--Ordnance--
Anti-Tank:
Total Levels: 6
Terrain Bonuses: +50% Forests, +25% Urban
Stealth: In Forests and Urban Terrain
Preferred Targets: Heavy Armour or Light Armour
Class: Unarmored
Doctrine Bonuses: Comintern (+15% against Light and Heavy Armour)
Doctrine Detriments: Allies (Later Research)
Best Counter: Motorized Infantry/Rocket Artillery/Tactical Bombers
Analysis: It's in the name, anti-tank is a unit that primarily focuses on defending against armour. It is most effective against heavy or light armour. It is a defensive oriented unit. Against infantry it is terrible, both offensively and defensively, and is especially vulnerable to motorized infantry. It does not have good anti-air values, and is vulnerable to tactical bombers. Anti-Tanks should not be used in invasions, and are best suited to defend against incoming tank swarms by the enemy. Good to use in forests and cities. They are very slow but are a good asset to have, especially if you are turtling and/or using the Comintern doctrine. For Allies, use Tank Destroyers instead. When using Anti-Tanks, pair them with Armoured Cars, Infantry, and Anti-Air for the best results.
Artillery: (Ranged)
Total Levels: 6
Terrain Bonuses: +50% Hills, +50% Mountains
Preferred Targets: Heavy Armour
Class: Unarmored
Doctrine Bonuses: Comintern (Production Cost -10%, Production Time -20%) and Pan-Asian (Damage vs. Unarmored +15%, Production Cost -10%, Earlier Research)
Doctrine Detriments: Axis (Later Research)
Best Counter: Tactical Bomber
Analysis: Artillery is a ranged unit, meaning it can attack units fro far away without taking defensive damage back. It does the most damage to heavily armoured units, like Medium Tanks, Heavy Tanks, and Tank Destroyers. It does reasonable damage to lightly armoured and unarmored units, and can be used to bombard them. If attacked in point-blank range, they deal very little defensive damage, and at this point it is the most vulnerable. Artillery is also very vulnerable to Tactical Bomber, which will tear it to shreds. Use Artillery in mountains and hills for the best effects, and pair with Anti-Air to defend against air attacks. Keep a meat shield** in front of the Artillery, so enemy units cannot reach the artillery without running into the units in front of them. Keep in mind that Artillery is as slow as Infantry, and that if you want to use it in an invasion, the operation will be slowed.
Self-Propelled Artillery: (Ranged)
Total Levels: 5
Terrain Bonuses: +20% Plains, +50% Hills
Preferred Targets: Heavy Armour
Class: Light Armour
Doctrine Bonuses: Allies (+15% Damage vs Heavy Armour, HP +10%, Earlier Research)
Doctrine Detriments: None
Best Counter: Attack Bomber
Analysis: The big brother, SP Artillery is better than Artillery in almost every way. It is faster (meaning it can keep up with invasion forces), does more damage, has more HP, and since it is lightly armoured, not as vulnerable (still considerably vulnerable though). The only places in which Artillery is better is in mountains, but SP Artillery is better in Plains, so it evens out. SP Artillery is good for hit-and-run attacks against Medium/Heavy Tanks, since they are faster than them in all terrain. However, it is vulnerable to aircraft like Attack Bombers (keep SP Anti-Air to avoid this) and if engaged in point-blank range with units like Motorized Infantry or Tanks, they will not be able to escape and will perish. Use this unit in invasion forces against stronger enemies, since you can deal damage without getting any in return (unless, of course, your enemy also has artillery). Pair with fast units, like Mot/Mech Infantry, Light/Medium Tanks for the best results. Again, remember to keep a meat shield** (it is less important if the SP Artillery is faster than the bombarded target).
Anti-Air:
Total Levels: 6
Terrain Bonuses: +50% Hills, +25% Urban
Preferred Targets: Aircraft
Class: Unarmored
Doctrine Bonuses: Axis (+15% against Aircraft and Heavy Armour)
Doctrine Detriments: None
Best Counter: Motorized Infantry/Rocket Artillery
Analysis: Again, in the name. Anti-Air excels at defending fellow units from enemy aircraft, in both patrol and attack mode. It is a defensive unit, and can function as a semi anti-tank, doing a reasonable amount of damage against Heavy Armour. Against Light Armour and Unarmored targets, however, this unit does not have the capability to defend itself. Very slow, but a very useful asset to accompany slow stacks if the enemy has lots of air power. Interceptors are realistically more helpful and powerful, but Anti-Air can be used where it is hard to bring air power (like naval invasions and far-off invasions). With Anti-Air your enemies with hesitate to attack your troops with bombers, and they will be forced to fight you upfront. Pair them with Armoured Cars, Infantry, and Anti-Tanks for the best results.
Self-Propelled Anti-Air:
Total Levels: 5
Terrain Bonuses: +50% Hills, +25% Urban
Preferred Targets: Aircraft
Class: Lightly Armoured
Doctrine Bonuses: Axis (Earlier Research)
Doctrine Detriments: Comintern (Later Research) and Pan-Asian (Later Research)
Best Counter: Artillery
Analysis: Imagine Anti-Air on wheels with armour, and you get a basic understanding of this unit. It functions exactly the same as Anti-Air, but is better in every way. However, even with it's better armour, it cannot defend itself effectively against ground units, especially unarmored units. Use these units to accompany your fast stacks, such as Motorized/Mechanized Infantry, Armoured Cars, Light/Medium Tanks, and other self-propelled units, in the event that your opponents has a lot of Attack and Tactical Bombers.
Rocket Artillery: (Ranged)
Total Levels: 3
Terrain Bonuses: +50% Hills, +50% Mountains
Preferred Targets: Unarmored
Class: Unarmored
Doctrine Bonuses: Comintern (Earlier Research, Production Time -20%)
Doctrine Detriments: None
Best Counter: Tactical Bombers
Analysis: A secret tech unit, Rocket Artillery is your go-to ranged Infantry-destroying unit. Whilst Artillery is focused on destroying armour, Rocket Artillery is focused on destroying unarmored targets. It does some damage to armoured units, but you should always use Artillery for those scenarios. Because of the early research and production time benefit of the Comintern doctrine, you should always get Rocket Artillery when playing as a Comintern country. You will easily be able to destroy the early-game Infantry. However, as the game progresses, be careful of Motorized Infantry (especially Axis ones). They are very fast, and can catch up to your slow Rocket Artillery. Always keep a shield** in front of the Rocket Artillery, and use it's terrain bonuses to its advantage. The biggest downside to this unit is the cost (very expensive compared to Artillery).
Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery: (Ranged)
Total Levels: 2
Terrain Bonuses: +20% Plains, +50% Hills
Preferred Targets: Unarmored
Class: Light Armour
Doctrine Bonuses: Comintern (Move Speed +15%, Damage vs All +10%, Earlier Research)
Doctrine Detriments: None
Best Counter: Attack Bombers
Analysis: Another secret tech unit, SP Rocket Artillery is the best land weapon to counteract unarmored targets. Faster than Rocket Artillery, it is an effective weapon to use against Motorized Infantry (assuming you are in friendly territory, if you are in enemy territory they are 4x faster than you.) Best used for Comintern doctrine, as the -10% damage for all Comintern units is negated with its bonuses. It is also faster as Comintern, and you get the ability to unlock it earlier. Can't stress this enough, use as Comintern. You will be able to destroy your enemies on the battlefield. Always pair with SP Anti-Air, so the speed isn't decreased much but you still get protection from aircraft. Again, biggest downside is the cost and the production time. Even with the production time decreased from Comintern, it still takes 1 day and 6 hours to produce with a level 1 Secret Lab. If you wish to get a lot of these units, get at least level 3 Secret Labs in your territories.
Railroad Guns: (Ranged)
Total Levels: 2
Preferred Targets: Heavy Armour/Buildings
Class: Heavy Armour
Doctrine Bonuses: Axis (Attack Range +10%, Move Speed +10%, Earlier Research)
Best Counter: Attack Bombers
Analysis: The unit with the longest attack range, Railroad Guns are a killer addition to your artillery. It has a range of 100 (with 110 for Axis!), doubling the normal artillery range. In fact, it has such a large range, that it usually needs to be accompanied by Armoured Cars or Motorized Infantry to properly see all units within bombardment range. The biggest downside to this unit, however, is its speed. It moves slower than Infantry, and since it cannot be upgraded, they will always be this slow. To use effectively, make Level 3 Infrastructure in the territories you plan to use RRGs, to double their speed. Keep a meat shield in front as well. Always include anti-air with your RRGs to prevent Attack Bombers from attacking them. Use as Axis, since you have longer range (110) and are +10% faster. To make these units and get them anytime soon, you will need high level Secret Labs, otherwise they will take too long to produce. RRGs are also too expensive to mass produce.
