Boosting Hard Attack & Piercing values for Infantry on the cheap

[eastcoastceojam]

After some time away from HOI4, I'm working on three campaigns now that will have action on the Eastern Front. In each of them, I'm playing as a minor nation (Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary) and looking for efficient ways to add Piercing and Hard Attack to my Infantry that I can leverage across all three campaigns.

I've played in this area as both the USSR and Germany, but this time I'm fighting a major without the industry to build dozens of armored divisions. I will have some armor/motorized units, and a solid air force, but my infantry will have to be able to do some damage to enemy tanks. I will experiment with adding a Tank Destroyer battalion to my Infantry divisions, as well as support companies I usually ignore (adding Signals, and maybe Anti-Tank, to my usual trio of AA/ENG/ART). I'm not expecting the Infantry to win outright against enemy Armor, just to slow them, whittle away their equipment and manpower, while I try to encircle and cut off their supply.

I was looking on the wiki, and I found this under the Anti-Tank Artillery section:

Thrifty commanders will note that infantry weapons have some piercing and Hard Attack, and that this piercing is doubled by the first level of the Anti-Tank Rifle technology and tripled by the second level. Each level also adds +25% to the infantry Hard Attack. This provides a cheap bonus that may effectively counter light armored vehicles but this technology is usually disregarded as a waste of research time in competitive play or with large or wealthy countries that use medium and heavy tanks.

Is this section just reminding me that I can boost the Hard Attack/Piercing of existing Infantry Equipment with the Infantry Anti-Tank technology? Or is it saying that there is an additive benefit to Infantry Equipment by researching Anti-Tank Artillery tech AND the Infantry Anti-Tank tech?

I will already be rushing Anti-Air, Artillery, and Infantry Anti-Tank techs before doing battle with the big boys. I just wanted to check in with the forum to see if I should also be rushing Anti-Tank Artillery, to add hard attack to regular Infantry Equipment. Ideally, I'd like to have Anti-Tank support companies on all my Infantry units, but I'm not sure I have the time as a minor to get everything I'd like before the major fighting starts.

Artillery technology - Hearts of Iron 4 Wiki

hoi4.paradoxwikis.com

 

[noobermenschen]

I will already be rushing Anti-Air, Artillery, and Infantry Anti-Tank techs before doing battle with the big boys. I just wanted to check in with the forum to see if I should also be rushing Anti-Tank Artillery, to add hard attack to regular Infantry Equipment. Ideally, I'd like to have Anti-Tank support companies on all my Infantry units, but I'm not sure I have the time as a minor to get everything I'd like before the major fighting starts.

Artillery technology - Hearts of Iron 4 Wiki

hoi4.paradoxwikis.com

IF you are playing without Mods you do not need to rush AT tech against the Soviets. Russki AI mixes Medium and Light tanks in the same division so armour value tends to be low. You can probably get by without AT at all and just have AA doing double duty as your piercing unless you plan to fight Germany: (A) Before Barbarossa or (B) long after the Red Army is gone and the Heer has time to rebuild. I do recall needing to rush 1941 AT upgrade playing UK and France. AI Germany can't keep those Panzer divisions up to strength while fighting in the East, though they are fierce before and after. AI Soviets have the same problem come to think of it, so no piercing will not be a concern. Just stick with AA and I wouldn't even rush that by more than a month or two before their historical year.