http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=162592&page=1&pp=15 (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=162592&page=1&pp=15)
I think that 4 factions will be optimal for COH (especially for online gaming) and 2 new are obviously Soviets and Japanese. But small chance that a further add-on will include 2 new playable factions. May be it will be 2 add-ons like Dawn of War series. I guess Red Army would be best to include in the first one and it must include campaign based on 1944 or 1945 battles and respective combat gear to better suit current game balance and other factions’ units. So not Stalingrad, there were many other very intensive and blooded battles on the Eastern Front – liberation of Belorussia, assault on Koenigsberg, Balaton Lake operation etc. (and of course Battle for Berlin). Also I'd like to point that Red Army in 1944 wasn’t a bunch of under-armed conscripts pushed into combat by dreaded commissars. It was crack, very experienced and well-armed force. For example, compare production of sub-machine guns in USSR and Germany: MP-40 was produced in 1 mln pcs roundly, PPSh-41 – 6 mln pcs. T-34 was most produced tank ever (~84 000 were built), the Sherman goes second to it with 50000.About commissar:
OK, here is my suggestion list for Red Army units:
Infantry
Riflemen (‘Krasnoarmeetz’) – basic infantry unit armed with Mosin rifles. Possible upgrades include grenades (RG-42 or F-1) and Molotov cocktails on T2 and PPSh-41 SMGs on T3.
HMG team – armed with Maxim or SG-43 (I guess the latter shout fit more perfectly ‘cause it had lighter design and tripod variant)
Mortar team armed with 81 mm mortar (T2 unit)
Anti-tank team. Soviets didn’t have bazooka-type anti-tank weapon, but they can place anti-tank teams armed with 14,5 mm PTR anti-tank rifles (there were two types – PRTD and PTRS, bolt-action and semi-automatic respectively). PTR will do decent damage to light vehicles, but from little to nothing to the tanks, although it must have a chance to disable engine of the vehicle if it is shot from flank or rear. And it has to be placed like MGs and be able to fire only from prone position, and therefore it will have a limited sector of shooting.
Sniper. I guess this should be a female character to reflect vast numbers of women-snipers in Red Army.
Guard Infantry – T2 or T3 unit, armed with SVT semi-automatic rifles. Possible upgrades – grenades and DP light machine guns on T3. Maybe they should have some special ability.
Marines (‘Morskaya Pehota’, they were called “Black Death” by Germans) – off-map unit with Fire-Up and Bundle Grenades abilities..
Vehicles
Armored Car. Late of war, Soviets didn’t have modern AC armed with 20 - 50 mm guns. Instead they had BA-64 light armored car armed with only 7,62 MG. It should be a T2 unit and have similar of Jeep and motorbike ability to spot snipers.
Truck. Again, RA didn’t have its own half-tracks so there should be a drawback in the game. Possible upgrades include quad of AA Maxims on T2 and famous ‘Katusha’ rocket system launcher on T3 or T4.
45 mm or 57 mm Anti-tank Gun.
SU-76 self-propelled AT gun. T3 unit to counter AC and to make flank attack on tanks.
T-34/76 medium tank upgunned to T-34-85 (just like Sherman except loss of its anti-infantry effect due to higher caliber and to compensate lacking of turret-mounted MG).
SU-85 self-propelled AT gun to counter most of tanks.
IS-2 heavy tank – off-map unit in Tank Commander Tree (maybe it will be named something like ‘Armored Fist’). It should be more than match to the Tiger but had to have slow rate of fire (as it was in reality). Also it must have turret-mounted DShK (large-caliber MG) upgrade for 100 mun.
Some of Company Commander Abilities
“For the Motherland!” – like Germans’ ability, it should give bonus to infantry units fighting on the own territory
“No one step behind!” – this gives inf units bonuses to attack (and maybe immunity to suppression) but in that case they cannot retreat and possibly may be wiped out.
“Mass Reserves” – accelerated production of Inf units
“Mass Production” – same for the vehicles
Air Strike with Il-2 Sturmoviks
Off-Map Artillery
Of course, everything listened above is not more than IMO.
As i know, the only realy "professional" (i mean well-trained) army during WW-2 was Wermacht. And waffen-ss etc. etc.So, as I said, the Soviet union must have one type of the main infantry (for examlpe: not "Conscripts and Regulars") like american rifleman.