Zero Hour

Zero Hour - USA Mission 5

Destroy the Scud Storm with your Particle Cannon and Scud Storm before it has a chance to activate. Destroying the Arms Dealer located above the Scud site will slow down the GLA's armor production, but will also start the 30-minute countdown timer.

Overview

The four missile silos must be destroyed before they release their toxin-filled missiles toward civilian targets. This is a timed mission, but you shouldn’t feel too rushed to complete your objectives. The 30-minute countdown to missile launch does not start until later in the mission. Two of the missiles are in the far north of the map and the other two are located in the northeast corner.

A contingent of GLA forces, along with their base, will join you in this mission. It will be necessary to keep your base well-defended with armored vehicles to withstand the sneak attacks perpetrated by the GLA through Tunnel Networks that will open up in the middle of your base. Your Scud Storm and Particle Cannon should be particularly well-defended.

The GLA attacks will be relatively mild if your base has good defenses. After the base is secure, move forward with your offensive forces. Your ground forces can be aided by a vast array of specialized weaponry, including the Spectre Gunship, A10 Missile Strike, Fuel Air Bomb, Leaflet Drop, Scud Storm and the Particle Cannon.

Key Strategies:

Capture the two oil derricks by the GLA base for much-needed funds.
Destroy the GLA’s Scud Storm before it can be activated. This can be accomplished by immediately developing the Scud Storm on your friendly GLA base and the Particle Cannon on your USA base. A10 Missile Strikes will have a hard time penetrating the GLA anti-aircraft defenses.

Establishing your Base

The GLA base is pretty much pre-built for you. The only buildings that need to be added are the Palace and the Scud Storm.

Start by building at the USA base a Cold Fusion Reactor, Barracks and Supply Center. Immediately send two Rangers to the east while researching the Capture command. Have the Rangers capture the two oil derricks by the GLA base.
Construct a War Factory and another Cold Fusion Reactor. Immediately start building three Crusader tanks to protect yourself from a small assault from the northeast.
It is announced that the GLA base is joining your cause to defeat the Toxin General. Build a GLA worker and immediately start building a Palace. Then start building the Scud Storm.
Build a Patriot in the northeast corner while fighting off sundry GLA attacks.
Build Jarmen Kell and put him on the northeast corner of your base by the Stinger site.
Important: Build Strategy Center as soon as War Factory is finished.
Important: Start building Particle Cannon as soon as Strategy Center is built.
Build a few more Crusader tanks and Patriots to fight off attacks.
Have the majority of your GLA armor centered around your Scud Storm to protect it from attacks from Tunnel Networks that pop up on your base.
When you reach Level 3 General status, create a few Pathfinders to help protect both the USA and GLA base.

Destroy the structure in front of the missile site with your Scud Storm.

Destroy the Scud Storm with your own GLA-built Scud Storm and the Particle Cannon combined.

From this point on, it is a freestyle mop-up campaign to destroy the GLA defenses on the way to the missile sites.

The northeast base is not well-defended and can be attacked by a variety of ground units.

There will be no resistance to capturing the missile site after the Scud Storm attack.

A quicker solution is using the Scud Storm to knock out the structure in front of the missile site and then capturing it with an Ambush team.

Destroying the Northern Base and Missile Site:

Now there is only the northern base to worry about.

Destroy the Arms Dealer below the north-central missile site to slow down the GLA's defenses.

The 30-minute countdown will start only if you attack the actual northern base itself by any of your special weapons.

The garrisoned buildings and military structures south of the actual base can be totally destroyed by Fuel Air Bombs, A10 Missile Strikes, Scud Storm, Particle Cannon, Spectre Gunship, et cetera without starting the timer.

Once the timer begins its countdown, move forward with the offensive units of your choice. The Pathfinder is great at keeping GLA infantry suppressed -- and the Avenger will minimize the damage caused by Scud Launchers.

The garrisoned civilian structures below the northern base can be pummeled by your Spectre Gunship and other means without starting the 30-minute countdown.

At the border of the northern base, a line of Stinger sites and Tunnel Networks may slow down your progress. Use a Scud Storm to knock out these defenses.

Move forward carefully until you are in a position to capture the last two missile sites.

Mission accomplished!

Expedited Mission:

Destroy the Scud Storm as outlined above. As soon as your Scud Storm recharges, destroy the building below the missile site in the northeastern corner. Send Ambush troops in to capture that launch site.

Repeat the same process at the missile site in the northern base. Destroy the Arms Dealer there with a Scud Storm or other method and send in another team of Ambush troops to capture the missile sites.