I just sent in a support email, but I thought I'd post here too, in case anyone else has run into this problem and knows how to solve it.
Here's the support request I sent in:
I just installed Soldiers and it won't run at all. The main game starts, the initial loading screen is on for a bit and then the screen turns black, with a stylized mouse pointer showing up. On the editor side of things, the same initial screen comes on, and then it gets to a little less than half way through "Loading Entities..." and stops. That's it, that's all she wrote. The computer shows signs of activity: the hard-drive runs for a bit at first, but then stops, but the game pegs one of the cores of my processor to 100% the whole time.
I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game without any UAC or antivirus on. I've tried rebooting. I've tried letting it sit for a while to see if anything happens. I tried re-downloading the game using the GOG downloader (which hurts, since I have a 20GB/month download limit). All of this gave the same result.
I don't know if it's a hardware problem. I'm using a brand new Lenovo Thinkpad W500, so I know that I meet all of the system specs, but perhaps the video card is incompatible or something? I've updated all of the drivers and Windows. The system specs are attached. I added a note about the video card to them under the "Display Devices" section.
This is the first game I've downloaded from GOG.com, so I don't know if it's a problem with any other games or isolated to this one.
I really hope there is a solution to this, since I like the philosophy behind GOG and I want to support it.
Thank you.
I won't post the full DxDiag file here, but my basic system specs are:
Thinkpad W500
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, T9600, 2.8GHz
Memory: 3GB
Video card: This is a little confusing, but the computer lists my video card as an ATI Mobility HD 3650 with 512MB DDR3 memory, but according to Lenovo it's actually a FireGL V5700. (The two have the same basic architecture, but are configured slightly differently.) Also, the system has a second, integrated graphics chip with switchable graphics. The second one is an Intel GMA 4500MHD. I generally use the ATI card, but the same problems happen in both chips.
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium, SP1, 32-bit
Has anybody else had this problem? Does anybody know how to fix it?
Thanks.
(edit 1: my internet crapped out half-way through posting and only half was posted)
(edit 2: typo)

Udpate: I've downloaded and installed "Giants: Citizen Kabuto" and it runs without any problems. I've also tried installing "Soldiers" using the "Run as Administrator" command, but it still has the same problem.

I will try and install it on my XP pc later today, I'll have an update in a few hours.

Are you still having trouble?
Have you tried disabling Aero?
Tried any of the Compatiablity Modes by right-clicking on the shortcut/executable?
Does disabling the iGPU help at all (in BIOS or Computer Management)?
Unless I have a system that repros, it's kinda hard to debug.
Hope something works for you.

Ya, the game still doesn't work. I have tried a bunch of things, including:
- everything I mentioned in the above posts (reinstalling, running as administrator, etc.)
- testing all of the different compatibility modes
- disabling Aero
- checking to see if I can run the in-game videos and music directly from the install directory (no problems)
- going to the /profiles/player/options file and, one thing at a time, changing:
---- "showintro" to 0 (default was 1),
---- "maxFPS" to 60 (default was 6),
---- "refresh" to 60, my monitor's native refresh rate (default was 75), and
---- "Mode" to 1920x1200, my monitor's native resolution (defualt was 1024x768).
---- I also tried doing all of these at once.
- replacing the intro videos with empty files of the same name
None of these things had any impact whatsoever.
I haven't tried running with purely my dedicated GPU, since that would require me to install different drivers which I don't feel like bothering with, since I really like the switchable graphics. That being said, I haven't had any problems with any other program that uses 3D graphics acceleration. Also note that the computer doesn't run in any kind of hybrid mode using both chips at once, it simply runs one at a time and allows you to switch between them manually, but without needing to log out or reboot.
I do have another question for people who have it working though. Can you compare your install directory and tell me if it is the same as what I have listed below? (Don't bother reproducing yours, a simple yes or no will suffice.)
C:/Program Files/GOG.com/Soldiers - Heroes of World War II
---- profiles/
------- player/
---------- save/(empty)
---------- keys
---------- options
---------- settings
------- lastuser
---- Resource/
------- interface/
---------- PAGES/
------------- CREDITS/
---------------- logo_1c.bmp
---------------- logo_1c.ebm
------------- splash.bmp
------- music/
---------- allied/
------------- berlin_scripts/(24 tracks)
------------- fau_scripts/(40 tracks)
------------- (19 tracks)
---------- bonus/(8 tracks)
---------- german/
------------- hunter_scripts/(20 tracks)
------------- (19 tracks)
---------- russian/
------------- katyusha_scripts/(32 tracks)
------------- (19 tracks)
---------- creditstrack.wma
------- Patch/
---------- 1.pat
---------- 2.pat
---------- 3.pat
------- video/
---------- berlin/(5 videos)
---------- bonus/(empty)
---------- campaign/intro/(4 videos without sound)
---------- fau/(6 videos)
---------- intro/(4 videos)
---------- katusha/(5 videos)
------- training/(empty)
------- villers/(5 videos)
---- expansion.pak
---- game.pak
---- gfw_high.ico (note that I can't open this file)
---- innosetup_license.txt
---- License agreement.doc
---- localize.pak
---- Manual.pdf
---- MD5_MIT_license.txt
---- readme.txt
---- readme_editor.txt
---- Soldiers.exe
---- Soldiers.ico
---- soldiers.log
---- soldiers_editor.exe
---- start_editor.bat
---- unins000.dat
---- unins000.exe
---- unins000.ini
I guess the main thing I'm curious about is whether or not there is anything else in the /Resource/interface/ folder and whether there is anything else that suggests things like maps, vehicles, etc. The only things in my directory that may contain those are the files "game.pak" and "expansion.pak".
Thanks for trying to help me out.

I installed the game using the huge install file, so it could explain the couple differences in my folder.
The tree is same, but the main directory also contains:
- dxva_sig.txt [Some sort of DirectX Video Acceleration debug/log file?]
- gog.exe [Validates the install? Stays in memory and does nothing from what I can tell. Doesn't run when I run Soldiers.]
I don't have:
- gfw_high.ico
- MD5_MIT_license.txt
What does the log file say?

Hmm.. this is interesting. I could have sworn I looked at the log file before and it only listed the first four lines, but now it has this:
Looks like the file "/at/startup.at" may be the culprit.
I'll pass this on to the support people to see if they can figure it out.
By the way, the file "MD5_MIT_license.txt" is just some generic license file that doesn't even have basic information filled in (like the name and year) so I wouldn't worry about that.
Thanks for your suggestion

Here's my log file.
F:GamesSoldiers - Heroes of World War IISoldiers.exe
Soldiers: Heroes Of World War II, ver 1.28.3E [09.11.2008, 11:47]
Total video memory reported: 760217600
Local video memory detected: 506986496
7 > exec "log.at"
file not found ('/at/startup.at')
User : player
[00:00:02] No sounds in "/sound/talks/german/assessment_explosion" directory (/set/sound.set/sound/human_talk.inc, 7)
[00:00:05] media file '/video/intro/1_codemasters.wmv' not found (edevicemedia.cpp, 571)
[00:00:05] media file '/video/intro/2_1c.wmv' not found (edevicemedia.cpp, 571)
[00:00:05] media file '/video/intro/3_bw.wmv' not found (edevicemedia.cpp, 571)
[00:00:05] media file '/video/intro/4_nv.wmv' not found (edevicemedia.cpp, 571)
[00:00:06] No sounds in "/sound/talks/german/assessment_explosion" directory (/set/sound.set/sound/human_talk.inc, 7)
Map: background/scene-1
Mission: background/scene-1:1
-----
I cut out the videos so the game would load up faster, but even before I did that, the game still loaded.
But looks like the game doesn't load the map. When the game starts, it loads an ingame level which just rotates around a busted up Tiger tank.
The build date is also different, but the version is the same. [edit: n/m, that's run date. day, month, year].
Sorry, I'm at a complete loss. The install looks fine.

Damn, I thought we were onto something. I guess not.
I tried redownloading and installing the game again. I discovered something new. The /profiles/ folder and the "soldiers.log" file are only created when the game is run as administrator. I don't know if that means much - it's possible that they simply weren't created because the program couldn't create files in the /Program Files/ folder without administrator privileges.
I tried removing the video files from the folder to see if the log file said anything about not finding them like in yours. Nope. So that suggests to me that something is getting hung up between [00:00:02] and [00:00:05].
I'm about ready to give up on this game unless somebody suddenly comes through with a solution. I simply can't think of anything else to try.
Thanks for trying to help me out anyway.
Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I tried finding a video driver for my discrete GPU alone (i.e. without the switchable graphics option), apparently it doesn't exist. Neither the ATI site nor the Lenovo site have one listed, and nothing came up with an internet search. So basically I can't fully disable my integrated chip.

I'd like to post that this is the exact same problem I'm having. We really need help on this one, especially we spent money.

I emailed support about this issue since I was having the same problem. Apparently my audio device was the problem as disabling it let the game launch and play like normal. Messiah also did the same thing. Hopefully, GoG can find a workaround besides turning off the audio.

Anybody found a way to make it work? I have the exact same problem... Anybody heard from GOG support?
I'm waiting for them to return my mail.

WHAT KIND OF FILE THE GAME DOWNLOADED....HELP PLEASE

My game screwed up after I tried install some mods (description-edit: crashed by non-identified error after splash-screens and loader. I heard the sound and music, but screen was black and only error notification with "OK").
Now I looked in the Compatibility-tab in shortcut's options and there was compatibility for Win98 / WinME option checked.
I clicked "Chance settings for all users" -button and change that option to WinXP SP3, plus checked "Disable visual themes" and "Run this program as admin". Now it works again.
I tried to configure options-file by hand (as mentioned in these topics), but when I clicked Options ingame, the game crashed as before. Restoring old, not hand-modified files in profile folder corrected the problem.
Haven't tried yet with mods again, I really would like to use some of them..
Hope this helps someone.
edit: looks like mods also work now.