M02 Cold Dagger

Operation: Cold Dagger is the second mission of Raven Shield campaign. RAINBOW must rescue IMF delegates that were taken hostage by an unknown group of terrorists that, following a bank robbery, took over an Alpine Village.

Control
Operation Cold Dagger. Terrorists have taken hostages in the village of Lamoura, Switzerland. Among them are several delegates to the current IMF conference in Geneva. Swiss security forces have sealed off the area in preparation for your arrival. Your mission is to liberate the IMF delegates.

John Clark
Normally we'd leave something like this to the Swiss authorities, but the profile of the hostages is high enough that we've been called in. There were at least five IMF conference delegates present in the village when it was stormed. I say "were" because we don't know how many are left alive. The terrorists hit the local bank first, then rounded up hostages when they realized they were pinned down. They've issued a few demands, but they haven't identified themselves.

Something about all this stinks, but figuring out what is Intel's job, not yours. Yours is to go in there, clear out that village and make sure both the delegates and the locals who've been taken hostage come out in one piece.

Kevin Sweeney
There's something odd about this operation. At first, the terrorists seemed unaware of the identity of their captives, as though they'd been planning to hit the town anyway and the presence of the IMF officials was a lucky accident. Apparently the delegates were taking a day's ski trip away from the conference in Geneva. They'd have been better off if they'd kept their minds on business. Still, there's something here that doesn't make any sense. There's certainly nothing else in Lamoura worth mounting an operation like this over.

Mission Orders
Your mission is to liberate the IMF delegates. The hostages are being held in two separate places marked on your map and are under heavy guard. The terrorists have been alerted to police presence and snipers are probably already waiting for you, so watch out for open areas.

Insertion and Extraction Zones
RAINBOW only has one insertion zone. They deploy from the highest point in the village, to the West. This allows the team to access a house nearby through 2 doors, or enter the center of the village through 2 stairs.

The extraction zone is at the bottom of the village, to the East near a house.

Layout
The Alpine Village is composed of 2 houses, the City Hall, a 2 floor shack and the big outside area. The 1st house is the closest to the insertion zone, and it is the biggest of the houses. It is a 2 floor house with multiple windows that allow anyone inside to guard the center of the village through 2 different directions, the front and side ways of the building, as well as the back and side entrances. This shack is guarded by 2 tangos, one of them a sniper. The second floor has a single window that provides highground over the center of the village. The house allows direct access to the center of the village through a door on the lower level, or to a path that leads to the basement of the City Hall, the 2nd house and the Extraction Zone via a back door, through a small attached building. This building usually has 2-3 tangos guarding the front area, with 1-2 guarding the back.

The City Hall is the biggest building in the map. It consists of 2 floors and a basement level. It has a small shack connected to it by the second floor, which allows overwatch on the path to the back entrance to the Hall, as well as the 2 floor shack. The main area of the Hall contains multiple seatings, as well as a 2nd floor that overlooks the 1st floor, making it a dangerous and easily defendable room. The basement level is composed of 3 rooms. The first, and biggest, room connects directly to the main Hall and to the room behind the hall. This room can be accessed from the side or the back of the building. The second room is connected to the back entrance of the Hall and to the first room. The last room is the back entrance to the City Hall, and can be easily covered from the 2 floor shack. This building is heavily guarded. It usually contains from 4 to 5 tangos in the main Hall, who guard a hostage. Additionally, it has 2 tangos guarding the first basement room, as well as 2 more guarding the second room, along with a hostage.

The 2 floor shack can be accessed by walking down the path that is north of the City Hall. It allows overwatch on the back entrance to the City Hall, as well as the path north of it. It is guarded by 2 tangos, one of them a sniper.

The final building is the 2nd house, on the bottom of the hill to the East, close to the extraction zone. It is a small, 2 floor house that can be used to guard the extraction zone, the path from the 1st house's attached building to the City Hall basement, and the path East of the City Hall from a window in the bedroom, and multiple shutter windows on the 2nd floor. It is guarded by 3 tangos, one in the bedroom, one in the small kitchen of the house, and the other in the top floor.

The outside of the village can be divided into 5 sections. The first is the path that leads from the insertion zone to either the north of the 1st house and into the center of the village or south of the 1st house, towards the south of the center of the village and into the entrance of the attached building. No tangos patrol this section under normal circumstances. The center of the village is a section with high amounts of cover, and that can be guarded from multiple spots. It allows access into the City Hall, the path north of the Hall and the path South of the hall. Around 3-4 tangos guard this section. The north path of the village leads downhill into the 2 floor shack, the back entrance to the 2nd room of the City Hall basement, the back entrance to the 1st room of the City Hall basement and to the south path. This section is patrolled by as many as 5 tangos, 1 by the shack attached to the City Hall, and 2 groups of 2 tangos patrolling the area close to the 2 floor shack. The south path leads to the side entrance to the 1st room of the City Hall basement, the back entrance to the 1st room of the City Hall basement, and the 2nd house, as well as the extraction zone. This section is guarded by 2 tangos, that patrol from the 2 floor sack to the south path, all the way to the back entrance to the 1st house's attached building, and back.

Tactical Approach
Since the objective is to rescue hostages, the element of surprise is essential. Therefore it is recommended to equip suppressed weapons and quietly and methodically approach the hostage rooms. Most of the map is in close quarters combat, making SMGs and pistols the prefered choice for moving indoors. Since most of the map is covered with fog that prevents from seeing at long ranges, it is ill-advised to bring snipers, as their long range advantage is nullified by the fog and darkness of the night. However, sniper rifles can still be usefull if equipped with Thermal Scopes, allowing an operative to provide intelligence on the tango's location, or even neutralizing them through the walls. It is critical to enter the hostage rooms with distraction devices, such as breaching charges, tear gas, smoke grenades or flashbangs to distract the hostiles and prevent them from killing their captives. This also makes them easier targets to the entry team. It is recommended to neutralize the sniper in the shack attached to the City Hall should a team go through the north path. Failing to do so will result in said sniper, as well as the sniper in the 2 floor shack getting overlapping fields of fire over the team. Since, compared to other missions, the extraction zone is at a different location than the insertion zone, it is important to clear out the area close to it before bringing the hostages. This means clearing the small house close to it, and setting up a perimeter around it before giving the go to the teams escorting the hostages.

Strategies
Strategy 1=Teams, Loadouts and Insertion Zones

Red Team:


 * Chavez, Ding. MP5/10A2 (JHP rounds optional) + Suppressor or MP5SD5 with Mini Scope. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.


 * Loiselle, Louis. MP5/10A2 (JHP rounds optional) + Suppressor or MP5SD5 with Mini Scope. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.


 * Filatov, Genedy. MP5/10A2 (JHP rounds optional) + Suppressor or MP5SD5 with Mini Scope. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.

Green Team:


 * Novikov, Arkadi. MP5/10A2 (JHP rounds optional) + Suppressor or MP5SD5 with Mini Scope. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.


 * Walther, Jorg. MP5/10A2 (JHP rounds optional) + Suppressor or MP5SD5 with Mini Scope. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Breaching Charges. Medium Winter.


 * Raymond, Renee. MP5/10A2 (JHP rounds optional) + Suppressor or MP5SD5 with Mini Scope. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.

Gold Team:


 * Price, Eddie. G36K + Suppressor. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.


 * Maldini, Antonio. G36K + Suppressor. 92FS (JHP Rounds optional) + Suppressor. Flashbangs. Smoke Grenades. Medium Winter.

Plan

Red Team


 * From the Insertion Point, Red Team heads to the western entry point into the nearby house. Here, FMJ rounds are more effective, as they allow Red to engage the tangos in the house's bedroom through the window effectively. They will enter and clear the house, leaving the attached building to be cleared by Gold Team. They will stack up on the door that leads into the center of the village and wait for Alpha. On Alpha, Red will enter the center of the village and clear it along with Green and Gold. Once clear, Red will go down the hill through the south path and will enter and clear the basement of the City Hall through the south door. They will go up the stairs that lead to the main Hall and will wait for Bravo. Optionally (This is especially effective for AI-only plans), on Bravo Red can deploy a smoke grenade on the door, making it safer for the team to enter the room. If you use this method, have Red hold for a second Bravo go-code. On Bravo, Red enters the room, preferably with a flashbang (This is recommended only during player control, as the team leader can crack open the door and throw the flashbang through), then enter and clear the room, securing the hostage in the process. JHP rounds come in handy here, as they prevent over-penetration, making sure that a round doesn't go through a terrorist and into a hostage or team member. After clearing the room, Red team waits for Charlie in the room. On Charlie, Red goes down the same they came into the room and out of the basement. After exiting the basement, they blitz to the extraction zone, which Gold should have secured.

Green Team


 * From the Insertion Point, Green Team heads through the north path that leads into the center of the village. Here, FMJ rounds are more effective, as they allow Green to engage any tango that is in the main room through the windows. They will hold in the small shack that leads into the center of the village for Alpha, facing the north path. On Alpha, they enter the center of the village and clear it of hostiles along with Red and Gold. After it's clear, they will go back to the north path, enter the small shack connected to City Hall, making sure to neutralize the sniper. Following that, Green proceeds through the path north of the City Hall, making sure to stay clear of the 2 floor shack sniper's field of fire. They will clear the 2 floor shack (This is recommended only during player control, as an AI team might not neutralize the sniper in the 2nd floor) and will proceed to the eastern entrance to the basement. They will stack up on the door that leads to the room that contains the hostage. They have the choice of planting a breaching charge in the door, and waiting from Bravo or, along with Red team, throwing a smoke grenade to the foot of the door on Bravo, then planting the charge and waiting for a second Bravo go-code. On Bravo, Walther detonates the charge and Green enters the room making sure to neutralize the tango besides the hostage. JHP rounds come in handy here, as they prevent over-penetration, making sure that a round doesn't go through a terrorist and into a hostage or team member. They will completely clear the room, then wait for Charlie. On Charlie, Green exits the basement and blitzes to the extraction zone.

Gold Team


 * From the Insertion Point, Gold Team heads to the south entry point into the attached building to the house. They will clear the building and will descent the ladder. They will exit the building and wait around the corner that leads to the center of the village for Alpha. On Alpha, they move to the center of the village and clear it with Red and Green. After it's clear, they proceed to through the south path to the 2nd house close to the extraction zone. They should approach carefully, as there is a patrolling group that can spot Gold, as well as a tango in the 2nd house's bedroom that is usually looking through its window. They will enter the bedroom, through the south door and clear it. They will come back out and wait by the extraction zone for Alpha, covering the front door. On Alpha, Gold enters through the front and clears the house of hostiles. They come back to the extraction zone and hold there. It is important to note that giving the Alpha go-code is not totally necessary for mission completion, as just extracting the hostages successfully ends the mission.