A Monument to Madness

## Outcome

Allied victory* President Howard T. Ackerman killed

Objectives| * Prevent Ackerman from firing the weapon
* Eliminate Ackerman
* Protect Ackerman

Commanders| * Allied Commander
* Warren Fuller

Forces| Initial forces:* Agent Tanya
* 3 Spies
* 3 Engineers

Reinforcements:* Standard Allied arsenal
* Spectrum tower
* Mirage tanks

**A Monument to Madness** is the sixth mission of the Allied campaign in *Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3*.

## Plot

Field Marshal Bingham congratulated the Commander's success in destroying the floating fortress and commented that the Soviets were proving to be a great ally. However, Eva interrupted the communication with an angry message from Premier Cherdenko.

Cherdenko accused Bingham of treachery and stated that he never should have trusted the Allies, much to Bingham's confusion. Eva explained that a satellite relay system at the Mount Rushmore monument, one that the Allies had no knowledge of, was targeting Moscow. Realizing that President Ackerman was responsible, Bingham contacted him.

Aboard his limousine, Ackerman told Bingham that he was wrong to trust the Soviets and that he can thank him after everything is over before cutting off the communication. With no other choice, Bingham ordered the Commander to stop Ackerman before he could undermine the alliance with the Soviets.

Tanya and a small team of spies and engineers, led by the Commander and Warren Fuller, arrived at Mt. Rushmore. Though Warren was not sure what to make of the situation, he was determined to support the Commander. Tanya destroyed a com tower guarded by Allied forces loyal to Ackerman, preventing Ackerman from remotely firing the weapon.

Ackerman contacted the Commander directly, informing him that the weapon would fire if his heart stops beating. Meanwhile, the weapon was finally revealed: a massive laser cannon concealed in the head of the Theodore Roosevelt sculpture. Cherdenko contacted the Commander, threatening a full retaliation if the weapon fires.

Without the com tower, Ackerman would have to reach the Rushmore Firebase, which was heavily defended by forces loyal to him, to fire the weapon. While on his way to the firebase, Ackerman activated three control centers, which activated hidden weapons in the sculptures of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington, causing them to fire powerful lasers from their eyes at Allied forces.

Eventually, however, Allied forces overcame Ackerman's defenses and destroyed the firebase. Attempting to flee, Ackerman chronoshifted his limo to a helipad and tried to flee aboard the presidential helicopter. However, Allied forces destroyed his vehicle and ended the life of the mad president. Tanya congratulated the Commander's success, saying that even though she did not wish for this to happen, he did the right thing.

## Objectives

### Main Objectives

* Destroy the Com Tower

Destroy the Communications Tower to prevent the President from transmitting the launch codes to the super weapon inside Mount Rushmore.
* Destroy the Rushmore Firebase

The President is on his way to the weapon Firebase. Destroy it before his limo gets there.
* Defeat President Ackerman The President is chronoshifted to the hangar and tries to escape via Marine One, destroy him.

### Bonus Objectives

* Destroy the Power Plant

The Power Plant runs the enemy base defenses nearby.
* Capture the Boot Camp

Capturing the Boot Camp will prevent the President from calling in reinforcements close to you.
* Capture the Jefferson Head Control Center

Capturing this Head Control Center will disable the lasers in Thomas Jefferson.
* Capture the Lincoln Head Control Center

Capturing this Head Control Center will disable the lasers in Abraham Lincoln.
* Capture the Washington Head Control Center

Capturing this Head Control Center will disable the lasers in George Washington.
## Walkthrough

*(This walkthrough assumes Hard difficulty.)*

In the first phase of the mission, you control Tanya while your co-commander controls a small group of spies and engineers. Use Tanya to take out the attack dogs guarding the northwestern base (be sure not to get in range of the multigunner turret), then use Co-Commander Strike to infiltrate the power plant, which disables the turrets guarding the base. Use Tanya to kill the remaining infantry guarding the base and destroy the turret and the power plant, but do NOT destroy the boot camp. A Co-Commander Strike to capture the boot camp will soon show up, which enables your co-commander to capture it. After this is done, destroy the forces guarding the com tower to the east and the com tower. The captured boot camp will be transferred to you, but it will be too far from your con yard to receive clearance upgrades, so you may want to sell it and build another one.

Once you take control of the Allied base, your objective is to destroy the Fire Base before Ackerman's limo reaches it. You can delay the limo with the Cryoshot Top Secret Protocol, but this is not necessary. Start by building up your economy. There are three ore mines and an oil refinery near your starting location, so build up three ore refineries and capture the oil refinery with an engineer. Train ten Javelin soldiers, have them cover the eastern and western side of your base's entrance, then tech up to Heightened Clearance and train at least five spies.

Order the spies to disguise as Ackerman's soldiers and enter Ackerman's base directly to the north. Make them wait near the massive concentration of power plants. You can order one of them to steal money from the nearby refinery if you are low on funds.

Ackerman will attack your base with waves of Vindicator bombers and vehicles, so build an armor facility, then some Guardian tanks and Multigunner IFVs to defend your base. Once you have funds to spare, build an airbase and tech up to Max Clearance. Build two Apollo fighters to defend your base, then two Century bombers.

Once Ackerman's limo reaches the Jefferson Head Control at the southeastern edge of the map, Ackerman will activate Doomsday Jefferson, a long-range turret capable of instantly destroying any ground unit. At this point, you will be granted access to the Spectrum tower, but you will not need it, since it is power hungry and requires the defense bureau. Ackerman will also activate the Lincoln and Washington control centers, located at the northeastern edge and northwestern edge respectively, once he reaches them. For now, load an engineer into a Century bomber, drop him near the Jefferson control center and capture it. Take care to avoid the turrets near Ackerman's helipad directly east of your base.

When Ackerman reaches the Lincoln Head Control, you are granted access to the Mirage tank. Build up around ten Mirage tanks, have half of them defend your base (set them to Aggressive Stance) and the other half joining the Mirage tanks you were just granted in attacking Ackerman's base. Don't forget to airdrop more engineers to capture Lincoln and later Washington's control centers after they come online.

After you capture Washington's control center, the fun truly begins. Move your Mirage tank to the north, just outside of the first Spectrum tower's range. Infiltrate a power plant with one of your spies, then destroy the tower. As you move your Mirage tanks further in, continue infiltrating the power plants before the power resumes and destroy everything in your way. Fight your way to the Fire Base and destroy it.

Ackerman's limo will then be chronoshifted to his helipad, where he will board his helicopter (which will drop off five Javelin soldiers to provide cover) and attempt to escape. If you act fast, you can simply destroy the limo with a Century bomber. Otherwise, shoot down the helicopter with your two Apollos. Either way, the mission will end upon Ackerman's death.

## Trivia

* There is no fog of war in the second phase of the mission.
* When shot down, the wreckage of Ackerman's helicopter burns with a green fire, an effect unique to Empire of the Rising Sun vehicles, suggesting that Ackerman may be an Imperial android, as he is in the Empire of the Rising Sun's campaign.
* Ackerman’s forces are colored purple. This is in line with other characters in the *Red Alert* series associated with treachery (Vladimir and Yuri in *Red Alert 2*, Krukov and Cherdenko in the Soviet campaign of *Red Alert 3*, etc.).
* Ackerman’s actions mark the first time in the Red Alert universe a character affiliated with the Allies goes rogue and turns against the player.
* There is a rare glitch when Ackerman's limo goes off the road, into the battlefield, climb up into his base then climb up a steep mountain, falls down from the mountain and then get stuck under the bust of Roosevelt. When this happens, the player can have unlimited time to destroy the firebase.
* If a building is constructed on the bottom left corner of the map before the Mirage Tanks are transferred to player control, the Mirage Tanks will be forced to move elsewhere, momentarily revealing their true nature.

## References

1. ↑ Electronic Arts Los Angeles, *Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3*. Allied mission 6: "A Monument to Madness".