Red Alert 3 - Allied Mission 8 - Havana

Remember those two Apocalypse tanks at the very beginning of the mission? They are eventually going to come crashing through your Multigunner Turret defense and destroy your aircraft, Prospectors and just cause general mayhem. Take them out proactively with your Vindicators early in the mission.

Better yet, you can bribe both of the Apocalypse tanks to join the "winning team" with your spies at the beginning of the mission.

Air power is the way to go in this mission. Start with one Airbase full of Vindicators and one full of Apollo Fighters. Eventually work your way up to eight each.

A good way to keep track of the Kirov Airships is to hit the escape/pause button. From there, you will basically see a giant heads-up display that shows the location of the blimps. It is much easier to read and plan your strategy from this vantage point, as the regular HUD is a bit small.

Defend the northern part of your base with three Multigunner Turrets. This will be quite effective at stopping anything - except those Apocalypse tanks.

Mission Objectives:

* Investigate Havana for Soviet Activity.
* Locate a Soviet Base.
* Destroy the Soviet Base.
* Destroy the Kirov Launch Facilities.
* Do not let a Kirov leave Havana.

Bonus Objective:

* Recruit a force of 10 Soviets.

Walkthrough:

To obtain the bonus objective of recruiting ten Soviets, number your spies separately so you don't wind up spending 2,000 credits to convert one group of spies. You only have 5,000 credits to spend.

Save 2,000 credits so you can convert the large group further up the map with 1,000 credits and then 1,000 credits to take a shot at converting the Apocalypse Tanks.

It is not necessary for ten of the Soviets to survive the mission or to reach the final base to achieve the bonus objective.

It is not necessary to utilize any troops at all to destroy the Soviet base. The Mirage Tank can do this all on its own.

Commander Giles is quite shocked to find out that giant Kirov Airships have been secreted into converted sports stadiums. Don't let any of the Kirovs escape the area or the mission is lost.

Funds will not be overly plentiful in this mission, so use reasonable caution not to lose an extraordinary amount of aircraft.

Focus on building two Airbases filled with four Vindicators and four Apollo Fighters. You can stay pretty relaxed for a while as Commander Giles can handle the early going.

Immediately start building three Multigunner Turrets to the north of your base, then at least one at the southeast corner and a few to your west. It's the only way to be sure.

Your Vindicators are not very effective until you get the Advanced Aeronautics upgrade. Until then, focus on harassing the sports stadium to your immediate northwest and taking out the Apocalypse Tanks you saw at the beginning of the mission -- if you didn't already bribe them earlier.

Be patient for the Kirovs heading south so that your Apollo Fighters can avoid anti-air fire.

Commander Giles can handle the Kirovs headed west, but if you get the opportunity, zip your Apollos over there and rob him of the opportunity.

Work your way up to eight Vindicators and eight Apollo Fighters. For Kirovs heading north, fly your Apollos nonstop over the mainland and have them wait over the ocean to avoid the anti-air on the mainland. Keep an eye out for Bullfrogs.

Hit the pause/escape key to pause the action and view the giant heads-up display to get a good idea where the Kirovs are located. Although they will appear on the small HUD screen during gameplay, sometimes it is hard to differentiate them from the actual sports stadiums.

Destroy all sports stadiums and any remaining Kirovs.

Mission accomplished!