Battalions, Companies and Support Regiments
Chapter · Battalions, companies and regiments
Battalions, companies and support regiments in Hearts of Iron IV
How a template is built: combat battalions in the middle, support companies on the right, support regiments under a column. This chapter is the slots, how they differ, and what you usually take first.
Chapter overview
A division in HoI4 is a blueprint: combat battalions set Combat Width and most of the stats, support companies sit on the right and do not eat width, support regiments hang under a column once it already has three battalions. The question is not “which piece is strongest”, it is “which slot solves your job right now”.
What is inside
What is not here
- Ready-made “patch meta” templates for every country
- Combat formulas and every stat — that is the stats and combat chapter
- How to create a division from scratch and where Army Experience goes — that is division basics
Where to start
- Template — if you mix up the columns, the right-hand companies, and the “bottom” regiments.
- Infantry — if you do not know how to hold a front without fuel.
- Arty, AT, AA — when the division stands but does not punch, or fears tanks and planes.
- Engineers and rear companies — when the line is already there and support slots are still empty.
- Company / regiment tiers — when slots are few and you need to drop someone.
From practice: fill Infantry to width first, plus one Engineer Company. Pretty artillery with no bodies and no Entrenchment folds fast. Five tasty companies on a cardboard template is an expensive screenshot.
How to use this chapter: open the tab for the slot → grab the role and the usual mistakes → go to the dedicated article for numbers, the research tree and the quirks. Division types and combat stats are neighbouring chapters, not this one.
Quick map: which tab to open
| Job | Open first |
|---|---|
| I do not get the designer | Template |
| Hold the front cheaply | Infantry |
| The division holds, but does not push | Arty, AT, AA |
| Defense, Entrenchment, woods and rivers | Engineers |
| Tanks drive into empty supply | Rear companies |
| The tank spearhead is weak in terrain | Flame tanks |
| The column is built, the bottom slot is empty | Regiments |
| Five company slots, ten candidates | Company tiers |
How a division template is built
The template is the blueprint. Change the blueprint and every division on that template changes. On the map the divisions are already living units, but they take their composition from here.
Three layers
- Combat battalions — columns in the middle. They give Combat Width, manpower, and most of the Attack and Defense.
- Support companies — up to five slots on the right. They take no width, but they eat Organization and a slot.
- Support regiments — under a column once it already has ≥ 3 battalions. Also no width, but tied to that regiment.
Grid: up to 5 columns, up to 5 battalions per column (cap 25). On the right, exactly 5 company slots.
What beginners mix up
- Support Artillery and a line Artillery battalion are different buttons and a different Combat Width cost
- A regiment is not “another company on the right”, it is the bottom slot of a column
- An empty support slot is not a “free upgrade”: every company dilutes Organization
More in the article on how a division template is structured.
Full slot list
Pick the layer first: battalions, companies or regiments. Inside battalions there are more tabs, matching the designer. Equipment costs are from the game; the advice is practical, not “put this on everyone”.
| Icon | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
 | Infantry | The backbone of an infantry division and cheap Combat Width. |
 | Mountaineers | Mountains and hills. Eats the special forces cap. |
 | Marines | Landings, rivers, marshes. Special forces too. |
 | Rangers | Forest and jungle. Special forces. |
 | Paratroopers | Air drops, not line infantry. Special forces. |
| Icon | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
 | Self-Propelled Anti-Air | Division armor and an answer to aircraft in a tank template. |
 | Self-Propelled Artillery | Soft Attack for attacking armored divisions. |
 | Tank Destroyer | Against a tank power, more often in multiplayer. |
| Icon | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
 | Motorized Anti-Air | On a motorized template if the enemy is choking you from the air. |
 | Motorized Anti-Tank | On a motorized template if there are a lot of tanks opposite. |
 | Motorized Artillery | If Organization and factories can carry it. Not instead of Infantry. |
 | Truck-drawn Rocket Artillery | Late motorized divisions, if Organization is still alive. |
 | Motorized Rocket Artillery | More expensive and nastier. Only with a strong industry. |
| Icon | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
 | Anti-Air | In infantry if the enemy actually flies. A company is often enough first. |
 | Anti-Tank | In infantry against tanks. Do not copy “just in case” into every division. |
 | Artillery | Punches infantry, eats width and Organization. Company first, then a line battalion. |
 | Rocket Artillery | Late analogue of artillery. Put it if Organization is not already on the floor. |
| Icon | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
 | Amphibious Battalion | In a naval-landing template. Eats the special forces cap. |
 | Armored Car | Niche templates, not a stand-in for Infantry or tanks. |
 | Cavalry | Garrison and a manpower abuse, not a front against real Infantry. |
 | Mechanized Infantry | Late attacking divisions. Costlier than motorized. |
 | Motorized Infantry | Early–mid spearhead: close a pocket, not hold the whole border. |
| Icon | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
 | Amphibious Tank Battalion | Landings and rivers. Also eats the special forces cap. |
 | Light Tank | The very start, until you have Medium. Usually swapped later. |
 | Medium Tank | The working attack tank. The spearhead lives here. |
 | Heavy Tank | Expensive and rarely pays off. Fine as a joke, not as the army core. |
 | Modern Tank | Almost always a wasted research slot. Not required for a meta spearhead. |
| Icon | Name | Buff | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Support Anti-Air | Air Attack | 20 Anti-Air | When the enemy actually flies. Not in every division “just in case”. |
 | Support Anti-Tank | Hard Attack and Piercing | 24 Anti-Tank | When there are real tanks opposite. Often extra vs a sleepy AI. |
 | Support Artillery | Soft Attack | 12 Artillery | Almost every fighting line division. Garrisons do not need it. |
 | Support Rocket Artillery | Soft Attack | 12 rockets | Late swap/add-on to artillery if Organization can take it. |
 | Engineer Company | Terrain and Defense | 30 Support Equipment, 10 Infantry Equipment | Almost every fighting line division. Not for damage. |
 | Armored Recon Company | Terrain and Breakthrough | 24 Light Tanks | Best recon for an attacking spearhead. Not infantry’s first slot. |
 | Medium Flame Tank Company | Terrain and Attack | 15 flame tanks | Medium only, and only on tanks. Infantry needs the slot more. |
 | Light Flame Tank Company | Terrain and Attack, weaker than medium | Depends on chassis | Worse than medium. Usually skipped. |
 | Heavy Flame Tank Company | Terrain and Attack | Depends on chassis | Expensive and unnecessary. Tier F. |
 | Field Hospital | Fewer manpower and experience losses | 20 Trucks, 30 Support Equipment | Big attacking infantry templates. Not garrisons. |
 | Logistics Company | Lower Supply Use | 10 Trucks, 20 Support Equipment | Hungry spearheads, especially with SPART. Extra on a well-fed defense. |
 | Super-Heavy Artillery | Soft Attack | 3 Super-Heavy Artillery | Majors stacking it onto infantry. Not a minor. |
 | Self-Propelled Super-Heavy Artillery | Soft Attack | 3 Self-Propelled Super-Heavy Artillery | Useless: the slot and the factories hurt. |
 | Land Cruiser | Depends on the designer | 1 Land Cruiser | Useless. |
 | Super-Heavy Tank | Depends on the designer | 20 Super-Heavy Tanks | Useless. |
 | Cavalry Recon Detachment | Terrain and Reconnaissance | 40 Infantry Equipment, 10 Support Equipment | Early infantry. Do not hang it on tanks: it cuts speed. |
 | Assault Engineer Company | Terrain and Breakthrough | 20 Support Equipment, 20 Armored Support Vehicles | Shock templates, not the whole army. Does not stack with engineers in one division. |
 | Armored Engineer Company | Terrain, Defense and Breakthrough | 30 Armored Support Vehicles, 15 Support Equipment | Majors on vehicles. Not mandatory. |
 | Helicopter Med-Evac | Losses and Recovery Rate | 15 helicopters, 15 Trucks, 30 Support Equipment | Useless next to Field Hospital. |
 | Helicopter Brigade | Recovery Rate and Supply Use | 15 helicopters, 15 Support Equipment | Almost always useless. |
 | Helicopter Recon | Terrain, Soft Attack for infantry, Defense | 20 helicopters, 20 Infantry Equipment, 10 Support Equipment | Almost always useless. |
 | Helicopter Transports | Supply Use and terrain | 10 helicopters, 10 Infantry Equipment, 20 Support Equipment | Almost always useless. Logistics is cheaper in spirit. |
 | Maintenance Company | Equipment Capture and Reliability | 25 Support Equipment | You barely feel it on pure infantry. Sometimes a minor vs a tank power. |
 | Armored Maintenance Company | Equipment Capture and Reliability | 20 Armored Support Vehicles, 15 Support Equipment | Useless next to regular maintenance. |
 | Military Police | Defense, Recovery Rate, Suppression | 40 Infantry Equipment, 10 Support Equipment | Situational. A major can put it on garrison, not the line. |
 | Motorized Military Police | Defense, Recovery Rate, Suppression | 20 Infantry Equipment, 20 Motorcycles, 5 Support Equipment | Situational and rarely worth the slot. |
 | Motorized Recon Company | Terrain and Defense | 40 Infantry Equipment, 20 Trucks, 10 Support Equipment | The worst recon. Do not take it “because motorized”. |
 | Light Armored Recon Company | Terrain and Breakthrough | 24 Armored Cars | No point next to armored recon. |
 | Signal Company | Initiative | 10 Trucks, 20 Support Equipment | If you are specifically stacking Initiative and the high command. Not required on the line. |
 | Armored Signal Company | Initiative and Breakthrough for tanks | 20 Armored Support Vehicles, 15 Support Equipment | Often useless. Tanks need the slot more for flame tanks. |
| Icon | Name | What it raises | Cost | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Infantry Guns | Soft Attack | 4 Artillery | Not for everyone. Hits Organization hard; Support Artillery in companies is almost always better. |
 | Regimental Rocket Battery | Soft Attack | 4 rockets | Late game, and only if Support Artillery is already in. Not “on everyone”. |
 | Anti-Air Battery | Air Attack | 12 Anti-Air | When enemy aircraft actually hit. One of the best regiments. |
 | Anti-Tank Battery | Hard Attack, Piercing | 16 Anti-Tank | Against real tanks. Cheaper than the company, weaker than the company. |
 | Heavy Weapons Company | Defense | 30 Infantry Equipment, 5 Support Equipment | On an infantry column for defense once it has 3+ battalions. Not instead of engineers. |
 | Motorized Heavy Weapons Company | Defense | 5 Trucks, 5 Support Equipment, 30 Infantry Equipment | Almost useless. Sometimes on vehicles with high Organization. |
 | Light / Medium / Heavy SPAA | Air Attack (designer) | Depends on the designer | Multiplayer vs strong majors, only under vehicle battalions. |
 | Light / Medium / Heavy Tank Destroyer | Hard Attack, Piercing | Depends on the designer | Vehicles and multiplayer too. Not the infantry line. |
Practical takeaway: lock Combat Width and who holds the line first. Then the five companies. Regiments come when the column is already thick, not instead of Infantry.
The Infantry battalion
In the designer it is simply called Infantry: a thousand men with rifles, no vehicles, no fuel. It is the line brick, not “the whole infantry division”.
Why you want it
- Fill Combat Width cheaply
- Give the division manpower and staying power in combat
- Hold a long border while the spearhead hits somewhere else
It hits okay. Real pressure usually wants Artillery; against tanks, Infantry alone has a hard time.
Do not mix it up with
- Not Marines, not Mountaineers, not Militia
- Not Motorized Infantry or Mechanized Infantry — those ride and burn fuel
- “Inf” in chat often already means a whole division; here it is one battalion inside the template
More in the article on the Infantry battalion.
Practical takeaway: the Infantry battalion is mass and cheap width. Without it most countries have nothing to fill the map with. Damage is bought with artillery and support, not a tenth copy of the same battalion.
Artillery, Anti-Tank and Anti-Air
Three “gun” families in the division. Each can be a line battalion or a support company. Line hits harder and eats Combat Width. A company does not eat width, but the right-hand slot is one, and Organization still drops.
Artillery
The main punch into infantry. A line Artillery battalion or Support Artillery. The company almost always goes in before artillery in the battalions.
Put Support Artillery first, then think about a line Artillery battalion.
More in the article on artillery in divisions.
Anti-Tank and Anti-Air
Anti-Tank is the answer to armor. You need it when there are real tanks opposite, not cardboard. An Anti-Tank battalion or Support Anti-Tank. Put it against tank powers, Germany for example.
Anti-Air is the answer to CAS. Line, company, or a regimental battery. If you do not own the sky, a division without AA bleeds Organization under bombs. Put it if the enemy has total air superiority.
More in the articles on Anti-Tank in divisions and Anti-Air in divisions.
Practical takeaway: Support Artillery first, then a line battalion. Anti-Tank when the enemy actually rolls tanks. Anti-Air when the enemy actually flies. Do not copy all three as line battalions “because guns”.
Engineers and assault engineers
Two engineer support companies. You do not put both in one division: you pick either Engineer Company or Assault Engineer Company.
Engineer Company
Entrenchment, Defense, forest, marshes, rivers, forts. Takes no Combat Width. Almost any fighting line division — yes. Not for damage into infantry, but for terrain buffs and Defense.
Research Engineer Company I first → produce Support Equipment → add it to the division’s support companies.
More in the article on Engineer Company.
Assault Engineer Company
Assault engineers on armored vehicles: bunkers, forts, urban. Strong on the attack, not a replacement for engineers on every division. Needs a special project and the Götterdämmerung DLC, plus industry for Armored Support Vehicles.
You put it on shock templates once Engineer Company is no longer the right tool. Majors often put it on tank divisions.
More in the article on Assault Engineer Company.
Practical takeaway: regular infantry almost always wants engineers. Assault engineers stay with the spearhead that breaks concrete, not the whole army.
Recon companies
Recon is a support slot. It gives Initiative and terrain bonuses; it is almost never “another artillery”. Several types: cavalry, motorized, light armored, armored, helicopter recon.
Why you take it
- Slightly better tactic picks thanks to Initiative
- Solid movement buffs in terrain
- Tanks more often get armored recon, poor infantry gets cavalry
It is not a mandatory first slot. Engineers and artillery usually matter more.
Typical mistakes
- Putting recon instead of artillery
- Hanging cavalry recon on tanks (the whole division’s speed drops)
- Putting expensive recon on infantry
More in the article on recon companies.
Practical takeaway: recon is a fine upgrade, not the foundation of the template. Artillery first, then engineers, then recon.
Rear companies
Four slots that barely add “guns” and instead patch the war around combat: supply, manpower, signals, equipment. They take no Combat Width. On a well-fed defense of five infantry divisions they are often extra.
Logistics and Field Hospital
Logistics Company cuts Supply Use and saves a little fuel. Hungry templates and long punches want it: tanks, motorized, mechanized, heavy artillery. Skip it on a short, well-fed defense.
Field Hospital returns some manpower lost in combat and partly keeps division experience after a loss. It makes sense where you are actually melting in long fights, not on garrison. Often put on huge attacking infantry divisions.
More in the articles on Logistics Company and Field Hospital.
Signals and maintenance
Signal Company raises Initiative and speeds up the division’s planning. People often research it for the high command even if they never put it on line infantry.
Maintenance Company raises Reliability and helps capture trophies. On pure infantry you barely feel it; on tanks and SPART it is already much better. The research is often for the high command, not every division.
More in the articles on Signal Company and Maintenance Company.
Practical takeaway: rear companies go on a job, not “all four because the slots exist”. Artillery and engineers first, then logistics on the spearhead and a hospital where manpower is melting.
Flame tank company
A support company. It gives the division huge attack bonuses in terrain. Takes no Combat Width. One type per division: light, medium or heavy.
Who should take it
Tank templates — almost mandatory: one of the strongest slots precisely because of terrain. Infantry usually no: the buff is weaker, and the slot is needed more for artillery and engineers.
Take medium on a medium chassis. The tank itself can be built very cheap: the buffs do not depend on the tank’s own stats.
How to unlock it
Engineer Company I → special project Flame Tank (No Step Back) → cheap design → production → the company slot on tanks.
Do not give the slot to garrisons or line infantry.
More in the article on the flame tank company.
Practical takeaway: flame tanks upgrade a tank spearhead, they are not “another gun for infantry”. Medium chassis, cheap hull, slot only on the units that push.
Support regiments
The bottom horizontal row under the battalions. It appears when a regiment (a vertical column) already has at least three battalions. It does not take Combat Width; it hits and holds for that column.
Heavy Weapons Company
Heavy Weapons Company is machine guns, light mortars, heavy weapons. It raises Defense well, not Breakthrough. There is a regular and a motorized version: motorized goes with vehicles and trucks, regular heavy with infantry.
You put it after the basic support companies. It does not replace engineers: engineers give Entrenchment and terrain buffs, heavy weapons give pure column Defense.
More in the article on Heavy Weapons Company.
Infantry Guns
Light artillery and indirect-fire mortars under the column. Fine on paper; in practice usually weaker than Support Artillery in companies. It makes sense when Support Artillery is already in, factories can spare extra guns, and the division’s Organization is healthy.
More in the article on Infantry Guns.
Practical takeaway: a regiment is an add-on on a thick column, not a way to build a division without battalions. Battalions first, then support companies, and only then support regiments.
Support company tier list, 2026
A subjective order of “who goes into the five slots”, not a patch law. If you have one slot, do not copy the whole S tier into one division.
Support company tier list
This is the author’s subjective take.
-
S
- Support Artillery
- Medium Flame Tank Company
- Engineer Company
-
A
- Assault Engineer Company
- Support Anti-Air
- Logistics Company
- Field Hospital
- Support Rocket Artillery
-
B
- Motorized Recon Company
- Cavalry Recon Detachment
- Armored Recon Company
- Super-Heavy Artillery
- Helicopter Recon
- Signal Company
- Military Police
-
C
- Helicopter Brigade
- Helicopter Transports
- Helicopter Med-Evac
- Support Anti-Tank
- Maintenance Company
- Armored Maintenance Company
- Armored Engineer Company
- Armored Signal Company
- Light Flame Tank Company
- Light Armored Recon Company
-
F
- Heavy Flame Tank Company
- Motorized Military Police
- Super-Heavy Tank
- Land Cruiser
- Self-Propelled Super-Heavy Artillery
S is almost always about the line and the tank spearhead. F often looks scary in the designer and pays off poorly in factories.
More in the article on the 2026 support company tier list.
Practical takeaway: five slots are a queue, not a museum. Artillery and engineers cover 80% of games. The rest you fill for the theatre: Anti-Air, logistics, flame tanks on tanks.
Support regiment tier list, 2026
Subjective as well. The bottom slot appears late, so stuffing a regiment before companies costs more than a bad tier.
Support regiment tier list
This is the author’s subjective take.
-
S
- Heavy Weapons Company
- Anti-Air Battery
-
A
- Anti-Tank Battery
- Motorized Heavy Weapons Company
-
B
- Regimental Rocket Battery
- Self-Propelled Anti-Air Regimental Support
- Tank Destroyer Regimental Support
-
F
- Infantry Guns
S you feel immediately: column Defense and an answer to CAS. A gets more expensive against real tanks. F almost always loses to Support Artillery on the right in practice.
More in the article on the 2026 support regiment tier list.
Practical takeaway: a regiment finishes an already working template. Do not patch a leaky infantry line with Infantry Guns at the bottom while engineers and artillery are empty on the right.