Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront Maps & Locations Guide: Every Area Covered

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.

Complete Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront maps and locations guide. Every area with difficulty, rewards, progression order, and what to do in each zone.

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.

Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront features distinct areas with increasing difficulty. This guide covers every major location in progression order: what to do, what to get, and when to move on. For the step-by-step path, see our walkthrough.

Area Progression Order

Order	Location	Difficulty	Key Rewards	Recommended Build
1	The Siege of Sevastopol	German Ostfront campaign, 1942	Siege artillery practice, fortification-breaking tactics	Soviet Union
2	Pavlov's House	Soviet Za Rodinu campaign, 1942	Urban defence, looting and resupply under pressure	Soviet Union
3	The Citadel	Soviet Za Rodinu campaign, 1943	Large-scale tank engagement, ammunition selection practice	Germany
4	Clash at Narva	German Ostfront campaign, 1944	Defensive line construction, minefield placement	Germany
5	The Koenigsberg Cauldron	Soviet Za Rodinu campaign, 1945	Combined urban assault, engineer and demolition play	Germany

The Siege of Sevastopol: Starting Area

The German campaign's Crimean siege, built around fortified positions and heavy guns rather than manoeuvre. Progress comes from reducing strongpoints one at a time with artillery and engineers instead of driving armour forward.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	German Ostfront campaign, 1942
Key Rewards	Siege artillery practice, fortification-breaking tactics
Recommended Build	Soviet Union
Key Equipment	T-34/85

What to Do Here

Learn the basics of Plate by plate armour penetration. This is where you practice without heavy punishment.
Collect starting resources and your first equipment upgrade.
Clear all main content before moving to Pavlov's House.
If you're struggling, read our beginner's guide.

Pavlov's House: Early Game

The Soviet Za Rodinu campaign's Stalingrad set piece, defending a single fortified building against repeated assaults. It is the clearest demonstration of why soldier inventory management matters, because you will run out of ammunition before you run out of attackers.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Soviet Za Rodinu campaign, 1942
Key Rewards	Urban defence, looting and resupply under pressure
Recommended Build	Soviet Union
Key Equipment	T-34/85

What to Do Here

Focus on mastering Direct control of any unit. It's critical from this point on.
Farm for T-34/85 if you don't have it yet.
Complete all objectives for maximum rewards.
Prepare for the difficulty spike in The Citadel.

The Citadel: Mid Game

Kursk, and the largest armour engagement in either base campaign. Open ground means gun range and first-shot accuracy decide it, and this is where the difference between AP and APCR loadouts stops being academic.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Soviet Za Rodinu campaign, 1943
Key Rewards	Large-scale tank engagement, ammunition selection practice
Recommended Build	Germany
Key Equipment	T-34/85

What to Do Here

This is the main skill check. Bring an optimized build.
Tiger I becomes accessible here. Prioritize getting it.
Master Individual crew and seat swapping for the boss encounters.
Check our boss guide if you get stuck.

Clash at Narva: Late Game

The 1944 fighting on the Estonian border, fought across narrow approaches and prepared defences. Mines, anti-tank guns and dug-in infantry matter more here than any single vehicle you can field.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	German Ostfront campaign, 1944
Key Rewards	Defensive line construction, minefield placement
Recommended Build	Germany
Key Equipment	Tiger I

What to Do Here

Full build optimization is expected by this point.
Tiger I should be your primary, fully upgraded.
Dynamic Campaign unit persistence mastery starts mattering here.
Farm resources for the push into The Koenigsberg Cauldron.

The Koenigsberg Cauldron: Endgame

The Soviet campaign's late-war urban assault on East Prussia, with the Red Army pressing into a fortified city. Assault guns, engineers and flamethrowers do the work that open-field armour cannot.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Soviet Za Rodinu campaign, 1945
Key Rewards	Combined urban assault, engineer and demolition play
Recommended Build	Germany
Key Equipment	Tiger I

What to Do Here

This is endgame. Best-in-slot gear and a perfected build are mandatory.
See our boss guide for endgame fight strategies.
The reward loop: clear content → upgrade → push harder content.
Experiment with Britain and Commonwealth (Finest Hour) for variety once you've mastered the meta.

Exploration Tips

Clear areas in order: The Siege of Sevastopol → Pavlov's House → The Citadel → Clash at Narva → The Koenigsberg Cauldron. Skipping areas means missing resources you'll need later.
Check every corner: Hidden caches and secrets are often in non-obvious locations.
Match your equipment: Some areas favor different equipment types.
Read the walkthrough: Our walkthrough provides exact progression milestones for each area.
Don't rush: Clearing an area fully gives more resources than speedrunning two areas.

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