US Army summary news - World in Flames mod for Warcraft III: Frozen Throne

Despite being weakened by the great depression of the 30's, the United States of America emerged as one of the most important actors in World War 2 - an influence that they maintained throughout what would later be known as the cold war. Thanks to their tremendous production capacity, they were able to quickly rebuild their fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbour, and provided the allied nations with large quantities of tanks and weapons through the lend-lease agreement.

In WiF, they are very dependant on trade and maintaining naval superiority. Playing as this nation gives you many options - you can choose to help both Great Britain in Africa, aid China against Japan, or do a classic D-Day invasion in normandy to fight the german expansion. The US also controls france in the beginning of the game, which could prove dangerous for the Axis if they don't capture it before the allied income kicks in.

Note: This is one of the main balance concepts between the Allies and the Axis; the Allies have more cities and a strong periodic income, but start off with few units and low resources. The Axis however, have a quite sizeable army to start with and are urged to use them to capture as much territory as they can to get on an equal basis with the Allies.

The US infantry corps are very standard in the terms of balance - they land somewhere between the durable german infantry and the disposable russian. The harsh terrain of the pacific islands makes it harder for vehicles to move effectively, which puts emphasis on the infantry in the battle against the japanese.

Ordnance QF 6-pounder

M5A1 Stuart

M4 Sherman

M18 Hellcat

M7 Priest

M3 Halftrack

M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage

One of the main strengths of the US Army is its ability to produce cost-effective vehicles at a very fast pace. Notable vehicles among theese are the M18 Hellcat, which is one of the fastest tank destroyers in the game, and the M16 MGMC Flak Vehicle, which has a very high rate of fire, although lower splash damage, which makes it effective at dealing maximum damage to bypassing airplanes.
The M4 Sherman is a versatile medium tank with a low production time, although its diesel turbine engine was prone to explode if the tank was hit - ingame, this tank has an increased chance of exploding when penetrated by AP shells from the side.

P-51 Mustang

Douglas SBD Dauntless

Boeing B17 "Flying Fortress"

The airplanes of the US Air Force distinguish themselves by being very sturdy, with high durability and a great bulk, while being somewhat slower than their axis counterparts. The P-51 Mustang and the Douglas SBD Dauntless both have a high fuel capacity and are well used in carrier-based engagements. Deadly at short ranges, the B-17 Flying Fortress is a very heavy bomber with an exceptionally large bomb load. It is very resiliant, but again, suffers from low speed and also low fuel capacity.

Fletcher-class Destroyer

Northampton-class Cruiser

Iowa-class Battleship

The US Navy is very focused on speed and anti-aircraft capabilities, while instead it suffers from reduced power in ship-to-ship engagements. It is very effective at slipping past enemy defenses, and the Iowa-class Battleship has increased damage when using it's guns for shore bombardment. It is, however, recommended to soften up the enemy fleet with a few waves of air strikes before engaging them with your ships.

Note: the Fletcher-class destroyer is used as a generic destroyer model for all nations, just like the VIIC submarine.

That is all for this time, but make sure you check out our last news post, featuring the Imperial Japanese Army!
It was unfortunate enough to end up at the second page before being approved, and hence it did not catch that much attention.

World in Flames is now closer to completion than ever; the only models remaining now are the Graf Zeppelin-class carrier, the Yak-9 fighter, and the He-111 heavy bomber, along with some systems (starting menu+cinematic, research system and ship trade system), after which we will be ready for open beta! So hang in there!