"Hostomel Heroes", "heavy" level, fifth part
Mid-March 2022, Kyiv-Zhytomyr Highway
“In war, no one ever kills people – in war, enemies are destroyed.”
Valentin Pikul, “Wealth”
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What is this! Another time-limited mission! What's more, we only have an hour, and the “final warning” will come just five minutes before the deadline. There’s nothing to be done; we’ll have to improvise.
Is this… interesting?
The creators have overcomplicated things a bit: your position on the screen is at the bottom, while on the tactical map – at the top! It’s not immediately obvious what and where is happening. Therefore, in the game screenshots, I’ve placed the map in a normal position, with the enemy located to the north.
The opponent attacks in “waves,” often accompanied by armored vehicles, first delivering artillery strikes. We send squads with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), an automatic rifle “Kord,” and a sniper pair into a building where there are two ammunition warehouses (point #2).
One “Kord” is enough: its almost limitless ammunition will repel any infantry attack.
The task of your other squads is to secure the area east of the intersection.
This is important!
Do not dig in buildings on that side of the road; it will lead to losses from mass enemy attacks. If possible, it’s very useful to demolish fences and nearby trees with vehicles to deprive the attackers of cover.
We take a half-destroyed building opposite the pharmacy (point #1) and hold the defense there. It’s quite good to place a Rosgvardiya squad with two machine guns, a “Kord” (better to have two), a squad with ATGMs, and snipers within. The second ATGM squad should be positioned to the right of the building: enemy tanks have a nasty habit of covering themselves with smoke after the first missile hit (which usually doesn’t cause much damage); the second missile should be launched so that it passes through the smoke cloud.
If we look closely at the north of the map, we can find a tank standing between the houses; its crew is hiding nearby (point #3). Soon, enemy-discovered air controllers will arrive at that same point (point #4), which we need to rescue. It’s better to do this in advance, during the intervals between enemy “waves.”
This is important!
As soon as free summoning points appear, call in available armored vehicles and concentrate them behind the building with ammunition supplies: they are needed for a “rear raid.”
The squads rescuing the air controllers and tank crews should be equipped with grenade launchers: infantry cannot breach concrete fences, they must be blown up. The tank is on the move but without ammunition; it needs to be taken to the supply zone as soon as possible. However, there could be a problem on the way – an enemy helicopter.
This is important!
It’s almost impossible to predict where it will appear and the direction of its attacks. It launched a missile at ammunition depots several times in a row, destroying a building and killing the defending troops. Similarly, it focused attacks on the tank several times, eventually blowing it up. The optimal option is to have the helicopter attack a half-destroyed store where the main forces are holding the defense: the paratroopers have MANPADS (you bought them for them, right?), and they will surely shoot down the “chopper.”
We shot down the scoundrel!
We escort the air controllers; if everything goes well, you will have the opportunity to conduct airstrikes with unguided rockets (not very effective against vehicles).
Once we have accumulated enough armored vehicles (one tank, three or four BMPs), after completing the next assault, we move the armored group and a couple of infantry squads to the area from where the tank was evacuated. The infantry will advance along the street parallel to the northern edge of the map; their task is to locate and destroy enemies with ATGMs. Immediately after that, we advance the vehicles: enemy mortars will come into play, a “Kord” will open fire from the building, and BMPs and BTRs will appear. Under no circumstances should the vehicles approach the buildings controlling the intersection: there are lots of ATGMs there! We destroy the enemies at point #5 and stop the vehicles.
We gather infantry squads, conduct airstrikes on the building to the left of the intersection, and storm it.
Following this, the sniper pair moves forward and fires at the building on the opposite side of the street, provoking the enemies to return fire. If the capture of the third control point occurs before the “final warning,” a new instruction will arrive: escort two reconnaissance groups.
Is this… interesting?
These fearless guys are running past the third point to the northeast: there, heavy mortars, a heavy machine gun, and enemy vehicles are standing guard (this is why a rear raid was necessary!)
This is not all: if the timer was on, and you managed to capture the point before the time expired, a black screen will appear with negotiations about the need to escort the spotters. Then, the sounds of battle can be heard, and the mission ends in victory. I didn’t like this ending; I started the raid and attack on the point earlier. But as soon as I received the capture message, the timer was activated.
Apparently, it’s some kind of bug…
Congratulations, you have completed this mission too!
To be continued…