Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour/China Infantry General vs. China Tank General

This mission is extremely challenging. Gattling Cannons and Mini-Gunners are utterly useless against Battlemasters and Emperors, leaving Tank Hunters as the only viable counter. Apart from Fortified Bunkers, large numbers of Attack Outposts (which can heal each other with their integrated Speaker Towers) must be used in tandem with Tank Hunters to shred enemy armor before they get too close, preferably with assistance from Mini-Gunners against aircraft/infantry. Gattling Cannons can help fight off enemy Tank Hunters.

Walkthrough

Basic Start: Build a Reactor, extra bulldozer, Barracks and Supply Center. Place the Barracks in the back of the base for easy placement of Hackers.

Key Strategies

• Important: Build two extra Supply Trucks for fast cash.
• Don’t build any Speaker Towers. Attack Outposts have them integrated, allowing them to heal each other.
• Build about six Assault Outposts, then start building Hackers. Have a group of three to the east and three to the northwest portion of your base. Have your Barracks located in the back of the base for easy placement of Hackers. Keep adding Hackers and Assault Outposts as funds permit.
• Choose Mini Gunner Training from your General’s Powers, as they will play an important role later in the game. Next, choose level two Infantry Paradrop for additional Mini Gunners.
• Only the level two Infantry Paradrop is chosen, versus level three, so that you can obtain both Carpet Bombing and level three Artillery Barrage. In unison, they can destroy the Nuclear Missile. You can then use your Nuclear Missile to destroy the Propaganda Center. With this technique, the Nuclear Missile will probably not be rebuilt, as the dozers are distracted and rebuild the Propaganda Center instead!!
• Completely load up your Assault Outposts with paradropped Mini Gunners. Also load any Tank Hunters roaming the battlefield after their initial Assault Outpost is destroyed. With both of these infantry types in these vehicles, you can stop anything that comes in your direction -- including jets, Helixes, Tank Hunters, Empress Overlords, Battlemasters and Gattling Tanks.

Choose Mini Gunner training from the General’s Power menu.

Important: Build two extra Supply Trucks. The mission can be won with just one, but building two takes a lot of stress off of your defense.

Build a War Factory and then four Assault Outposts. Add a single Mini Gunner to some of the Outposts to deal with Tank Hunters. Assign two AO’s to the east and two to the northwest.

Build a Propaganda Center. Build two more Assault Outposts to create two groups of three.

Build two Hackers and start hacking the Internet for cash.

Continue to build additional Outposts and Hackers as funds permit. The mission can be won without any Gattling Cannons, but you may want to build one to the northwest and one to the east after you have your six Outposts.

If you do build Gattling Cannons, station your Outposts slightly in front of them. Incoming units will target your GC’s, since your Outposts are in stealth mode while stationary. This will put your Outposts in great striking position as the enemy units come into range.

Battle will be hot and heavy and you will soon reach Level 3. Choose Level 2 Infantry Paradrop and place the ten Mini Gunners inside of your Outposts. They will be sorely needed as jets will soon be hitting your base.

Once you feel reasonably secure in your base and you have ten or so Hackers working, build your first Nuclear Missile.

As you wait for your Nuclear Missile to launch, continue strengthening your base with Outposts and Hackers. You can’t have too many of either of these. You will lose a number of Outposts, and you can put surviving infantry into newly-created replacement AO’s.

If you haven’t already, obtain Radar at the Command Center.

Destroy the Nuclear Missile with the Carpet Bomber and level three Artillery Barrage. If you destroy it in this manner, you can destroy the Propaganda Center with your Nuclear Missile to slow down the production of Emperor Tanks.

There is a side benefit to this. The bulldozer will be sidetracked to build the Propaganda Center instead of the Nuclear Missile and the Nuclear Missile will not be rebuilt again on this mission!!

Subliminal Messaging is also a nice upgrade once you have the funds to increase its healing and fire rate bonuses.

It is also helpful to build the Internet Center to obtain the Satellite Hack Level 1 and 2.

From here on out, your base is fairly secure.

Start building additional Nuclear Missiles to assist in your offensive operations.

If enough Nuclear Missiles are built, it is possible to destroy the Command Center, then the bulldozers as they return to rebuild it. If all bulldozers are destroyed, you can then systematically destroy their base without any structures being rebuilt.

It is not necessary to destroy Speaker Towers, Bunkers and Gattling Cannons for the Tank General to surrender.

Mission accomplished!