Use of sappers

[Ivanov]

I'm starting the Soviet campaign and the briefing states, that I should breach the minefields. Can the sappers actually detect the mines? How should I accomplish this?

[Erwin]

Generally, move inf forward till someone gets blown up and than have engineers move (SLOW) to that point and sit.  After a few turns (depends on their experience level) the mines will be marked.  It's unclear if marked mines are completely safe as I am certain I had guys blown up moving thru marked mines - but that may have been changed by a patch.

[Abbasid111]

Marked mines can still be deadly. It is best to move through them at a slower speed, like hunt or slow. I use move only if I am certain the moving troops won't take fire since their reaction is to speed up to quick and it may cause them to set off even marked mines.

Sappers and engineers can detect mines in the AS they are in and as long as they are not moving at quick or fast have a good chance of not setting any off.

[Anthony P.]

Marked mines are still dangerous. Normal Move or Slow through them. Hunt does not work, it only somewhat decreases the chance unless you have high enough quality troops.

The briefings says to move them up first to create a safe lane, but honestly, when you reach the tree line it's not practical.

 

Spoiler: From this point on, the mines will be well within LoS of the German positions. Move the sappers up there to create a safe lane and they'll just be slaughtered. You're honestly just gonna have to go ahead and step off before marking any mines, or even finding them. Push on through the minefields as quickly as possible, or you'll suffer more from the German infantry whilst stuck trying to find a safe way through the field than from the mines. After the positions have been taken, send up the sappers to mark the mines so the platoons that attacked can retrace their steps and retrieve automatic weapons, ammunition and grenades from the very latest Heroes of the Motherland. After this, just try to circumvent the minefields. Red Army sappers in my experience are not good at finding mines before anyone's detonated one, so odds are there'll be plenty of mines left. I also tried to have them search the road for mines, but despite running them up and down the road multiple times, my first SU-76 didn't make it even 10m before exploding. Better off exploiting their low ground pressure and send them through the swamps on the flanks.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Anthony P.

[MOS:96B2P]

11 hours ago, Ivanov said:

<Snip> Can the sappers actually detect the mines? How should I accomplish this?

After you locate the minefield, probably with two man scout teams, bring up the engineer/sappers to mark it.  Below is my general SOP to be modified by circumstances.  I have not played this campaign but based on what @Anthony P. said I might try a smoke screen (if you have smoke) to cover the sappers while they mark along with a base of fire to suppress any OpFor intent on hassling your sappers.      

 

1. Split Team to divide Eng. squad into 2 teams. 

2. Provide security for the engineer teams.  Consider a smoke screen.

3. Give Engineer teams a 360^o self defense Target Arc. (To keep them focused on marking instead of taking shots at distant targets)

4. 1^st Team Slow & identifies mines. 2^nd Team Slow behind 1^st & Mark Mines.

5. Slow 1^st Team into suspected minefield with 15 second pauses every A/S.

6. 2^nd Team Mark Mines when minefield is identified.

7. Use Slow for follow on forces to cross marked minefield. 

8. Buddy aid demo charges from casualties.  

Notes: Red sign with skull and crossbones = Active non-marked Action Spot.  A yellow (off white) sign with skull & crossbones = Marked Action Spot.

[Anthony P.]

Spoiler:

 

As I said before, in this particular mission I say just push through. The AP mines are scattered, and well within sight of the German positions. You will lose more specialised personnel (sappers) if you try to find and mark a lane before the attack, than you will lose ordinary riflemen if you attack through the mines. In addition you have no smoke capable IDF, only a few large caliber rockets.

[Ivanov]

Some great tips here. Thank you guys!

[francis199]

Just a bit extra for you when it comes to mines, they suck  ! Engineers mark mines well and all, but I have found that even when moving slowly mines can still very deadly to vehicles (especially ones with overlapping areas). The best way to deal with them is to avoid them entirely (often times this is possible), or bombard them with high caliber artillery to entirely remove them, at this point the mine signs will change to a green color and I have never taken any casualties from these.

An example of these green type is below.

[womble]

Antivehicular mines are completely unaffected by "Mark Mines" efforts. Antipersonnel mines in a "Mixed" mine AS will be as neutralised as usual (i.e probably won't go off if you Slow infantry through them, probably will if you Quick or faster).

The only way to clear AV mines is to find something nearby that you can Blast through and get the mine to detonate sympathetically. Has to be in the same AS; some diagonal linear obstacles will suffice, or any barbed wire obstacle directly over the mine. Your sappers might get caught in the Blast, though, which can result in suppression, injury and death.

 

Edited to add: I have to echo the advice not to attempt to mark mines in the face of the enemy. Your sappers won't ever even settle to the task if they're taking fire and will just be killed for no gain. Sure, clear mines that have been placed to deny you a position that's beyond the enemy's guns; changing the battlefield like that is a good move, often. But it's a waste of time and men to try and conduct marking of mines under fire.

Edited July 24, 2016 by womble

[Blazing 88's]

The first thing I look for, before formulating my strategy, when on the attack and especially in dealing with mines are what units, on and off board, have smoke rounds available.  Wind direction is another check point obviously.

[MikeyD]

I saw a recent article that Serbia (or was it Slovenia?) had to post an official government warning to Pokémon Go users to not wander into minefields while playing the game. If mine fields were easy to clear there wouldn't still be mine fields blighting landscapes across the globe 20-30 years after the conflicts are over. In the game you can make some small dent in mine fields with engineers but if the thing's been properly constructed in depth its hardly worth the effort to attempt it. Most mine fields in the game are more psychological barriers than physical ones. Meant to dissuade you from trying and to punish your attempt, rather than be an impenetrable barrier. Which is cold comfort when you're looking at your three disabled tanks in the field.

Edited August 5, 2016 by MikeyD