Mission 6B - From Hell - p. 1 AA II: OA Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Note: this mission is available and you can play it instead of "Sandstorm" scenario, but only then, when your AH-64 Apache was shot down over the enemy territory in mission "Open Season" and you, as a pilot of this gunship, have been captured by the enemy.

Date and place: Friday, June 1, 2012, 22:00, the surroundings of Takistani airfield in Rasman (3). Mission: A squad of mechanized infantry under the command of corporal Howard Drake, codename "Assassin-1" (1), has to find and save captain Pierce, codename "Renegade" - a pilot of AH-64 gunship (2b) downed in previous scenario. Furthermore, you have to clear Rasman (2a, 2b, 2c) from enemy forces and attack the airfield (3) occupied by the enemy.

Support: Before "Assasin-1" moves to the AO (Area of Operations), there will be conducted a bombardment of enemy positions on the airfield.

Proposed equipment: This mission takes place at night, so every weapon with thermal imaging sight mounted on it may be useful here. To increase the firepower of your unit you can also take squad automatic weapons and light machineguns - as many as you can. And you have quite a nice choice of them here: there's M249 in two versions, M240, M60E4, Mk 48 mod 0 (this is FN Minimi/M249 version armed with 7.62x51mm NATO ammo). And you can reserve for yourself one of the weapons with thermovisual sights, or SCAR-L (Mk 16) assault rifle with grenade launcher attached and two sights - optical, with nice zoom (ACOG - Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight), and a collimator (mounted on ACOG) for CQC. This is very universal weapon. You may also grab some IR strobes, just in case.

Successive objectives in this scenario:

• Clear Rasman (2a, 2b, 2c)
• Strike the base (3)
• Find the pilot (2b)
• Hold the LZ (Landing Zone) (2b)

[1]

[2]

Mission starts in Bastam (1) to the south from Rasman's outskirts (2a) and the airfield (3). Your mechanized infantry squad has at the disposal a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) with a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) of M2 .50 caliber HMG (a remote-control weapon system that gives his operator the ability to acquire and engage targets while inside a vehicle, protected by its armour). You have at your disposal also ICV Stryker (wheeled armored infantry combat vehicle) armed with Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher which is mounted in a PROTECTOR M151 Remote Weapon Station (RWS) (#1). All your soldiers are already inside these vehicles. You're a driver of a Hummer which is leading the column, but there are no contraindications to rearrange your subordinates, or switch from driver to gunner's seat during the ride. You can also abandon Humvee and pack the whole squad (with yourself) into the Stryker ICV, but it's not worth to do this, because at the rear of a HMMWV you'll find a reconnaissance UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) which you can use later to scout enemy positions before you drive into them.

Wait a moment until HQ informs you about the completion of the bombardment of the airfield (3) and then proceed northward along the road. It's best probably to drive with NV goggles on your face and the easiest way to spot the targets is to use the thermovision. While driving a Humvee you can also turn on GPS which should help you to find the route (#2) (as a driver of a Stryker you don't have such a convenience at your disposal).

[3]

[4]

Get close carefully to the outskirts of Rasman (2a) - your first task is to clear Rasman (2a, 2b and 2c) of enemy forces. Furthermore, you have to strike enemy base (3), but don't even think about this task - it will be completed by other American units. After switching to gunner's seat and looking through the thermal imaging sight at the buildings (2a) you should see the first targets (#3). These are: some old APC parked on the road, the HMG sandbagged emplacement on the left roadside, a sniper on the roof of the building located nearby and also some foot patrols of the enemies. Select the appropriate range on your sight and open fire, killing the guy who is operating HMG in APC as first, then the combatant in HMG emplacement and finally the sniper. Afterwards spend a while on shooting at enemy infantry. Be advised that some of the opponents may rush towards your position through the woods/copses situated on both roadsides! Eliminate these hostiles quickly, have in your mind that your vehicles aren't well armoured and it's easy to immobilize them even by shooting at their wheels! Perhaps you'll be able also to spot some more infantrymen in the distance, on the slope of the hill which should be already visible behind these buildings (2a).

Afterwards you can carefully drive along the road in the direction of these buildings (2a) and the roadblock organized on this road which is running through these outskirts (#4). All the time observe the road ahead of you (from time to time take a look at your flanks too) and fire at the consecutive HMG emplacements which will gradually occur in your sight while driving slowly towards the buildings (2a). It's best to engage these targets with your HMG mounted on Humvee, because these enemies who are operating HMGs are surprisingly resistant towards the projectiles fired from a grenade launcher of your Stryker. There are three sandbagged HMG emplacements along the main road running through the outskirts (2a) to NE: one of them is located on the left roadside and two are on the right roadside (the second a little further to the north). You should be able to neutralize first two emplacements by getting to the roadblock as close as possible.

[5]

[6]

Further way of proceedings depends mainly from your preferred methods of fighting. You may, for example, order your troops to disembark from the vehicles to search the area (2a) on foot. In this case you have to quickly kill the combatant operating another HMG mounted in the emplacement which is situated right behind the roadblock, in a side street leading west (#5).

Afterwards you have to deal with the last HMG gunner whose emplacement is located on the margin of the area, on the right roadside of this main road leading N/NW (#5). On this main street you should also see a parked truck - I'm not sure if it is not loaded with explosives, so better fire at this vehicle and destroy it before it explodes and hurts your soldiers.

[7]

[8]

Then you have to quickly dispose your troops in the area in order to prepare your squad for a probable counterattack of Takistani combatants - they should approach through the copses located on both sides (western and eastern) of these outskirts of Rasman (2a) (#7). Kill them all and finally the HQ will consider these outskirts (2a) as cleared of the hostiles (they'll change their color on your map from red to blue). Now you can move forward, towards the urban area (2b).

If you lost your vehicles during the battle for the outskirts (2a) then you may find there many of the abandoned Takistani cars, you have to only look around well (#8).