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Company of Heroes: The Great War 1918

 
French Army faction preview - part 2Sep 2, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsAs promised in the previous news update, here is the second part of the French unit preview. Sapeurs By 1918 the traditional tasks of the engineer corps had been largely overtaken by infantry pioneers. Instead the "Génie militaire" became specialised units in charge of tasks requiring a high level of expertise, like battlefield demolitions, gas, mine warfare... and Flamethrowers. http://i63.tinypic.com/acg8kz.jpg The organisation of French flamethrower units was a mirror image of their German opponents, down to their first commander being a fireman. To be effective the flamethrower needed good planning and support firepower. This required units that were specially trained for the task and given a good deal of autonomy when planning assaults. Renault FT Model by B-Dizl, skin by don_Durandal While the French arguably designed the worst tank models of WW1, they also came up with the very best. The Renault FT was a revolutionary step in tank design, with a layout that can be seen even in modern tanks. The fully rotating turret made the addition of multiple weapons unnecessary, and the separated engine compartment at the back meant the crew wouldn't be incapacitated by engine fumes like in other WW1 models. While the FT was a latecomer to the battlefield, only seeing action for the first time in May 1918, by the end of the war more FTs had been built than all other WW1 tank models together. http://i66.tinypic.com/104mexl.jpg The main variations were a machinegun tank armed with a Hotchkiss model 1914 and a gun tank with a SA18 37mm rapid-fire cannon. The later could fire a variety of shells, including HE, canister and armour-piercing. Renault FT TSF The lack of portable radios in WW1 made communications difficult. Wireless sets were available, but these were usually cumbersome and fragile, required a conspicuous antenna, and as such were ill-adapted to the battlefield especially when on the move. The "signal" or "TSF" (wireless) version of the Renault FT was a solution to that problem. The turret was replaced with a fixed casemate hosting a wireless set, an operator and an observer. While it required the tank to be set up to properly deploy the antenna, this gave French tank units a much-needed means of communications, especially in the mobile conditions of the 1918 battlefield. http://i64.tinypic.com/2ljkzs9.jpg Tireur d'élite The French Army was slow in understanding the advantage of properly trained and equipped snipers in trench warfare. It wasn't until 1916 that scoped rifles started being distributed to frontline units, and snipping was left to individual initiative. http://i65.tinypic.com/3359ve8.jpg WW1 was the birth of modern military camouflage, from artillery to tanks, fortifications and individual or groups of soldiers. In the French Army, universal conscription had brought various artists and artisans under the colours. Their skills were quickly put to use and vast army workshops were set up to test and paint camouflage patterns, create d...French Army faction preview - part 2Sep 2, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsAs promised in the previous news update, here is the second part of the French unit preview. Sapeurs By 1918 the traditional tasks of the engineer corps had been largely overtaken by infantry pioneers. Instead the "Génie militaire" became specialised units in charge of tasks requiring a high level of expertise, like battlefield demolitions, gas, mine warfare... and Flamethrowers. http://i63.tinypic.com/acg8kz.jpg The organisation of French flamethrower units was a mirror image of their German opponents, down to their first commander being a fireman. To be effective the flamethrower needed good planning and support firepower. This required units that were specially trained for the task and given a good deal of autonomy when planning assaults. Renault FT Model by B-Dizl, skin by don_Durandal While the French arguably designed the worst tank models of WW1, they also came up with the very best. The Renault FT was a revolutionary step in tank design, with a layout that can be seen even in modern tanks. The fully rotating turret made the addition of multiple weapons unnecessary, and the separated engine compartment at the back meant the crew wouldn't be incapacitated by engine fumes like in other WW1 models. While the FT was a latecomer to the battlefield, only seeing action for the first time in May 1918, by the end of the war more FTs had been built than all other WW1 tank models together. http://i66.tinypic.com/104mexl.jpg The main variations were a machinegun tank armed with a Hotchkiss model 1914 and a gun tank with a SA18 37mm rapid-fire cannon. The later could fire a variety of shells, including HE, canister and armour-piercing. Renault FT TSF The lack of portable radios in WW1 made communications difficult. Wireless sets were available, but these were usually cumbersome and fragile, required a conspicuous antenna, and as such were ill-adapted to the battlefield especially when on the move. The "signal" or "TSF" (wireless) version of the Renault FT was a solution to that problem. The turret was replaced with a fixed casemate hosting a wireless set, an operator and an observer. While it required the tank to be set up to properly deploy the antenna, this gave French tank units a much-needed means of communications, especially in the mobile conditions of the 1918 battlefield. http://i64.tinypic.com/2ljkzs9.jpg Tireur d'élite The French Army was slow in understanding the advantage of properly trained and equipped snipers in trench warfare. It wasn't until 1916 that scoped rifles started being distributed to frontline units, and snipping was left to individual initiative. http://i65.tinypic.com/3359ve8.jpg WW1 was the birth of modern military camouflage, from artillery to tanks, fortifications and individual or groups of soldiers. In the French Army, universal conscription had brought various artists and artisans under the colours. Their skills were quickly put to use and vast army workshops were set up to test and paint camouflage patterns, create d...French Army faction preview - part 1Dec 6, 2014 - Community AnnouncementsHere's a first preview and description of some of the units in the French Army's tech tree. Voltigeur squad The first weeks of war saw French infantry rage forward with particular élan to emulate the notorious "furia francese" of old. However, the advent of modern warfare would prove to be a bloody reality check for past visions of glorious charges and a big wakeup call to military modernisation. The need for tactical flexibility over the hazard-strewn trench battlefields, the increased spread of men made necessary by the threat of artillery and machineguns, and the introduction of rifle grenades and the Chauchat machine-rifle in every infantry company required a new tactical organisation. While every side experimented with squads of specialised grenadiers, by 1916 the French army was the first of all major belligerents to adopt the squad and platoon as their infantry's main tactical unit. http://i57.tinypic.com/2zrqliq.jpg Instead of being considered a mass of bayonet-wielding riflemen, the basic infantrymen became seen as a specialist. The core of infantry squads were the "grenadiers-voltigeurs", a designation reflecting the new role of infantrymen as assault skirmishers trained to use grenades. The squad's fire support was provided by the fusiliers' Chauchat machine-rifle and the grenadier's V.B. rifle grenades. The terrifying losses suffered by the French army throughout the war, and specially by its infantry, meant that by 1918 it could hardly spare to waste its men. Units were made smaller, but more flexible and better armed. With little blood left to spare the French infantry has to make up with steel and firepower. Saint Chamond Fast, well-armoured for its time and powerfully armed with a 75mm field gun, the Saint-Chamond tank had only one weakness: it could not be driven. The small tracks and the big frontal overhang of the Saint-Chamond meant it was an inadequate machine to use in the conditions of trench warfare it had been designed for as it would easily get bogged down or stuck. http://i60.tinypic.com/28arped.jpg Ironically the return to mobile warfare with the beginning of the German spring offensive in 1918 and the allied counter-attacks that followed meant the Saint-Chamond could be used on more auspicious flat ground where it could take advantage of its speed and powerful gun. By then these tanks were worn-out and obsolete in light of the introduction of the revolutionary Renault FT; however the drastic need for tanks meant every machine had to do its duty. Trench moppers The need to maintain momentum during an assault and to keep to the strict timeline of a creeping barrage for protection meant that assaulting units had little time for cleaning up operations. Time and time again soldiers in the first wave would find themselves shot at in the back by pockets of enemies that had been overlooked after overrunning a position. Special mopping-up units were formed up to follow the assault wave with the sole mission of cleaning up the ...French Army faction preview - part 1Dec 6, 2014 - Community AnnouncementsHere's a first preview and description of some of the units in the French Army's tech tree. Voltigeur squad The first weeks of war saw French infantry rage forward with particular élan to emulate the notorious "furia francese" of old. However, the advent of modern warfare would prove to be a bloody reality check for past visions of glorious charges and a big wakeup call to military modernisation. The need for tactical flexibility over the hazard-strewn trench battlefields, the increased spread of men made necessary by the threat of artillery and machineguns, and the introduction of rifle grenades and the Chauchat machine-rifle in every infantry company required a new tactical organisation. While every side experimented with squads of specialised grenadiers, by 1916 the French army was the first of all major belligerents to adopt the squad and platoon as their infantry's main tactical unit. http://i57.tinypic.com/2zrqliq.jpg Instead of being considered a mass of bayonet-wielding riflemen, the basic infantrymen became seen as a specialist. The core of infantry squads were the "grenadiers-voltigeurs", a designation reflecting the new role of infantrymen as assault skirmishers trained to use grenades. The squad's fire support was provided by the fusiliers' Chauchat machine-rifle and the grenadier's V.B. rifle grenades. The terrifying losses suffered by the French army throughout the war, and specially by its infantry, meant that by 1918 it could hardly spare to waste its men. Units were made smaller, but more flexible and better armed. With little blood left to spare the French infantry has to make up with steel and firepower. Saint Chamond Fast, well-armoured for its time and powerfully armed with a 75mm field gun, the Saint-Chamond tank had only one weakness: it could not be driven. The small tracks and the big frontal overhang of the Saint-Chamond meant it was an inadequate machine to use in the conditions of trench warfare it had been designed for as it would easily get bogged down or stuck. http://i60.tinypic.com/28arped.jpg Ironically the return to mobile warfare with the beginning of the German spring offensive in 1918 and the allied counter-attacks that followed meant the Saint-Chamond could be used on more auspicious flat ground where it could take advantage of its speed and powerful gun. By then these tanks were worn-out and obsolete in light of the introduction of the revolutionary Renault FT; however the drastic need for tanks meant every machine had to do its duty. Trench moppers The need to maintain momentum during an assault and to keep to the strict timeline of a creeping barrage for protection meant that assaulting units had little time for cleaning up operations. Time and time again soldiers in the first wave would find themselves shot at in the back by pockets of enemies that had been overlooked after overrunning a position. Special mopping-up units were formed up to follow the assault wave with the sole mission of cleaning up the ...

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