower with the hyper lethal APILAS, by far the strongest infantry AT launcher in the game, there isn’t really anything that is gonna be having a good time once it enters its range.

Prioritising firepower and speed over armour, French armour is very reliant on getting the first shot in every engagement and using their speed to avoid suicidal fights. To accomplish this, The French undoubtedly the best recon in the game. Like half the stuff they can bring from this tab is insanely good, though special mentions goes to the AMX-10 and its variants for being the undisputed king of the recon tab, its pretty much got the strength of a light tank combined with the optics of an advanced scout vehicle, a terrifying unit that defines the earlygame. To not make too long a fuss over France’s amazing ATGM scout vehicles or their affordable and dangerous Lynx, French recon is very, very, very good.

Unique to NATO, the French Foreign Legion, represented by Legionnaire Paras, have the Resolute trait, a trait normally exclusive to East Germany, causing them to take reduced suppression and cohesion loss. Despite what some people on the internet might have you believe, French infantry tend to be much less prone to the white flag as you’d expect, fighting tooth and nail till the bitter end (or until too scary of a tank shell hits them). Thanks to the aforementioned APILAS AT launcher, France possesses very solid infantry, especially in regards to their airborne division.

The name of the game when it comes to French air assets is cost effectiveness. French fighters tend not to be the most impressive thing in the air, even against Pact, bringing less missiles than their rivals. What this results in though is that they’re costed very well for the stats they do have, which is usually either an abundance of speed or ECM to match the best jets in the sky in a dogfight. The French realised that having 6 missiles isn’t important if you don’t get to use them, and you won’t be paying for those extra missiles either, French ASF generally being priced around the ~200 point range but do very well against more expensive jets. In terms of bombers and helicopters, both are acceptable, neither are impressive but they aren’t bad either. The Jaguar is still a really good bomber for the French, it just isn’t as strong as the British Jaguar.

In summary, France is great if you like:

• Having the best recon tab in the game with nobody else really close to taking that crown.
• Amazing infantry, particularly on the elite and paratrooper side of things.
• The APILAS is the best AT launcher in the game and a lot of French squads can be upgraded to bring it.
• Best light tanks in the game, France is particularly great when in terms of mobility.

However, France may not be for you if you dislike:

• Worst IFV in the game that can’t even be given an ATGM. Don’t play France if you want good IFVs.
• No heavy tanks in even their tank division.

5e Armored Division

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: AMX-30 (all variants), AMX-10 RC

Light tank specialists

When you think of armoured divisions, the first thing to come to mind is probably the big heavy tanks packed with firepower and covered in highly effective armour. The French think differently, using their fleet of light and medium tanks to outmanoeuvre and overwhelm their much more sluggish opponents while possessing none of the expensive high end heavy tanks armoured divisions are normally known for. You probably don’t want to take a straight up fair 1v1, but thanks to your speed and French recon, you can always ensure the odds are always in your favour.

For an armoured division, the 5e infantry tab is pretty good in terms of options, even if the activation point cost is a big rough. Escorte, Chasseurs and Reservistes give you three very solid options for cheap manpower with Grenadier-Voltigeurs being a competent line infantry that can be upgraded with the godlike APILAS AT launcher. 5e can very much hold their own in terms of manpower, and can further augment their infantry with Commandos, special forces assault squads that can be brought in by helicopter (though have no forward deployment). Combined with the Dragon-Paras in the recon tab, 5e can pack an uncharacteristic amount of special forces, which is normally the domain of infantry divisions.

It goes without saying the 5e Recon tab is up to French standards, which is to say one of the best recon tabs in the game. You have the AMX-10 RC, so have fun!

For the other tabs, the AA tab is pretty good, with Roland 2s and 3s providing the main infared and radar AA respectively. Mistral MANPADs are the best in the game and 5e get six of them, the AA tab will have no issue protecting the French tanks. Helicopter and air tab are both pretty unremarkable, they aren’t good enough or bad enough to be noteworthy, they do their 5/10 jobs just fine, though special mention has to go to Mirage ASFs, they’re pretty good for their price and 5e get a lot of them.

5e are difficult to play and are not recommended for beginners.

Strengths:

• Best light tanks in the game (not that there’s a ton of competition, but even if there where, 5e would still be king). All tanks come with a 20mm autocannon that makes French tanks particularly adept at shredding infantry.
• Amazing recon tab, lots of recon vehicles that are also very good at combat or have good stealth.
• Competent infantry tab with good options for both cheap fodder and high end special forces.
• AA tab is great with most of the options being highly accurate and reliable.

Weaknesses:

• 5e won’t be winning most straight up tank fights. If you and your opponent attack move forward in an open field, you will almost certainly lose and lose badly.
• Durability is pretty lacking. Your vehicles hit hard but none of them can really take a hit in return. You’re very reliant on landing the first shot in every combat situation.

11e Parachute Brigade

Division Type: Airborne
Standout units: Legionnaire Paras

We’re paratroopers, we’re supposed to be surrounded

An update is upcoming for the 11e Parachute Brigade. I’ll write more about them after that point. Biggest draw of these guys currently is they still have light tanks (the only airborne division with any tanks), amazing recon vehicles and abnormally good special forces for an airborne division. If any of that appeals to you, try them out, but expect some of that to be changing soon.

West Germany

The Iron Cross

West Germany are the final of the major NATO/BLUFOR nations currently in the game. Being the progenitors of mechanized warfare, the West Germans continue their speciality, bringing good IFVs and powerful tanks to the battlefield with the aim to overwhelm their opponents under the speed of their treads and the power of their tanks.

West German infantry, by NATO standards, is pretty poor, relying mainly on small fireteams in IFVs. West German squads tend to lose in straight up fights to pretty much all other nations thanks to their surprisingly poor MG3 machine gun and below average squad sizes, while struggling to defend themselves against tanks with pretty bad AT weapons, the Carl Gustav and Panzerfaust 44 won’t really cut it against enemy tanks in the same way the American Dragon II or the French APILAS will. Its a struggle, but atleast pioneers have a flamethrower option, and the Milan 2 provides strong ATGM support to your infantry to make up for their poor AT capabilities.

West Germany pack a very competent and well rounded tank tab, with good options for pretty much any price range you can ask for. For light tanks, Leopord 1a1s provide a very cheap infantry support platform with a fairly decent anti-IFV gun, should it be able to get in range without getting hit with an IFV ATGM. For mediums, the Leopord 1a5 is long ranged and accurate, giving it good capabilities for dealing with lights, roughing up mediums and supporting your heavy tanks against the enemy heavy tanks. For heavy tanks, the Leopard 2 and all of its variants cap off the tank tab and give West Germany a competent and well rounded tank game, even outside of their armoured division.

While West German helicopters are pretty unimpressive, the air tab tend to be packed with options, particularly on the low end. West Germans have very good budget airplanes at high availability that let them swarm the skies and simply overwhelm their opponents, while still being quite competent at the high end with various types of Tornados, both as an ASF and as a bomber. West Germany tends to be packed with options in the air tab, with most being pretty good, so its hard to go wrong, and losing a plane isn’t as big of a deal as it would be in all other NATO nations.

It is worth noting that West Germany are the only nation in the game to possess some Belgium units. Since Belgium doesn’t have its own division yet, 2nd Panzergrenadier is the only way to play with Belgium units outside of singleplayer.

In summary, West Germany is great if you like:

• Lots of different tanks for any price range that tend to be quite good, you can go as budget or as expensive as you like.
• Cheapest IFVs in the game, you can spam a lot of Marders onto the field
• Great options in the air tab, especially on the budget side of things. Availability 4 planes are common in West Germany while being very rare pretty much everywhere else.

However, West Germany may not be for you if you dislike:

• Pretty much the worst infantry in the game. Small squads with poor AT weapons get overwhelmed by pretty much anything and really need IFV/tank support to do anything.
• All tanks have below average side armour, especially for Leopard 2s. While no tank wants to be sideshot, West German tanks are particularly vulnerable to it.

2nd Panzergrenadier Division

Division Type: Mechanized Infantry
Standout units: Fs-Jager

Does it all

2nd Panzergrenadier is best described as a jack of all trades division, not really excellent in any particular aspect but being pretty good at, well, everything. You have good infantry with an airborne element in the Fs-Jager, solid artillery, good tanks, solid recon, decent AA and a pretty damn good air tab. Its kinda hard to write about this division because every sentence will be a variation of “they’re pretty good at doing it”.

Special mention has to be given to the Fs-Jager, strong forward deployment paratroopers that come with high veterancy and the powerful Panzerfaust 3, an abnormally strong Infantry AT weapon for West Germany, who tend to suffer in this regard. Its pretty unusual for mechanized infantry to get such a strong paratrooper unit, so make sure to use and abuse them in your opener.

Strengths:

• Does everything and does it well, none of the tabs can be considered bad.
• Great forward deployment ability from the Fs-Jager and recon tab, especially by mechanized infantry standards.
• Has better infantry AT than West Germany normally does.
• Good options on both the low end and high end for Air Superiority Fighters.
• Pretty good options for tanks at high availability, the Leopard 1a5 in particular is a particularly solid budget tank for fire support.

Weaknesses:

• 2nd Panzergrenadier still suffers from the West German small squad size curse, mainly in their IFV infantry.

5th Panzer Division

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: Leopard 2 (primarily 2a4)

Big Cats

5th Panzer unleashes the Leopard 2a4 to the battlefield, a very potent heavy tank that prides itself on being well rounded, possessing great speed, good armour and high amounts of firepower in an accurate and very reliable package. Exclusive to the 5th Panzer, the Leo 2a4 is very capable against other tanks in its price range, able to brawl with something like an Abrams, though it will get slaughtered against top of the line tanks like T-80UDs or Abrams(HA) without support. The cheaper Leopard 2a3 may be one such support element, being more suited to brawling mediums than heavies, though its gun does often punch above its weight. That’s all the 5th really need out of their tank tab, building a strategy around Leopard 2a4 and 2a3 tanks is usually why you’re playing this division over 2nd Panzergrenadier anyway.

5th Panzer comes with a respectable infantry tab, bringing plenty of options for lots of manpower, sometimes in pretty big squads. For keeping up with your armoured assault, you have IFV infantry coming in the Marder 1a2. While the panzergrenadiers inside your IFVs do suck pretty bad with a very small 5 man squad and very poor AT weapons, they have the crucial advantage of being really damn cheap, so you can spam a lot of Marders out at a pretty budget cost and overwhelm people with small squads and like 10 IFVs. Definitely a useable infantry tab for an Armoured division.

5th Panzer has a lot of options for protecting its tanks from enemy bombers and all of them are quite solid. At the most budget, Fligerfausts serve as abnormally cheap MANPADs that can be spammed everywhere, relying more on quantity than anything, serving as a good helicopter counter. Against planes, the Roland 2 and Roland 3 enter the field, with the latter having long ranged radar capabilities. The tracked capabilities of both Rolands let them keep up with armoured assets very comfortably. Finally, the F-4F serves as a high availability budget fighter, they aren’t the fastest thing in the world but 5th gets so many for so cheap that you can really throw them out there and they’ll do work, especially thanks to their 30% ECM.

This division lives and dies off the effectiveness of its core of Leopard 2a3 and 2a4 forces, and right now, they aren’t the strongest thing in the world. While 5th Panzer is well suited to fighting infantry divisions thanks to its flexibility. 5th Panzer can struggle against other Armoured divisions that are able to match its tanks in the open. Expect to be working pretty hard in those matchups!

Strengths:

• Very solid AA options to protect your tanks, both on the ground and with ASF.
• Competent infantry tab for an armoured division.
• High availability on your high end tanks
• Leopard 1s are very cheap and provide good infantry fire support while Leopard 2s are fast and capable heavy tanks.

Weaknesses:

• The Leopard 2a4 can struggle to fight Pact heavy tanks while the Leopard 2a3 is outclassed pretty bad by Pact heavies. Winning the tank battle is difficult in BLUFOR v REDFOR.
• Very small and fragile IFV infantry squads with bad AT weapons, you’re buying them more for the IFV than the squad itself.

Territorialkommando Süd

Division Type: Reserve (though plays more like an Airborne Division)
Standout units: Green Berets, AMX-10 RC

Blitzkrieg

The in-game armoury seems to think these guys are a defensive reserve division focused on artillery, which couldn’t be further from the truth of how TKS actually play, which is to say, the exact opposite. TKS is a coalition force, meaning you’ll be using forces from other nations in NATO, though unlike the other Berlin Command coalition, this division is made up of pretty much 90% West German forces, with the French and Americans only providing a small number of capable reinforcements.

TKS is best thought of as an airborne division that traded in most of its helicopter tab for access to tanks, though exclusively of the budget low end variety. The airborne rush comes in two units, the Green Berets and the AMX-10 RC, the former being a strong special forces assault team and the latter being one of the strongest recon vehicles in the game. TKS uses this strong forward deployment to take points and cities early and achieve an early lead that it attempts to hold through use of its airpower and ATGMs. Like said prior, its pretty much an airborne division, even if it is labelled differently.

To be honest with you, TKS is a weird unicorn division that I have hardly played much of or much against, so I can’t really write more beyond the basics. If you do know more about these guys and would like to explain, please speak to me, because this is by far one of the weirdest divisions in the game.

Warsaw Pact

Sometimes known as REDFOR, Pact nations generally employs some of the strongest tanks in the game backed up by affordable mechanized infantry and good artillery, though they tend to struggle to match NATO in the air. Their units are generally on the cheaper end, and thanks to the artillery, tend to do best when on the offence. Made up of two nations, the Soviet Union tends focuses more on high quality units whilst East German relies more on a vast quantity of units.

Soviet Union

Military Industrial Complex

Subtlety is not a word I would use to describe the Soviet Union, the biggest nation in Pact/REDFOR. Soviets are defined by their superb fleet of high tech heavy tanks, possessing fantastic armour, terrifying firepower and good mobility. Soviet tanks have a few unique traits and capabilities that help them outclass their NATO rivals. The most important of these advantages comes in the autoloader, a reloading mechanism wholly unique to the Soviets that reloads their main tank gun at a speed surpassing human hands, unaffected by the penalties of low coherency or morale. The autoloader gives the Soviets a huge advantage in close range tank fights, though their NATO rivals usually have the advantage at longer ranges, or they would if not for the 2nd unique capability. Soviet tanks can also be equipped with long range ATGMs which, when combined with their autoloading main guns, allows them to pound enemy tanks into dust from any range. There is little debate that the Soviets are the kings of tank warfare, with all non-airborne Soviet divisions getting to enjoy that power.

Soviets support this armoured offensive with potent mechanized infantry, relying mainly on the BMP and its many variants, an amphibious IFVs that carries a good amount of soldiers and respectable firepower, though BMP-2s and 3s tend to do best thanks to their 30mm autocannons. These IFVs can deliver Soviet infantry right into battle, putting them in range to use the above average AT launchers of the soviets, with higher end launchers like the RPG-27 being particularly dangerous to enemy tanks. Soviet infantry also bring the Metis, their counterpart to the American Dragon, a medium range ATGM that is present in some combat squads and provides capable AT to Soviet infantry assaults beyond the dedicated ATGM teams like the Konkurs.

The Soviet air force is very capable, though with less of the expensive high end fighter/bombers that NATO like to bring. Soviets possess lots of Hind gunships in pretty much all of their divisions, with the airborne having exclusive access to the Ka-50 Akula and its dangerous Vikhr rockets. While the ATGMs on Hinds aren’t fantastic, Soviets do place a particular interest in AA helicopters equipped with Iglas to dominate in helicopter battles and defend themselves against planes. Soviet planes in the meanwhile tend to be very practical and well costed, with lots of CAS and bomber options and some very competent ASF. Soviet airpower tends to be lacking on the high end side of things though and usually outperformed by their NATO rivals. You’ll usually be outclassed against BLUFOR in the sky, though that’s not to say you can’t contest their attempts at achieving air superiority!

In summary, the Soviet Union is great if you like:

• Having the undisputed best tanks in the game. Heavies like the T-80 define any battlefield they appear on.
• Good options in the helicopter tab, even if most of their ATGMs are a little lacklustre. Noteworthy is having good access to competent AA helicopters.
• Mechanized infantry in abundance with strong close ranged AT weapons and a capable medium ranged option with the Metis.
• Competent Air Superiority Fighters and good bombers at affordable costs, particularly good against tanks more than against infantry.

However, the Soviet Union may not be for you if you dislike:

• Lack of good medium tanks. Soviets are forced to either go very cheap or very expensive with their tanks and there isn’t much inbetween (East Germany is significantly better at this).
• ATGMs tend to lack penetration compared to NATO options, they’re significantly more dependant on sideshots or just high quantity to be most effective.

27th Guards Motor Rifle Division

Division Type: Mechanized Infantry
Standout units: Motostrelki RPG-27 (in BMP-3), T-80BV

Future Warfare

The 27th are the sort of division you’d see front and centre in a parade, possessing the most recent technological developments from Soviet R&D to give the division a serious edge on the battlefield. The most impressive of these toys exclusive to the 27th is the BMP-3. This next generation IFV has an excessive amount of firepower and armour by IFV standards, possessing its own tank cannon alongside the 30mm autocannon and the potent 9M117 (known as the Bastion), a 2800 meter range ATGM, the longest ranged and fastest ATGM in the game. Its the strongest IFV in the game, with an equally high price tag to match.

The BMP-3s are used to deliver decent size squads right into the thick of battle, who are often equipped with the RPG-27, a strong AT launchers that can tear a chunk out of even the heaviest armour NATO can bring, though lacking quite heavily in range, having poor range even by infantry AT standards. For longer distance anti tank, the 27th are field testing the Konkurs-M, a very strong ATGM with special Tandem missiles, able to negate the ERA that high end tanks tend to possess. This doesn’t come at the sacrifice of dealing with targets without ERA, with 23 penetration making it the strongest ATGM in pact, posing a threat to even the heaviest of NATO’s tanks. When combined with Metis teams and the BMP 3, the 27th can project an extremely threatening layered ATGM hellscape for their opponents to walk into and hopefully die in.

The tank tab has the T-80BV at high availability, which many (including myself) consider to be the best tank in the game, period. To protect these high value tanks, the 27th have a damn good AA tab with an upgraded Strela-10M3 for non radar AA. The Tunguska and Tor serve as 27th’s radar AA options, with the Tunguska being the clear winner, though you can cheap out with the Tor if you want. With Igla manpads rounding out the cheap end, the AA tab of this division is very good.

The helicopter is pretty standard for Soviets with all the Mi-24s you’d expect, while the air tab is pretty light and budget. The mig-29 serves as the main ASF while mig-27s drop the bombs, nothing special but it gets the job done decent enough. It would be a crime not to mention the T-8M, an Su-25 carrying 16 Vikhr anti tank missiles, the same as on the AT Akula. Its not a good unit, its terrible actually, but it is an incredibly funny flying brick. I wished it fired all 16 missiles at once for added hilarity.

Strengths:

• Best ATGMs in Pact at high abundance. The huge range on the Bastion or the Tandem warheads on the Konkurs-M can really put the hurt on NATO armoured assets.
• Best IFV in the game with the BMP-3, its basically a light tank that carries infantry.
• Very powerful infantry AT launcher with the RPG-27 that you can bring in large numbers. Any tank that gets too close to your infantry is getting reduced to ash, even if the range is quite short.
• The T-80BV at high availability, with good AA assets to protect it, gives 27th an exceptional tank game that can even contest other armoured divisions.
• Strong active recon elements with several large assault recon squads, including special forces.
• Great AA tab

Weaknesses:

• Units are generally on the expensive side, especially by Pact standards. You’ll be paying a lot for your fancy toys.
• Anti infantry bombers are a bit lacking.

35th Guards Air Assault Brigade (VDV)

Division Type: Airborne
Standout units: Ka-50 Akula, Anything with Spetsnaz in the name, Desantniki (BMD)

Rush B

The VDV represent the Airborne elements of the Soviet union in WARNO, and as with all airborne divisions, that means no tanks, a pretty sucky proposition for a nation that usually dominates in tank warfare. In exchange, you get access to the Desantniki paratroopers and Spetsnaz, both potent forward deployment assault forces with Spetsnaz serving as the premier special forces of the Soviet Union. Spetsnaz are definitely at their best in 35th, with the regular variant of Spetsnaz being purpose built to demolish other infantry with their thermobaric rockets, but also having a Spetsnaz O.P variant, anti tank specialists that blow up pretty much anything with their RPG-29s and Tandem warheads. Combining both types of Spetsnaz, especially in an opening rush, leads to an extremely capable city fighting force that can be a nightmare for your opponent to deal with.

Very unusual for an airborne division, 35th actually do bring IFVs, coming in the form of the BMD-1 and BMD-2. BMDs are essentially just airborne variants of the BMP and give 35th a surprisingly competent mechanized fighting arm that no other airborne division really has an equivalent to.

For the air tab, 35th gets a lot of cards of Mig-29s for taking over the skies, a perfectly solid ASF for its price range, though it will struggle to keep up with high end NATO fighters. Bombers and CAS are a pretty big strength of the 35th, with options to take out pretty much any ground target, whether infantry or tank. Special mention goes to the Mig-27K, a very powerful LGB bomber which, when combined with 35th’s SEAD plane and AT Su-25s, you can do a lot to threaten and reliably eliminate enemy tanks. The helicopter tab is extremely good, even by airborne standards. With lots of slots and good availability on Mi-8s and Mi-24s, alongside attack helicopter transports, you can cover the skies in good helicopters and overwhelm your opponent where they’re weakest whilst delivering the brave soldiers of the VDV directly into enemy territory in the process, a very historically accurate manoeuvre. Also, the 35th get exclusive access to the Akula, an advanced prototype gunship either built for AA or anti tank, being fantastic at both, though also being on the expensive side.

The recon tab provides more assault infantry and special forces, mainly. Spetsnaz G.R.U and Spetsnaz Snipers serve as longer range recon specialists, with the former having access to GSR for exceptional optics while still being good in a brawl, and the latter being a sniper unit with improved forward deployment. Razvedka form the rest of your recon infantry, with an 8 man Desantniki squad excsluviely brought by helicopter serving as a capable active recon unit (as they still possess the shock trait!). With recon helicopters to round out the tab, you probably won’t be struggling to find the enemy and your recon units are generally good at beating up the ones they do find.

Strengths:

• Amazing special forces in the Spetsnaz that dominate in the infantry fight, even against other similarly elite Airborne divisions. Against tanks, incredibly potent AT launchers leave your infantry very comfortable in close range fights.
• Great recon tab, particularly in terms of special forces. Every single squad in that tab has the assault trait and most have improved airborne forward deployment.
• Amazing helicopters, both of transport and attack varieties, with exclusive access to the KA-50 Akula gunship. Nobody does helicopters better than the 35th.
• Potent bombers, with good options for both budget and high end CAS/bomber planes.
• The only airborne division in the game with access to IFVs that also have forward deployment.

Weaknesses:

• While you get a lot of them, the Mig-29 can struggle to achieve air superiority, which is especially important for an airborne division.
• AA tab is pretty unreliable, you’ll be relying more on a high quantity of Strelas and Iglas and hoping enough of it hits to score any kills.

39th Guards Motor Rifle Division

Division Type: Mechanized Infantry
Standout units: Motostrelki RPG-22 (in BMP-2), T-80BV

The gold standard

One of the most well rounded and consistently solid divisions in the game, 39th Guards exemplify Soviet mechanized warfare. The core of that mechanized force comes in various types of Motostrelki carried into battle by the reliable BMP-2 and the affordable BMP-1, both of which come in high numbers. Your infantry squads generally pack the RPG-7, an improved and reliable AT weapon against NATO tanks that get too close, with some squads further upgrading to either the Metis (for more range) or the RPG-7VR (for Tandem warheads), though these squads tend to start in trucks instead of BMPs. With a large number of cheap slots and affordable IFV infantry, supported by Saperi with thermobaric rockets, the infantry tab of 39th is very capable of holding its own against pretty much anything.

It wouldn’t be very mechanized without some good tanks to support your infantry, and the T-80BV is great at doing just that. One of the best tanks in the game, frankly it does a little more than just “support” your infantry, and you get it in such high availability that you can comfortably fight an armoured division in tank warfare and do exceptionally well. These tanks are protected by a pretty stellar AA tab thanks to the potent radar capabilities of the Kub and the affordability of your Strelas and Iglas. To further lock down the skies, you have the SU-27, a good high end Air Superiority Fighter available to the Soviet Union, though you can still bring out Mig-23s if you want to stay budget.

Outside of the already mentioned fighters, the air assets of the 39th tend to be above average by Soviet standards. The helicopter tab is the best you’re getting in Soviets outside of airborne, there’s nothing there too unique to 39th, you just get a bunch of solid stuff. The bombers of the 39th are very good by Soviet standards. At the low end, you have the ever reliable SU-25 for popping tanks but you also have an unusual number of bombers at the high end. The best of these high end bombers is definitely the Mig-27K, a potent high ECM LGB bomber that you get two cards of! Its a fantastic bomber in 35th and its just as excellent in 39th.

Exceptionally well rounded, 39th Guards is easy to play and recommended for beginners.

Strengths:

• Pretty much every tab is good, you aren’t lacking in any particular aspect, and your opponent won’t have any real weaknesses to exploit.
• Above average helicopter tab and exceptionally good air tab gives 39th great options for contesting the air and bombing the ground, you won’t struggle to do either task.
• IFVs are quite affordable and can easily be spammed, you can get a LOT of ATGMs and anti infantry machine guns/autocannons onto the field.
• The T-80BV at high availability, with good AA assets to protect it, give 39th an exceptional tank game that can even contest other armoured divisions.

Weaknesses:

79th Guards Tank Division

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: All T-80s, Kub

Soviet doctrine

The 79th best represent the biggest strength of the Soviets, their exceptional heavy tanks supported by competent mechanized infantry. You get three different variants of the T-80B in your tank tab, including the T-80BV IZD. 29, a tank exclusive to 79th that is basically just a T-80BV with an improved ATGM that fires Tandem rockets to put the hurt on enemy tanks with ERA. Its not a huge upgrade, though it does come with a chevron of veterancy by default, which is nice. No matter the specific variant though, the T-80s of the 79th are some of the scariest tanks in the game that will put the smackdown on any target unfortunate enough to challenge them. To protect these tanks, the AA tab gives you a lot of options, the Tunguska and Kub being the main radar options whilst the Strela-10M and Iglas are cheaper infared alternatives. Along with the Mig-31, the most expensive high end Air Superiority Fighter available to the Soviet union, the 79th have no issue dealing with enemy anti-tank bombers.

Keeping up with the overwhelming tank pushes of the 79th come large amounts of IFV infantry in your infantry tab, either in BMP-1s or BMP-2s, your choice (I would suggest BMP-2s). With the fairly good RPG-7, your infantry squads and their IFVs provide a good screen to put infront of your tanks and deal with any would-be ambushers. Its a pretty good infantry tab for an armoured division.

There isn’t much else to add. The 79th are very straightforward in wanting to beat the living daylights out of their opponent with heavy tanks. They play exactly like how you’d expect a Soviet army to fight like. All the other tabs are fine, though the helicopter tab is pretty lacklustre by Soviet standards.

Easy to play, 79th is great for beginners and a solid entry point to playing armoured divisions.

Strengths:

• An obscene number of T-80s of many different variants. One of the strongest tank tabs in the game, period. Even dedicated NATO armoured divisions will be very apprehensive about fighting you in the open.
• Infantry tab is above average for an armoured division, mechanized BMP infantry are very solid.
• Great options for AA with Kubs, Strelas, Tunguskas and the Mig-31 or Mig-23, you can protect your armoured assets from bombers very well.
• 79th have better anti-infantry bombers than usual for Soviets, lots of ways to make enemy infantry suffer.

Weaknesses:

• Lacklustre helicopter tab.

119th Independent Tank Regiment

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: T-80U, T-80UD, Su-27

Apocalypse Tanks

Almost nobody will disagree with you if you claim the 119th have the strongest tanks in the game, because they do. Additionally, almost nobody will disagree with you if you claim the 119th have one of the worst infantry tab in the game, because it really is that bad. Putting the armoured part of an armoured division in capitals, 119th make sacrifices to most other tabs in order to supercharge their tank tab, bringing some of the most terrifyingly lethal steel behemoths to grace the battlefield that pack an eye watering amount of firepower and armour on an abnormally fast package. Pretty much nothing will be beating your tanks in a straight 1v1 at any range, though they’ll likely be significantly more expensive than anything else on the battlefield, the T-80UD in particular costing 340 points, making it the most expensive tank in the game. If 119th is given time to built up a strong tank force, pretty much nothing will be able to stop them in the lategame, this division tends to bloom late but gets EXTREMELY dangerous when it does.

As mentioned already, the 119th infantry tab is bad, but its not all bad. 119th have access to Spetsnaz and Spetsnaz (O.P), very competent special forces infantry, the former great at killing other squads while the latter specialises in popping tanks (not that you need that much help in this division). With no reservist style troops and just a single card of BMP-1 Motostrelki, 119th do struggle immensely for manpower, and with only 5 slots, expect to run out of forces very quickly, especially if you decide on bringing the more elite Spetsnaz over the more numerous Saperi. With such few availability on IFVs, the TO-55 flame tank is a pretty decent stand-in for infantry support, its an alright light tank.

The recon and helicopter tabs are pretty standard, if a little light, for Soviets. Not particularly noteworthy but very much acceptable, with the Spetsnaz G.R.U providing additional special forces. The AA tab is also very light on options, having only Iglas, Strelas and the Tunguska, but all three options are pretty good and decent availability makes the AA tab acceptable enough for an armoured division. I don’t normally talk a great deal about artillery (since my focus is playing 1v1s which don’t feature much artillery, if any) but I will mention that 119th have access to the Buratino, a short ranged but extremely dangerous thermobaric rocket platform, its the ultimate punisher of blobs. Extremely high cost of 450 and demanding logistics really hold it back, especially in smaller games, but if it lands a decent barrage, it can win the game for you on its own.

The air tab is actually surprisingly good for 119th, particularly in ASF. Mig-29s are your budget ASF, while the Su-27 is your high end ASF. Neither will be beating the breaks off a NATO airforce but they are extremely welcome and good at protecting your very valuable tanks from anti tank planes. 119th also have a decently capable bomber game, with Su-24s providing LGB, HE and SEAD operations. While the Su-24 isn’t the best bomber in the world, LGBs aren’t that common in Pact so having access to some is very appreciated.

119th Independent Tank Regiment is difficult to play and not recommended for beginners in smaller games. In larger team games, they’re significantly easier to use with teammates (hopefully) providing the infantry you don’t have, though I would still recommend 79th for a beginner Soviet armoured division over them.

Strengths:

• The strongest tanks in the game, period. Unrivalled in the lategame, you can overpower pretty much anyone once your heavy armour starts rolling in.
• Competent ASF and good AA assets provide much needed protecting to your tanks that are simply too valuable to lose.
• Abnormal amounts of special forces for an armoured division provide pretty capable forward deployment.

Weaknesses:

• Infantry tab only has 5 slots and poor options for high availability/large squads. if you’re forced to rely on infantry, you’ve probably lost.
• Units are very expensive across the board. Expect to pay a premium for everything.
• Tanks and artillery tend to drain supplies like crazy. The 119th logistics tab isn’t bad but everything demands so much supply that it can be difficult to keep up with demands.
• Soviet’s usual weakness of no medium tanks is very felt here, you have to cash out on your superheavies if you want to beat something like a Chieftain, which is hilariously overkill.

East Germany

Death korps of Krieg

East Germany tends to not have the budget of other nations, consistently relying on some of the oldest and most obsolete technology that Pact have stockpiled, up to and including T-34s, a literal world war 2 tank. West Germany is the opposite of high tech, though thanks to the large availability of all their units, they can overwhelm and outnumber their more technologically advanced opponents, good ATGMs and strong Air Superiority Fighters don’t matter as much if they’ll run out of ammo long before you’ll run out of tanks and planes.

The real draw of East Germany is that these folks are not immune to propaganda and are willing to give their lives for the glory of the Republic. This is represented through the Resolute trait, causing your units to take reduced suppression in combat. When combined with further bonuses from veterancy, East German units stay in a capable fighting shape for much longer than most, willing to charge through the most intimidating of enemy firepower when ordered and being much less prone to retreat when things inevitably go wrong. Combined with strong AT weapons, East German infantry is often gonna be the deciding factor behind most victories and probably the main reason you’d want to play their divisions.

The other big reason to play East Germany comes in their tanks. While they don’t have any heavy tanks at all, their medium tank lineup is absolutely stacked and can easily leverage their higher numbers to overwhelm the heavy tanks other nations rely on. East German tanks tend to be most lacking in speed, especially in their light tanks, but pack an unusually great deal of armour and firepower for their low price. Many tanks also come with the resolute trait to give them a slight edge, especially if they don’t get the first shot. It’s not controversial to say East Germany has the best medium tanks in the game, because they do, while their light tanks are also pretty capable.

East German helicopters is pretty much just diet soviets, relying more on the older Mi-8 than the newer Mi-24. The hinds you do have, while downgraded in firepower, come in higher availability and a reduced price, letting you spam out than the Soviets normally will. Air tab is in a similar boat, when the Mig-29 is your most impressive “high end” ASF you know things are gonna be iffy in the ASF department. As usual with East Germany, you get a lot and you get it cheap with availability 3 and 4 being very common.

In summary, East Germany is great if you like:

• High availability and cheap costs on most of your units gives you a great numbers advantage over all opponents. Losses don’t matter as much when stuff is so cheap and numerous.
• The strongest medium tanks in the game, T-55s of all varieties are fantastic for their price while T-72s have a habit of punching up against enemy heavy tanks.
• The resolute trait gives a majority of your roster increased suppression resistance, your units being much more willing to fight to the last man then most.
• Really solid infantry with great AT weapons and increased bravery thanks to resolute trait.

However, East Germany may not be for you if you dislike:

• None of the fancy high tech heavy tanks and new generation Air Superiority Fighters that other factions pack, your roster is noticeably outdated.
• Weak ATGMs with a reliance on medium tanks makes it pretty tough to bust the armour on enemy heavy tanks, especially at longer distances.
• Worst IFVs in the game, only really having access to the BMP-1, which doesn’t even have an autocannon and packs pretty unreliable low accuracy ATGMs compared to the Soviet version.

4th Motorized Rifle Division

Division Type: Infantry
Standout units: Fs-Jager

Never retreat, never surrender!

Oh dear god that’s a lot of forward deployment. 4th bring an obscene number of Fs-Jager and potent special forces in the recon tab to infest cities and forests with their presence, you get so many paratroopers that you have a very good shot at contesting an airborne rush with your own shenanigans. While their paratroopers are fighting on the front and holding the enemy off, 4th have a good tank tab with cheap bombers to reinforce their forward positions, giving them a lot of ways to maintain their early advantage and win the game off their initial rush.

For their tank tab, 4th have the very cheap T-55 and its several variants. All variants generally have abnormally good armour, but lack in speed and especially firepower, they can’t really deal with the armour on enemy heavy tanks with only sideshots doing anything of note, though the AM2B does better off thanks to its solid ATGM. 4th tend to rely more on their ATGM teams to kill heavy tanks, alongside the PAK anti tank gun, a glass cannon with excessive range due to the Bastion ATGM, protected by good stealth. 4th are very capable of dealing with enemy lights and mediums, but against heavy tanks, expect to need more firepower than you might expect (AT bombers help a ton here too).

The AA tab is solid, Kubs and Strelas are all you really need. Helicopters in 4th do much better than most of East Germany, packing a good amount of Mi-24s at high availability and a cheap price, whilst having a bit more high end stuff than usual.

The Air tab is above average for East Germany, with access to the Mig-29 for your “high end” ASF whilst getting a high availability on Mig-21s and Mig-23s to really swarm the skies with cheap planes. In an air to air engagement, 4th aren’t lacking, and neither are their bombers, with lots of cheap anti infantry and anti tank options that tend to be very reliable despite their low price tag. 4th gets a lot and they get them cheap, a very good air tab.

Strengths:

• Airborne division level forward deployment, ridiculous amounts of Fs-Jagers are overwhelming for any opponent to deal with, even some airborne divisions can struggle dealing with them.
• Lots of cheap effective medium tanks with more tanks than most infantry divisions usually get.
• Good infantry AT weapon in the RPG-7 make your troops very potent on the defence and in ambushes.
• Resolute trait, almost wholly exclusive to East Germany, gives your solid infantry very good suppression resistance.
• Cheap and spammable air tab with above average ASF options for East Germany.

Weaknesses:

• With no heavy tanks and poor penetration on most of their ATGMs and medium tanks, 4th can struggle breaking the armour of enemy heavy tanks.

7th Panzer division

Division Type: Armoured
Standout units: T-55, T-72

Medium is premium

The 7th Panzer division get to enjoy the strength of East German medium tanks the most, being the only division in the game to possess the T-72, a very solid medium with above average firepower and armour for its cost that also comes with an autoloader. With a good deal of availability, the T-72 is normally the reason you’re playing 7th in the first place, but its not the only good medium they have as the T-55 and its AM2 and AM2B variants give 7th Panzer a lot of solid options for swarming the battlefield with cost effective tanks, outnumbering any opponent they come across. Ranges do tend to be pretty low across the board though, so try and use the terrain to ensure closer ranged tank battles where your guns and their autoloaders will have the advantage.

Infantry in 7th tends to be pretty ordinary for an armoured division, possessing fairly ordinary 7-8 man squads and assault pioneers that leave your infantry capable enough in urban combat. Your IFV options are pretty lacklustre though, with the BMP-1s you do get being being inadequate even against other IFVs. Squads tend to be a bit more on the pricey side thanks to Resolute and an above average number of LMGs, so all together, the 7th don’t struggle in infantry combat but its never gonna be their first choice of strategy.

For AA options, very standard and adequate, Kubs and Strelas into the sunset. Its not flashy but its very effective, and thanks to the cheap price of your tanks, you can get away with not having the most impressive AA network, your tanks are very much replaceable (though still, don’t disregard AA!).

Helicopter tab is decent but uninteresting, its pretty standard for East Germany. Air tab is more interesting, with the Mig-23 in particular being a very good budget ASF. You don’t have the high end ASFs of other armoured divisions so you might struggle for air superiority, but you have enough chaff to throw at the enemy you’re bound to get lucky and kill their valuable air assets eventually. The bomber fleet is pretty good, possessing lots of options for the high end Su-22 strike craft, all of which have some of the best ECM values that East Germany can afford and anti air missiles to protect themselves with, making them pretty reliable choices if you want a bomber that’s can survive the return trip. On the low end side of bombers, the anti infantry ones suck pretty bad but the AT mig-23 is very competitively priced and solid.

Strengths:

• Best tank tab in the game for Medium tanks. You have a medium tank for pretty much every occasion and a couple lights thrown in for good measure. Expect to have more tanks than any other division in the game.
• Very good air tab with very spammable ASFs and good bombers, both at the low end and high end.
• Good AA options for an armoured division, combined with spammable ASFs, leave 7th very capable in protecting their tanks from bombers.

Weaknesses:

• Competent anti infantry bombers are exclusive to the expensive Su-22, your budget options aren’t great at killing infantry.
• Pretty bad IFV, which is extra sucky when a good chunk of your infantry are mechanized.

Berliner Gruppierung

Division Type: Infantry
Standout units: Buratino, Fs-Jager

Katyusha

These guys are in for a pretty major rework recently, their roster planned to be split between a brand new Soviet division, so I won’t comment much until it happens. Right now they spam Fs-Jagers for a strong forward deployment rush and then hammer their opponents with good artillery, so try them out if that sounds like something you’d enjoy.

K.d.A. Bezirk Erfurt

Division Type: Reserve
Standout units: BM-21 [Napalm], K.d.A Schützen (+ Zagradotryad)

World War 2 Tactics

KDA saw how many tanks and planes that the other East German divisions said and went “That’s cool and all, but what if we did the same with infantry?” and then proceeded to re-enact Stalingrad. KDA Schutzen are huge 14 man reservist squads with an extremely high 12 availability. With 3 cards worth of Schutzen to throw into the meat grinder, combined with even more cannon fodder in Reservisten squads, the KDA won’t be running out of men anytime soon and can outnumber any opponent they face with an overwhelming amount of infantry. This infantry tends to not be the bravest however, much of it is disheartened, but thankfully, you can handle that. Zagradotryad, or “blocking troops” are a potent military police style squad that make sure the rest of your forces have ample motivation to take not one step back. In reserve divisions, infantry usually don’t win battles on their own, but KDA get so many soldiers that they can legitimately overwhelm their enemies in a tidal wave of soldiers.

The tank tab is, weird. You get a very wide range of units, and while your medium tanks in particular are very good, you only get one card of each. With a small number of expensive slots and only one card of each of your tanks, KDA run a very small tank tab that tends to struggle to hold its own against most opponents. Recon is similarly lacking, you don’t get a lot of slots and none of the options are particularly all that great.

Things improve for the better in the AA tab. Infared AA is a little lacking but radar AA is very competent thanks to access to the Buk, one of the strongest radar AA pieces in the game with extremely long range missiles that hit hard and hit often, you can really lock down the skies from enemy planes with just a single Buk and a couple MANPADs.

The artillery tab is really good, having acceptable howitzers but an amazing rocket arty choice in the Napalm BM-21, a menace to any enemy infantry that think themselves safe in their cities and forests. With other high end artillery options like the Smerch and Malka, you can pound the living hell out of your opponents with some of the best artillery in the game.

Helicopter tab is below average, even by East German standards, you don’t have the cheaper Hinds that East Germany normally does so you have to buy the Mi-24P for any ATGMs, not ideal. Plane tab does much better, particularly in terms of strong budget bombers that come at high availability. With the Mig-23 serving as your main ASF, the KDA’s air tab is adequate for any task you need it to do.

Strengths:

• Manpower.
• Manpower.
• Manpower.
• Ow yeah you have really good artillery and AA. Bombers are great too!
• Manpower.
• Manpower.

Weaknesses:

• Very weird and weak tank tab that relies heavily on the T-62 at pretty low availability.
• Troops tend to be locked to low levels of veterancy and are often disheartened. If you lose your military police, your troops are very prone to just start retreating on mass.
• Disappointing helicopter tab.
• Disappointing recon tab.