American Campaign Three: Crossing The Rhine

The Crossing Point

March 24, 1945: Vollendor, Germany

Well, the German war machine is on the brink of defeat, but the Fatherland's defenders are still clinging to their posts and hanging on against all odds. In this mission, you're going to have to cross the Rhine and eliminate the crews that are manning the German artillery on the far side of the river.

The Guns

You'll begin the mission inside one of the landing vehicles, manning a .30 cal machinegun, so just keep firing on the enemies on the far side; if possible, kill the MG42 gunner in the window of the building across the way before leaving the ship. Note that, unlike most of the other instances in which your commander calls for smoke, no one will actually throw any except you, so chuck some smoke underneath the MG42 positions near the 88 gun here, then hop over the fallen trees to charge up to their position. Taking out the first gun will thus be relatively easy, and the second one will also be relatively simple; just head into the building near it and fire from there onto the gunnery crew.

Unload grenades on these guys before moving down the hill here.

The next three are going to be decidedly more difficult to approach, however, especially the third, which is blocked by a street that's packed with Germans. If you have patience, you might be able to soften up their position and creep along without using a smoke grenade, but if you just want to get in close, lay down some cover and move up the street to the building near the barricade. You can head through the building if you wish, or round the barricade, but whichever way you go, through a few grenades at the third 88 nearby to kill off some of the crew before heading out into the open. To actually reach the 88, you'll need to head up the street adjacent to it and come back around from above, but you'll be under from two sides as you do this, so again, smoke might be necessary. You can kill off the Germans in the ruined house, as well as the MG42 gunner across the way, if you shoot them repeatedly; they should eventually stop spawning.

The third artillery gun will have another wave of defenders spawn in just as you round the corner towards it, so chuck down a few grenades at them to weaken them before picking the remainder of them off. To move on from there, head into the ruined house near the gun and start making your way down the street. Smoke will be something of a help here, but if necessary, you can just dash from side to side until you get to the end of the road. You'll come under heavy fire, of course, but you should be able to survive if you manage to weaken up the enemies before running.

Video Walk-through

Destroying the two tanks here is difficult, but doable.

Watch It »

After you make it through the graveyard to take down the fourth 88, take control of it and fire at the Germans down the street. You don't have any cover to take advantage of as you move down, but if you knock them around with the 88 you should be able to save yourself a smoke grenade. You won't be able to move all the way up the street, though; you'll have to wrap around the church and through the buildings here to reach the fifth gun.

Killing the Tigers

The fifth gun is at the rear of an open square, but there's no need to lay down smoke; just plop a grenade or two in the enemy area and rush over there. Unfortunately, you won't reach the gun before two Tiger tanks pop in through the walls and start tearing stuff up. You'll get a checkpoint as soon as the first one appears, which is good, because you're going to die here a few times. In order to win the round, you have to get to the Tigers and destroy them, either with the flak guns that you've captured, or by placing dynamite on their treads. We personally preferred to destroy them with dynamite, which requires a bit of boldness, but can be done with a bit of tact.

The first Tiger will appear near the fifth flak gun, then start rolling down the street. If you're quick, you can slap explosives on it as it turns after destroying the gun; otherwise, you can just lie in wait for it further down the street and wait for it to pass by before running up and tagging it. Just be sure you kill off any Germans between you and it before attempting to run up next to it, of course. When it's gone, the second Tiger will remain; it'll likely have busted through a wall and made its way deeper into town, but this will also have dispersed the Germans somewhat, so bring your squad along behind you and kill any soldiers around the tank before approaching it. Don't forget that their machineguns will fire automatically at you if you're in front of them, so stay to their sides or to their rear before approaching.

After the Tigers are done, you're more or less home free; all you need to do is a little mopup before hitting the regroup point and winding down the game. Congratulations; you've saved Europe once again!