Spring:1944 - Soviet Unit Guide

Soviet Union

When Germany invaded the USSR in 1941, over 4,500,000 troops from Germany and its allies poured over the border along a 3000km-long front, the largest military invasion seen before or since. Within months they had driven Soviet forces to the gates of Moscow, had laid siege to Leningrad and Stalingrad and captured hundreds of thousands of prisoners. Despite the loss of most of their industrial sectors, the Soviet Union managed an industrial miracle, rebuilding its arms industry in a matter of months; by 1942 thousands upon thousands of new vehicles, tanks and aircraft began streaming out of arms plants in the east, and millions of soldiers conscripted from the USSR's eastern territories began to arrive to bolster the front line.

The Soviet Union, above all others, is capable of fielding the largest amounts of units, particularly infantry. Although notoriously slow at gathering momentum, once that momentum is gained they are nigh-unstoppable, capable of simply throwing uncountable numbers of cheap troops and vehicles at the enemy to grind them down one meter at a time. Their units are generally of lesser quality than counterparts from other nations; their infantry are weaker and have less accuracy, their vehicles' weapons are of generally poorer quality. The one thing that the Soviets did do well was build tanks; the T-34, their standard medium tank, was so well-designed that Germany would eventually use it as a base for the design of their Panther tank.

Infantry

Infantry Types

Because infantry are built in squads which varying composition, we'll start by noting the specifics of each individual infantry unit. Soviet infantry are generally the weakest, though most numerous. They are cheap and have a selection of highly effective, if specialized, weaponry.

Partisan

Medum range, low accuracy, medium damage, low rate of fire. Extremely weak "harassment" troops. Do not use as frontline soldiers. Can move around undetected. Best used to harass enemy supplies and bases behind the lines. Armed with secondary molotov cocktails.

Mosin-Nagant Rifle

Long range, medium accuracy and damage, low rate of fire. Armed with secondary grenades.

PPSh Submachinegun

Short range, medium accuracy and damage, very high rate of fire. Armed with secondary grenades.

DP Light Machinegun

Long range, medium accuracy and damage, high rate of fire. Effective at pinning troops at long range.

Maxim Heavy Machinegun

Long range, medium accuracy and damage, high rate of fire. Can only fire when deployed. Very effective at pinning troops at long range. Very strong against frontal attacks.

Scout

Short range, good accuracy, light damage, low rate of fire. Has large line-of-sight radius, can move around undetected.

Sniper

Long range, excellent accuracy, excellent damage, low rate of fire. Very effective at pinning troops at long range. Can usually kill with one hit. Can remain undetected when firing.

PTRD Anti-Tank Rifle

Long range, excellent accuracy, excellent damage, low rate of fire. Fires 15mm armour-piercing round to rifle-range. Not effective against even light tanks and completely useless against medium and heavy tanks. Effective against light vehicles. Can also kill infantry in one hit.

RPG-43 Anti-Tank Grenade

Short range, low accuracy, excellent damage, low rate of fire. NOT related to the RPG-7 of modern-day infamy. Simply an anti-tank grenade with high explosive package. Can move around undetected.

M37 Mortar

Long range, low accuracy, high damage, low rate of fire. Very effective at pinning troops at long range. Can fire over obstacles and terrain. Can also be effective against light vehicles (if they hit).

Rifle Platoon

14-man platoon deployed from Barracks, containing 10 riflemen and 4 submachinegunners.

The Rifle platoon is the standard infantry unit of the Red Army, and contains 10 Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifles and 4 PPsh-43 submachineguns.

Assault Platoon

12-man assault platoon deployed from Barracks, containined 12 submachinegunners.

The Soviet Union fielded large numbers of submachineguns in their armies -- moreso than any other nation, so their assault platoons are cheap and numerous. The PPSh with which they are armed has an extremely high-rate of fire, but a relatively short range.

Machinegun Squad

Three-man squad armed with two light machineguns and one heavy machinegun.

The Soviet machinegun squad is armed with two DP light machineguns which can be used while prone and offer decent suppressing fire at long range, as well as a Maxim heavy machinegun, which must be deployed to use.

Scout Team

3-man Scout squad armed with pistols.

Scout Teams, or reconnaisance sections, are forward observers, armed with pistols and binoculars. Their sole purpose is to sneak around the battlefield, revealing enemy positions while remaining hidden. When caught, they are usually quickly killed.

Sniper Team

A Sniper team, containing one Sniper rifle and one recon infantryman.

Sniper teams operate in two-man teams, with a gunner and a scout. While the scout hurries ahead to spot enemy targets, the Sniper can sit back away from harm and pick off the enemy.

Anti-Tank Rifle Squad

3-man team armed with anti-tank rifles.

The PTRD anti-tank rifle is a large-bore, bolt-action rifle. It fires a 14.5mm armour-piercing bullet which is able to do moderate damage to lightly-armoured vehicles. It has the range of a rifle, much moreso than other anti-tank weapons, but is relatively useless against medium or heavy armour.

Anti-Tank Assault Squad

3-man anti-tank team armed with anti-tank grenades.

The main method of fighting enemy armour for Soviet infantryman was with the RPG-43 anti-tank grenade, a high-explosive, shaped-charge grenade that was hand-thrown at enemy armour. It has enormous damage potential, but no more range than a grenade. For self-defense, anti-tank grenadiers are also armed with a PPSh submachinegun.

Mortar Team

Three-man mortar team equipped with three 81mm mortars.

Mortars provide infantry with a very valuable tool; the ability to attack enemy infantry and armour from great distances, over intervening terrain and other obstacles. Mortars, quite simply, launch high-explosive warheads high into the air, which then fall on the enemy. They are inaccurate but in numbers can saturate a large area with explosives. Because of the demoralizing nature of high-explosives raining down upon them, mortars are great for suppressing and pinning enemy infantry.

Light Vehicles

ZiS-5 Truck

Utility truck which is capable of transporting a platoon of infantrymen (12 men) and can deploy into small supply piles.

The ZiS-5 was one of many truck designs used by the Red Army. It is a lighter truck than most, but fully capable of towing artillery pieces and transporting up to 12 infantrymen, as well as deploying into small ammunition stockpiles.

M5 Halftrack

Lightly-armoured utility halftrack, capable of transporting a platoon of infantrymen (12 men) and armed with a .50 caliber heavy machinegun for local defense.

The Soviet Union received thousands of M5 Halftracks from the United States during the first few years of the war as part of the Lend-Lease program. These sturdy vehicles were highly used as armoured infantry carriers, armed with a .50 caliber heavy machinegun to support infantry.

BA-64

Light scout car armed with a DT light machinegun.

The BA-64 is little more than an armoured jeep with a turret. Its light armour serves it well enough to allow the BA-64 to perform scouting missions, as well as support infantry with its light machinegun. It is still quite vulnerable to any opposition, however, and stands no chance against anything with armour or a decent weapon.

T-60

Light tankette armed with a 20mm automatic cannon.

The T-60 was designed in the first year of war as a stopgap measure suitable for mass-production before larger tank designs became readily available. However, they still served through to the end of the war as light reconnaisance tanks and support vehicles. It has decent armour and its automatic cannon is deadly against enemy light vehicles. SU-76

Light self-proppeled field gun armed with a 76mm gun.

The SU-76 was produced in the tens of thousands. It is a simple design based on the chassis of the T-60, adding a 76mm field gun in an open superstructure. The gun has poor armour penetration capability but has a decent high-explosive yield, making it deadly against infantry, structures, and light vehicles.

Artillery

57mm ZiS-2

Medium anti-tank gun.

The ZiS-2 was one of the Red Army's most important anti-tank guns, if only because other designs were simply low in number. Despite its small caliber, the ZiS-2 fires an incredibly high-velocity shell which is capable of penetrating more armour than its small size would lead one to believe. Though inadequate against heavy armour, it is more than a match for most medium armour types.

76mm ZiS-3

Medium field gun.

The ZiS-3 is an important weapon in the Red Army's arsenal. It is a decent long-range medium cannon, which can fire both high-explosive and armour-piercing shells, though its anti-armour potential is somewhat lacking. However, in large numbers it is capable of bringing most targets down with relative ease.

122mm M-30

Medium artillery howitzer.

122mm was the standard caliber for light-medium artillery in the Red Army, whereas most other nations used 105mm for this role. This increased size gives the M-30 an advantage in sheer power. Otherwise, the gun performs adequately, with average range and accuracy.

Armor & Tank Destroyers

T-70

Light tank armed with a 45mm cannon.

The T-70 was produced to replace the T-60, increasing its armour and firepower. Instead the T-70 found itself serving as a light battle tank. The 45mm gun, although inadequate against heavy armour, can pose a threat to medium armour and is devestating against light armoured vehicles.

T-34-76

Medium tank armed with a 76mm cannon and coaxial machinegun.

The T-34 was produced in more numbers than any other tank during the war -- over 50,000 of it and its variants were produced. The most common armament found on this tank was the 76mm cannon. Like the SU-76 and ZiS-3, this gun performs better as a high-explosive shell than armour-piercing, but the T-34 can be produced in such numbers that any target will eventually fall through overwhelming numbers of T-34 tanks.

T-34-85

Medium tank armed with a high-velocity 85mm cannon and coaxial machinegun.

The T-34-85 was developed during the later years of the war as a replacement for the T-34-76. Though it only began arriving at the frontlines in 1944, over 10,000 were produced by the end of the war. Armed with a high-velocity 85mm cannon, it is much more of a match against contemporary medium tank designs and poses a threat to heavier tanks, especially in numbers.

SU-85

Medium tank destroyer armed with a high-velocity 85mm cannon.

The Su-85 was developed as one of Russia's first dedicated tank destroyers. Like German designs, but unlike American and British, it has no turret, its cannon mounted directly into the front of the vehicle's hull to save room, costs and production time. As a tank destroyer, it performs adequately against heavy armour and superbly against medium armour. Like all turretless vehicles, it is better utilized in defense.

BM-13N Katyusha

132mm Rocket artillery mounted on a light truck chassis.

The infamous Katyusha. Though many designs and mounts for Soviet rocket artillery were nicknamed Katyusha, this particular version contains 16 132mm rockets mounted on the back of a Studebaker US6 truck. This provides a cheap, mobile launch platform for these rockets, allowing them to move into position, fire, and move away quickly.

IS-2

Heavy tank armed with a 122mm cannon and coaxial machinegun.

The IS-2 is a super heavy tank, proving much more than a match for Germany's Tiger and on almost equal par with the Tiger II. Although classified as a heavy tank, and sometimes a super-heavy tank, the IS-2 actually weighs less than the Panther despite having a much larger cannon and much thicker armour. Its main weakness is its small ammunition supply, as it can only carry several of its large shells before needing to re-arm.

ISU-152

Heavy assault gun armed with a 152mm field gun.

The ISU-152 was given the nickname "Animal Killer" by the Soviets for its usefullness in destroying Panther and Tiger tanks. Unfortunately, the ISU-152 lacks the consistent accuracy to make it a dependable tank destroyer, and it was more often used as a self-propelled support gun. Either way, it is one of the largest cannons mounted on a vehicle in the game.

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