Call To Arms - Gates Of Hell Controls

[Gladys Anick]

WhenI was starting out in this game, I was pretty confused about what to do once the battle started. I'd have greatly benefited from a basic tactics & strategy guide, but there wasn't one, so... "Gotta do it yerself". I hope this will help some newer players joining this little community.

a.) Combat Vehicles - vehicles specifically intended for combat with other vehicles or infantry - tanks, armored cars, self-propelled artillery, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, aircraft, flamethrower tanks, and tank destroyers.

b.) Utility / Transport Vehicles - vehicles mainly intended for transport of material or equipment, but sometimes equipped with a weapon for self-defense - transport trucks, fuel trucks, engineering trucks, supply trucks, half-tracks, scout cars, regular trucks.

c.) Unmotorized Combat Units - combat units that are usually unarmored, or lightly armored, but which have very powerful [usually ranged] weapons - stationary MG's, artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, and mortars.

e.) Infantry Units - [Generally] unmotorized units of soldiers armed with small-calibre rifles, pistols, submachine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, or [in rare cases] hand-held anti-tank weapons. Comes in sub-categories for specialist roles, but, in general, they fight other infantry.

These vehicles should be the focus of your battle. Their weapons render infantry almost helpless, and their armor renders them nigh invincible to anything but dedicated anti-vehicular weapons. They are very fragile in some situations, however; a single Molotov cocktail could light the vehicle ablaze, a single infantryman with an AT rifle could disable it, and driving into a minefield is always a danger. So, they should be kept further back than the infantry in as many situations as possible, for, though their weapons can shoot much further, their view range is less than the infantry.

The one situation in which infantry should follow the tanks would be if you MUST cross open ground. Then, your armored vehicles should at all costs use their weapons to eliminate any enemy positions covering the open ground. They should then immediately find cover, though, for their limited visibility may have caused them to miss a few enemy troops. Any casualties your vehicles suffer will be worth it compared to the havoc even a single machine gun could have wrought among your infantry while they crossed the open ground. Some vehicles or weapons can fire smoke projectiles which can cover advance across open ground, but these are not as effective as the enemy already being dead.

When advancing through any type of ground, you must plan each move as a simple maneuver from Cover A to Cover B. A tank which meanders straight at an objective will at some point be caught out in the open and destroyed. Keeping an eye open for potential enemy AT positions and fields of fire is essential to anticipate any enemy strongpoints.

"In the attack drive as fast as you can. At slow speed you can see and shoot only a little better than at high, and are much more likely to be hit. For a tank there should be only two speeds: the stop (for firing!) and all out forward. Ammunition fired on the move is wasted. This is the basic principal of tank combat!"

In defensive positions, tanks must be behind or in cover. Whether this be a house, a small hill, or a fence, you MUST learn the difference between cover and concealment. A concealed tank that is not behind cover is instantly vulnerable once it opens fire or is spotted, whereas a tank in a hull-down position can fire safely, knowing that only its turret should be exposed.

An army which is composed of only infantry and tanks will always either overextend itself or run out of supplies. It must have some form of supply backup and/or way of getting around. Call to Arms: Gates of Hell Ostfront is a game which is unique in that it has a huge range of vehicles to satisfy every need of an army. These must, however, be used properly.

These should only be used as back-line units; only in an E X T R E M E scenario should they be used as attacking units, for a single anti-tank shell or grenade could wipe out an entire squad of passengers. However, they are indispensable in the role of carrying otherwise sluggish units such as infantry and artillery to their positions quickly at the start of a match - an essential task for any commander who wants to capture objectives in good haste. It is usually a good idea to have 1 motorized transport of some type per infantry unit if you want to be able to execute mobile warfare.

Generally armored units [halftracks, usually] which carry weapons that can be used in offense. Can also tow artillery. These can be used as far more aggressive transports than their unarmored counterparts; in addition, their weapons give them the ability to carry out the occasional independent sortie. They should by no means be considered invincible, though; their open tops and comparatively light armor to tanks make them unable to resist more than small-arms fire. They are, however, particularly useful in ferrying infantry across open ground into cover.

Usually trucks which carry goods/equipment to help keep the front line fighting. These are especially volatile due to their [often] explosive cargo. But any war effort expends gasoline and bullets, and the fuel truck and supply truck, respectively, help with those issues. Just make sure to keep them well out of front-line fighting. One exception is the Engineering Truck, which comes with two Engineers who can dig trenches, build obstacles and plant mines. Bring this truck to the front only for those three purposes, but only in lulls between fighting, and always withdraw it to a safe location afterwards.

These immensely powerful weapons can deal ridiculous amounts of damage from obscene ranges. They generally also have little armor and an extensive reload, making them ill suited for front-line work, with a few exceptions in the form of Infantry Guns (small artillery pieces which can be moved by hand but have shorter range). Artillery is actually quite specialized, being extremely effective at bombarding enemy positions or blanketing an area in death prior to an assault by a main force, but less suited to engaging single enemy units directly. They are best used far back from the actual battle, or at least thoroughly dug in, where they cannot be damaged by enemy fire. Be careful that you only fire them at targets away from friendly units except in an emergency, as shots can occasionally go awry and hit any of your own troops, causing horrific casualties.

Anti-tank guns came into being after the Germans, at the Somme, encountered the British Mk.1 Landship. The only things capable of stopping the rampaging steel beasts were the Germans' 7.7cm field artillery pieces. The world then learned the lesson that a dedicated medium-calibre gun would be needed to specifically stop tanks. In Gates of Hell: Ostfront, anti-tank guns of both the Russians and the Soviets are low-profile, 4-man affairs which can knock out enemy tanks in a single hit, and can also fire High-Explosive shells at infantry. They are best used as defensive weapons, but given that they can be quickly moved into position, they can also accompany an attack and fend off a counterattack. Since they have relatively good range, they can be placed in cover a little ways away from any perceived attack, so long as they have a good field of fire. This means being, for example, emplaced in a defilade pointing across an open field. This is the gun's killing ground; any tank will be hard-pressed to hit them and harder pressed still to avoid being destroyed. When encountering an enemy anti-tank gun, you must flank it with a unit of some sort. Any unit can kill an anti-tank gun's crew, and if possible, capture it, but almost no unit can cross the gun's killing ground without suffering debilitating casualties.

The advent of the portable machine gun and mortar meant that a far wider array of tactical options were available to a commander. A machine gun could provide cover fire one moment, and dig in the next to defend against a counterattack; a mortar could eliminate a troublesome foxhole from a distance one moment, and then be placed in that very foxhole the next. Stationary machine guns on tripods in Gates of Hell: Ostfront are far more accurate than hand-held ones. They should be taken along with an attacking force as a tool to defend against counterattacks, for they cannot be easily maneuvered.

Mortars, on the other hand, do not need direct lines of fire and can shoot over obstacles. You should always keep them at least one hill away from the enemy. In the defense, both these are invaluable tools, particularly when you are faced with swarms of infantry. A mortar can kill a large number if they are clustered closely enough together, and even sweep an objective clear if one has already been overrun, so keep your mortars together in a battery to concentrate their fire.

Your basic, run-of-the-mill default troops. Usually armed with a Kar98K and a grenade or two. Amazing at defense against infantry, due to the high single-shot damage of bolt action rifles, but are nigh helpless at close range. Plenty of free inventory space to pick up other weapons, though.

The last word in anti-infantry warfare. MG gunners can lay down brutal, unrelenting fields of fire and render a piece of open ground into a graveyard. Ammo bearers are riflemen who carry additional ammunition for the gunner, and so should stay close to them.

Ostfront has a 'downed' mechanic like many other games, and, like in those others, only specific persons can 'revive' these casualties. The medic carries a ridiculous amount of bandages, which he can drop on the ground for other troops to pick up, and carries a pistol, which is a respectable weapon at close range. If you drop a few bandages, they can pick up a rifle, too.

The medium ground between anti-tank guns and infantry. Basic units carry large-calibre rifles which can damage lighter vehicles and disable heavier ones from considerable range, and which are very cheap. Later-war troops carry rocket launchers, anti-tank grenades, shaped charges, and the like, all of which require getting closer than usual to an enemy tank.

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