Ghost Recon - Desert Siege
A few more words from the author...
Again, I've included the text of the briefings because
I believe it provides useful information and sets the
tone of the missions. Squad members from a previous
Stealth at mission each earn a Combat Point and I like
to keep least one point ahead of Weapon, ignoring
Endurance and Leadership altogether. Why? Because the
point of this walkthrough is that no one gets hurt --
no body bags or Purple Hearts. My choice of platoon
members in both Ghost Recon and Desert Siege is based
strictly on the initial Combat Points of each soldier.
Feel free, however, to choose whomever you like.
Specialist Jodit Haile joins the platoon in Mission 6.
Her character may very well be based on Jodit Jemahe,
who was wounded and lost her sight in 1990 while
fighting in Massawa, Eritrea.
March 30, 2003
Jedi Writer (aka Ed Hassler)
jedi_writer@macmail.com
Copyright (c) 2003
All rights reserved.
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DS MISSION 01 - BURNING SANDS
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Samhar Awraja, Eritrea
May 16, 2009
03:00
=Briefing=
"This is the Horn of Africa, gentlemen. I hope you like it, because we're going
to be here a while.
"This is our situation: We're going in as part of a multinational force
operating at the request of the Eritrean government. It seems that one of the
ways our friends back in Russia bankrolled their coup was selling surplus
weapons, cheap. A faction of the Ethiopian military led by a certain Col.
Tesfaye Wolde was one of their best customers. Once they got their arms, Wolde
and his supporters made their move, overthrowing the legitimate government and
then making a push for the Red Sea coast. Right now they own everything on the
water south of Massawa, and they're rolling up the Eritrean army as they head
north. We're here to do something about that.
"In order to leave some kind of infrastructure intact, the Eritrean government
has also requested that we try to preserve as much of the local architecture as
possible. That means that your unit is going to be getting a lot of work. Your
first mission is to secure a radio transmitter on the beach north of Massawa.
The beach is guarded lightly, but the approach up the bluffs that the station's
sitting on is another story. Clear the beach first, then work your way up to the
heights and take that transmitter. Once that's in hand, clear out the machine
gun nests guarding the beach approaches. If you can, clear the area of all
hostiles. The troops following you will appreciate it."
=Objectives=
1 - Eliminate Beach Encampment
2 - Neutralize Machine Guns
3 - Secure Area Around Radio Tower
X - Eliminate Main Tent Camp
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Wong, Homes, Kline
BRAVO: Fuentes, Port
CHARLIE: Turner
=Notes=
Charlie packs sniper kit 2 with an M9SD.
BEACH ENCAMPMENT
Switch to Charlie, activate night vision, and set a waypoint for both Alpha and
Bravo on the west side of the small rock on the beach to the NE. Run north, past
them, to the rock cliff, crouch, follow it a short distance to the point where
the cliff angles east, and locate and shoot the two enemy standing to the left
of the north tent -- if you don't see them, start taking out the ones standing
by the campfire. When they return fire, hit the sand and wait for them to appear.
When all six are down and objective one is complete, head south halfway to Alpha
and Bravo's rock (to get on slightly higher ground), crouch, and wait for three
more to come down the East Approach and into view. If no one shows up, send
Alpha behind the large rock to the east. Easy.
MACHINE GUNS
Put Alpha and Bravo by the campfire, if you wish, so they can dry their boots.
Run west along the shore, crouch as you near the West Approach such that you can
see both walls of the ravine, go prone as you near the level grade of the palms,
and take out the west machine gunner at the top and the accompanying three
hostiles from right to left. If you don't get all three, they'll sneak down
either side of the ravine, so move high enough on your grade to have a clear
view of its entrance. Next crawl sideways to your right, if necessary, just out
of sight of the east machine gunner and take out three more -- they, too, will
try to sneak down the side of the ravine. Crawl sideways to the west and shoot
the east machine gunner to complete objective two. Too easy.
MAIN TENT CAMP
Head up the west wall of the West Approach ravine, go prone and poke your head
over at the top, then pick off the six enemy to the north by the tent camp. A
seventh, hidden by a rock below the watchtower, tries to sneak up. Move to your
left, if necessary, and shoot the eighth in the tower to complete the optional
objective. Way too easy.
RADIO TOWER
Hike up to the north side of the large rock NE of the tent camp, go prone as you
approach the valley to the east, and pick off the four hostiles next to the
radio tower building. If you don't see them, they'll soon come into view as they
circle it clockwise. Move north a short distance to the mountainside and find
and kill a fifth on the roof. Run down to the SW corner of the low cut stone
wall enclosing the radio tower complex, couch, and find a sixth in the open
doorway of the shed in the SE corner of the complex. Continue east along the
wall about 15 meters until you spot the small building east of and overlooking
the complex and shoot three more. If you don't get all of them, retrace your
steps, stay couched behind the west wall, and pick them off as they head for the
shed or as appear from behind it.
Move north along the west wall, to the second breach, then head NE for the shed
between you and the radio tower building, step around its NW corner and find the
top of the head of another enemy in a room through the far lighted window of the
radio tower building. He's crouched, and if you can't see him even when you're
standing, continue to the open stairway on the west side, go up, open the door,
enter, stay crouched, pull out your sidearm, find the interior stairway down,
descend, and nail him around to the right with a leisurely head shot.
Head back to the building (house?) in the SW corner of the complex, open the
back door (the one on the north side), and kill the remaining enemy with another
sidearm slug to the head to end the mission.
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DS MISSION 02 - FLAME PILLAR
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Massawa, Eritrea
May 23, 2009
11:00
=Briefing=
"It looks like we have a rush job on our hands. We're making good progress in
the push for Massawa itself, but the Ethiopian forces have adopted a scorched-
earth policy as they fall back. Their latest target is the refinery complex just
outside the city, one which Eritrea desperately needs intact. Recon reports that
the Ethiopians have already leveled part of it, however, and they're in the
process of planting the charges that will destroy the rest. We can't allow that
to happen.
"You'll be approaching the refinery from the south. Move in, secure it, and deal
with the squad planting the demo charges. We've also heard that some members of
the refinery staff were taken hostage, back when the invaders thought they were
going to be operating the refinery themselves and needed expertise on hand. Find
the survivors still being held hostage and extract them along the rail line that
links the complex to the main track grid. Again, if you can, eliminate all of
the enemy forces on site. However, rescuing the hostages and the refinery is
more important."
=Objectives=
1 - Eliminate Explosives Squad
2 - Rescue Captive Workers
3 - Reach Extraction Zone
X - Eliminate All Enemy Units
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes
BRAVO: Kline, Fuentes
CHARLIE: Turner
=Notes=
Cohen joins Alpha; Kline moves to Bravo replacing Port. Specialist Lindy Cohen
is back -- this time to lead the platoon. Gentlemen, I expect you to accord her
the utmost respect.
Nine minutes after the mission begins, the Ethiopians blow up the refinery and
the mission fails. We have plenty of time to save it.
ROAD TO THE REFINERY
Switch to Charlie, crouch, move NW along the long low rock by the river, stop
where the rock angles to the west, and go prone facing north. In your scope
you'll see a lone tree, rocks on either side, and four enemy -- pick them off
from left to right and try to prevent any from taking cover behind the rock on
the left. If two are behind the rock on the left, wait until they walk toward
the tree. After twenty seconds from your first shot, cease fire and wait a few
more seconds for a jeep to come into view from behind the rock on the right --
if you fire as it comes into view, its occupants are alerted to our presence.
Scenario One
If the gunner in the back of the moving vehicle is facing east, they don't know
Charlie's position: wait until it comes to a halt, shoot the gunner, then the
driver as he jumps out and either runs for cover or tries to pull a grenade out
of his pocket. (Or go for the trick two-for-one shot: put a slug in the upper
right of the driver's head and into the gunner's upper body.)
Scenario Two
If the gunner is pointing his weapon at you, they know where you are: take him
out first as they approach, then the driver as he jumps out. Eliminate any of
the four on foot you may have previously missed.
Crouch, move west, face north when you come to the low rock, continue
sidestepping west, zoom scope, and find the head of the enemy to the right of
large rock to the NE.
THE REFINERY
Run NE to the wall of the refinery, step in and quickly step out of the doorway
with the open chain link door, move west along the wall halfway to the chain
link section, stop, and do not move. Shortly thereafter, your threat indicator
glows as four enemy in various parts of the refinery sense the intrusion, rush
to investigate, and seeing and hearing nothing, pass from east to west in the
alley on the other side of the wall, then head north to a gate in the NW corner
of the refinery complex. It is imperative that you do not move as they pass
UNLESS you shuffle (move slowly and silently), otherwise they may hear you and...
well, I don't even want to talk about it. If you dare, peek through the chain
link section of the wall and watch them leave or play it safe and wait until
your threat indicator signals their departure.
Once they're gone, mount your M9SD, head through the open door (you can run
again), head east then north between the buildings (a building with three large
plate glass windows is to your right), east again between the building and the
low twin pipelines to your left, follow the pipelines north, and stop where they
end. Crouch, head east around the building to your right, move toward the two
large storage tanks, shuffle silently when you reach the first tank, continue
east, and notice the large electrical transformer box between the tanks. The
enemy demo guy is happily whistling and humming to himself while planting a
charge on the east side of the box -- sneak up and put a silent slug in his head.
Objective one is complete.
Silently continue east and head for the near end of the three small tanks lined
up north-south. Move south along the west side of them, stop between the second
and third, and wait a few moments for two guards to appear in front of you,
heading left to right. They don't know where you are but seem to sense something
is wrong and may appear singly or one behind the other. Confirm their suspicions
with quick shots to the head -- very quick shots if they're together. Head back
between the two large tanks, step over the demo guy's corpse, and make for the
small trailer-like building to the NW -- a third guard stands outside at its NW
corner. Crouch with your back to the air-conditioning unit and wait for him to
investigate.
Head back between the two large tanks, run south toward the large partially open
double doors, turn west past the doorway though which you entered, crouch, and
move along the chain link fence toward another transformer box. Keep your back
against the small section of the fence running east-west, zoom scope, sidestep
west until you see the head of one of the four enemy you evaded earlier at the
end of the alley, shoot, and immediately run east for cover behind the corner of
the familiar building with the three large plate glass windows, turn around, and
go prone facing the pipeline walkover ramp. Wait for the three remaining enemy
to follow, then pick them off as they cross the ramp.
Return to the chain link fence, find the open doorway in the main west wall of
the refinery complex, go prone inside the doorway, locate the patrol of three up
the hill to the SW, and pick them off. When they're down, crouch, move outside
to the end of the low rock pipeline support on your right, wait for a pickup
truck to appear near the gate to the north, shoot the driver first, then the two
gunners in the truck bed.
ON TO THE DEPOT
Three enemy guard the near ravine leading to the extraction zone: head toward
the pickup, locate them to the west, go prone with an unobstructed view, and
take them out. Head to the top of the ridge between the pipelines and the road,
advance until you spot a patrol of two far in the distance, kill them both, then
head for the now unguarded ravine. Proceed to the railroad tracks, go prone
facing south on the tracks in front of the derailed tanker car, wait if
necessary for another patrol of two circling the loading shed at the end of the
tracks, and pick them off. In a few moments, a third will appear from behind the
end of the rocky ridge ahead on the left.
Take a stroll down to the end of the tracks, around the right side of the
concrete bumper, go prone facing east when you get to the wall, and crawl along
the wall until you see the machine gunner in the bunker. Shoot him and wait for
a guard to come to investigate from the large depot building ahead on the left -
- he may disappear for a moment so wait patiently until he comes back into view.
Head around the NW corner of the depot building, fire a shot through the open
overhead door into the far wall to distract the remaining enemy guarding the
hostages, hoof it counterclockwise around the building, go in the door near the
bunker, crouch, and shoot the unsuspecting guard through the large window on
your right. The hostages are, of course, saved and the mission ends.
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DS MISSION 03 - COLD STEAM
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Southern Denakil Awraja, Eritrea
May 29, 2009
15:30
=Briefing=
"The invasion force is bringing in most of its supplies by rail. Our next goal
is to put a stop to that. The first step is going to be seizing a depot along
the main rail line that runs to Djibouti. Normally we'd just take it out with
air strikes, but they've parked a SAM launcher on the heights above the depot,
and that needs to be taken out before we can send in the flyboys. We have gotten
some satellite reconnaissance that tells us there's a tent encampment near the
SAM site. You need to clear that out as well, otherwise taking out either the
SAM launcher or the railroad depot is going to be tricky.
"The final objective is the depot building. Take it as quickly as possible -- we
believe that there's important intel in there relating to the supply lines for
the Ethiopian troops. They're sure to try to destroy it once they realize what's
going on."
=Objectives=
1 - Eliminate Mobile SAM Launcher
2 - Neutralize Tent Camp
3 - Secure Depot Buildings
X - Capture Intelligence Items
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes
BRAVO: Johnson, Fuentes
CHARLIE: Turner
=Notes=
Johnson replaces Kline in Bravo and packs demo kit 2 with anti-tank rockets.
CLEAR THE FIELD BELOW THE INSERTION ZONE
Time is of the essence in first part of this mission -- the enemy may, for no
apparent reason, foil our attempt to capture the intelligence items -- so make
sure everyone hustles. Set a waypoint for Charlie south to the cover of the west
end of the long low rock. Move Alpha to the pass at the east end of the same
rock, crouch, head down sideways facing west, hit the dirt when you see all
three enemy in the field (who are walking away and don't notice your presence),
take out the one in the middle, then the others. Move back up the hill, position
Alpha prone two meters from the edge of the slope such that everyone is to the
right of the tree, and order Alpha to hold. Switch to Charlie, crouch, and find
a prone position near the perimeter wall such that you have a clear view of the
field below and the pass leading up to the SAM site (not the rocky trail) -- the
idea is to be as far away from the SAM site as possible. After a minute or so, a
patrol of four strolls through the pass created by the long low rock farther SW
and the point of the perimeter cliff to its north (we'll call this "point A" for
future reference) and walks SE along the far low rock toward the SAM pass. Wait
until Alpha opens fire, then help pick off the others.
THE DEPOT AREA
First order of business is to capture the intelligence items. Order Alpha to
advance and set a waypoint to your position, then SE along the cliff to point A.
Crouch, hook around through the pass, head NW hugging the cliff, and from the
cover of the end of the last low rock, locate the guard shack below next to the
rail spur -- the guard standing outside is drinking, so you don't have to worry
about being spotted. Scope along the main tracks for signs of movement -- an
enemy patrol of four may circle counterclockwise around the depot buildings and
the storage tanks to the north.
Scenario 1
If after a thorough scan you don't see the patrol, shoot the guard outside the
shack, then the other inside. Order Charlie on recon, switch to Alpha, order
Alpha on recon and advance at all costs (AAAC), crouch, and follow Charlie's
route but continue hugging the cliff all the way to a small triangular area due
east of the northernmost storage tank: you'll know it when you get there -- a
natural bunker that slopes back toward the cliff. Set waypoints along the cliff
to this spot for Charlie. Continue NW hugging the cliff, cross west over the
tracks at the railroad tunnel, then south to the electrical transformer box
north of the storage tank. Switch to Charlie momentarily (who by now should have
arrived at the natural bunker), crouch, and scope the depot buildings for any
signs of the patrol, but ignore the patrol of three in the east side of the
maintenance building. Switch to Alpha, head south along the west side of the
storage tanks, onto the west porch of the north depot building, south to the
other end of the porch, then across the alley to the porch of the south depot
building. Pause while the rest of the squad catches up, then head east along the
north porch. Pause again at the door so the platoon follows in your footsteps,
open the door and go in, turn right and move along the north wall just beyond
the loft above until you're notified that the intelligence items have been
captured (completing the optional objective). Move back under the loft and head
along the east wall by the barrels: don't worry if the three hostiles in the
loft shout and stop whistling, they won't come down the stairs. Order Alpha to
engage and hold.
Switch to Charlie, order Charlie to engage, and scope between the rail cars and
the south depot building for the patrol of four. You should see either two
hostiles standing on the far side of the rail cars, or one, barely visible,
beyond the porch -- shoot whomever you find. (If you see no one, move NW along
the cliff until you do. Shoot as many as you can, then quickly move back to the
cover of the natural bunker.) The survivors advance toward you and shortly
thereafter three guards also advance along the outside west wall of the
maintenance building, so you're gonna have your hands full. Beware of one of the
foursome who may crawl across the tracks and sneak toward you using the guard
shack for cover -- he's hard to spot, so you may want to occasionally check the
map and move from side to side. To make matters even more interesting, three
enemy from the loft of the north depot building emerge one-by-one though the
north door. If you take out the first one soon enough, the others may not follow,
but we'll deal with them later. Finally, turn your attention to the three in the
east side of the maintenance building.
Switch to Alpha, retrace your steps to the spot at which you captured the
intelligence items, face the corner with the stairs, back up along the wall
almost to the stacked crates, and send a round from the GL end of your OICW into
the ceiling above the loft about 4 meters from the south wall to eliminate the
three guards standing directly below. If Charlie didn't get all three in the
north depot building, order Alpha to advance and head on over to its south door
and finish them off to complete objective three.
Scenario 2
This is a bit trickier. If you see the patrol walking north along the tracks,
order Alpha on recon and AAAC and set waypoints for them along the cliff such
that they will arrive just behind you. When the patrol nears the north storage
tank, eliminate the two guards in the shack, then order Charlie on recon. Switch
to Alpha and follow the same procedures as described in Scenario 1 until you
arrive at the transformer box. The difference now is that the patrol of four
will be on the move in front of you and will circle around back to the storage
tanks -- and you don't want to be caught staring at each other in the alley
between the buildings. Watch the patrol from the cover of the north storage tank
and when they round the south depot, continue down the west porches of both
depots. Carefully peek around the corner of the south depot to make sure they're
out of sight before opening the south door. (If one of your squad is straggling,
you may want to quickly switch to that soldier and help him get the lead out of
his pants. Also helpful is briefly switching to Charlie to find out exactly
where the foursome is, then order Charlie to hold.) Stay crouched, go in the
south door, and head for the east wall by the barrels -- the enemy in the loft
are close enough to the wall that they don't see you. Retrieve the intelligence
items as described above, then follow the walls back and take up a position in
the SE corner of the building. Push the other two in your squad against the
south wall so that the open doorway is visible to no one. Order Alpha to engage
and hold.
Switch to Charlie, and if there's time, start taking out the foursome as they
head north along the tracks; otherwise, wait until they arrive at the
transformer box at the north end of the storage tanks. The only difference is
that now Charlie needs to be prone having lost the benefit of the cover of the
natural bunker. While you're waiting, find a comfortable prone position such
that you can swing your rifle west to the transformer then south and clearly see
the enemy advancing from the west side of maintenance building.
The remainder of the action leading to completion of objective three plays out
the same except that the three guards in the north depot building may decide to
head out the south door to see what's going on in the south building and Alpha
will be waiting for them. Or they may head out the south door and try to sneak
up on you using the guard shack as cover. Likewise, the threesome outside the
west wall of the maintenance building may not make a frontal assault, but may
try to sneak up on you in the cover of the rail cars and the guard shack. Lastly,
once Alpha dispatches the three enemy in the loft of the south depot and you're
not notified that objective three is complete, one of the enemy may have become
stuck crawling under one of the rail cars -- he's no threat in this obsessive
condition and easy to find. This last oddity may also happen in the other
scenarios.
Scenario 3
If Charlie sees the foursome somewhere between the south depot building and the
storage tanks and they've come to a halt, order Charlie on recon and hold.
Switch to Alpha, order Alpha on recon and AAAC, head SE toward the large rock
formation separating the SAM site hill, then follow it down to its SW tip
(you'll be heading toward the tent camp). Cross the dirt road to the other large
rock formation to the west and watch the movement of the three enemy in the west
side of the maintenance building (ignore the ones in the east side). Wait until
they circle clockwise outside the building and disappear around the north end,
then head west along the cliff and cross the railroad tracks to the west
perimeter. Head north along the perimeter until you get to the paved road, then
scope north to see if the original foursome has arrived. If so, wait until they
disappear between the depot and the large rock to its south, then head for the
south door and proceed to the intelligence items as described above.
Switch back to Charlie. If the foursome has not moved, shoot the two guards in
the shack, shoot the foursome, then run like hell to the natural bunker and
start taking out the three hostiles advancing from the maintenance building --
they may have climbed up to your previous position, so beware of an attack from
the high ground to the SE.
THE SAM SITE
You may have noticed at the south end of the railroad tracks that there's a
rocky trail leading directly up to the tent camp. While it's possible to attack
and neutralize the camp from this approach, the fighting is up close and
personal and may result in casualties. I chose, as usual, the safe plan.
Switch to Charlie, order all squads to engage and AAAC, and set waypoints for
Alpha back to point A (remember point A?), then NE above the familiar long low
rock south of the insertion zone, east along the rock, and position them at the
familiar pass so that Cohen in crouched against the left side of the lone tree.
Make your way to the same rock, but stay on its southern side and stop halfway
across. Scope up through the pass to the SAM site, find the silhouette of the
fixed machine gunner in the bunker, and send him a long distance head shot. Now
-- we've all been waiting for this -- climb up the rocky trail to the SAM site,
crawl to the top, and take out the three dumbfounded guards. If some escape,
crawl backwards down the trail a few meters and wait -- one may circle around
the rock north of the SAM site and try to sneak up on you from either end of the
trail, but Alpha has you covered either way. If one does manage to sneak up to
the top of your trail, put a 9mm slug between his eyes when his head appears.
Set waypoints for Alpha and Bravo to the SAM site, switch to Bravo, and destroy
the mobile missile launcher to complete objective one.
THE TENT CAMP
Three enemy patrol counterclockwise around the camp and two more stand guard
near the rocky pass leading down to the railroad tracks. We have the high ground
and, except for the haze, an unobstructed view. You decide. Well, I can't resist
a suggestion: Johnson has two more perfectly good rockets. Nuff said.
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DS MISSION 04 - QUIET ANGEL
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Tigray Kilil, Ethiopia
June 4, 2009
16:00
=Briefing=
"This one's a little different, gentlemen. We've been tapped to do a good deed.
As you may know, the coup in Addis Ababa coincided with the worst droughts
they've had in twenty years. The pictures aren't making the news back home, but
rest assured that there are a lot of starving people in the interior, on both
sides of the border. Making it worse, local warlords with ties to the new
government have taken to hijacking the relief trucks and stealing or destroying
their contents.
"As a result, a coalition of international relief agencies has asked for
military escorts for supply caravans heading for the refugee camps. You'll be
handling the first run. You'll be escorting a small convoy of four trucks to the
refugee camp near the western edge of the Denakil desert -- territory that's
technically across the Ethiopian border. Furthermore, we've spotted a band of
Ethiopian irregulars sitting across the logical route to the camp. They're most
likely going to try to disable the trucks and make off with the supplies.
Preventing that is your mission. Making sure they don't ever bother anyone else
would be a bonus.
"The route the convoy will be taking moves through an old riverbed, a perfect
ambush point. Make sure all of the trucks make it through in one piece. Get up
to the high ground and take out any of the patrols with rocket launchers who are
waiting to poach those supplies. If you can wipe out the entire enemy force, so
much the better, but the most important thing is to get those trucks through the
riverbed in one piece."
=Objectives=
1 - Secure Rocket Launcher Site 1
2 - Secure Rocket Launcher Site 2
3 - Defend All Friendly Trucks
X - Eliminate All Enemy Units
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes
BRAVO: Munz, Fuentes
CHARLIE: Ibrahim
=Notes=
Munz joins Bravo replacing Johnson; Ibrahim replaces Turner in Charlie.
As soon as the mission begins the convoy starts rolling and if everyone hustles,
we can be on those trucks and outta here in about ten minutes. The riverbed road
meanders in the shape of the letter S from the NE to the SW corners of the
perimeter. For the purpose of describing a location, consider the east-west
sections of the road as three parts -- north, middle, and south.
NW ROCKET SITE
Switch to Bravo and set a waypoint for Charlie up the rocky trail north of the
insertion zone, then west on the ridge to the three small rocks. Set a series of
three waypoints for Alpha: up the rocky trail south of the insertion zone, then
west on the middle section of road to the west tip of the long cliff that forms
the south edge of the road, then east up the trail between the cliff and the
rock formation to the entrance of the first trail leading south. As Bravo, take
the first leg of Alpha's path, then head west to the tip of the rock formation
east of the NW rocket site, crouch, continue counterclockwise to the east side
of the first boulder, go prone, and notice the five enemy walking down the short
pass on the other side the road. Crawl ahead far enough to see the road, wait
until they descend, then mow them down with Munz's MG3 from far to near, right
to left -- they try to run back up the pass. When they're down, rise to a crouch.
(Optionally, use Fuentes and take them all out at once with a rocket-powered
grenade.)
Switch to Charlie, crouch, move west beyond the three small boulders, take out
any survivors (you'll see their heads), then swing your sights to the NW rocket
site on the ridge across the road and take out the enemy rocket guy thus
completing objective one. Run west along the ridge, go prone at the edge of the
cliff just beyond the pass, and find the fixed machine gunner against the cliff,
down on the road, west of the rocket site. Stay prone, locate five more hostiles
on the rocket site, and pick them off -- if you don't count a total of six
corpses, crouch and move farther west along the ridge. If you still can't locate
them, switch to Bravo, continue toward the rock formation, and finish them off.*
Another possibility is that they may try to advance toward Bravo -- take them
out or let Bravo do it.
*Note: If you switched to Bravo to eliminate the last of the six enemy on the NW
rocket site, set the waypoints now for Charlie, as described below, to save time.
Switch to Alpha, order all squads to advance, and set a series of waypoints for
Charlie back to the insertion zone, up the rocky trail to the south, then
counterclockwise around the perimeter to the east end of the ridge overlooking
the middle section of road where it bends south. Set waypoints for Bravo down to
the middle section of the road and park them on the south side in the gentle
indentation of the cliff about two thirds its length to the east. If Bravo and
Charlie eliminated the twelve hostiles without undue delay, Alpha should see the
convoy down on the road rounding the corner and approaching from the west. This
is good -- we're ahead of schedule.
SE ROCKET SITE
As soon as Charlie announces that he has arrived at his destination (or take
over sooner if you wish), switch to Charlie, go prone at the easternmost edge of
the ridge, and shoot the patrol of three down on the road to the south, under
the demolished bridge. Scope the pass at the eastern end of the distant ridge to
the south and shoot the rocket-toting enemy standing at the SE rocket site to
complete objective two. Run west to within about six meters of the other end
your short ridge (Bravo can be seen down on the road, slightly to the west), go
prone facing south, and notice the demolished building through the trail on the
ridge across the road: if you see enemy within, hold your fire. Likewise, if you
see more enemy on the distant SE rocket site ridge to the south, do not disturb
them yet.
DOMED TOWER
Switch to Alpha, crouch, hug the rock formation to your left while heading south
through the short trail. Look around the corner, scope to the left of the partly
demolished domed tower for enemy near the same demolished building Charlie is
watching, but before you mow them down, wait for the fixed machine gunner within
the base of the domed tower to reveal part of his body and shoot him first.
Immediately switch to Charlie, scope the demolished building, and take out any
hostiles hiding within. After switching to Bravo in the next maneuver, Alpha
should be able to handle any survivors -- there are a total of six including the
fixed machine gunner in these ruins. (Note: Although rocket-powered grenades are
effective in clearing the ruins including the machine gunner in the tower, using
them usually alerts the enemy patrol on the south section of road as described
below.)
END GAME
Switch to Fuentes in Bravo (the convoy should be nearby), order Bravo on recon,
run east on the road, follow as it curves south under the demolished bridge,
find the rocky trail on your right, hug the rock to your right as you ascend,
run past the tree to a point about halfway between the tree and the boulder
ahead, crouch, then move south to the edge of the cliff, locate the enemy patrol
of five, and plant a rocket-powered grenade in their midst. The idea is to keep
a safe distance from the cliff's edge so as not to be spotted by the patrol
until you engage them. All that remains is a patrol of five on the southernmost
ridge across the road. When they're down, the optional objective is completed
and the mission ends successfully.
If your rocket-powered grenade is off-target and one or more of the patrol
survives the blast, move north to the latitude of the tree to avoid grenades, go
prone, eliminate all the enemy on the ridge, crouch, move to the edge of the
cliff, and shoot the survivors.
Scenario 1
The remaining patrol is walking east along their ridge. Go prone, order Bravo to
advance, and take them out. Some may run behind the boulders for cover, but they
emerge shortly. Arcing another rocket-powered grenade over the boulders may
bring them out sooner.
Scenario 2
The remaining patrol is nowhere in sight -- they're walking behind the boulders
to the west end of their ridge to intercept the convoy. Switch to Charlie, order
Alpha to advance if they're holding, and set a waypoint for Alpha SW to the top
of the wide pass leading south down to the south section of road. As Charlie,
crouch, move west a few meters to the corner of your ridge, scope the west end
of the distant south ridge, and shoot as many as you see. When Alpha arrives at
their destination, they may take out the remainder. If not, switch to Alpha,
head down onto the road, run west to the narrow pass leading up to the south
ridge, ascend, and finish the job. You can also switch to Charlie again and try
to earn Ibrahim a bronze star.
********************************************************************
DS MISSIION 05 - GAMMA DAWN
********************************************************************
Denakil Desert, Ethiopia
June 11, 2009
23:00
=Briefing=
"We have a potentially delicate situation on our hands. Officially, once
Washington shut down the SR-71, we haven't had a high-speed manned
reconnaissance aircraft. Unofficially, it's called Aurora and one just went down
deep in the heart of the Denakil. We need to destroy the wreckage before the
locals get their hands on it. The last thing we need is for whatever's left of
our classified aircraft to go on the international auction block, with Col.
Wolde banging the gavel.
"The good news is that the region's been blanketed under a sandstorm until
recently. That means that the Ethiopian troops in the area haven't had a chance
to salvage the wreckage. Our best estimate is that there are three significant
chunks of the Aurora left, scattered along the length of a dry riverbed. Find
them and plant charges on each. They'll be detonated 30 seconds after you plant
them, so move quickly.
"You'll also want to take out the Ethiopian outpost nearby. We don't think that
they've managed to salvage anything, but it never hurts to be sure. Take the
site and then get out of there. Return to your insertion zone for pickup.
Assuming the weather stays clear, the choppers will be there in a hurry.
"There's also a small supply dump in the area. If you can take it without too
much risk, do it. Be warned, though -- enemy light armor's been spotted in the
area. It's been immobilized by the storm, but now that the weather's cleared
you're likely to run into it, and sooner rather than later."
=Objectives=
1 - Place Demo Charges at Crash Sites
2 - Secure Enemy Base
3 - Reach Extraction Zone
X - Secure Supply Depot
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes
BRAVO: Tunney, Fuentes
CHARLIE: Ibrahim
=Notes=
Tunney replaces Munz in Bravo and packs demo charges. There's no need to take
two demos on this mission: the enemy's light armor HQ refers to are nothing but
a couple of small pickup trucks or old jeeps. Arguably the easiest mission in
either Ghost Recon or Desert Siege, our lone sniper can move with near impunity
and neutralize all resistance.
CLEAR THE CRASH SITE
Switch to Charlie, activate night vision, run east along the south ridge until
you see the patrol of four in the valley below, go prone, and eliminate them.
Locate the two enemy guarding the 3rd Aurora fragment on the ridge across the
valley and take them out. Retrace your steps, crouch to the right of the bridge,
set waypoints for Bravo east along the ridge, down the steep pass to the valley,
to a point in the valley about halfway between the 1st Aurora fragment and the
bridge: shoot the two enemy running down the slope to the north across the
valley if Alpha doesn't pull the trigger first.
SECURE THE ENEMY BASE
Next stop: the buildings south of the enemy base. Cross the bridge, approach
them through the sand from due south, go prone, and shoot the three enemy
huddled around the burning trash barrel. Run NW to the top of the sand dune due
west of the NW building (you'll be at the west perimeter of the sector), go
prone, shoot the machine gunner in the west guard tower of the enemy base, then
the patrol of three walking back and forth on the main road in front of the base.
Wait prone to see if three more appear from the breach in the south wall of the
compound and shoot them as well; if not, head for the breach in the wall at the
west end of the compound and crouch.
If the second threesome did not come out, they're patrolling counterclockwise
within the compound. If you see them emerge from behind the building with the
lighted windows, wait until they completely circle it before climbing the west
guard tower. Go prone on the top of the tower and notice through the lighted
right hand window of the building the lone gunman walking slowly around the room.
When the patrol of three almost disappears into the darkness to the east, shoot
him first, then the lone guard by the campfire, then the patrol. Descend from
the tower, head for the front of the building, and shoot the guard in the east
guard tower. The remaining hostile in the base is in a room in the back of the
lighted building -- circle it counterclockwise, past the back door, to the first
window on the west side, and shoot him in the far room with your silenced M9 to
complete objective two.
Last stop: the buildings SE of the enemy base. Head SE out the breach in the
south wall for the top of the large sand dune between the two groups of
outbuildings, go prone, and take out a patrol of three on the road behind the
buildings.
DESTROY THE AURORA FRAGMENTS
Although destroying the remains of the Aurora is not necessary to successfully
complete the mission once all resistance has been neutralized, let's do it
anyway. Switch to Tunney in Bravo, plant the demo charges at each of the
fragments, then park Bravo a safe distance from the last one.
ENEMY DEPOT
Scenario 1
Switch to Charlie, run north to the breach in the east wall of the enemy base,
approach the depot from the west, and locate the three guards outside. They walk
from the front of the depot to its west side -- find a position where you can
see them all, go prone, and pick them off. In a few moments, two vehicles
approach from the main road to the east: one parks in front of the depot and the
other circles clockwise around it. Shoot the driver of the moving vehicle as it
circles up behind the building, then the gunner. Crouch, sidestep to your right
toward the main road, go prone, and pick off the two occupants of the parked
vehicle.
Three enemy inside the depot are visible through the window on the west side of
the building -- crouch, zoom scope, and begin circling the depot
counterclockwise until you spot the first, then continue for the second and
third. If you can't find the last one, maintain your distance, circle around to
the east side, and find him through the large window; if he still remains
elusive, continue around to the back door, open it, and put a 9mm slug through
his head to complete the optional objective and successfully complete the
mission.
Note: If the moving vehicle escapes, you'll have to search for it -- try the far
east end of the main road.
Scenario 2
If you're craving some unpredictability, switch to Charlie, run east from the
top of the dune and cross the road leading to the depot -- the vehicles now
appear at any time, one may try to run you over, and one or both speed to the
insertion zone where Alpha promptly takes their keys. Otherwise, you're on your
own.
********************************************************************
DS MISSION 06 - SPECTRE WIND
********************************************************************
Adi K'eyih, Eritrea
June 16, 2009
19:05
=Briefing=
"Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Ashenafi Abate. He's a local strongman who
used to be based out of the area east of Wik'ro. However, he's also an old
friend of Col. Wolde's, and has now set up residence in a ghost town outside of
Adi K'eyih. He and his command are your target.
"As the Ethiopian troops fall back, they're leaving something behind: land mines.
Not only do they slow our advance, it's highly unlikely that we're going to find
and detonate them all, and that means they're going to be providing unpleasant
surprises for the local populace for years to come.
"Your first priority is to recover the maps of the minefields that are being
laid. Abate's in charge of this section of the project, and he's keeping them in
his field HQ in a box canyon northeast of the town. On the opposite end of town
is a motor pool tucked into a junkyard. You'll want to disable all of the
vehicles there as well. Then you get to go after the big prize: Abate himself.
"If Abate's not in the field HQ, he'll be in a house he's commandeered, on a
hill just outside of what's left of the town. He's dug in there, with a trench
network defending it, and his troops are positioned all through the wreckage.
You're going to go in there and drag him out. Once you've got Abate in hand,
head for the pickup point. It's located in the ridges to the south of town."
=Objectives=
1 - Retrieve Map of Minefields
2 - Neutralize Vehicle Pool
3 - Capture Warlord
4 - Reach Extraction Zone
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Homes, Haile
BRAVO: Tunney, Wong
CHARLIE: Ibrahim
=Notes=
Wong moves to Bravo replacing Fuentes; Haile joins Alpha; Tunney packs anti-tank
rockets. Yes, I know gentlemen, Jodit Haile is not much more a kid, but she's
been fighting here since she was twelve years old, knows the terrain like the
back of her hand, packs a wallop with a PKM, and more than anything else wants
peace in her country. You won't regret it.
SECURE THE NORTH RAVINE
As soon as the mission begins, order all squads on recon and advance at all
costs (AAAC), set waypoints for Charlie SE up the steep trail, then east about
ten meters (just beyond the dark shaded portion of the map) into the narrow
ravine along the north perimeter, and set his view arc facing west.
Ignore the enemy down in the west end of the town, run up the same trail, crouch
at the top, and notice the enemy patrol of three, ahead, walking east through
the ravine. Follow them (it's easy to stay relatively close), Charlie announces
that he has arrived, then plant a rocket-powered grenade in their midst as they
reach the bottom. Move down the ravine along the left rock cliff, go prone about
ten meters from the bottom, order all squads on hold and engage, and shoot the
six enemy who approach one-at-a-time, the last three of which appear from around
the rock cliff to the right. Shoot them on sight -- some have grenades.
(Normally all six enemy attack the bottom of the ravine, but Charlie is guarding
the top just in case.)
A jeep drives up and parks west of the HQ compound: if you see it, venture out
of the ravine, go prone, and take out its occupants, driver first, then the
gunner. If not, it's hiding behind the far boulder. Move to the cover of the
near boulder and shoot the guard standing next to the far boulder. If the jeep
still doesn't appear, move back to the ravine and let Charlie snipe them later.
CLEAR THE TOWN
Switch to Charlie, order all squads to advance and engage, climb to the top of
the ravine, locate the patrol of three on the long trail on the ridge to the SW
(they may be down in the area between the ridge and the road), go prone, and
shoot them. Move a few meters SE to the top of the trail leading down to the
town and find and shoot three more patrolling the area between the west end of
the town and the hill of the warlord's villa. Crawl a few meters down the trail
toward the town and shoot the enemy sniper in the lower bunker on the warlord
hill. Scope the far side of the cluster of buildings below, find the jeep, shoot
the driver first, then the gunner.
Crouch, head east on the trail overlooking the town, find the jeep parked by the
enemy HQ, and shoot the driver first, then the gunner. (If you don't see the
vehicle from your current position, it's parked farther north and it's view is
obstructed by the large rock formation to the east.) Continue on the trail, step
sideways facing south as you approach the end of the low rocky wall to your
right, and shoot the driver of the pickup truck parked directly south among the
shacks but do not try for the gunner yet -- at this close range he will see you
and fire first.
Retrace your steps west to the point at which the low rock wall begins, go prone,
and shoot the fixed machine gunner in the upper bunker on the warlord hill.
Three enemy behind and to the right of the bunker stand guarding the warlord's
villa and if you can see one of them through the haze, shoot him and the others
will follow; otherwise, head south down the previous trail (that's where we're
headed regardless) and take them out. Move counterclockwise around the boulder
at the bottom of the trail, then south between the corrugated shack and the
concrete block foundation, go prone facing south, zoom scope, peek around the
far end of the shack, and shoot the gunner in the driverless pickup truck. This
part of the town is now clear, so if the jeep near the enemy HQ was not
previously visible, take it out now -- driver first, then the gunner. If you
like, take out your M9SD and shoot the tires of the vehicles.
WARLORD'S VILLA
Climb up to the west side of the upper bunker on the warlord hill, locate the
bunker on the west side of the hill, crouch, and maneuver into a position where
you can shoot the unsuspecting gunner within. Approach the front windowless wall
of the villa from the NW, step around the corner, and notice two windows: the
guy with the olive drab shirt swaying to the music is Ashenafi Abate, so don't
shoot him. Instead, fire a shot through the left window to break the glass, then
step back behind the wall -- he's armed and will not surrender while he still
has a bodyguard.
Circle the hill clockwise and low enough so as not to be seen from either window,
head for the south tip of the narrow boomerang-shaped rock formation separating
the town, then east to the rusty corrugated shack, and find and shoot the guard
patrolling behind the HQ (if Alpha has not already taken him out). Head south to
the tip of the rock outcropping on the SE perimeter, scope for the remaining
bunker to the left of the warlord's villa, and send him greetings from the USA
Special Forces.
HQ AND MINEFIELD MAP
The only thing now between us and the map is a guard huddled in the NE corner of
the HQ shack -- the building with the antenna on the roof -- and you can do it
several ways: a) Switch to Alpha, go in the door and shoot him; b) Switch to
Alpha, go around behind the HQ, and shoot the glass out of the back window
followed by a grenade; c) As Charlie, move clockwise around the rock outcropping
and shoot him in the head through the south window. Grab the map and objective
one is complete.
CAPTURE THE WARLORD
Order all squads on advance and engage and set waypoints for Alpha and Bravo to
meet at the lower bunker north of the villa. Head for the east side of the villa,
move to its NE, and while it's easier to step to the right and shoot the
bodyguard through the broken window, I chose to creep silently to the window
(shuffle) and pop him in the head with the M9SD. Uh, be sure to kill the guy in
the camo shirt. When he's down, Abate drops his AK-47 and shrugs with a sigh of
resignation.
Open the door, go in and capture Abate by bumping him, and... what the hell...
will you take a look at this. Big screen projection TV, surround sound, major
appliances from Sears. But wait, there's more. Marble countertops, Kohler bath
fixtures, towels from the Holiday Inn. Pass off the fat sweaty warlord to Alpha.
Objective three is complete.
NEUTRALIZE THE VEHICLE POOL
The enemy in the junkyard are expecting us to approach along the trail to the
north, so we're gonna come in from the south. Run SW from the villa, across the
road, to the large rock outcropping west of the extraction zone, and notice the
fixed machine gunner and guard in front of the garage by the junked cars and a
third patrolling directly to the west. Take them out in the order of your choice,
then a fourth who appears from behind the boulder in front of and to the right
of the garage.
Switch to Tunney in Bravo, run to Charlie's position, then straight west (man,
that late afternoon sun is bright) to the high ground south of the vehicle pool,
and destroy the tank to complete objective two and successfully complete the
mission.
********************************************************************
DS MISSION 07 - SUBTLE KEEP
********************************************************************
Akale Guzay Awraja, Eritrea
June 22, 2009
18:00
=Briefing=
"I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we have a re-
formed column of Eritrean infantry advancing along one of the major north-south
roads from Asmara to Adigrat. The bad news is that the Ethiopian commander in
the region is a damn sight more efficient than your friend Abate and has
prepared an unpleasant surprise along their route. He's got a roadblock thrown
up across the route, with his troops dug in on both sides of it and holding a
fortified position on the heights west of the road. Furthermore, he's parked his
men right next to a field hospital, which means you'll be doing this without air
support. The last thing we need is all the cable news networks showing endless
re-runs of us accidentally blowing a hospital to smithereens.
"You need to take that roadblock. To do that, you're going to need to clear out
the trenches on either side of the road leading up the obstruction, and take out
the encampment on the heights as well. If they've got any vehicle support,
neutralize it. Then proceed along the road to the west. Don't worry about
stragglers. The troops coming in behind you will handle the mop-up work."
=Objectives=
1 - Neutralize Roadblock and Snipers
2 - Secure Compound
3 - Neutralize All Enemy Vehicles
4 - Reach Extraction Zone
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Homes, Haile
BRAVO: Wong, Fuentes
CHARLIE: Ibrahim
=Notes=
Fuentes replaces Tunney.
SNIPE THE BUNKERS
Switch to -- who else? -- Charlie and shoot the enemy in the four nearest
elevated bunkers along the road: one on the opposite side and three on your side.
Run east along the cliff to the bunker ridge on your side (we'll call this the
perimeter side) of the road, but crouch as you approach the first of the three
now-vacant bunkers -- they're catching on fast -- and from the cover of its near
end, take out the guard in the distant bunker farther to the south on the other
side (we'll call this the interior side) of the road. As long as we're bunker
hopping, continue SE along the ridge, down to the road, hug the cliff as you
approach the last pair of bunkers on the perimeter side, and take out the enemy
in the near bunker -- the one next door to the south is unoccupied. (The far
bunker on the interior side of the road is unoccupied as well.)
ROADBLOCK AND ENEMY VEHICLES
Kindly disabuse yourself of the notion that it would be fun to get to one of
those bunkers and start picking off the road crew -- Charlie will get creamed.
Ditto for a position on the low north end of the ridge leading to the bunkers.
Instead, go prone facing south in the thin grass in the angle of the cliff just
north of the trail leading to the bunkers on the perimeter side of the road,
wait until most of the nine hostiles congregate in the middle of the road behind
the vehicles and crates, then fire away. Shoot whoever fires back, then pick
them off as they scurry for or emerge from cover. Distance is the sniper's
friend. Two more vehicles drive up from the south and park behind the roadblock
-- a jeep on the left and a pickup truck on the right, the latter blocked from
Charlie's view by the low cliff on the interior side of the road -- so when
there's a lull in the action, take out, as always, the driver of the jeep first,
then the gunner. Scope from side to side or zoom to half power occasionally to
make sure no one is sneaking toward you along either of the cliffs.
Depending on their proximity when Charlie launches his assault, three enemy
patrolling up on the sandy area NW of the roadblock may join the fray. They
descend one of the two short ravines behind the interior side bunkers then the
steep trail leading to the road, so keep an eye in this direction. Be aware also
that they may hear Charlie's shots when neutralizing the pickup truck and the
remaining bunker as described below.
When all is quiet, crouch, move south the twenty meters along your cliff to the
beginning of trail on your left, go prone again, zoom scope and focus on the
bunker across the road, crawl up the trail sideways until the rifle and arms of
the guard within are visible, then quickly peek left and take him out with a
surprise head shot to complete objective one. (Shooting his arms a few times
also works.) Continue crawling left if necessary until you can see and eliminate
the occupants of the pickup truck thus completing objective three.
Alternate tactic: If the pickup gang is visible before the guard in the bunker,
take them out first. Crawl a short distance to the right for safety, crouch,
cross the road, pull out your M9SD, head south along the interior cliff, move
silently (shuffle) as you approach the steep trail leading up to the bunker,
activate night vision (you won't be able to see with the sun in your eyes),
cross the opening of the trail, ascend in the cover of the triangular side of
the trail, and put a silent 9mm slug between his unsuspecting eyes.
Road kill count excluding the two bunker boys: two in the jeep, three in the
truck, twelve on foot -- nine if the trio from the area to the NW didn't show.
THE COMPOUND
Head up the steep trail to the bunker then south past the second bunker to the
far ravine and go prone in the ravine where the thin grass becomes sand. Let's
assume the trio in question above did not show up. They patrol clockwise around
the demolished building ahead -- wait until they turn right at the far end of
the building and pick them off. Another three patrolling near the thatched huts
south of the road near the extraction zone run up the wide pass and appear from
around the far end of the large rock formation to your left. A pair patrols to
the left of the fixed machine gunner straight ahead and another pair patrols
behind and to his right -- take them out in whatever order they appear.
Set waypoints for both Alpha and Bravo SE a little over halfway down the road,
then NW up the long ridge on the interior side of the road to the mouth of the
pass leading up to the compound area. Run NW along the rock formation on your
right, separating the sandy compound area from the road to the NE, crouch at the
boulder (Alpha and Bravo should be coming up behind you), sidestep north and
find and shoot the fixed machine gunner in one of the shallow trenches north of
the compound.
The idea now is to get Alpha to the middle of the south wall and Bravo to the
middle of the north wall of the compound without being spotted by the remaining
patrol of three who run frantically on the steep sandy slope farther west. Order
all squads on AAAC. Set waypoints for Alpha at coordinates due south of your
boulder and due east of the south wall of the building, then to the middle of
the south wall. Set waypoints for Bravo at coordinates due south of your boulder
and due east of the north wall, then to the middle of the north wall. As Charlie,
head west for the other trench, go prone at its west end, wait for your squads
to get into position, then wait patiently for the patrol to appear to the SW
beyond the tufts of grass.
Why all the elaborate prep work? The patrol of three are a wily and highly
unpredictable bunch -- if Charlie doesn't get all of them they'll run or crawl
for cover behind any of the three partial walls around the compound including
the one north of the fixed machine gun. Usually they head for the far side of
the J-shaped wall SE of the building and may crawl to the NW corner of the
building. Use Charlie to ferret out survivors: start by circling
counterclockwise around the north wall, then head west to the far boulder, down
the steep sandy slope, then up behind the J-shaped wall. Furthermore, two
hostiles somewhere in the building may try to escape out either door but we will
be waiting. If they don't come out, well, you know what to do. When they're down,
there's no need to get to the extraction zone, objective two is completed, and
the mission ends successfully.
********************************************************************
DS MISSION 08 - TORN BANNER
********************************************************************
Mereb Wenz crossing, near Adi Kwala, Eritrea
June 25, 2009
11:00
=Briefing=
"This, gentlemen, is it. We've pushed the Ethiopian forces back across the
border, and we've been in contact with the legitimate government in exile. With
any luck, they'll be back in power shortly, and we can wrap this up.
"There's just one detail left to take care of: Colonel Tesfaye Wolde. Wolde has
decided that the best way to salvage the current situation is to ride out with
whatever armor he's got left in an effort to rally the troops personally. I'll
leave the wisdom of that particular approach for you to judge, but you can't
fault the man's guts.
"In any case, the column he's riding with is moving north. We're expecting it to
hit a bridge over the Mereb Wenz at approximately 1100 hours, and you're going
to be there to greet it.
"The column will be moving over a bridge that crosses a gorge near a series of
waterfalls. You'll be going in downstream, near a broad, shallow ford guarded by
a few customs buildings. You'll want to secure that crossing immediately, then
move into position to take out the tanks. The bridge is probably the best place
to bottle them up, and you'll definitely want to take out the infantry holding
it before the armor gets there. If not, they'll link up and you'll be in a world
of hurt. One more thing: The last of their SAM launchers is guarding the bridge
as well. It's positioned to the west of the crossing, along the route the tanks
are going to follow. Take it out and we can end this once and for all."
=Objectives=
1 - Secure Secondary Crossing
2 - Neutralize Mobile SAM Launcher
3 - Stop Tank Column
4 - Neutralize Bridge Defenders
=Platoon=
ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes
BRAVO: Tunney, Haile
CHARLIE: Ibrahim
=Notes=
Tunney replaces Fuentes in Bravo; Wong moves to Alpha; Haile moves to Bravo. HQ
has it backwards -- we have less than two minutes to kill the first tank in the
column before it crosses the bridge -- the infantry guarding it and the
secondary crossing can wait. Bravo needs to hustle.
As the mission begins, an enemy pickup truck, followed shortly by two on foot,
rolls down the dirt trail from the tent camp in the SE quadrant of the sector
and heads for the secondary crossing -- if our platoon remains at the insertion
zone, we'll get annihilated.
STOP THE TANK COLUMN
Switch to Bravo, set waypoints for Alpha and Charlie to the east side of the
rock formation south of the insertion zone, and order Bravo on recon and advance
at all costs (AAAC). Run like hell west to the cover of the right side of the
boulder (there's a dead bush in front of it) on the bank of the river, wait for
Haile to catch up, and go prone -- the pickup truck passes directly behind you.
Let the truck pass, crouch as it continues to the crossing, move north along the
bank to the point where it becomes marshy, hook left into the river, move
upstream to the south, look back to make sure Haile has followed you into the
river, then run. Run up the steep rocky trail on your right, keep to your left
near the edge of the trail as you ascend, and crouch near the top when you see
the stone guardhouse across the gorge. Ignore the enemy guarding the bridge and
watch as the enemy tank column approaches the bridge from the left. Wait until
the lead tank is almost to the middle of the bridge, then move forward and take
it out with a rocket before it reaches the other side -- make damn sure you're
forward enough so that your rocket doesn't slam into the end of your ledge!
Don't hang around to watch the armor explode -- pull the trigger and immediately
head back down to the bottom of the trail, check the point at which you splashed
into the river, and shoot the hostile(s) if any. Switch to Haile in Bravo, take
cover behind the boulder such that you can see partway up, and order Bravo on
hold and engage.
NEUTRALIZE BRIDGE DEFENDERS
Enemy infantry guarding the bridge climb the near rocky trail on the north side
of the gorge (see map), hook clockwise around the small round rock formation,
and take up a position on the ridge where Bravo destroyed the tank. The
situation is very fluid: They may or may not descend your trail and attack Bravo;
there may be none or as many as ten; some may descend while others do not; they
may pursue singly or in pairs; there may be a minute or more delay between
attacks. Wait patiently to see if any show up and mow them down with your PKM as
they round the last bend in the trail. If your threat indicator glows but the
enemy remains hidden up the trail, move out sideways into middle of the river
such that Haile can see farther up the trail, take him/them out, and wait to see
if there are any more. Move back to the cover of the boulder as you were before
and when all is quiet take a deep breath and relax.
Switch to Charlie, run toward the secondary crossing, go prone at a safe
distance on the north side of the road where you can see the pickup truck, pick
off the enemy patrolling near the building -- there are four on foot including
any Bravo may have killed after destroying the lead tank -- then eliminate the
three in the truck for a total of seven. Head SW up the dirt trail until you see
the remaining bridge defenders standing at the top of Bravo's trail, go prone,
and pick them off thus completing objective four.
Warning: even though you've been notified that the bridge defenders have been
neutralized, there may yet be more enemy on the same ridge near the small round
rock formation.
Continue up the dirt trail and carefully check the top of the ridge across the
gorge from various points. When you're sure all hostiles on the ridge are dead,
set waypoints for Alpha to the group of small boulders and bushes about forty
meters north of the tent camp such that they have a clear view of the steep
rocky trail leading down to the tank road. Continue SW along the edge of your
ridge, find enemy down on the flat ground north of the bridge, and shoot them
when Alpha announces they've arrived at their destination. Check also for enemy
hiding behind the tanks. Move carefully up to the west edge of your ridge
overlooking the bridge and check for hostiles directly below. Alpha will
eliminate any that try to climb the trail leading up to the tent camp. Scope the
visible portion of the distant ridge in the SW quadrant of the sector: three
enemy patrol from end to end. If you see and shoot two, the third may head south,
then east across the rope suspension bridge. Order Charlie to hold.
DESTROY THE REMAINING TANKS
Switch to Bravo, order Bravo to advance, ascend the rocky trail, finish off the
two remaining tanks, then move around the small round rock formation on your
right and crouch on its east side.
Switch to Charlie, scope again along the distant ridge to the west, then to its
north end for the patrol trying to sneak up on you. If they don't show, set
waypoints for Alpha down the rocky trail near the tent camp, over the suspension
bridge, north along the distant ridge, and find and eliminate them -- the total
body count is twelve including the six bridge defenders, three other enemy in
the area of the bridge, and the patrol on the distant ridge. Follow Alpha down
the rocky trail, then head across the bridge, up the short rocky trail near
Bravo, and find a comfortable spot to watch the north entrance of Alpha's ridge.
Set a final waypoint for Alpha among the small boulders at the north end of the
delta-shaped entrance.
SAM SITE
Move counterclockwise around the larger round rock formation to the south, keep
low, and go prone and crawl to the edge overlooking the SAM site. Take out the
two fixed machine gunners in the bunkers below then the patrol of three, but if
they start firing, crawl backwards for cover, and let Alpha take them out as
they advance or switch back and forth between Charlie and Alpha as necessary. As
Charlie, move to the center of your ridge, find another pickup truck (looks like
it has engine problems and is smoking) parked farther west up the secondary
crossing road, and take out the three occupants. Order Alpha on AAAC and set a
waypoint for them at the tip of the perimeter, about twenty-five meters west of
the mobile SAM launcher.
Switch to Bravo, hike along the tank road to the SAM site, and destroy the armor.
The remaining unseen defender across the road to the north is eliminated by
Alpha as he runs toward the SAM site.
SECONDARY CROSSING
The last three enemy of the mission and the campaign are holed up in the
secondary crossing building. One of them can and will fire at you through the
west-facing window. As a gesture of triumph, I chose Haile to go in through the
front door and finish them off.
