Company of Heroes 3: best infantry for all factions

Boots on the ground to do the dirty work
Company of Heroes 3: best infantry for all factions
Company of Heroes 3: best infantry for all factions /

Infantry in Company of Heroes 3 may not be as impressive as a tank or as devastating as an artillery barrage, but when it comes to versatility and capturing territory, you need good men on the ground to do the dirty work. Aside from snipers, which are single-entity units, all infantry units in Company of Heroes 3 consist of squads containing between three and six men, who all have their own weapons and HP.

That means that if a squad has lost half its members, it’ll also have lost about half of its firepower. Retreating in time to preserve a squad and its experience is a key skill to have in Company of Heroes 3, as detailed in our beginner tips. Don’t let your men fight to the death for nothing – keep them alive to fight another day.

While all four of Company of Heroes 3’s factions have different strengths and weaknesses, they all have elite infantry units of some kind. We’ll introduce you to all the best Company of Heroes 3 infantry units for all factions in this guide, telling you in which area they excel.

Best US infantry – Company of Heroes 3

If you’re playing as the US Forces, you’ll need to check your Battle Groups for the best infantry your faction has to offer – don’t get us wrong, your standard Riflemen are not too shabby at all, especially once you give them some BARs, but the regular tech tree doesn’t offer much in terms of upgrades.

First up are the Paratroopers, which you can find in the Airborne Battle Group – surprised? You can access these troops very early in a match, which is great, and since they’re Paratroopers you can easily drop them wherever you need them to show up.

Company of Heroes 3 US Paratroopers.
Paratroopers are available very early in the game, providing lots of flexibility / Relic Entertainment

Coming in at six models with 110 HP each, they are some of the toughest troops in the game. Having Frag Grenades and Satchel Charges at their disposal, Paratroopers don’t lack explosive weaponry either. You can also decide between upgrading them with Bazookas for anti-tank capabilities or giving them some LMGs for more firepower against fellow infantry.

US infantry gains an ability as they reach Veterancy 1 and Paratroopers can choose between getting Camouflage for easier ambushes and Quick Capture for fast territorial gains.

Another fantastic pick for the US are SSF Commandos found in the Special Operations Battle Group. These guys have six models at 95 HP each and come equipped with BARs as well as LMGs and Bazookas. They have the ability to freely switch between LMGs and Bazookas any time, making them incredibly versatile. They also have access to Phosphorous Grenades.

Company of Heroes 3 SSF Commandos.
SSF Commandos are probably the most versatile infantry in the game / Relic Entertainment

They can gain a Timed Demolition Charge ability at Veterancy 1 or you can choose to give them the Knife Throw ability for some additional close quarters capabilities.

Another thing worth noting is that the US Forces have an upgrade giving their infantry plus ten HP at the Infantry Support Center.

Best British infantry – Company of Heroes 3

The British Forces have an excellent late-game option for anti-tank infantry in their Foot Guards, which can be produced from the Company Command building. Each squad contains six models at 110 HP each and is automatically equipped with Bazookas for easy vehicle hunting.

Company of Heroes 3 Foot Guards.
Foot Guards are excellent tank hunters / Relic Entertainment

They also unlock an ability at Veterancy 1 to boost their anti-tank damage even further. Their array of bombs and explosive charges adds another fiery arrow to their quiver.

If you need something that shreds enemy infantry, you should look no further than the Gurkha Rifles in the Indian Artillery Battle Group. Gurkhas come in with six models, each of which packs 110 HP, and can be upgraded with Thompson SMGs or Bren LMGs. We recommend going for the Thompsons, which make the Gurkhas absolute monsters in close-range combat.

Company of Heroes 3 Gurkhas.
Gurkha Rifles shred enemy infantry once they've got their Thompson SMGs / Relic Entertainment

This fits well with the rest of their kit, which contains the Grenade Assault ability and Smoke Grenades. The latter allow the Gurkhas to get near their target safely and unleash a powerful volley of grenades with the former.

At Veterancy 1, they also gain the Ayo Gorkhali! ability, which debuffs nearby enemy infantry. Can’t blame anyone for browning their uniforms with a horde of Thompson-wielding Gurkhas charging at them from a smokescreen.

Best Wehrmacht infantry – Company of Heroes 3

The Wehrmacht excels in long-range infantry thanks to their Jäger squads, which are recruited from the Luftwaffe Command building. Each unit has five models with 110 HP per man and may be upgraded with a Panzerschreck – literally ‘tank scare’ – giving them anti-tank capabilities or some G43 rifles and recon flares, making them an excellent sniper unit able to pick off infantry from afar.

Company of Heroes 3 Jäger squad.
Jäger squads can be specialized to fight infantry or vehicles / Relic Entertainment

Both configurations massively benefit from their Camouflage ability unlocked at Veterancy 1, allowing them to ambush enemy infantry and vehicles alike.

The ultimate infantry the Wehrmacht can field are Stoßtruppen squads. These only consist of four models with 120 HP each, but thanks to their G43 rifles and MG42 LMG they bring a huge amount of firepower to the field, especially in long-range combat. Two types of grenades let them ward off close combat infantry, while their Veterancy 1 ability boosts their stats for a short amount of time.

Company of Heroes 3 Stoßtruppen.
Stoßtruppen are the most elite German infantry in the game, packing huge firepower / Relic Entertainment

If you’re going with the Mechanized Battle Group, you can unlock an upgrade that equips your Stoßtruppen with the powerful STG44 assault rifles, making them more powerful at mid-range battles.

Best Afrikakorps infantry – Company of Heroes 3

Just like the US Forces, the Afrikakorps has some of its best infantry locked in Battle Groups. We’ll start off with a unit you can only get through the faction’s mechanized reinforcements mechanic, however: the Panzerjäger squad. If you know a bit of German, you’ll immediately know what that unit does – it hunts tanks. Each squad has five models with 85 HP and is automatically equipped with anti-tank rifles, but can be upgraded with a MG34 as well to better combat infantry.

Company of Heroes 3 Panzerjäger squad.
Panzerjäger squads come equipped with anti-tank rifles and can add a LMG to their arsenal / Relic Entertainment

Unlike the Allies, the German factions don’t have easy access to anti-tank weaponry on infantry aside from their trusty Panzerfaust, which costs Ammunition to use, so those Panzerjäger squads are nice to have. They also gain some bonuses when fighting near vehicles, which really plays into the Afrikakorps’ entire style and identity.

The other two units we want to highlight are from Battle Groups: You’ll find the Guastatori in the Italian Infantry Battle Group very early on. These guys come in squads of six with 105 HP each and are pretty fearsome. They are assault engineers equipped with close-combat weapons and can be upgraded with two deadly Lanciafiamme flamethrowers.

Company of Heroes 3 Guastatori.
Guastatori are strong assault engineers, especially once they've got their flamethrowers / Relic Entertainment

Anti-tank charges and smoke grenades complete their arsenal. In addition, they have a passive ability that buffs them when attacking through smoke. You really want to get close and personal to the enemy with these guys.

Finally, the Bersaglieri are available from the Italian Combined Arms Battle Group. Initially, they have no upgrades and field five models with 90 HP.

Company of Heroes 3 Bersaglieri.
Bersaglieri take a while to upgrade fully, but they make a solid infantry backbone for the DAK / Relic Entertainment

However, additional upgrades are available from the Battle Group, giving them an additional soldier, an automatic Breda LMG upgrade, and the possibility of getting a second LMG on each squad – while this takes some investment, this is not a small amount of firepower on infantry that’s relatively cheap to field. They also have the best hats in the game.


Published
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg