With reference to it being cheating to train your men is pure crap....even in real life all armies train their troops because they want the best........anyway here are a few tips which might answer some questions...........
Some Training Tips -
Officers, Snipers and Riflemen... To raise the Experience points on these units, get them to fire at one of your heavy tanks or buildings and leave them doing this with a supply truck close by to keep reloading them, while you go off and do something else on the map.
It will give them greater LOS (Line Of Sight), make them
move faster and harder to kill, also most important they will have greater range
when taking out enemy units, it will give them greater killing power and accuracy.
also if you use them as a gun crew, it will make the gun have 1000 experience
which will give the gun greater LOS (Line of Sight), killing power, accuracy
and range with every shell fired.
I tried training all the riflemen like this and I must admit it made a hell of a difference when I used them to either take out gun crews and infantry or to man captured guns.
Don't do this with SMG's because they will throw grenades not bullets. Heavy machine gunners (HMG's) can only do this against a really heavy tank, like the Pershing.
Supply trucks - This can be done only in groups of two vehicles, let them supply ammo etc to other units then get each one to supply each other, this will increase their experience very quickly.
It will make the trucks supply ammo and repair units quicker, move faster, greater LOS (Line Of Sight), replenish quicker the supplies used.
Some other units training tips -
Tanks -
Order a gun to fire at each tank, but only one or two shells each time pressing
Hot key C to stop when the health line gets low, then send in a supply truck
to repair it.
Light vehicles -
Use an HMG to fire keeping an eye on the vehicle health, then press C to stop.
SMG's -
Order them to first throw their grenades at a point on the ground well in front
of them making sure that it's not to close, and there are no other units in
the area, then to fire at a building or heavy tank making sure that no supply
trucks supply ammo otherwise they will blow up the building or tank with new
grenades supplied.
HMG's -
Order them to fire at a building or heavy tank, if you use lighter vehicles
then they will destroy them, but they do use a lot of ammo so have a supply
truck near.
Trucks and ambulances -
Can be trained by using a small calibre gun, like the 45.0mm Field gun or Pak
37 and fire one shot at it, then repair and repeat the process.
AA or Flak trucks... Order a field gun to fire at it once or twice, watch the life line (green) and when it gets low, press Hotkey C to stop the gun firing then sending the supply truck to repair it.
Training these trucks will make them -
Fire more accurate
Shoot down more aircraft,
Reload quicker.
Move faster
Quicker reactions.
Maximum hits -
If you have a field gun then these are some of the hits each vehicle can take before it is destroyed -
Allied only -
Truck = 1 hit.
Ambulance = 1 hit.
Jeep = 2 hits.
Calliope = 2 hits.
Greyhound = 3 hits.
Pershing = 10 hits.
Russian -
Katyusha = 1 hit.