Rifleman Squad

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Rifleman Squads are the core infantry units of the American Expeditionary Force. Armed with semi-automatic rifles and a wide array of grenades, Riflemen are more than capable of facing most threats they encounter on the battlefields of Western Europe.

Overview
Riflemen are highly versatile squads that are capable of fulfilling a variety of roles. With a moderate squad size and set of M1 Garands, Riflemen are cost-effective and reliable infantry units that excel at both combat and support roles.

Their semi-automatic rifles make them effective at engaging squads at a middle range, providing ample firepower with better accuracy and volume of fire to kite and fight behind cover effectively. However, they have lackluster close-ranged potential and worse accuracy at range, making them vulnerable to dedicated assault troops and marksman type squads.

Riflemen have a low production cost, allowing them to be deployed en masse and maintain excellent field presence as well as providing adaptability to the situation by equipping specific weapons to cover the army's weaknesses as needed.

Despite their average performance against many Axis squads, they provide great flexibility and are potent frontline squads due to their readily available upgrades which will augment their ability to fight at specific ranges or perform anti-vehicle duties. (See Upgrades for more info)

The most prominent feature of Riflemen are their set of grenades, allowing them to quickly and efficiently respond to threats and gives them great tactical flexibility in both offensive and defensive operations. (See Abilities for more info)

Overall, Riflemen are considered as the cornerstones to any operation and are valuable infantry squads to a highly skilled commander that can make full use of their potential.

Upgrades
Riflemen have access to USF's standard weapon racks, providing them unrivaled tactical value and allows Riflemen to fulfill different roles as the situation demands.



M1918A2 BAR

 * 30 Munitions / pick-up
 * Mid-Range Anti-Infantry Weapon

BARs are the primary anti-infantry upgrade available for Riflemen. Affordable and effective most ranges, the BAR improves the rate of fire and enhances damage output substantially at close to mid-range. Usually the most cost-effective option for individual squads is to arm them with either 2x BARs (60 munitions) or 3x BARs (90 munitions total), although you can get even higher numbers if you have enough munitions to spare.



M9 'Bazooka' Launcher

 * 25 Munitions / pick-up
 * Mediocre Anti-Vehicle Rocket Launcher

The M9 Bazooka is the only anti-tank upgrade that Riflemen can (normally) acquire. Although they lack penetration and raw damage, the cheap cost per launcher makes it possible to arm numerous launchers on a single squad (up to six!). It is recommended to arm squads anywhere between 3-6 Bazookas to act as mobile anti-vehicle units. However, the M9 Bazookas will greatly neuter the Riflemen's ability to engage infantry. Generally the number of necessary launchers can vary depending on your circumstances, with 2-3x Bazookas being sufficient to completely zone-out light vehicles and threaten medium armor.



M1919A6 Browning LMG

 * 50 Munitions / pick-up
 * Long-range Stationary Weapon
 * Requires Infantry Company or Tactical Support Company or War Bonds specialization

The M1919A6 is a fully automatic light machine gun that improves Riflemen's performance at maximum range. They provide serviceable damage output with longer burst durations and magazine capacity at the cost of reducing the squad's combat potential in close quarters. It is unable to be fired on the move. Generally, it would be advisable to evenly distribute M1919A6s across multiple squads and given it's price, it is difficult to arm more than one or two squads. However, the M1919A6 provides excellent defensive damage output, allowing Riflemen to engage targets at a more comfortable distance. It is best paired with a M1918A2 BAR to cover it's weakness in close-ranged combat.

AR-15 Rifle Combat Package

 * 50 Munitions
 * Effective Close-Mid Ranged Weapon
 * Provides light body armor
 * Requires Heavy Ordinance Specialization and Platoon Command Post

The AR-15 package is an upgrade unique under the Heavy Ordinance specialization. AR-15s drastically increases the close and mid-range damage output on the squad at the cost of a minor decrease to their long-range DPS. In addition, the upgrade also improves the overall durability of the squad by giving each member light body-armor. This allows Riflemen to engage in more aggressive tactics and act as assault troops.

Pros

 * Good anti-infantry performance at most ranges
 * Large squad size.
 * Strong set of abilities
 * Fairly cheap and easy to produce and maintain.

Cons

 * Lacks close range firepower and long ranged accuracy without upgrades.
 * Vulnerable to high-damage Axis units at most ranges.
 * Poor late game scaling without upgrades.

Abilities
 Default abilities 



Mk 2 Fragmentation Grenade
20 Munitions; One squad member prepares and throws a Mk 2 Frag Grenade at the target location of up to 4 meters, to injure or kill squads.



M23 Smoke Screen Grenade
15 Munitions; One squad member mounts a grenade to their rifle and fires an M23 Smoke Grenade at the targeted point of up to 30 meters, laying down a sizeable smoke-cloud when it lands.



M9A1 Anti-Tank Rifle-Grenade
20 Munitions; One squad member mounts a grenade to their rifle and fires an AT Grenade at the targeted enemy vehicle. Grenade will inflict Engine Damage critical to the targeted vehicle if it is below 75% health.



Sprint
Free. The squad moves at maximum speed for five seconds.

 Commander-Specific Abilities 

Incendiary Grenade
25 Munitions; One squad member prepares and throws a Molotov Cocktail at the targeted location, inflicting damage over time to any squads directly within the flames and dealing massive damage to garrisoned units. Requires Urban Assault Company



Flare
35 Munitions; One squad member mounts a slow-falling flare and fires it over the targeted point, revealing a large area for roughly 35 seconds. Requires Rifle Company



Repair
Allows Riflemen to repair vehicles, structures, and buildings; repairs at the same rate as Rear Echelon Squads. Requires Heavy Cavalry Company or Infantry Company

Constructions
Sandbag Fighting Position

Builds a long wall of dirt and sandbags. Provides heavy cover to units behind it and can accommodate more troops without clumping models together.

Sandbag Wall

Requires Riflemen Field Defenses commander ability; Builds a standard sandbag wall. Provides heavy cover to units behind it and can be built rapidly.

 Round Trench 

Builds a large trench that provides heavy cover for any squad inside it; can garrison one squad or team weapon.

Fighting Position

125 Manpower, requires Riflemen Field Defenses commander ability.; Provides heavy cover to units garrisoned inside and can be upgraded with a forward-facing M2HB .50 Caliber HMG for 60 munitions. Can garrison one normal squad, but cannot accommodate team weapons.

 M5 Mine 

30 Munitions; Builds a basic M5 landmine at the target location. This mine can be triggered by both infantry and vehicles and deals heavy damage to anything that sets it off.

Veterancy Levels
 Veterancy One 

560 EXP :  Veterancy Two 

1120 EXP : -23% received accuracy, -20% weapon cooldown.

 Veterancy Three 

2576 EXP : -15% received accuracy, +30% accuracy, -50% ability recharge time, +25% grenade range.