Recon companies

What recon in companies is

In Hearts of Iron IV, division recon is most often added through a support company. The community calls these Recon companies: not a line battalion in the grid, but a slot in the Support Companies tab.

After researching Recon Company I, the main types unlock. You can place only one recon type per template: cavalry and armored cars together — not allowed.

Why you need Recon companies

Because combat in HoI4 is not only damage. Commanders pick tactics, and whoever has better division recon more often gets the more favorable matchup.

• Better tactics. Recon companies raise the template’s recon stat — the division “reads” the fight more confidently.
• No width. They strengthen the template without inflating combat width.
• Side perks. Different types also give terrain movement and small soft/hard buffs — but that is secondary.

Short version: a Recon company is there so the division fights better through tactics, not to replace soft attack or entrenchment.

Most often people add recon specifically for the terrain buffs and other perks, not for the recon stat itself.

Who should add them and when

• Line infantry. Yes, especially if the divisions are often in combat. Usually after engineers and basic soft attack/AT as needed.
• Tanks and SPG. Yes: offensive divisions live for combat, so tactics matter a lot. They often take the Armored Recon Company (light tanks) for tank divisions.
• A minor with a tight support slot. You can and should, but start with cheap cavalry recon: little equipment, same “recon” slot.
• Garrisons / suppression. Usually no. They care more about cheapness and suppression than tactics in frontal combat.
• When it is not a priority. If slots are scarce and the division is still bare without engineers/artillery — cover survival and damage first, then recon.

What Recon companies give

No deep dive into the “recon” stat here (that is a separate topic). This is only what matters for picking a company:

• Recon. The main thing. Cavalry and tank recon give less, motorized more, armored cars even more.
• Terrain movement. Almost every type has small bonuses to movement in forest, hills, desert, and so on.
• Buffs for “their own”. Cavalry / motorized / armored cars add soft attack to artillery in the division. The Armored Recon Company on light tanks buffs hard attack for all armored equipment in the division.
• Not about the company’s direct damage. The company’s own attacks are heavily cut: it does not replace artillery or a tank battalion.

Researching the Recon Company II–IV branch strengthens the whole recon category, not one specific type.

What recon types exist and how they differ

The base types after Recon Company I are these. The recon number is a guide to “who reads the fight better”:

How a beginner should choose. No trucks or armored cars — take cavalry. You have motors and a fast division — motorized. You have an armored-car line and want max recon — light armored. A tank template and you want to bump hard attack on armor — armored on light tanks.

How to get Recon companies

1. Research the Recon Company I support tech — the main recon types unlock.
2. Set up production of the needed equipment: support equipment, trucks, armored cars, or light tanks — for the type you chose.
3. In the division designer, on the Support Companies tab, add one Recon company.
4. Optionally research Recon Company II–IV to strengthen recon further.

How this looks in practice

1. Build a combat template: infantry or tanks.
2. First fill the “must-have” slots — usually engineers, then damage/AT for the job.
3. Add a Recon company of the type whose equipment your industry can actually supply.
4. Do not add a second recon type — the game simply will not allow it.

Practical rule: a Recon company is a “smart” slot for divisions that are constantly in combat. If a division barely fights, the slot is better spent on something else — or saved entirely.

Recommendations

• Do not confuse it with a line battalion. A Recon company is a support company. It gives no combat width.
• Look at the stockpile, not “best on paper”. Armored cars with recon 2 are useless if you cannot produce them.
• One slot — one type. You choose cavalry or motorized, not “all at once.”
• Do not expect artillery from recon. The main point is recon and tactics; the company’s damage is weak.