Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront Combat Guide: Master Every Mechanic

Q: Which factions are in the base game?

Germany and the Soviet Union, with the German Ostfront campaign and the Soviet Za Rodinu campaign. Finland comes with Talvisota, the United States with Liberation and Airborne, and Britain, Scotland, Canada and Poland with Finest Hour.

Q: Is this a real-time strategy game or a tactics game?

Both, and you switch freely. You can play it top-down like a conventional real-time strategy game, or drop into first or third person on any single soldier or vehicle crew position and aim manually, which the game calls direct control.

Q: How does armour damage actually work?

There is no hitpoint bar. Vehicles carry historical armour layouts and shells carry historical penetration values, so the game resolves impact angle, range and shell type, then applies the result to whatever component or crewman sits behind that plate.

Q: Can the campaigns be played in co-op?

Yes. The historical singleplayer missions support cooperative play, and the game also carries a PvE Dynamic Campaign, Conquest, and multiplayer matches from 1v1 up to 4v4 across more than 30 maps.

Q: Do I need the DLCs to play multiplayer?

No. Germany and the Soviet Union in the base game are fully playable in multiplayer and the Dynamic Campaign. The DLCs add their own factions, campaigns and unit rosters rather than gating the base modes behind a purchase.

Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront combat guide covering every mechanic, advanced techniques, and the strategies that separate good players from great ones.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

Barbedwire Studios and Digitalmindsoft released Gates of Hell: Ostfront on 11 June 2021, covering the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 with more than 250 vehicles and 100 heavy weapons. Armour is modelled plate by plate with real thicknesses and angles, so an 85mm round can bounce off a Tiger's mantlet, kill the loader without setting the tank on fire, or cook off the ammunition depending on exactly where it lands. You can command it as a top-down real-time strategy game or take direct control of one rifleman or one tank gunner at any moment.

Combat in Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront rewards knowledge over reflexes. Understanding how each mechanic works (and how they interact) is what turns a struggling player into a dominant one. New here? Start with our beginner's guide for the basics.

Core Combat Mechanics

1. Plate by plate armour penetration

Every vehicle carries its historical armour layout and every shell its historical performance, so range, angle and shell type decide the outcome rather than a hitpoint bar. APCR carries no explosive filler and punches through more armour but does less inside the tank, while HEAT ignores range falloff entirely.

Why it matters: This is the foundation of all combat. Everything else builds on this.

2. Direct control of any unit

Pressing the direct control key drops you into first or third person on any selected soldier, gun crew or vehicle, where you aim manually and lead moving targets yourself. A human gunner in a StuG III routinely lands shots the automatic targeting would decline to take.

Why it matters: The most underrated mechanic. Players who master this early have a massive advantage.

3. Individual crew and seat swapping

Tanks carry modelled commander, gunner, driver, loader and hull gunner positions, and a penetration only kills the crew sitting where the round landed. If your gunner dies the vehicle is not lost, because a surviving crewman slides into the empty seat and the tank keeps fighting at reduced efficiency.

Why it matters: Unlocks a new layer of gameplay depth once understood.

4. Soldier inventories and looting

Each infantryman carries a physical inventory of weapons, magazines, grenades, mines and medical supplies, and runs dry if you never resupply. Bodies and supply crates can be looted mid battle, so a squad that started with Mosin-Nagants can finish an engagement carrying captured MP 40s.

Why it matters: The tactical edge that separates average players from advanced ones.

5. Dynamic Campaign unit persistence

The Dynamic Campaign gives you an army group that carries between battles. Surviving squads accumulate experience, damaged vehicles need repairing rather than replacing, and losses are permanent, which makes a won battle that cost three tanks a worse result than a stalemate that cost none.

Why it matters: The endgame optimization mechanic. Small improvements here compound into massive gains.

How These Mechanics Combine

Understanding how mechanics interact is where real optimization happens:

Plate by plate armour penetration + Direct control of any unit

Every vehicle carries its historical armour layout and every shell its historical performance, so range, angle and shell type decide the outcome rather than a hitpoint bar. When combined with Direct control of any unit, pressing the direct control key drops you into first or third person on any selected soldier, gun crew or vehicle, where you aim manually and lead moving targets yourself. This combination is the core of every effective build.

Individual crew and seat swapping + Soldier inventories and looting

Tanks carry modelled commander, gunner, driver, loader and hull gunner positions, and a penetration only kills the crew sitting where the round landed. Paired with Soldier inventories and looting, each infantryman carries a physical inventory of weapons, magazines, grenades, mines and medical supplies, and runs dry if you never resupply. This is why the tier list favors builds that leverage both.

Dynamic Campaign unit persistence as a Multiplier

The Dynamic Campaign gives you an army group that carries between battles. Surviving squads accumulate experience, damaged vehicles need repairing rather than replacing, and losses are permanent, which makes a won battle that cost three tanks a worse result than a stalemate that cost none. This system amplifies everything else. The better your Dynamic Campaign unit persistence optimization, the more your other mechanics pay off.

Combat by Build

Each build approaches combat differently:

Germany (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Tiger I Primary mechanic: Plate by plate armour penetration

Germany offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Soviet Union (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: T-34/85 Primary mechanic: Direct control of any unit

Soviet Union offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Finland (Talvisota) (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: StuG III Ausf. G Primary mechanic: Individual crew and seat swapping

Finland (Talvisota) offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

United States (Liberation and Airborne) (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: MG 42 Primary mechanic: Soldier inventories and looting

United States (Liberation and Airborne) offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Britain and Commonwealth (Finest Hour) (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: PPSh-41 Primary mechanic: Dynamic Campaign unit persistence

Britain and Commonwealth (Finest Hour) offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.

Advanced Combat Techniques

Damage Optimization

Match your equipment to your build's stat priorities
Exploit Plate by plate armour penetration for maximum damage windows
Chain Direct control of any unit and Individual crew and seat swapping for combo damage
Use Soldier inventories and looting to create openings

Survivability

Learn enemy patterns before committing to attacks
Angle your hull before you fire, not after. The armour model uses real thickness and impact angle, so a Panzer IV sitting at roughly 30 degrees to an incoming shot presents far more effective plate than one facing square, and that difference decides whether a 76mm round penetrates.
Position using Plate by plate armour penetration to control spacing
Save defensive options for guaranteed survival, not comfort

Boss Combat

Bosses test your understanding of every mechanic. See our boss guide for fight-specific strategies.

Phase awareness: Most bosses change behavior at health thresholds
Patience over aggression: One extra hit per opening beats dying to greed
Build preparation: Swap gear and equipment for specific fights when needed

Common Combat Mistakes

Button mashing: Committed attacks have recovery frames. Mashing locks you into animations.
Ignoring Direct control of any unit: This mechanic exists for a reason. Players who use it take significantly less damage.
Wrong equipment for the situation: Check our weapons guide for situational picks.
Not learning from deaths: Every death teaches something. If you don't know why you died, you'll die the same way again.
Overcommitting: Trading hits works in The Siege of Sevastopol but will get you killed in The Koenigsberg Cauldron.

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