Infantry

Infantry
	;
Technology field
Parent Tree	Infantry
Historical Years	1936 to 1951
Total Technologies	8
Total Difficulty	240
Main Specialties	Artillery; Electronics; General Equipment; Training
Main Effects	Infantry Division; Garrison Division; Militia Division; Police Brigade

Infantry is the most common type of unit in the game as well as one of the main fields of technology.

Unit[]

see main article: Infantry Division

Infantry is easily the most common military unit in Hearts of Iron. Accessible technology and low cost ensure that all nations are capable of raising infantry divisions. In combat, infantry is capable--especially in rougher terrain--of holding its own against more specialized forces and even mechanized forces while it can be bolstered by a wide range of brigades. In addition to the basic infantry unit, there are many infantry specialties with units of their own.

Technology[]

Tree[]

Infantry is the most basic tree of military technology, but its development is vital to most every nation. Even highly advanced militaries will often still have a strong corps of infantry units, and these will need to keep pace with development. Additionally, infantry development includes a variety of specialized fields, such as airborne, marine, and mountain. For mechanized forces, the jump to motorized and mechanized infantry divisions lies within the infantry field. Finally, all forces will benefit from the supply sub-field of study being kept up.

Fields of study within the infantry tree are:

Infantry (see below)
Airborne
Cavalry
Marines
Mechanized
Motorized
Mountain
Supply

Field[]

Infantry is an technology field within the tree by the same name. Each technology in the field represents a new level of Infantry Division and several also represent improvements to Garrison Divisions, Militia Divisions or Police Brigades. Study of early infantry divisions is required to gain access to specialized infantry, including the Airborne, Marines, Motorized, and Mountain fields.

Technologies[]

Year	Technology	Difficulty	Effects
1918	Great War Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '18 and Garrison '18 divisions as well as Amphibious Assault missions
1936	Early Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '36 divisions and Police Brigades
1939	Basic Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '39 and Garrison '39 divisions
1941	Improved Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '41 divisions
1943	Advanced Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '39, Garrison '39, and Militia '39 divisions
1945	Semi-Modern Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '45 divisions
1947	Modern Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '47, Garrison '46, and Militia '46 divisions
1951	Semi-Modern Infantry Division	30	Allows Infantry '51 divisions

Specialties[]

Specialty	Components	Total Difficulty
Artillery	11	66
Chemistry	1	6
Electronics	8	48
General Equipment	8	48
Rocketry	4	24
Training	8	48

Strategy[]

Nearly every nation will find it valuable to invest in this field. The only exceptions would be those who neither start the game with nor plan to build any regular infantry. Even if not planning to build, having a starting force of infantry is enough to make it worthwhile to keep current in this field, as it is not a terribly expensive field, and most nations who lag can find trading partners to obtain blueprints from. Research of the early technologies are a must, however, as they are the keys to accessing more advanced types of infantry.