This tutorial is assuming you made it this far from the Campaign map to the actual, tactical, battle map without hurting yourself too much. There are plenty of YouTube vids and previous tutorials out there (look to tutorials on "STEAM--Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star--Discussions--Guides" to see eloquent Campaign map operations to get you to this stage if you're completely lost, or, God forbid, you may check The Manual for what it provides), but my objective here is to get you started on where the MEAT of this game resides. It's my belief that once a player understands The Basics of what he has at his disposal and how to implement said DESTRUCTION (and really, that's why we're all here), well, the rest will fall into place.

Also, this tutorial deals strictly with the TACTICAL aspect of the game. Campaign Map and Operations Map are interchangeable terms here and neither will be addressed in this project, only referenced by name where needed.

In this particular guide I'm going to deal strictly with Infantry + Inf. Support units and their initial set-up. I plan on doing an Armor + Vehicle + heavy on-map artillery guide at a later date, mainly because this monster turned out to be more involving then I'd anticipated.

This is NOT an encyclopedia on various weaponry and is in no way an authority on battlefield tactics.

I will not spend a lot of time on off-map artillery outside of general starter unit placement, but I may do so at a later date. I believe there are a couple guides up on here already which cover that convoluted subject quite well.

*[Note: I am primarily a Wehrmacht player simply because I personally find them more interesting historically and my examples and tutelage will be from this particular vantage point. My set-up rules should mirror similar Soviet troop units easily.]*

My Goal is to take you from THIS:

Two d-bags playing with their preciouses...


...To these two HARDCORE MOFO's Right Here! [which are now probably buried deep in Russian soil]

And what a MESS it is at a first, reasonably educated, glance. But don't fret kids, Your Uncle Schimmel is here to help. I'll teach you to unlock the weird mystery of Graviteam Tactics and discover why it's so appealing to such a lucky few. And, as a bonus, my help distills directly to "Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star" as well as "Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943" which both operate under the same system I'm going to teach you here.

Now here; I just loaded up the tactical screen and WTF is this nonsense?

Yep, if you're new to this, a good, healthy, "What The Sheisse?" is expected. All you wanna do is get the killing on, ASAP, amiright? It's coming soon, Skeezix, eat a Slim Jim and calm down.

What you're looking at is the grid/hex set-up area of where you'll place your units. Here's a second glance of the soon-to-be battlefield.



The basic rule we're learning here is that YOU set your units up in the GREY areas and your computer opponent has claim to the RED areas. Simple enough, huh?

The absolute first thing you should do on the tactical map is check the overview (upper row of buttons, 2nd from the left). This gives you an idea of where you're at and what you have to defend or attack (in this case, it's defend). Ignore the blue arrow in this case since you're on defend here. It's just there to indicate where your troops moved from on the Operations map. The Red arrows show an expected area of enemy attack. As you'll see, there are no absolutes in this game. The enemy may flank you elsewhere or send his armored units in a completely different area then you place your anti-tank guns defending. But, as a general rule, they will be coming from the areas indicated by the red arrows.

Now, this is the first and only time I'll deal with the subject I'm about to discuss. There is a way, under Options, to show where the enemy is and what type it is exactly on the tactical map. That's fine if you want to learn the game on Quick Battle to figure it all out or whatnot, but once/if you get to the Campaign and you're pulling that BS, well, there's a Shirley Temple over there in the pink cooler forya Sally. Don't hurt yourself getting it out. This is a tactical, combat simulator, and combat, like humans, is unpredictable. There's a reason why they say, "Everyone has a plan 'till the shooting starts," and this game mirrors that idea quite well.
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The Dark Blue circled area indicates a known minefield (these are not present in Operation Star but they are on Tunisia where I discovered them the hard way). If you zoom in close on the Battle map you can sometimes see tiny "Achtung Minen" signposts surrounding the area. It doesn't matter who put it there, axis or allies. Stepping on mines are like stepping in ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, it doesn't matter who dropped it, every victim is equally affected. Knowing this, it's a great idea to keep your men from advancing through them, obviously, but it can also be a great tool in defense (ex: placing troops dug-in behind it). Use the terrain to your advantage.
Addendum: As mines in this game are fairly new, I'm not 100% up on them. I think there's a difference between filled in circles and non-filled in on the overview map but I'm not certain. If unsure, like me, just stay the hell away from them. They aren't called an "area denial" weapon for no reason.

The Purple circled areas are the objective points and they'll usually have a Name or a Number to indicate them. Since the battle map indicated is defense, I would advise never planting troops anywhere within 300 meters of the marked objective because they are natural targets for initial enemy artillery bombardments. Ignore this advice at your peril.
If you are on the offense, then obviously, you'll want to put as many of your folks as necessary in the enemy's objective areas to win the map. I will not proceed to go into, "How To Take Other People's ♥♥♥♥ By Force 101" in this tutorial. It's hard-wired into your DNA (unless you're a democrat). Go do it.

The Red circled areas indicate pre-dug squares, usually from a previous battle on the same map, where you can place your troops who will be smart enough to occupy these defensive areas. They are identifiable by being a noticeably darker colored circle. The only thing that will destroy dug-in squares and render them flat earth again are heavy arty/mortar bombardments, otherwise, they'll remain there indefinitely. I'll delve more into defensive postures in the next section of this guide.
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Now what I've done here in the above picture is what I do to start out every map. I find the units that belong to each other or just start out in the same section and lay them out accordingly. Click the platoon's leader, place him somewhere, then select a formation to group all his crew in one position. I consider this to be invaluable in figuring out exactly what I have and becomes moreso as the game progresses and I start to lose men and munitions. Essentially, it's just a quick and easy way to see what you actually have at your disposal and what kind of shape they're in.
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Same pic as above but what I've done here is circle the units for your benefit.
The top left corner has 1, 2, 3, and Heavy. So "1" in this case is (for example) "9 coy, Command" with coy meaning company apparently. "2" would be "9 coy, 2 platoon" and "3" would be "9 coy, 3 platoon." The "HVY" group is usually a section of MGs and mortars that belong to a certain company for support.
In the upper right section you see the same 1,2,3, + HVY configuration but it also has an AT (anti-tank gun) unit as well as a Commander group. The AT group is obvious but the CMMDR group is essentially a higher ranking officer crew (often in a half-track vehicle) accompanied by a radio section that increases communication level between squads on the map.

This is a nice, neat set-up that usually only occurs with fresh units (ie before the carnage of battle ensues). It will look a lot less structured and healthy once you start taking casualties and adding in replacements.

The idea of troops being in a "dug-in" or defensive position is fairly easy to grasp but (like all things Grav Tac) can become overly complicated until you get used to it. All units (infantry, armor, etc.) can dig-in if they spend a certain amout of turns in one spot on the Operation Map. On most campaigns, at least one side will already begin the map in a dug-in stance. There are currently TWO levels of digging in: individual holes/foxholes, and the better zig-zag trenches which require a longer stay in the same location. And NO you cannot construct WW1 style trenchworks that connect and stretch the length of the map. That ideology failed for a reason.

One thing to note: being dug-in often affects the individual unit's line of sight, with the rationale being that it's less a clear view when your men are neck-deep in holes than just laying around in the open. Nevertheless, it's almost always better to be dug-in if you have the option to do so, especially when enemy artillery and mortar fire start dropping on your head.

[One notable exception to the wisdom of digging-in are SP Guns (self-propelled turretless guns such as the German Marder and the Stug or the Soviet SU-122). Now this is merely my opinion, but I almost never allow them to dig-in. Reason being, they have to pivot to get a wider arc of fire and the trench they start in doesn't allow enough freedom of movement since they have no rotating turret. The only time it might be appropriate is if you want them watching one street or path and their flanks are covered on both side by buildings or terrain. But I'm getting ahead of myself.]
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Here you see (if you squint) tiny shovel symbols next to the unit names which means they are eligible to "dig-in" at this spot.
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These two units have a "?" symbol which means they ARE NOT eligible to dig-in at this or any other square on the map. This usually belongs to any unit that has just recently moved into the area on the Operations Map and logically have not had the time to entrench yet.
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Here we have a unit with an "!" symbol which basically means it is eligible to dig-in, but just not at this particular spot. Remember, units can NEVER entrench at any square that is bordered by Orange or Red. Apparently the soil is too rocky or there's an archeological dig going on that they don't want you disturbing for whatever damned reason. Most town area squares will have this restriction.
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Here we have a bit of a mix. The back unit (displaying the shovel symbol) will in fact dig-in at the location square. The two forward units on the Red and Orange squares will not dig in BUT the men will get into the pre-made trenches as long as you have the Units In Defense button activated (actually, they'll probably get in the trenches on their own either way since they're not generally stupid).
Another thing to note is that units Not dug-in next to a unit that IS dug in will often automatically share the dug-in spot as space allows. Once again, troops in this game aren't generally clueless.



This is just a somewhat closer view of the same picture.
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This is a vertical overview picture of an area compiled of Orange, Red, and normal squares which will be common on certain battlefiels. The motar/artillery holes present will also serve as hidey-holes for troops set on defense as well. The long, horizontal fissure trench is a natural part of the environment and is fully capable of housing infantrymen. As you progress in the game, this will all make perfect sense.

Just know this: if it looks like a perfect defensive spot to you, your enemy will notice it too, as well as his artillery guns & mortars. Don't worry though, you'll have the opportunity to do the same thing to him as well.
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Here I'm just showing various pictures of dug-in units. Note: Even though the AT gun looks exposed, it still enjoys the benefits of being in a defensive, dug-in stance.

Ah, the ugly, random shrapnel burst of artillery, the demonic roar of tank treads on dry earth,....none of it is worth a damn without the gruesome sacrifice of individual MEN. Graviteam Tactics is lauded, and rightfully so, for it's accurate depiction and physics of armored combat, but the real Heart of this game still relies on the Infantry, the boots on the ground, as all wars do.




This is your overall platoon commander group and they, as well as any lesser leader unit within the Company, are identified by a pennant or flag symbol. They usually need to be placed within 100 meters of their subordinate infantry squads to aid in order communication as well as morale upkeep. Soldiers are less prone to break and run when their company leader is close by.
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Below pictures show a secondary leader unit within the company and it's gear loadout.





If you hold your mouse pointer on the Men symbol on the left side of the screen, you'll see a weapons and ammo loadout tally emerge. This obviously shows you in detail what these men are carrying into battle and this concept works with ANY unit, armor or field artillery, regardless.

I will use this example to break it down for you here:
As you can see, there are 7 men in this group with 7 individual weapons.
[AP] in brackets means, in this case, anti-personnel. When we get to tank or heavy gun rounds, AP usually means armor piercing.

The first man in this group, probably an officer, carries:

Pistol Luger
[AP] 9x19 Para [8] x 2

This basically means that this man is carrying a 9mm Parabellum pistol with an 8 round clip and he has 2 of them meaning he has a grand total of 16 bullets.

The next trooper on the list is carrying this loadout:

7.92mm "Mauser" 98k
[AP] 7.92x57 IS [5] x 10
[AP] 7.92x57 SmK 98 [5] x 2

Now this means he has a Kar98k basic WWII German rifle (it's bullet specifications are displayed as 7.92x57 but it's not really important) that carries a 5 round "magazine" and he has 10 "clips" of such, ultimately meaning he has 50 total rifle rounds. I have no idea what the "IS" means but it's not important for our discussions.
Now the [AP] 7.92x57 SmK I assume is a rifle-grenade type Smoke round but I'm not certain.

[Personal Note: I own a 1943 Mauser rifle and I can vouch that carrying 50 rounds of that ammo + the weight of the rifle, not factoring in the weight of a helmet and soldier's gear pack which I did not have, is not a load to be easily dismissed.]

Let's move on to the Grenades and Mines situaton at the bottom:
Since these are not Engineers/Pioneers, they have no mines, just grenades.
Here is what you see in the example above:

[HE] M-24 x 10
[Smk] Nd. Hgr. 39 x 6

Basically, what this means is that you have 10 HE (high explosive) grenades and 6 smoke grenades divided within the group. The rest of the numbers and nonsense are inconsequential and you can look them up yourself if you're interested.

Now I'm not going to go any further into German or Russian infantry armaments because I'd be typing this out for the next 2 years or more since I'm old, slow and have a job, but you should get the basic jist of it now. Remember; the internet, Wikipedia, and (God forbid) books are your friends in this area of WWII weaponry.
And don't get confused with all the numbers and mathematics because most of this mess will handle itself. I just wanted to use this example to help de-mystify the nomenclature for new folks.
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Here we have the Radio Crew which are usually busy as all hell running around and making sure your combat units within the companies are radio connected. There are 5 riflemen for protection and 2 wire-spool runners, usually. These are not combat units as they're only equipped with basic rifles but will fight in a pinch. Always, ALWAYS leave these men on AI Movement control unless you find yourself in a hopeless situation and require every rifle on the field.
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Here we have the basic, non-specialized, infantry combat unit. They usually consist of 10 men, variously armed, led by a Sargeant or his national equivalent. Most German units have an MG-34 machine-gun element within the group making them especially dangerous within a 500+ meter range. These units are the "bread and butter" of your assault and defense and they will also sustain the majority of your casualties.
You will also notice that there is an anti-armor rifleman carrying (what I assume to be) anti-tank rifle grenades known as HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank). Don't get excited thinking your infantry platoons are suddenly tank-killers because they're not. What this means is that the soldier in question has a slightly better than average ability to knock out or perhaps immobilize enemy armor at a terribly close range. Either way, infantry versus enemy armor without Anti-tank gun support generally ends badly.
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Most basic infantry companies come with some sort of small-unit support weaponry like heavy machinegun or mortar units but these vary.
In this case we have a 3 man mortar squad and their armament role differs in one way. Now we have two riflemen and a few HE and Smoke grenades but what we're concerned with is this:
5cm GrW 36
[HE} 5cm W.Gr 36x30

This basically means that this unit has 30 high explosive rounds for use.
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This is a truck, obviously. Place it as far away from danger as possible.

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MG UNITS



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