DOG RULES - INFANTRY

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