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---
title: Brigade_Strategy_Guide
---
::: mw-parser-output
[Template:Anthology](/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Anthology&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Anthology (page does not exist)"){.new}

Brigades are generally considered the biggest flaw of HoI2. There are a
few Brigades that make sense to use, a few more that are slightly
inefficient, and others that serve almost no useful purpose.

::: {#toc .toc aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" role="navigation"}
::: {.toctitle dir="ltr" lang="en"}
## Contents {#mw-toc-heading}

[ ]{.toctogglespan}
:::

-   [[ 1 ]{.tocnumber} [ What is the problem with Brigades?
    ]{.toctext}](#What_is_the_problem_with_Brigades.3F)
-   [[ 2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Land Brigades ]{.toctext}](#Land_Brigades)
    -   [[ 2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Useful Brigades
        ]{.toctext}](#Useful_Brigades)
    -   [[ 2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Late Brigades
        ]{.toctext}](#Late_Brigades)
    -   [[ 2.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Worthless Brigades
        ]{.toctext}](#Worthless_Brigades)
    -   [[ 2.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Further reading
        ]{.toctext}](#Further_reading)
-   [[ 3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Air Brigades ]{.toctext}](#Air_Brigades)
-   [[ 4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Naval Brigades ]{.toctext}](#Naval_Brigades)
-   [[ 5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Brigade List ]{.toctext}](#Brigade_List)
    -   [[ 5.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Land Brigades
        ]{.toctext}](#Land_Brigades_2)
    -   [[ 5.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Naval Brigades
        ]{.toctext}](#Naval_Brigades_2)
        -   [[ 5.2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Carrier Only Brigades
            ]{.toctext}](#Carrier_Only_Brigades)
        -   [[ 5.2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Capital Ship Only Brigades
            ]{.toctext}](#Capital_Ship_Only_Brigades)
        -   [[ 5.2.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Screen Ship Only Brigades
            ]{.toctext}](#Screen_Ship_Only_Brigades)
        -   [[ 5.2.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Submarine Only Brigades
            ]{.toctext}](#Submarine_Only_Brigades)
        -   [[ 5.2.5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Transport Only Brigades
            ]{.toctext}](#Transport_Only_Brigades)
    -   [[ 5.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Air Brigades
        ]{.toctext}](#Air_Brigades_2)
:::

## [ ]{#What_is_the_problem_with_Brigades?} [ What is the problem with Brigades? ]{#What_is_the_problem_with_Brigades.3F .mw-headline}

The general view is that Brigades are largely useless because:

-   Stats: Improvement in fighting ability is typically minor or of
    limited practical utility.
-   IC cost: The IC cost is too high when compared to the improvements
    offered: the player is better served building additional units,
    rather than brigades.
-   TC load: Brigades use a relatively high amount of supplies and fuel,
    thus disproportionately increasing your TC load.
-   Mechanics: Some brigades have absolutely no practical value in-game
    under any reasonable circumstances.

## [ Land Brigades ]{#Land_Brigades .mw-headline}

The general rule would be to brigade expensive land divisions such as
armor and motor and mech because brigades are comparatively more cost
effective than expensive divisions are while not brigading cheap units
like infantry divisions. Use either SPA or AC brigade for your mobile
formations; in a combined arms formation of armor and motor, the AC
brigade on motor infantry divisions helps them to keep enough
organization. Infantry + arty is good for defense but makes these
divisions too slow for attacking through several provinces.

### [ Useful Brigades ]{#Useful_Brigades .mw-headline}

These brigades have some utility:

-   [Artillery Brigade](/wiki/Artillery_Brigade "Artillery Brigade") :
    -   [Marines](/wiki/Marines "Marines"){.mw-redirect} : since you are
        limited to three marine stacks in the early game, every extra
        bit of firepower helps.
    -   Defending: the movement penalty doesn\'t hurt when using a
        static defense (e.g. particularly when using fortifications)
    -   Fortress Busting: against extremely hard targets, every bit of
        extra firepower helps
-   [Self-Propelled Artillery
    Brigade](/wiki/Self-Propelled_Artillery_Brigade "Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade")
    :
    -   Fortress Busting: against extremely hard targets, every bit of
        extra firepower helps
    -   Mobile formations: Any mobile units are well augmented by
        SP-ART.
-   [Armored Car
    Brigade](/wiki/Armored_Car_Brigade "Armored Car Brigade") :
    -   Mobile formations: A useful addition similar to SP-ART in
        effectiveness. Lack of upgrades after 1941 render the unit less
        effective over the long term
-   [Police Brigade](/wiki/Police_Brigade "Police Brigade")
    -   Anti-Partisan Duty: Where you\'d need quite some army to get
        partisan activity down, a simple garrison with a police brigade
        does the same work.

### [ Late Brigades ]{#Late_Brigades .mw-headline}

These brigades are generally not worth the research time, come too late
in game, but they are good units:

-   [Rocket Artillery
    Brigade](/wiki/Rocket_Artillery_Brigade "Rocket Artillery Brigade")
-   [Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery
    Brigade](/wiki/Self-Propelled_Rocket_Artillery_Brigade "Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery Brigade")
-   [Light Armored
    Brigade](/wiki/Light_Armored_Brigade "Light Armored Brigade")

### [ Worthless Brigades ]{#Worthless_Brigades .mw-headline}

These brigades are usually worthless *in any context!* That said, some
players still enjoy using them for role playing reasons.

-   [Anti-aircraft
    Brigade](/wiki/Anti-aircraft_Brigade "Anti-aircraft Brigade") : In
    HOI2 and DD these simply couldn\'t inflict any meaningful damage on
    air units. In ARMA, it is possible for AA brigades to do damage to
    AI bombers when attached to HQ units, which the AI will target.
-   [Engineer Brigade](/wiki/Engineer_Brigade "Engineer Brigade") : The
    speed benefit won\'t help units with a capped speed, and the
    defensiveness is essentially useless in any meaningful game context.
    (See [Blue Emu\'s
    explanation](http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9586012&postcount=32){.external
    .text rel="nofollow"} )
-   [Heavy Armored
    Brigade](/wiki/Heavy_Armored_Brigade "Heavy Armored Brigade") &
    [Super Heavy Armored
    Brigade](/wiki/Super_Heavy_Armored_Brigade "Super Heavy Armored Brigade")
    : Ironically, if the enemy tank has an anti-tank brigade attached,
    heavy armor actually makes a tank more vulnerable. SH-ARM is
    extremely immobile and robs armor of one of their most important
    attributes: speed. The 1941 H-ARM brigade has good characteristics
    so long as speed, oil/supply consumption, and TC load are not
    concerns. For example, H-Arm is sometimes useful for Arm-Mot
    formations, as the Motorised Infantry are 1 speed point slower than
    the Armour as it is, so the speed penalty of the H-Arm is not so
    much of an issue.
-   [Anti-tank
    Brigade](/wiki/Anti-tank_Brigade "Anti-tank Brigade"){.mw-redirect}
    & [Tank Destroyer
    Brigade](/wiki/Tank_Destroyer_Brigade "Tank Destroyer Brigade") : In
    almost all practical scenerios against the AI, ART and SP-ART is
    more effective. \"SP-AT(sic) is more effective than SP-ART if over
    88% of your opponents will be Armored Divisions. That fact alone
    should tell you that it\'s a basically useless brigade.\" \-- Blue
    Emu

### [ Further reading ]{#Further_reading .mw-headline}

-   [Kanitatlan\'s
    analysis](https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/are-most-brigades-completely-useless.215028/){.external
    .text rel="nofollow"}
-   [Kanitatlan\'s second
    analysis](https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/brigades-in-1-3.226256/){.external
    .text rel="nofollow"}

## [ Air Brigades ]{#Air_Brigades .mw-headline}

According mld0806: \"Escort Fighters are ALWAYS a necessity, as you will
have at least some TAC in your air force either way you go, and for
these you need Escorts. STR are as much, if not more, in need of Escorts
to truly do their worst against the enemy. The Escorts will draw fire,
both from enemy aircraft and enemy AA emplacements. Escorts are much
hardier against these forms of attack than your bombers are. And the
longer you can stay over the target, the more time you have to do the
damage you wish to do.\"

## [ Naval Brigades ]{#Naval_Brigades .mw-headline}

There are 6 new brigades for ships introduced in Armageddon. Depending
on ship you can add a certain amount of brigades.

-   CV - 1 (only CAG)
-   CVL - None
-   BB - 5 (All available)
-   BC - 4
-   CA - 3
-   CL -2
-   DD - 1 (A ship specific ASW is available along with the others)
-   SS - None
-   TP - None

The 6 brigades/improvements are :

-   Anti-Air: Increase in Air Defense, Air Attack & Air Detection
    Capabilities
-   Radar: Increase Sea Detection Capability & Air Detection Capability
    (capital variant only)
-   Fire Control: Increase Sea Attack, Shore Bombardment & Max Firing
    Distance
-   Improved Hull: Increase Air Defense & Sea Defense
-   Torpedoes: Increase Convoy Raiding
-   ASW: Increase Sub Detection & Sub Attack (Destroyer only)

Brigade costs differ depending on if it is attached to a capital ship or
a screen. For example:

-   Screen Fire Control Brigade costs 2 IC over 140 Days (280ICD) for
    the Early model and 2.5 IC over 140 Days (350ICD) for the Late model
-   Capital Fire Control Brigade costs 2 IC over 190 Days for the Early
    model and 2.5 IC over 190 Days for the Late model

Generally, the Fire Control brigade is considered the only worthwhile
naval brigade.

## [ Brigade List ]{#Brigade_List .mw-headline}

### [ Land Brigades ]{#Land_Brigades_2 .mw-headline}

-   [Anti-aircraft
    Brigade](/wiki/Anti-aircraft_Brigade "Anti-aircraft Brigade")
-   [Anti-Tank Brigade](/wiki/Anti-Tank_Brigade "Anti-Tank Brigade")
-   [Armored Car
    Brigade](/wiki/Armored_Car_Brigade "Armored Car Brigade")
-   [Artillery Brigade](/wiki/Artillery_Brigade "Artillery Brigade")
-   [Engineer Brigade](/wiki/Engineer_Brigade "Engineer Brigade")
-   [Heavy Armored
    Brigade](/wiki/Heavy_Armored_Brigade "Heavy Armored Brigade")
-   [Light Armored
    Brigade](/wiki/Light_Armored_Brigade "Light Armored Brigade")
-   [Police Brigade](/wiki/Police_Brigade "Police Brigade")
-   [Rocket Artillery
    Brigade](/wiki/Rocket_Artillery_Brigade "Rocket Artillery Brigade")
-   [Self-Propelled Artillery
    Brigade](/wiki/Self-Propelled_Artillery_Brigade "Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade")
-   [Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery
    Brigade](/wiki/Self-Propelled_Rocket_Artillery_Brigade "Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery Brigade")
-   [Super Heavy Armored
    Brigade](/wiki/Super_Heavy_Armored_Brigade "Super Heavy Armored Brigade")
-   [Tank Destroyer
    Brigade](/wiki/Tank_Destroyer_Brigade "Tank Destroyer Brigade")

### [ Naval Brigades ]{#Naval_Brigades_2 .mw-headline}

There are five types of Naval vehicles, they are listed below. Brigades
can only be built for one type of naval vehicles.

#### [ [Carrier](/wiki/Carrier "Carrier") Only Brigades ]{#Carrier_Only_Brigades .mw-headline}

Note; Light Carriers (CVL\'s or also called CVE\'s) are a [Capital
Ship](/wiki/Capital_Ship "Capital Ship") not a
[Carrier](/wiki/Carrier "Carrier") for Brigade purposes. You need not /
cannot attach a CAG brigade to a CVL.

-   [Carrier Air Group
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Carrier_Air_Group_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Carrier Air Group Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}

#### [ [Capital Ship](/wiki/Capital_Ship "Capital Ship") Only Brigades ]{#Capital_Ship_Only_Brigades .mw-headline}

-   [Anti-Air Capital
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Anti-Air_Capital_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Anti-Air Capital Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Fire Control Capital
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Fire_Control_Capital_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Fire Control Capital Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Improved Hull Capital
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Improved_Hull_Capital_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Improved Hull Capital Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Radar Capital
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Radar_Capital_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Radar Capital Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Torpedoes Capital
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Torpedoes_Capital_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Torpedoes Capital Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}

#### [ [Screen Ship](/wiki/Screen_Ship "Screen Ship") Only Brigades ]{#Screen_Ship_Only_Brigades .mw-headline}

-   [Anti-Air Screen
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Anti-Air_Screen_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Anti-Air Screen Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Anti-Submarine Warfare Screen
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Anti-Submarine_Warfare_Screen_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Anti-Submarine Warfare Screen Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Fire Control Screen
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Fire_Control_Screen_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Fire Control Screen Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Improved Hull Screen
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Improved_Hull_Screen_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Improved Hull Screen Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Radar Screen
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Radar_Screen_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Radar Screen Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
-   [Torpedoes Screen
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Torpedoes_Screen_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Torpedoes Screen Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}

#### [ [Submarine](/wiki/Submarine "Submarine") Only Brigades ]{#Submarine_Only_Brigades .mw-headline}

-   There are NO Submarine specific brigades

#### [ [Transport](/wiki/Transport "Transport") Only Brigades ]{#Transport_Only_Brigades .mw-headline}

-   There are NO Transport specific brigades

### [ Air Brigades ]{#Air_Brigades_2 .mw-headline}

-   [Escort Fighter
    Brigade](/wiki/index.php?title=Escort_Fighter_Brigade&action=edit&redlink=1 "Escort Fighter Brigade (page does not exist)"){.new}
    (Only found in Doomsday and Armageddon)
:::