What is the best division width in HOI4 in 2026?

There is no single answer. 20 width fills a forest front exactly (3 divisions for 60) and an urban front (4 for 80). 25 width fills mountains exactly (2 for 50). For armor, 30 to 35 width remains the most cited range, and two 35-width divisions fill a plains front (70).

Does regimental support increase combat width?

No. Paradox presents regimental support as a way to add stats without weighing down combat width. A regiment still needs enough line battalions to unlock its slot, and every company consumes equipment and army experience.

Should infantry templates still use Infantry Guns?

They remain useful but cost more since patch 1.19.3: 6 equipment instead of 4 , with a penalty normalized to -75%. For a defensive division, the Heavy Weapons Company , now at 30 organization, is often the better pick.

Do these templates work without the Thunder at our Gates DLC?

Yes: the new Division Designer and regimental support were added for every player with the free patch 1.19.0 of June 11, 2026, released alongside the DLC. The templates in this guide only use those shared features.

HOI4 best division templates in 2026 (patch 1.19.4)

A Hearts of Iron IV template is no longer something to copy from a 2024 spreadsheet. Since Thunder at our Gates, regimental support adds stats without taking width, and patches 1.19.3 and 1.19.4 have repriced those shortcuts. The short answer for patch 1.19.4 of October 27, 2026: 9 to 10 infantry battalions (18-20 width) to hold, 25 width to attack, 30 to 35 for armor, 25 in mountains.

Line holder: 9-10 infantry, engineers and support artillery, Heavy Weapons Companies as regimental support.
Attack infantry: 11 infantry and 1 line artillery (25 width).
Armor: medium tanks and motorized or mechanized infantry in roughly equal shares, 30 to 35 width.
Mountain: 25 width, so two divisions fill the front exactly.

These recommendations come from the official patch notes and up-to-date community guides, cited below. Treat them as starting points to adjust for your doctrines and industry.

Pick width from terrain first

Every battle has a fixed width set by the terrain of the defended province, increased with each extra attack direction. The official wiki gives these values:

Terrain	Base width	Per extra direction
Plains, hills, desert	70	+35
Forest, jungle	60	+30
Mountain, marsh	50	+25
Urban	80	+40

Going over that width costs 1% efficiency per percentage point of excess, up to -33%. An infantry or armor battalion takes 2 width and line artillery takes 3. Support companies, divisional or regimental, add none.

The math explains why 20 and 25 keep coming back. Three 20-width divisions fill a forest front exactly (60), four fill an urban front (80). Two 25-width divisions fill a mountain (50); three of them on plains overshoot by only 7%. Two 35-width divisions fit plains exactly (70), but only one fits a mountain without penalty.

Doctrines blur that math: since 1.19.4, Large Unit Tactics cuts infantry width by 0.2 instead of 0.3, and the Mass Assault milestone adds another 0.2 reduction. Trust the combat width indicator the designer now shows directly in the grid since update 1.19.

What regimental support changes

The Paradox dev diary presents regimental support as an extra row under each regiment. It works like divisional support: more stats, without overloading width. Two limits apply.

A regiment needs enough line battalions to unlock its slot. In the official screenshot, a one-battalion regiment stays locked.
Not every company is available for every line battalion type. The designer only offers the ones compatible with the regiment.

For infantry, the choice covers five companies: Infantry Guns, Anti-Air Battery, Anti-Tank Battery, Heavy Weapons Company and its motorized version. Each one costs army experience to add.

Patch 1.19.3 of September 17, 2026 repriced them. The Heavy Weapons Company goes from 20 to 30 organization and from 0.4 to 0.6 max strength. Infantry Guns and the Rocket Battery need 6 equipment instead of 4, with a penalty normalized to -75%. Anti-Air Batteries go from 12 to 16 equipment, and Anti-Tank Batteries from 120 to 180 manpower. For a line division, heavy weapons have become the most cost-effective option.

Line template: hold the front at 18-20

This is the template to mass-produce. Up-to-date guides from stratemgames and grandstrategy-hub agree on the same base:

9 or 10 infantry battalions (18 or 20 width);
support: engineers plus support artillery;
regimental support: 2 to 3 Heavy Weapons Companies.

Engineers bring entrenchment, and the Defensive Postures doctrine gives heavy weapons +0.2 entrenchment since 1.19.3. Against an AI fielding armor, swap one Heavy Weapons Company for an Anti-Tank Battery. Against a dominant air force, add an Anti-Air Battery.

For equipment-poor countries, a 5 infantry battalions plus engineers variant (10 width) works as a cheap filler on secondary fronts. With half the HP of a 20-width division, it breaks quickly under a serious offensive.

Attack template: break through at 25

Patch 1.19.3 gave line artillery back its breakthrough role. Artillery Equipment breakthrough goes from 6 to 10 at level I, from 7 to 13 at level II, and from 8 to 16 at level III. The Sommarfältprov summer beta had already tested a buff to line artillery and heavy weapons before this patch.

Starting point for attack infantry:

11 infantry battalions and 1 line artillery (25 width);
support: engineers, support artillery, field hospital;
regimental support: 3 Heavy Weapons Companies.

Support artillery stays in the template, even though 1.19.3 raised its penalty from -40% to -50%. If artillery equipment runs short, drop the line battalion first: the division falls back to 22 width and keeps its supports.

Armor template: 30 to 35 with motorized

Armor remains the breakthrough tool. The grandstrategy-hub guide puts the width around 30, between 30 and 36, with tanks and mechanized infantry in roughly equal shares. Supports: recon, engineers, flame tanks, logistics and hospital.

Patch 1.19.4 shifts the balance between those battalions.

Motorized infantry gains HP, from 25 to 27.5.
Mechanized infantry loses its 10% soft attack bonus. Improved Infantry Equipment partly offsets this, now giving +10% to both.
Tanks draw HP from reliability. At 100% reliability or more, a tank goes from 2 to 3.5 HP.

In practice, motorized is a good compromise again for a mid-industry country, and reliability becomes a tank designer criterion. Avoid tank destroyers as regimental support: since 1.19.3 they need 15 vehicles instead of 10, and 1.19.4 cut their HP from 0.2 to 0.1.

Mountain, marines and garrison

In mountains, the front is only 50 wide. Two 25-width divisions fill it without penalty, roughly 12 mountaineer battalions, each taking 2 width like infantry. Add engineers and a support artillery company; line artillery, at 3 width, quickly weighs these divisions down.

For marines, remember one rule: a naval invasion adds an attack direction, and so more width, according to the official wiki. A 20 to 25 width division leaves room for the reinforcements landing on the beachhead behind it.

For garrisons, the goal is the opposite: the lowest cost. The cited guides recommend the cheapest cavalry or infantry, with a military police company as support.

Mistakes to avoid

What matters is not the strongest template on paper but the one your industry can actually equip. A division at 60% equipment loses more than a smaller division at full strength.

Stacking regimental support without checking the factories. Three Heavy Weapons Companies per division, across 48 divisions, means 144 companies to equip. If your production lines cannot keep up, drop one.
Keeping a 40-width infantry template. In a forest, a single 40-width division already overflows the 60-width front as soon as a second one joins: the overwidth penalty kicks in fast.
Forgetting the field hospital on attack divisions. It reduces experience losses, and experience is exactly what pays for regimental support.
Changing an army’s template while it is on the front. Every change sends the removed equipment back to the stockpile, and new battalions arrive without equipment. Do it during a lull instead.

On paper, every guide offers its ideal grid. In practice, if you play a small nation, the 10-width template and a well-equipped 18-width line are worth more than a half-empty army of 25-width divisions.

What to watch

Three patches between June 11 and October 27, 2026 (1.19.0, 1.19.3 and 1.19.4) have touched regimental support, artillery and armor. The next one may still move the thresholds: check the release notes before reworking your whole army. To test a template without waiting for production, the HOI4 console commands let you fill stockpiles and compare two variants in a few minutes.