In the Thick of It

"Rescue Einstein from the Headquarters inside this Soviet complex. Once found, evacuate him via the helicopter at the signal flare. Einstein and Tanya must be kept alive at all costs. Beware the Soviet's Tesla Coils. Direct Tanya to destroy the westmost power plants to take them off-line."

- Mission briefing

In the Thick of It is the first Allied mission in.

Background
The war was going rough for the Allied Forces in Europe. The sheer firepower of the Soviet forces was too much for the numerically inferior Allied armies. Additionally, the Soviets had abducted Albert Einstein, one of the most capable scientists the Allies had, and utilized him for their own research project. The Allies thus dispatched a strike force, which included Agent Tanya Adams, led by a certain Commander, to liberate the professor. To stop pursuing forces and level the research complex Einstein was held in, a fleet of Cruisers was readied.

Events
Reconnaissance revealed that the Tesla defense systems were online. However, Agent Tanya was able to sabotage the nearby Soviet Power Plant. The base immediately blacked-out. With the defenses down, the Allied strike team was able to advance into the base with relative ease. After disposing of two guards protecting the Soviet tech center, Einstein escaped from the building and was evacuated with a transport helicopter. Afterwards, the base was destroyed by Allied Cruisers.

Aftermath
With Einstein rescued, the Allies were provided with a major boost, even though they were still heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Allied Command would be able to benefit from the many technological inventions that Einstein would enable. However, the war was far from over.

Walkthrough
The player starts the mission with a number of Riflemen and Rangers. These units will destroy the incoming Soviet Riflemen and Attack Dogs. Afterwards, Tanya should destroy the explosive barrels in the northern part of the base, which will disable the base's Tesla Coils. Killing the two guards in front of the Tech Center will cause Einstein to escape the building. Once Einstein is freed, he and Tanya should leave the base immediately to avoid being accidentally killed by the fire of the incoming Cruisers. Loading Einstein into the appearing Chinook will end the mission.

Beta variant
The release version of this map is almost identical to the one in the v0.09c beta of Command & Conquer: Red Alert. The Riflemen and Attack Dogs that charge the player units initially are placed slightly further to the south of the player's starting position. Furthermore, Dwight, the civilian likely to get electrocuted by the Tesla Coil at the base entrance, is missing in the beta variant. Thus, the power of the Tesla Coil is not made obvious to novice players. Lastly, no explosive barrels are present, and the player has to move units into the base to take out the Power Plants powering it.