German Mission 3: A Damsel in Distress

With Hellmann’s decision to aid Hardt and the Resistance movement, he has been forced to lead a double life. The German army is now fighting desperately to staunch the relentless Soviet advance on the Fatherland, and Hellmann is there on the front lines doing all he can to help turn the tide. But at the same time he is carrying out secret missions for General Hardt — with the ultimate goal of toppling The Leader and restoring power in Germany to those whose moral compasses are centered and who are eager to end the war with honor.

Hellmann’s dual identity converges in this mission. His orders from German High Command are straightforward: hold back the Russian hordes until reinforcements arrive, then unleash an iron-fisted counterattack with the goal of eliminating their ability to wage war in this sector. While doing that, however, he must search out and rescue Elsa Adler — a secret agent who’s managed to steal vital documents vital to the German Resistance spearheaded by Hardt.

Primary Objectives       

• Hold the Line   
• Destroy the Oil Drills   
• Escort the Agent          

Secondary Objectives   

• Destroy the Airfields    
• Blow up the Mine        
• Investigate the Strange Explosions        

Secret Goals     

• Destroy all the Soviet Airfields

Key Tactics and Battle Tips

• Prepare for early and frequent Russian Bombing Runs
• Capture Oil Rigs and mines in shortest time possible
• Guard southern entrance with Panzerfausts and bunkers
• Defend northern entrance with armored units and bunkers
• Use Wurfrahmen to destroy large Defensive Bunkers
• Select Core Units before mission ends

Map Legend

1. Start point; protect base from Russian bombers with many AA Bunkers
2. Send Hellmann here immediately to capture Oil Rig
3. Oil Rigs; capture immediately
4. Guard southern entrance of base with Panzerfausts and AT 88 Bunkers
5. Mine; build Supply Depot near here and protect with AT 88 Bunkers
6. Mine; build Supply Depot near here and protect with AT 88 Bunkers
7. Assembly point for armored units produced at main base; combine with reinforcements
8. Oil Rigs to be destroyed
9. Mine to be destroyed
10. Enemy base with Airfield
11. Rendezvous point with Elsa

  DB.  Main Russian Defensive Bunkers

A glance at the topography around your base makes it clear you need to focus initially on protecting the northern flank. Because the southern entrance to the base is a narrow pass, it takes considerably fewer troops or defensive fortifications to keep intruders out. The northern flank, on the other hand, is wide enough to allow masses of troops to pour in — unless you quickly erect a wall of steel and fire to keep them out. Of course, building defensive lines here and expanding your base northward will probably draw the Soviets to that area, but this also means they’ away from the Oil Rig and mine to the south.

As soon as the game starts, press the “Pause” key and begin issuing orders. First, select the Supply Depot and order it to build two more Opels to retrieve resources from the mine closest to the base. Next, click on the Barracks and upgrade it with the Capture Building skill, then queue the production of 8-10 Panzerfausts and set a Rally Point at the pass leading into the southern part of the base. They’ll augment the two existing AT 88 Bunkers in protecting the base from infantry and armored incursions until you can either build more Bunkers or position tanks there.

With the game still paused, order the Command Center to build two more Engineers, then send the existing Engineer to build a Supply Depot at the mine to the north. Send all your Panthers and three (not all!) of the Wehrmacht Infantry to the oil rigs north of the base; keep your Wirbelwinds in the middle of the base for the time being. By the time the Infantry arrive, they will have acquired (or almost have acquired) the Capture Building skill and can claim the oil rigs as your own. Meanwhile, select Hellmann and three of the Wehrmacht Infantry and move toward the oil rigs to the south. Once they capture this resource, dispatch them to the southwestern mine. As soon as you can spare an Engineer later in the mission, order it to build a Supply Depot to reap the ore from this mine, then have it build Flame and AT 88 Bunkers around the oil rigs Hellmann’s small force previously captured.

Follow these steps, and in a relatively short period you’ll have two mines and two oil rigs under your control — more than enough resources to keep production rolling smoothly. Be sure, however, to build additional Power Plants as you expand your base and erect significant numbers of buildings, AT 88 Bunkers, and AA Bunkers: low power levels can cripple your defensive firepower and reduce your factories’ production to a snail’s pace.

Now that you’ve made all your initial moves, it’s time to prepare for the initial Russian assault waves — which will come on the ground and in the air. To the north, use the Engineer that built the Supply Depot to erect a Tank Factory and begin producing a mix of Wurfrahmens and Wirbelwinds, then set it to work erecting a stout north-south line of AT88 Bunkers stretching from the mine south to the original base area. A Russian tank attack is likely to roll in during this process, but if you’ve moved quickly you should now have enough new armored forces to reinforce the Panthers and beat back their assault. Though the Wirbelwinds will suffice for now, you’ll want to start putting up AA Bunkers to deal with the constant Soviet aerial bombardments — it’ll be a while before you can smash the airfields that are home to these serious threats.