Company of heroes

Plot Summary

The single player campaign puts the player directly in some of the major American operations during the Battle of Normandy. You can go through long missions testing your skills with America, choosing different tactics to defeat the enemy.

D-Day

The game begins with Able Company's assault at Omaha Beach during the D-Day of Operation Overlord. Able must first breach the seawall, then take out German bunkers overlooking the beach, and finally disable the four 88 mm Flak 36 anti-air guns. The game also introduces two of the game’s major characters: Captain Mackay and Sergeant Conti. This mission seems to very closely relate to the way Steven Spielberg directed his interpretation of the D-Day landings in Saving Private Ryan,[original research?] for example, the over-the-shoulder shots of the MG42 gunners on top of the cliffs near the bunkers and the scenes where they use the Bangalore torpedoes to great effect, and additionally some scenes of Sergeant Conti and Captain McKay clearing the bunkers.

[edit]
Battle of Carentan

The next three missions are about Fox Company and their actions during the capture and defense of Carentan. On the night before D-Day, Fox Company must first regroup after the chaotic airdrops at Vierville, then disrupt enemy operations in rear areas by opening new drop zones and preventing the Germans from reinforcing the beaches.

After D-Day, Fox Company is then tasked to capture the city of Carentan to secure a link between Utah Beach and Omaha beach and to defend it against ferocious German counterattack. Though constantly bombarded by artillery, Fox Company is eventually relieved when 2nd Armored arrives at the city and the link between Utah and Omaha beach is finally secure.

[edit]
Battle of Cherbourg

Able and Dog Company form the spearhead of the Allied advance to secure Cherbourg and its deep water port. En route to Cherbourg, Allied supply route is threatened by elements of the Panzer Lehr division commanded by Hauptmann Schultz, and Dog Company is ambushed in the process. Able Company manages to drive the Germans back and defend the supply route for the "Red Ball Express" to pass through, but by doing so Able Company also becomes the nemesis of the Panzer Lehr division and Captain Schultz for the rest of the campaign.

With the flank secure, the Allies continue to advance onto Cherbourg. Able and Dog Company, supported by the 4th Cavalry and the USS Texas, are tasked with capture of the port facilities. Although Able Company successfully subdues the German defenders and captures thousands of prisoners, the port has been badly damaged and is unusable to the Allies.

However, after the battle, Able Company found documents from an Axis bunker which shows a V-2 Rocket launch site near Sottevast. Fox Company has been called in to conduct an airborne assault on the V2 facility, while elements of Able Company rush to the site with armor support.

[edit]
Operation Cobra

American forces begin to approach the city of St. Lo and Able Company is arriving from the north. German defenders at St. Fromond hope to stop Able Company’s advance by blowing up the only bridge leading into the town. Able Company repaired the bridge under fire from across the river, and drove the Germans out of the town. German defenders regroup and organized several counterattacks with rocket battery support, but all assaults against Able Company are thrown back with heavy casualties.

Charlie Company is destroyed by the defending Panzer Lehr division under the command of Captain Shultz, while attempting to secure Hill 192 at the outskirt of St. Lo. Able Company is assigned to take the hill. Hedgerows around the hill and hidden flak 88 batteries provided formidable defensive position against the Allies, but Able Company managed to break through by employing bulldozer equipped Sherman tanks to plow through the hedgerows and flank the Germans.

German defenders at St. Lo decide to hold out against American forces by heavily fortifying the city center, but Able Company planned to surround and trap the German defenders at the city center rather than a head-on assault. Although the operation is successful, some German units, including the Panzer Lehr division, manage to escape destruction. Able Company call in the 8th Air Force in response and the escaping Germans units suffered heavily due to carpet bombing.

Badly reduced and under constant air attack, the shattered Panzer Lehr division is being chased by American forces, and Able Company managed to intercept what is left of the division at Hébécrevon. A raid is conducted with fast moving M10 tank destroyers against the Panzer Lehr division's positions, and almost all of Panzer Lehr division's armor strength, including the last 7 surviving Panther tanks, are completely wiped out. However, during the course of the mission, Captain MacKay is killed by the Tiger I under the personal command of Captain Schultz.

Operation Lüttich

After losing their commander, newly promoted Lieutenant Conti is taking command of Able Company. Able Company is taking a break from the war, and has been reassigned to Mortain to relieve Dog Company at Hill 317. Unfortunately, on that night, Mortain becomes the focal point of a German counterattack against recent American successes. Surprised and outnumbered, Able Company is forced to hold the hill until reinforcements can arrive in the morning.

Dog Company arrives the following morning with armor support and Able Company begin to dig in and consolidate their positions. German forces renew the counterattack in force after their surprise night attack has failed to take the hill, but all attempts are beaten back. Able Company successfully force the Germans to retreat after inflicting heavy losses, including the destruction of a Flak 88 battery.

[edit]
Falaise Pocket

The last section of the single player campaign deals with the destruction of German forces in France. After suffering a string of defeats, the German army is forced to retreat in order to avoid encirclement. Allied forces are racing to trap the German army before it can escape. Baker Company is assigned to shut down one of the escape routes at Autry, but Captain Schultz's Panzergruppe, which escaped the destruction of the Panzer Lehr division, annihilates them. Able Company rushes to the scene with a M26 Pershing tank and destroy Captain Schultz's Panzer Gruppe in return. Captain Schultz's Tiger is among those tanks destroyed in the battle, and Captain MacKay's death has been avenged.

Chambois becomes the German Seventh Army's last hope for escaping the Falaise Pocket. With heavy air cover, Canadian, Polish and American forces, led by Able Company, secure all bridges around Chambois and close the Falaise Pocket. The German Seventh Army attempts to break free, but they are met with heavy aerial bombardment and are forced to surrender.

The campaign ends with the caption that Able Company had suffered 80% casualties at the end of World War II.

[edit]
Distinguished characters

Captain Sam MacKay

The commander of Able Company. He appears to be an Army Ranger by his character model, although he commands a regular infantry company. He is killed by Hauptmann Schultz as revenge, when Able Company successfully obliterated his unit after the battle of St. Lo. He seems to be based on the Tom Hanks character in the film Saving Private Ryan, Captain Miller.

Lieutenant Joe Conti

Served as the of Able Company under Captain MacKay, and is a close friend to MacKay ever since boot camp. He is revealed to be the game's narrator. He is almost killed alongside Captain MacKay. Lieutenant Conti commands Able Company for the rest of the game. Joe Conti lives through the war.

Joseph Gunter "Ace" Schultz

A German tank captain commanding the Tiger Ace from the Panzer Lehr division. He serves as the personal antagonist of Able company. He commands the Panzer-Gruppen (tank groups) that attack the Red Ball Express, where his unit first met Able Company and are badly beaten. Suffering from heavy losses, he watches Captain MacKay from afar while his unit is busy retreating. He later crosses path with Able Company while commanding the forces defending St. Lo, but managed to escape encirclement by Able Company. He kills Captain MacKay when his unit is destroyed while retreating from Hèbècrevon, and Able Company later conducts their revenge on Schultz while his 152nd Tigergruppe (a group of German Tiger tanks) is being destroyed at Autry.