Company of Heroes: Mission 8 - St. Fromond Company of Heroes Guide

Last update: 05 January 2023

Primary objectives:

1. [*1] Secure St. Fromond
2. [*2] Repair bridge
3. [*3] Defend St. Fromond for 30 minutes
4. [*] Neutralize Nebelwerfers
5. [*] Destroy the Axis Chateau HQ (award: Bronze Star)

Secondary objectives:

Additional objectives:

Note: In this mission you can have hard nut to crack with enemy Nebelwerfers (rocket artillery), they have great explosive power, but firstly - they can be easily destroyed and secondly - if you decide to go from a defence to attack (as I did), they shoot inaccurately, are late with their volleys and do almost nothing to your units quickly pushing forward.

Germans blew up the bridge on the road leading to town of St. Fromond. [1]

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You've got mortar and engineers sections, rifle squad and a Sherman Caliope tank (with rocket launcher) at the beginning of a mission. Send all these forces to the bridge [*2] sappers need to repair - you start your game with this primary task. Simultaneously recruit one more engineer team in your base - they have to extend the base. [2]

However, don't get to close to the bridge for the moment. Seize the munitions point next to it with your rifle squad, collect some ammo supplies. Caliope tank should shell with his rockets a big building on the other riverbank, use mortar to bombard smaller one to the right: in both houses Krauts installed MG-42s. Try to neutralize both MGs but don't waste too much munitions on rockets, finish Germans with mortar rounds if it's necessary. Caliope tank has also a gun - use it against enemy AA gun located on the opposite riverbank, destroy also an armoured car (one or two) that patrols the area. Only afterwards your engineers can start to repair the bridge - select them and right-click on it. [3] Meanwhile produce some infantry squads in your base, MG team and a sniper can be useful too. Start thinking about some additional tanks too.

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When engineers repaired the bridge (secondary objective was completed) move across the bridge to the other riverbank with your army. Now you have a mission of seizing and securing the town of St. Fromond [*1]. Destroy with Caliope help another AA gun located near the crossroads, set up your mortar to the left from a bridge and shell with mortar rounds enemy AT gun situated further to the east. Engineer team follows with repair tasks your tank as usual. Capture the buildings on tank's flanks with your infantry. Kill all Jerrys on the square in the town but don't seize for now the strategic point! Place HMG section in one of the houses to cover the square with its fire, you can also hop in to the church tower with your sharpshooter. [4]

During the fight for St. Fromond you'll see probably two enemy tanks PzKpfw IV - you shouldn't have problems to transform them into the smoky wrecks with your Sherman Caliope repairing by engineers all the time and with your infantry armed with sticky bombs. [5] Try to seize neighbouring fuel point next to the church, this should help you to produce your tanks more effectively. You can man AA gun near the crossroads with one of your rifle squads (replenish the manpower of this unit in your base). Start collecting with your soldiers all ammo and fuel supplies you will find in the area (white dots on my map).

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When the town is free from enemies start organizing there a defence to repel expected german counterattacks coming from directions marked with red, transparent arrows on my map - you will have to face some PzKpfw IV tanks and infantry. But don't seize the strategic point in the middle of a square yet because german attack will then start when you're not prepared! Build MG emplacements with your engineers, you can also mine the roads leading to the town, especially northern and eastern. Try to place your tanks so to protect them from the sides with walls. [6]

However, don't exaggerate with fortifying the town: firstly - you won't stay here too long if you're going to play with my method, secondly - enemy will shell you with rocket artillery and it has a devastating effect, and thirdly - german attacks won't be so strong to build here a real fortress. You can produce some more HMG sections and place them on the edges of city square or paradrop AT gun on that square because you'll earn some commands points early in this mission: spend them on recon and fighter planes and paratroopers. Arm your tanks with better 76mm guns. When you think you're good prepared for the enemy seize the strategic point in city center (on the square) finally and build an observation post on it to complete first of primary objectives (to secure St. Fromond [*1]). When it's done you will receive next task immediately - to defend St. Fromond for 30 minutes [*3] (over the minimap you'll see the timer counting off this time). German tanks will try to rush in to the town (they will usually come individually, one by one) - you shouldn't have problems with destroying them with yours. Keep your engineers close to the Shermans to repair the vehicles when they need it. Follow german tanks drive... trucks - HMGs fire should wreck'em quickly. [7]

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You'll see remote controlled self-propelled Goliat mines in places where you destroyed the trucks. You can take control over the Goliat by left-clicking on it, right-click to direct it to the spot you want and detonate by clicking on an icon in the Goliat's orders menu. You will acquire several Goliats but don't waste them on blowing up to the hell stupid armoured cars or even enemy tanks, use them against more important targets! Especially that german vehicles usually shoot at them causing preignition... [8]

In the meantime use your recon plane to uncover german units on the map. You should see enemy military base with HQ located in the chateau area to the northeast [*] - it's additional goal of a mission to destroy it, after completing this task you'll be awarded with Bronze Star. [9]

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You've got also one secondary objective - to neutralize enemy Nebelwerfers (rocket artillery) [*] which will start shelling you in some moment for sure. There should be three Nebelwerfers emplacements on the map (I placed them in green frames on my map). Destroying them it's not so hard as you think, there are several tricks you can use: 1) you can send a fighter plane to kill the crews of Nebelwerfers [10], 2) you can paradrop some paratroopers squads to capture these guns (when planning to use both tricks above remember to seize sectors to increase operational range of your airforce), 3) you can use your sniper to reveal german positions then bombard them with Caliope's rockets, 4) you can direct the Goliat mine to the enemy emplacement and detonate it there. I recommend last two tricks (not only Nebelwerfers will blow up to the sky ;-) but I'll bet you'll try all the tricks ;-)...

And there is one more possibility of successfully walking through this mission (I suggest you to try it) - just leave the town of St. Fromond with your forces, with tanks and infantry (engineers follow the vehicles, rifle squads moves in front of them as a reconnaissance). Seize all sectors on the map one after one, focus on razing to the ground german HQ located in the chateau to the northeast, destroy enemy Nebelerfers emplacements by the way. [11]

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When you finally arrive at a conclusion it's a wise idea too, seize the building to the north from St. Fromond, near the cemetery (there is Nebelwerfer emplacement). Upgrade that house to the barracks - later you can recruit additional rifle squads in it when necessary or replenish human loses of these you already have and sand your troops to the fight for german base. [12]

Try to drive in to the base from several directions simultaneously, I think that northwest entrance is poorly protected. It's good to produce a Sherman-Crocodile (with flamethrower) earlier. Drive in to the german base through the main gate on the southwest. [13]

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Drive in through the hole on the south too. [14]

Use Calliope's rockets to destroy two german buildings producing enemy units on the right, afterwards move to the chateau you see in the distance and to small house left from it. [15]

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Burn and destroy all around [16] you but pay attention that if you want to complete additional mission objective (to destroy Axis chateau HQ [*]) you should finish doing this before the timer over the minimap count off these 30 minute you had for defending St. Fromond [*3]! Because mission will end after that time...