Militia has always been the poor man's infantry. And a trap for new players, who end up with a slow, under-powered army. CoW 1.5 changed things around slightly, by making militia "hidden" on certain terrain. But this doesn't make a difference in practice, because any opponent worth his salt will use armored cars, motorized infantry, or interceptors to scout the area before committing his army to the attack. And if the opponent doesn't know what he's doing? Well then it doesn't matter what you do. This article is about using militia in the most effective way possible to take down powerful, skilled opponents.
The most important feature of militia is their fast recruitment speed. You can build a militia unit in 30 minutes. That can be game-changing. But not in the way most people think.
Militia is not really a good investment for home defense. Anything militia can do, infantry can do better. The price difference is nowhere near what it should be, considering the difference in effectiveness. Your army should continue to use infantry to defend cities and rough terrain.
Researching militia to higher levels actually decreases their value, because it negates their most important feature: fast recruitment.
If you're not building them for home defense, and not researching them past level 1, then what can you do with them? Blitz invasions.
What ???
But militia are slow *and* under-powered! It's the worst unit to bring on the attack!
Ah, but invasion does not mean attack, my friends.
Picture this. You just took a city behind enemy lines, either with a blitzing scout car or an amphibious landing. You don't have an army nearby. How do you exploit this situation?
Build a barracks, and queue up militia. Even at 25% morale, a level 1 barracks can churn out 1 militia per hour.
By the time the enemy brings forces to deal with the incursion, you can have several militia waiting in the city. Not enough to stop a real army, but enough to stop an AT gun or an infantry. The enemy thinks: "All he has is an armored car".
If you can't hold the city, then don't try. Fan out into the surrounding forests and hills. Now the enemy has to deal with several hidden units tramping through their core, destroying industry and threatening other cities. This can be enough to disrupt and demoralize the enemy.
The incredible cheapness, fast recruitment speed, and ability to hide in rough terrain make level 1 militia a cost-effective way to bring an enemy to his knees. Just don't make the mistake of researching them to higher levels. That turns militia into crappy infantry, a negative return on your research investment.
