Soldiers: Heroes of World War II

Soldiers: Heroes of World War II is a 2004 real-time tactics game from the Ukrainian studio Best Way, published by Codemasters. You command small groups of soldiers, and sometimes vehicles, in campaigns for several of the war's armies. Missions are often impossible odds: a handful of men against a garrison.

Every soldier has an inventory that is simulated: ammunition, grenades, weapons picked up from the dead. You can command the group as a team or take direct control of one soldier, aiming and moving them yourself. Vehicles have crews, and can be stolen.

Its simulation makes improvisation possible: a soldier out of ammunition can loot a dead enemy's rifle, a tank can be taken from its crew. It is one of the few games to combine a real-time squad with this level of detail.

It is very hard, and its missions often require many attempts. Its successors, Faces of War and Men of War, built on the same engine.

Soldiers shares Commandos' small team against a large enemy in real time, and replaces the specialists with soldiers who can do anything if they have the right item. It belongs to the line that leads to Men of War.