The Axis has constructed a mighty iron behemoth: the massive Dora railway gun! Eighty centimetres in caliber, capable of hurling a seven ton shell thirty miles! If the Axis can fire Dora, the battlefront opposing them will crumble, and Axis dominance will be regained! To defeat the Axis dreams of domination the Allies must destroy devastating Dora, or look defeat in the face! Can the Axis load and fire Dora in spite of fierce Allied attacks? Can the desperate Allies deny the Axis victory by striking Dora dumb? Only time...will tell!
—Briefing Announcer
Axis Objectives
- Get the first tug to the depot yard and load Dora's ammo.
- Get the first tug back to the north crane, and transfer the ammo to the second tug.
- Move the second tug to the Dora rail gun.
- Fire Dora.
Secondary Objectives
- Construct the Command Post.
- Ensure the track switch does not impede your progress by raising or lowering it.
Map Description
Railgun is a cold, snowy map. The Axis must get Dora's ammunition from the depot yard to Dora herself by way of a pair of tugs, then fire the railgun to win the map. The tugs move in an inverted C pattern, a half-semicircle. The primary Axis spawn is located at the north end of the C, and at the bottom, the depot yard and Dora's ammunition. The Allies spawn midway between the Depot Yard and the Axis main spawn, giving them a chance to intercept the first tug.
The track switch consists of a guard rail and a lever which can be pulled to lower or raise the switch. In order to keep the tug moving, the switch must be raised. The Axis, therefore, should try to raise the track switch to let it get from their main spawn to the Depot Yard, and then lower it to prevent the Allies from taking it all the way back to the main spawn in the event the person manning the tug is killed.
At the Axis main spawn is a second tug, which travels from the Axis main spawn to the railgun. The railgun takes up a large amount of the map, and stretches close to the Allied spawn point. This gives them a chance to guard the rail gun and prevent it from being fired.
From the Allied spawn, if one travels straight, right over the track switch, one can enter a small enclosed bunker-like area. A machine gun nest is perpendicular to the track, allowing someone to easily shoot someone out of the first tug as it passes by. Behind the machine gun is a neutral command post, which can be constructed by either side at any point in the game. This bunker is accessible from all three major points of interest - the Allied Spawn from the east, the Axis spawn from the north, and the Depot Yard from the south.
The Depot Yard itself contains a capturable spawn point. Contacting the flag will cause it to switch to your side. The depot yard spawn itself is quite open, and can be either protected by or attacked from a 360 degree machine gun nest just in front of it. The depot yard can be accessed by three ways - either via the tracks from the east, or two small valleys from the north and the northeast. Both valleys can be easily mined, and lead directly to the primary Axis Spawn. As a result, the Depot Yard is normally Axis-controlled upon the start of the match.
Constructables
Points of Interest
- Depot Yard: Contrary to initial belief, the depot yard does not determine the victor. Because the ammo is loaded onto the first tug regardless of who controls the yard, the first tug is more important. The Depot Yard becomes more important for the Allies if the Axis manage to load the ammo onto the first tug. They must then hold the Depot Yard and allow them to spawn there, and continue to defend the tug. If the tug leaves the depot yard, the Allies have one last chance to stop it from reaching the north crane at the track switch.
- First Tug: One of the crucial elements of the game is this tug. Because of its long and rather vulnerable path of travel (it must traverse the Allied spawn, two machine gun nests, and the track switch in order to reach the Depot Yard, and the same thing for the trip back), the Allies must keep the first tug from reaching the Depot as long as possible. Once the ammo is onto the second tug, it is very difficult to prevent it from reaching the rail gun.
- Second Tug: Very difficult to stop if the first tug reaches the depot yard and comes back with Dora's ammunition. The path is short and very straightforward.
- Rail Gun: Players initially playing the map will likely say something along the lines of, "Look at the size of that thing!" as they approach the railgun. Because of its huge size, it is very easy for both the Axis and the Allies to reach it. The rail gun itself is completely indestructible, but the major point of interest is on the side facing the Axis spawn - the gun controls. The last ditch effort by the Allies to win is by dynamiting the gun controls, requiring an engineer to traverse a relatively open area to repair the gun controls first, then fire the gun. Additionally, the rail gun itself has several nooks and crannies crafty players can slip into, to give any Axis engineers heck for repairing it. The gun controls are elevated on top of Dora and are reachable only by a ladder, and Axis players can expect this ladder to be heavily mined, or otherwise protected.