Hunker In The Bunker
This one is tough. Personally I dislike it; the premise is too damn stupid and the atmosphere is very oppressive. Still, it's a challenge. If you can get through this one successfully at Hard level, without losing any men, then you're definitely starting to get the hang of this game.
MISSION: There's this strongpoint out in the woods, originally built by the local resistance but now occupied by the Rumanian military. Lots of trenches and bunkers and all that WWI stuff, surrounded by minefields. You have to go through it and come out on the other side. Why not just swing off through the woods a few miles and go around it? As I said: stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid mission. Let's get on with the God-damned thing.
CONDITIONS: Daytime. Raining, sometimes heavily. (The rain varies in intensity; sometimes there's thunder too. A nice touch.)
THE OPPOSITION: Supposedly Rumanian troops, but actually the same Germans as always. They wear German uniforms, they use German weapons, they speak German.
Between 20 and 25 of them, anyway. (At the end of a completed mission the debriefing screen usually says you killed 23, but its count is not necessarily accurate.) Mostly armed with MP-40s, with a few fixed MGs that you don't have to worry about. (With one exception.) I don't believe I've ever seen one with a rifle. This gives you a slight advantage but not much, because for most of the mission you're well within burp-gun range.
One or two walk patrols, but most of them are stationed around the perimeter at fixed defensive points. You can't depend on them to stay put, though; they think nothing of abandoning their posts and coming after you.
Four of them occupy the big bunker in the center of the quadrangle. Several more are holed up in the smaller bunker to the east. A couple of the latter may under some circumstances come out and attack, but the others will stay where they are and have to be smoked out. And then there are a couple hanging out in the woods on the east side, either in the trenches or standing among the trees.
Finally, at the start of the mission there is one in a small entrenched machine-gun position to your right and two coming up the path toward the bridge. These three will not be in the picture long. Or else you won't.
PERSONNEL: This time there's no need to make a decision; you're not going to run this one solo.
Not that it can't be done; on the contrary, I've done it - at Hard level, too. But only after I'd run it a good many times with a team, so that I already knew pretty much where all the bad guys were and what they'd do. It's not something you should try if you're still having to read walkthroughs. Rather you should be qualified to write a walkthrough for this mission in team mode before you try to lone-wolf it. And so I'm not giving any instructions on how to do it solo; if you can do it, you can figure out how.
Of course you may wind up finishing this one solo. At Hard level in particular, you can easily lose a lot of men. For this reason I don't recommend taking anyone irreplaceable or highly valued. For what they have to do, they don't have to be geniuses.
They do, however, need to be tough. High endurance quotients are more important than bullseye marksmanship or Wyatt Earp reflexes; the ranges, as already noted, generally are short. As you'll see, it's very likely they'll take some hits, especially in the first minute or so; they need to be able to take it. So don't put in Switcher or Web or anyone like that; and at the same time don't risk losing McGatt or Smedley.
At the same time they mustn't be total doobs; they do need to be able to hit the target with reasonable accuracy, and they shouldn't be utter morons. I generally use Aldridge, who can take more punishment than anybody in the game except Big Willy; Lt. Wooley is excellent too.
EQUIPMENT: Each man must have an MP-40 or a Sten. At least two men should also carry rifles. Your character in particular needs to have one, but have at least one more for backup. Actually if you've got enough rifles and ammo to go around just give everybody one of each.
And grenades. You want lots and lots of grenades. Load everybody up with grenades; no point in saving them, this is the next to last mission in the campaign and they're useless in the last one. Both English and German grenades are useful, but in particular you should load up on English bombs, since you can find a few potato mashers on the premises. (Not many, though; don't depend on this.)
That's all. No explosives, no mines, the Bren's too clumsy. Just machine pistols, rifles, and grenades.
AT THE START: You're all standing on a path at the southwest corner of the map. There's a small footbridge just ahead of you. You're about to come under fire from two different directions.
PROCEDURE: Repeat, you're about to come under fire from two different directions. This one does not open like the ones before it. Up to this point, at the start of the mission you were somewhere safe and out of the way, with plenty of time to think about your moves and get everybody deployed. Not this time.
In fact if you don't handle your people just right in the opening seconds of this mission, you may well lose half of them. Or more. At Hard level you could all be wiped out. That's how fast things are about to happen.
So when the mission starts, instantly pull up the map. I mean instantly as in zero delay; fractions of seconds count right now. Everybody's standing there in plain sight, most of them holding the wrong weapons, and they're about to get hit.
Here is the situation: two "Rumanians" are coming up the footpath toward you. They're both carrying MP-40s and they're good with them, and very aggressive - when they see you, which they've already done, they will attack.
At the same time, and this is what makes it such a bitch, there is a machine gunner in a bunker off to your right, on the other side of the path. Look on the map and you'll see where he is. It's no problem to get out of the field of fire of his MG, but that doesn't bother him; he'll just switch to his MP-40, which is just as lethal at this range.
So pull up the map, and give each man the command to lie down, followed by "use inventory" to select the submachine gun, followed by Guard. For the Guard direction, aim them at the point to the left of the bridge where the footpath makes a big curve - that's where the guards are going to appear.
Don't give your own character any commands. When you switch the map off, while everybody else hits the deck, go to first person and turn to the right and run a few steps off the trail and go flat, among the trees. There's a man in a machine-gun bunker on the other side of the creek, to the northeast. Get him, quick. It's not easy; he's in behind a lot of brush and much of it is the infamous H&D one-way kind - your own shots glance off it while he can shoot you through it just fine. Use your submachine gun and rake that brush; if you don't hit him immediately at least you'll keep him too busy to fire at your men. Move about if necessary but find an opening andtake him out. Your men should be dealing with the two guards. With any luck they'll get them without loss to themselves, but they're very likely to set themselves up for that son of a bitch in the bunker in the process. So kill him. Fast.
If you've done everything just right the bunker gunner and the two footpath guards will be dead in a matter of seconds. If you've screwed up then you're going to have skulls showing. One of them might be yours.
All right, we'll assume you've eliminated the footpath patrol and neutralized the bunker, and either you've still got all your men or your losses are acceptable. (And only you can say what that last word means.) You're ready to go ahead.
Move your men through the trees to the right of the path - you can take the time to do it manually now - and arrange them so they've got at least some field of fire in the direction of the stronghold. They're not likely to accomplish much from here, but you never know; sometimes they'll nail a few targets of opportunity. Anyway they need something to do. Give them new Guard commands so they don't wander off and get into trouble.
Now it's time for a little sniping. You don't have a specialist sniper along (at least I hope you don't; the shooting isn't difficult enough to justify the risk, and top snipers tend to be easily killed) so you may as well do it in your own character. Move across the trail to the left and start working your way up the little hills there. You'll hit an invisible barrier very soon, so you won't have much choice about your route. Every few feet, stop and study the view through your scope. You'll find you can see considerable sections of the trenches and machine gun positions. You'll also see that they're mostly empty just now; you'll be disappointed at the paucity of targets. However, you can usually - though not always - get one or two from up here. Go as far as the top of that highest hill to the west and then come back; beyond that point there are no good shots and the area farther on is mined.
Go back the way you came and climb the steep hill to the right of the trail, and you'll see you've got another view of the trenches. There may or may not be any targets, depending on how many you took out from the other hill. There is one man hidden by a bush, very hard to see but you can just barely make him out - if you're not sure put a few rounds through the bush and watch for movement.
Once you've killed everyone you can from up there, come on down. No need to go back the way you came, just go on down the eastern side of the hill, next to the gully, where you should already have a man or two in position.
Down by the gully, take a little time to scope out the enemy positions from this new point. Up on the south side of the main bunker, in a trench near some sandbags, there is a guard you can pick off. He's covering the area you need to go next, so move around till you can see him and nail him.
Now it's time to move across the creek. You'll see there are a couple of big rocks where everybody can cross without getting their feet wet. Send the men across one at a time and have them crouch down on the slope beyond the barbed wire, down out of sight of the enemy positions.
At this point you can move into the small bunker. I used to do that, and you can if you like; but I finally quit doing it, because there's really no point in it. You're not in any better defensive position than you are just crouching on the slope - any attack will come from higher ground, so the bunker gives you no real protection - and the enclosed space tends to confuse the AIs and make them get in each other's way.
So I suggest you just leave them where they are for now, while you go take care of some business.
Off to your right, at the southeast corner of the stronghold, there is a guard hunkered down in a sandbagged position. You can, with some care, sneak up and shoot him, but it's risky and unnecessary. Instead move up to that little slope by the trees and the barbed wire, keeping your head down - you can use third-person to spot him and figure out your approach - and grenade him. It will probably take a few tries; he's not an easy target. Oddly enough, the English grenades seem to work better, though I've certainly gotten him with potato mashers.
You've now cleared the perimeter on the south side. Move westward along the embankment, keeping down out of sight of the trenches, until you're lined up on the trench that runs north-south on the west side of the main bunker. You're going to start clearing it next.
This is where it's good to have some backup. Place a couple of men behind and beside you, aiming up the slope. When you start shooting sentries, some of them may charge your position. This is fine, gives you a chance to shoot them, but it's tricky and clumsy switching weapons that fast (and the rifle isn't well suited to stopping a running attacker) so it's useful to have a couple of lads ready to chop him when he appears at the top of the embankment.
Meanwhile, work your way up the bank, using third-person to check for targets. Now is where the sniping from the hills will pay off; if you did a good job then there will only be two or three guards to deal with along the western trench.
It may happen that one of them is near enough to grenade. If so, hot damn. Otherwise, just move slowly up the bank until you can see over it - just barely, don't expose more than you have to - and find yourself a guard and kill him. Back up, wait a minute or two in case there's a charge, move back up and to the side, and so on; by now you should know how to do it. If you're careful you should be able to completely clear everything on the western side of the main bunker. If you're insufficiently careful you'll get a hole in the head.
Now head back the other way - eastward - until you're even with the south opening of the main bunker. Look into the opening with your scope. You'll see a man at the far side of the bunker, his back to you. Shoot him in the head. You're not ready to attack the bunker yet but you might as well use this opportunity to reduce the number inside it.
Into the trenches, now. Yes. The trenches. We've put it off long enough.
Take a couple of your men and station them in the sandbagged position at the southwest corner of the quadrangle, in crouching position. Make sure they've got a good clear field of fire. Give them Guard in the direction of the northeast corner.
Understand this: these two men will very likely be attacked, at some point when you are unable to help them. If they're good enough they will probably be able to fight off the attack and reduce the enemy numbers a bit more. But there is a real chance they'll be killed. This is not a post for your most valuable players.
(If you've already taken losses then you won't be able to do this; you'll just have to proceed without them. One man can't hold that corner, and you need at least one man to accompany you when you go into the bunker.)
For your own part, climb up the bank and enter the trench on the south side, near that hole where you shot that guy. Climb on out on the other side and lie down on the open ground between the bunker and the trench. Don't worry, there's nobody in the bunker who can see you, that nearest room is empty. Sight in on the doorway of the smaller bunker. Move sidewise until you can get a look in through the door. You'll see a man standing there, probably with his back to you. Turn out his lights. There are others inside that bunker but they'll leave you alone for now.
Having secured your flanks, work your way eastward in the trench, down in a crouch so you can just barely see over the top, and watch the area beyond the corner of the bunker. There are two men out there under the trees and you can get both of them, one after another, with the rifle. Do it.
Now it's time to enter the main bunker. This is a scary business the first time you do it, but really there's nothing to it. Ignore the doors and go in through the opening on the south side. You'll have to lie down and crawl in, but once inside you can stand up. Bring your backup man in the same way. Don't worry, there's nobody in this room and nobody's going to charge in at you.
There is, however, a "Rumanian" in the next room to the north. He's over to the left of the doorway, so you can't see him, but his back is toward you so all you have to do is move to your right, keeping your MP-40 ready, and as soon as he appears quickly give him a good healthy squirt.
Warning right now: DO NOT USE GRENADES INSIDE THE BUNKER. If you do you will die. Another of H&D's grenade bugs.
Go on into the next (center) room. He's the only one in there so you're OK so far. There's nobody in the rooms on either side so don't waste time checking. The big threat is ahead of you, in the north room. There's one man on the left side of the door and one on the right.
The one on the left is easy, so get him first. Just move to your right until you see him and shoot him through the doorway. Reload. Now the other one. He's a lot harder; he's facing the doorway and he's ready for action. If you just step around the corner he's likely to get you before you can get him.
Here's what I do. See that table lying on its side? Get down and move over behind it, using it to conceal you. Use third-person to get lined up on the doorway, and then suddenly pop up and blast him.
You now own the central bunker. No, you can't put it up for sale on eBay.
You're still not out of the woods, in fact. There are at least two more bastards outside, on the north side of the bunker, and right now they're covering the doorway with MP-40s. If you come out they will shred you. If you wait around long enough they may come in after you.
There are several possible ways to deal with these two assholes, and I've tried most of them, but the one I've found best is to go out the side door - the one on the east side - and get down and crawl northward along the trench, staying in third person and checking ahead, until you get near to the northeast corner. You'll see that one of them is quite close, over in the trench that goes up to the bunker entrance. Grenade his ass; it's an easy throw.
The other one is farther away but still in grenade range. Alternatively you could go back around to the south side and crawl up on top of the bunker and shoot him, but that's a lot of trouble. Easier to just blow him up.
Don't use up the grenade supply, though. You're going to need some for the next and last phase.
At this point you should have the perimeter clear. Crawl a man along it, using third-person wide-angle, and check for enemy survivors; you shouldn't find any but if you do grenade them. Once you're sure you've got the place secured, you can do a bit of scavenging if you want, though there's nothing here of any particular value - by now you should be up to your ass in MP-40 clips and potato mashers, and that's all these losers have.
All that remains now is to take out the smaller bunker. Move up the trench that passes to the north of it, and stop just before you come even with its northern entrance. It should be simple enough to put a grenade into the doorway. Use the English kind; then even if you throw a little long, it will roll down the slope and drop right into their faces.
Use third-person to make sure you've scored - if you see any bodies you did, they're all bunched up and one grenade gets them all - and then, if you like, you can go in and have a look around. There's not much of interest except in one room.
Norway? A map of Norway, in a bunker in Rumania? Don't ask me.
Then you can all just walk on up the trench and climb out onto the path and head for the exit. Don't worry about that little bunker at the corner, there's never anybody in it.
Tough mission, huh?
Hah. You have no idea. Just wait.