Marine Campaign Mission 3

[Kat Johnston]

The mission where you start off with a small force of infantry deployed along one side of a valley, and there is a large Syrian counterattack from the other side - including a considerable amount of mech infantry, an artillery observer and tanks. You get a sizable reinforcement halfway through, including four AAVs and a Javelin team, but they appear in vulnerable positions.

I'm having great difficulty getting through this mission without incurring heavy casualties, even though I now know pretty much what enemies will appear where.

I don't have too much trouble with the mech infantry (as SMAWs and grenade fire can take out their transports and the Marine squads easily defeat them in a straight fight) but the tanks give me a real headache. Artillery fire is too slow to reliably target them, SMAWs and grenades pretty much bounce off them, and the Javelin team tends to get off one shot before being targetted by cannon fire. Plus they only have two missiles and need to pick up spares from an AAV, all of which appear in vulnerable spots.

Any advice? I did manage a "total victory" last time, so-called, but lost about 20 odd Marines KIA and 2 AAVs destroyed, which seems very high.

[SgtMuhammed]

How are you fighting? You have to be nearly totally defensive with this one. Set your guys in ambush positions and keep them out of sight of long range fire.

With the Javelin, the best thing to do is to shuffle them around to where they can see and engage one tank at a time. That will usually keep them from being targetted.

Use your Naval support to clobber the enemy units in overwatch on the far hill. The response time is too long to be really useful against the tanks. It can work though but you have to get kind of lucky.

Basically let the enemy come to you.

[jenrick]

Deal with the Mech infantry with artillery and direct fire. Then get your Marines the heck out of the way and into cover and concealment when the tanks show. Keep you AAV's out of the way, and use the javelin team like no tomorrow. The Syrian tanks will sit in place long enough to get an artillery strike in if they don't have targets to engage. I like to keep a SMAW round or too handy as well, as from the side or rear it will get a kill. I agree it usually does get messy.

-Jenrick

[snake_eye]

With the Javelin, the best thing to do is to shuffle them around to where they can see and engage one tank at a time. That will usually keep them from being targetted.

Basically let the enemy come to you.

Right, but the difficulty is to have the javelin team in place, have it fire and take cover without waiting for a second shot. Waiting for it is asking for a pounding from the tanks.

However, javelin's knock the tanks right away, that is not the case with the SMAW. The team usually is shot to piece if he is not moving away as soon as it has fired.

Getting new rounds is time consuming, assuming the AAV on top of the hill are not set alight already if they have not been put away of harm, from the road and the ridge line.

While awaiting the reinforcement, I have found that the squad splitted and concealed in the bushes down the ridge, fully loaded first in AT4 and second in LAW, was the answer. The difficulty is to restrain them on firing on the BMP since there will be no way to get new shots before the tanks get there. Besides their combat position will be known and they will get a severe pounding every time they will try a remaining shot. Are the BMP's destroyed then worth it ?

The AT4 and the LAW are only good at the most 200 m and 100 m respectively. Assuming it is rather a side shot.

The SMAW rates better, but the life expectancy of the shooters is short live.

The MG does its fare against the walking troops if it is sighted near the OP on the crest of the right hill and on the left flank houses.

The arty does good work on the opposing ridge, because that's there that the situation seems to change slowly. The arty can catch up with the targets.

Forget it against the tanks and BMP's

Usually I have a total victory (playing always ELITE). the losses are to my feeling a bit high, but that's the price to pay, to get the Big Cats. The issue, however made me feel good and confident till the POOH forthcoming battle. Then hell broke loose thanks to the AT4. Going back to school to try better and lower the casualties.