Recruitment Begins With Requisition and Campaign Progress
Your campaign army can grow, but buying another formation is only part of getting it into battle. This Battleplan how to recruit units guide explains the resource, unlocks, and leadership checks behind recruitment. If you are searching for Battleplan how to recruit units, begin by checking your available requisition and the historical formations your completed missions have unlocked.
Battleplan, developed by Foolish Mortals Games and published by Slitherine, is the World War II game listed as Steam app 3743140. Its campaign lets you recruit and customize formations rather than manage a national production economy. Advice about factories or manpower queues from another strategy game does not describe this recruitment system.
Slitherine’s April 2026 Army Constructor diary identifies two routes to additional troops: recruiting historical divisions and constructing custom formations. Both use requisition, which is earned through mission completion. It also explains adding or removing companies within battalions and assigning officers to headquarters.
| What you want | Documented route | Requirement to review |
|---|---|---|
| A historically organized division | Recruit a historical formation unlocked by campaign progress | Its availability and requisition cost |
| A force tailored to a battlefield job | Build a custom formation in the constructor | Organization, requisition, and logistical weight |
| More strength in an existing battalion | Add companies through the constructor | Updated cost and formation weight |
| Leadership for a new formation | Recruit and assign an officer | Headquarters assignment, not just recruitment |
Read Slitherine’s official Army Constructor and recruitment explanation for the documented system. Its examples were published before launch, so the current game’s displayed costs and availability are the values to use for your campaign.
Inspect What You Already Have
The diary describes receiving a free infantry division before the first tutorial. That formation includes infantry and several support elements. You do not necessarily need to purchase a completely new division just to learn how deployment works.
Review the existing force’s job before deciding what recruitment should add. Perhaps you need another formation to secure an offensive corridor, or a specialist capability for an assault. Naming that need makes your spending decision clearer than buying whatever looks largest.
Unlock and Recruit Historical Formations
Campaign progression is a central answer to Battleplan how to recruit units. The constructor diary says historical formations become recruitable after completing missions in which those units were present. Associated historical commanding officers also become available through that progression.
This means the recruitment list should be read in the context of your own campaign. A division appearing in a later mission, another player’s army, or a historical example may not be an option at your current stage. Check the available roster after completing a mission instead of assuming all formations are accessible from the beginning.
| Campaign situation | Recruitment implication | Recommended check |
|---|---|---|
| Starting a new campaign | Initial division depends on the chosen country | Learn the starting roster and its capabilities |
| Completing a historical mission | Participating historical formations can become recruitable | Revisit available divisions and officers |
| Seeing a division in another campaign | Availability may differ with progression | Compare completed missions before expecting the same choice |
| Preparing the next mission | Newly available troops may expand your options | Confirm they fit the next battle’s weight allowance |
A useful Battleplan how to recruit units decision compares the newly available formation with your current army. Ask whether it adds something you lack, duplicates a role already covered, or provides another independently commanded force for a broad operation.
For example, an army with a capable breakthrough formation may need infantry to retain captured territory more urgently than a second spearhead. The supply diary recommends that follow-up role to protect the armored advance’s corridor. Recruitment should support the operation you intend to conduct.
Starting Country Does Not Define Every Later Purchase
The April diary names the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada as the three Allied countries available for recruitment. It says the country selected at campaign creation determines your initial division, while units from those Allied countries can be recruited afterward.
Use the current roster to see your actual choices. This guide does not promise that every historical formation from each country is unlocked immediately, or that all countries provide identical costs and structures.
Build Custom Units Around a Specific Role
The custom route in Battleplan how to recruit units uses the drag-and-drop Army Constructor. The developer describes freely restructuring units through their connecting white lines and creating fully custom formations through the interface. That flexibility lets you shape your army’s order of battle instead of relying entirely on a predefined division.
First choose the role. Then decide which combat and support elements are needed to perform it. The official offense guidance recommends armored forces with artillery, reconnaissance, and engineers for prepared attacks; the defense guidance assigns infantry to the frontline and faster forces to reserves.
| Proposed role | Capability to consider | Question before spending |
|---|---|---|
| Assault force | Armor, recon, artillery, and engineers | Can it prepare and execute the attack you intend? |
| Holding force | Infantry and suitable support | Can it retain the ground your other formations capture? |
| Mobile reserve | Fast forces with a defined response job | What threatened route or sector will it protect? |
| Existing formation upgrade | A missing support or combat capability | Is an addition more useful than a separate formation? |
This Battleplan how to recruit units approach does not prescribe a universal company ratio. A mission’s terrain, enemy defenses, deployable weight, and your unlocked roster determine the practical choices. Check the actual cost and organization displayed before confirming a change.
Regiment structure also matters. Regimental Plans divide an operational area according to your regiments, so a custom formation should contain units that make sense for those assignments. Adding troops without considering where they belong can create an army that is difficult to command despite its larger size.
Keep support useful. The combined-arms diary explains that different nearby unit types provide support effects and that matching support bonuses do not simply stack. That favors considering missing capabilities as well as adding more copies of an existing unit.
Distinguish Recruitment From Restructuring
Moving a unit to another parent formation changes organization. Purchasing additional companies or formations uses the recruitment resource. Review the constructor’s displayed result so you know whether you have increased your force, redistributed it, or changed its command structure.
After each adjustment, inspect the top-level formation and its regiments. A custom force should still have a clear role, appropriate support, and leadership before it enters the mission.
Assign an Officer and Fit the Mission’s Weight Limit
One frequently missed step in Battleplan how to recruit units is appointing leadership. An officer in your recruitment pool does not automatically lead the formation you intend to deploy. The official diary requires every formation to be led by an officer attached to a headquarters company.
Low-level officers can be recruited without requisition, while higher-level officers cost requisition according to their level. Historical higher-level officers become available through the missions in which they first appear. Compare that spending with your need for additional troops or support.
| Readiness check | What it confirms | Why recruitment alone is insufficient |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters exists | The formation retains its command element | Editing the structure can affect leadership |
| Officer is assigned | The formation has the required commander | Recruiting an officer is not the same as appointing one |
| Total weight is known | You understand the edited force’s logistical size | A bigger force may exceed the mission allowance |
| Mission allocation is correct | The desired formation is selected for the battle | A unit can remain in the campaign roster |
The Army Constructor displays total logistical weight at the topmost headquarters. Missions specify how much weight can deploy. Requisition and weight are separate: being able to afford another company does not create additional deployment capacity.
The diary’s example uses a mission allowing 450 weight, filled by three 150-weight divisions or one 450-weight corps. That demonstrates adding up the deployed force. It is not a fixed allowance for every mission or a required size for every new division.
An older February demo thread provides useful context for Battleplan how to recruit units: community reports describe players recruiting an officer but missing the assignment and premission allocation steps. A developer response explains attaching the officer to the top headquarters and then assigning the formation to the mission. Those are historical reports, not evidence that every launch-version deployment problem is the same bug.
If your new unit cannot deploy, check the visible requirement or error. Verify leadership, logistical weight, and assignment before spending more requisition. If the conditions appear correct but deployment remains unavailable, record your version and the exact behavior for support.
FAQ
In Battleplan, how do you recruit units during the campaign?
Use requisition earned through mission completion to recruit available historical formations or construct custom forces. Check campaign unlocks, then assign the required officers and verify the next mission’s deployment allowance.
How do you unlock historical divisions?
The constructor diary says formations become recruitable after completing missions in which they historically participated. Associated historical commanding officers also become available through progression.
Are recruited officers free?
The documentation distinguishes low-level officers, which require no requisition, from higher-level officers, which cost requisition according to level. Use the current recruitment panel for the specific officer’s cost.
Why can you afford a unit but still not field it?
Purchasing uses requisition, while deployment is constrained by mission weight and leadership requirements. Check the complete force’s logistical weight, its headquarters and officer, and whether it is assigned to the selected mission.