Soviet mine dog, with trainer (left) and tanker (right).
Dogs have always been used in warfare; probably since they were domesticated. The Second World War was no exception. Either as guard dogs, as simple company or squadron mascots, or as far as the Soviet mine dogs, their involvement in the war can make for a good number of scenarios.
Movement As most people have found out the hard way in their lives, a dog runs a little faster than a man. A dogs movement is as follows, per scale: 15mm: Infantry: 3" Dogs: 4" 20mm: Infantry: 4" Dogs: 6" 25-28mm: Infantry: 5" Dogs: 7" Dogsa affected by terrain just like human infantry.
Small Size Dogs are small so they count as prone for sighting and shooting purposes, but not for hand-to-hand combat. Because of their well-equipped mouths, dogs fight in hand-to-hand combat with a -3 modifier against humans or other dogs, but not against horses(which are a bit bigger than dogs).
Trainers and commands Dogs may be commanded by a trainer or handler. Trainers act like a squad leader of equivalent morale with the dog, but not with other soldiers. Ex.: If the trainers morale is 12 (veteran), he would command the dog with the command radius and leadership modifier of a 14-1 leader. This only applies to commanding a dog, not to command issues with other soldiers. The trainer can give simple commands like heel, attack, bark, etc. Dogs without a trainer or handler should have simple orders to follow, such as attack any strangers that you see inside the fence or bark your head off if you hear any unusual noises.
Wounds and Morale The dogs morale is the same as the trainers morale, even though, for practical issues, the trainer acts as the dogs leader, as above said. Dogs ignore Morale Checks when within the command radius of their handler. Otherwise, a dog that fails a MC has no chance to rally unless they move within the command radius of a trainer or handler. The trainer can use his leadership modifier to rally the dog. A dog's morale should be determined before the scenario begins. As trained dogs are selected and screened for obedience and discipline, there should not be any Green dogsor trainers.
Dogs that receive any wound will no longer do anything useful except bark unless it is in hand-to-hand combat, or has already been ordered to attack. In this case they ignore any LtW result (thisisthe pit bull rule).
Gut or Skill Checks Gut or Skill Checks wouldnt really be applicable for canine troops in most situations, so the GM would have to limit the dog from doing things that are obviously beyond the mental capacity of an animal. No handing a dog a primed grenade and having it jump on a tank and drop the grenade into an open hatch, for instance. Dogs must make a half Gut Check for going near fire (asin flames), asmost animalsare afraid of it.
Bow-wow-wow! A barking dog can be heard 15" away for 15mm, 20" away for 20mm, and 25" away for 25 or 28mm.
Superior senses Their senses of smell and hearing are exceptional. Dogs automatically detect the presence of enemy soldiers within 12"/16"/22" (per scale) even if they are stationary and concealed (just like Sgt. "Bloodhound" Smith). They detect the exact location of enemy soldiers at a range of 8." Dogs can pass this information along to their handlers (just like Lassie). Dogs have keen hearing. They can hear noises out to double the range listed in the night rules (Red Devils in the Night). Remember that this ability is negated if there are loud noises (gunfire, vehicles) near the dog.
RULES BY Rolando Thanks to Matt Fritz, who came up with most of these rules, and to Duaneand Jim Paulsen, whose ideas at the OneList BGWWII list posts gave shape to these rules. INFANTRY - Soviet Mine Dogs
BACKGROUND This was one of the experimental weapons born out of the desperation the Soviets had in 1941. It was supposed to work as follows: The dogs were kept hungry, and only fed underneath running tanks, to familiarize them with the loud noise, and trained to get used to carrying a large weight of explosives (T.N.T.) strapped to their backs and sides, that could penetrate about 20mm of armor. In operation, the dogs would be taken to the battlefield, and released when enemy tanks were clearly visible. The dogs would run underneath the enemy vehicles, expecting to be fed, and a lever on their explosive pack, pushed by the tanks hull, would set off the device with catastrophic results for the tank, and the unsuspecting animal.
But the dogs had been trained underneath Soviet tanks, and expected to be fed there, not underneath enemy vehicles. As a result, when they were first deployed in 1941, the dogs immediately made a beeline for the nearest Soviet vehicles. Apparently, an entire tank division had to be withdrawn from the combat zone until the infantry had shot all the uncontrollable mine dogs.
Nevertheless, under favorable conditions (e.g. no Soviet tanks), the mine dogs were a somewhat efficient and cheap weapon. Pretty soon, dogs in the combat zone were shot on sight by the Germans and Russians if the use of mine dogs was even suspected. By 1943, it is said in many memoirs, Russian and German, there were no dogs left in the Eastern Front. (If not shot, they were also hunted for food.)
Mine dogs were used mostly in 1941. Afterwards they were almost completely relegated from service, although they remained in use. Soviet sources claim that several enemy tanks were destroyed in this way at the Battle of Kursk (as late as 1943!). German sources dispute this claim.
rules
A handler can have up to 2 mine dogs held by their leashes. Whenever the handler wishes, he may let go one or both dogs. This is preferably when having enemy tanks nearer than friendlies, and in LOS.
After it is released, a mine dog must move in a straight line as fast as it can towards the nearest AFV in its LOS (dogs don't choose their targets and can't tell friend from foe). If the dog manages to get under the AVF, roll to see if the lever it actually pushed, on a 1-18. If pushed, it is treated as an Automatic Penetration shot. The dog, of course, is reduced to kibbles and bits. Referees might want to warn their intended victims before springing this surprise on them. Note: the dog must end its action underneath the tank or vehicle to set off the charge.
If the charge is not set off, the dog will remain under the tank, waiting to be fed. When it realizes that no food will be administered (in 1d6 actions after crawling below the tank), or if the tank moves, it will run out to the next closest tank. If there are no other tanks in LOS, the dog runs its full movement towards: 1-10: its trainer, if visible and in LOS. 11-15: the nearest infantry (any side) in LOS, if any. 16-20: a random direction (use 1d8 & blast template).
As long as a mine dog is free, it will behave in the above manners. Note that running toward infantry will not activate the dogs charge, because of the way its rigged on its back, but will probably scare the infantrymen enough to shoot doggie.
Wounds If a Soviet mine dog is shot and gets a LtW or worse treat it a bit like hitting a Flamethrower guy: Roll again in the same column and if the result is a LtW or worse the back-pack charge explodes like a Demo Charge.
OPTIONAL PENETRATION HOUSE RULE Instead of Automatic Penetration, roll to penetrate against the Armor value of the tanks top (which was often equivalent to the bottom armor). The mine dogs penetration value is 20. RULES BY Rolando