Ask any Allied field officer which unit they have relied on most, and most will say the same thing: the ordinary Rifleman, not the Ranger, not the tank, not even Tanya. Cheap, quick to train, and available from the very first Barracks a commander places, the Rifleman is the unit that holds ground while everything more impressive is still being built.
| Class | Basic infantry |
|---|---|
| Armament | Standard-issue rifle |
| Armour | None |
| Trained at | Barracks |
Role
A lone Rifleman is not a threat to much of anything armoured, but a dozen of them dug into cover can grind down an infantry assault or screen a base's approaches cheaply enough that losing several is barely a setback. Their real value is in numbers and positioning: garrisoning a captured structure, holding a chokepoint alongside artillery, or simply being present in enough places that an enemy scout can't move without being seen.
Limitations
Riflemen fold quickly against vehicles and have no real answer to armour on their own — sending them against a Heavy Tank column unsupported is a fast way to lose a squad for nothing. Their value comes from what they enable, not what they can win alone: cheap board presence that buys time for artillery, armour, or air support to arrive.
Field notes
Veteran Allied commanders rarely stop producing Riflemen entirely, even deep into the mid-game — a handful held in reserve near the base is often the only thing standing between a surprise raid and a lost Refinery. They are the unit every Allied strategy takes for granted, right up until the moment none are left.
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