Company of Heroes 3 – Preview, Tactics & Strategy

A German campaign

Wait a minute – Afrika Korps? Yes! Company of Heroes 3 is the first part of the series that will feature a German campaign. With Rommel’s tank army you go against Montgomery’s Desert Rats in the desert sands of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. As in its predecessors, the story campaign should come up with a cinematic staging and follow a clear red thread. After the Western and Eastern Fronts and the Battle of the Ardennes, North Africa is a pleasantly fresh setting for the series – where the dunes of the Sahara offer plenty of scope for hot battles between Panzer 3 and Crusader. According to the developers, from Tobruk to El Alamein, all relevant battles should of course be represented and there will be both German and Italian units of the time period.

Tobruk? El Alamein? In case you weren’t paying attention in history class: The attack on Egypt initiated by Italy in 1940 quickly turned into a disaster after the English reaction. After the Wehrmacht was able to prevent the Italians from being quickly defeated with their intervention in 1941, the “Africa Corps” under the leadership of Field Marshal Rommel was on the defensive at the latest after the lost, second Battle of El Alamein on October 23, 1942. In 1943, the defeated remnants of the Axis powers had to withdraw from North Africa, shortly afterwards the Allies landed in Sicily. Nevertheless, the duel in the desert, which was characterized primarily by tank battles, was later glorified as a gentleman’s war. As is so often the case, the reality here is different. War is just war.

The developers of Relic probably know that too, and they seem to have an inkling of the kind of razor blade they have to ride here. Accordingly, it was then also emphasized that one was aware of the historical responsibility and definitely did not want to glorify this conflict, which devastated the states of North Africa and claimed around 400,000 lives. But there was nothing to see of the story apart from a few commitments to historical authenticity and on-site research with locals. Because even the first story mission, which was freely playable for me, was largely silent on the context of the combat operations.

Anything new in the south?

In terms of gameplay, Company of Heroes 3 stays true to its roots – for better or for worse. I still command smaller groups of companies in the classic real-time style from a bird’s eye view. My squads of Panzergrenadiers, Pioneers and Co. can take up positions with light or good cover, machine guns cover firing arcs efficiently and there are upgrades and active abilities such as squad machine guns or frag grenades.

In addition, the soldiers can rise in rank and become much more efficient – so I shouldn’t burn my boys blindly, but pull back the squads in the event of losses and resupply them at the base, advanced outposts or ambulances. Of course there are also tanks, reconnaissance vehicles, artillery and anti-tank guns. There are also active abilities such as air strikes or units that can be specially ordered, such as the Italian Guastatori. In short: Company of Heroes 3 is and remains Company of Heroes. At first glance, the developers don’t go into big experiments or risks, but rather work on the details.