Red Dawn

"It is your good fortune to be in the vanguard of the Soviet assault on the United States. Lead your troops through Washington and destroy the most hated symbol of American military power, the Pentagon."

- Mission briefing

Operation: Red Dawn is the first mission of the Soviet Campaign in Red Alert 2.

Background
As the USSR unleashes its forces on US mainland, a newly appointed Soviet Commander is given the task of invading Washington D.C. by Premier Romanov himself. In this endeavor, he is assisted by Zofia as his intelligence officer.

The US was completely off guard and was mostly unprotected while the Soviets had been preparing for years.

Force Composition
The Soviets had legions of fresh and highly dedicated Conscripts brought in by airplanes. More Conscripts could be deployed from a small base if necessary. A legion of Engineers were also used to capture enemy structures. Once the Soviets had advanced to the Pentagon, a battalion of Rhino Tanks arrived to assist. The Soviets drastically outnumbered the Allies, with hundreds of soldiers.

The Allies had a small base protecting the Pentagon, but it was ill defended and quickly destroyed. There were also legions of G.I.s, but they were spread out and easy prey. The Allies clearly had not expected an attack, and they simply could not compete with the invaders.

The Battle
The mission began with a Paratrooper drop. The air raid siren was sounded by Washington defensive forces, as the Conscripts touched down and seized the Iwo Jima Monument, switching the American flag for a Soviet one. A forward base was then hastily erected, including an Ore Refinery and a Barracks. The Soviet troopers made their way through DC, engaging American defenders on the move. Soon, they arrived at a bridge that was hastily destroyed by the Americans to delay the Soviet Conscript rush. The Soviets built a few engineers and used them to capture the American base and rebuild the bridge.

The invaders crossed the bridge and entered nearby buildings to destroy gun emplacements and the GIs. They entered the base, cleared it of American soldiers and used paradropped engineers to capture the Tech Airport and the rest of the base.

The Soviets built up a strike force. Soon, they crossed the bridge towards the Pentagon. Rhino tanks took care of the Pillboxes, and the Pentagon was swarmed with Conscripts. Since additional reinforcements were received by paradrop, destroying the Pentagon wasn't a problem.

Aftermath
The attack was a major success for the Soviets. The Soviets were able to capture many important American officers, thanks to the speed and ferocity of their attacks. They were also able to capture the city, and coupled with the civilian deaths, intimidated the U.S. However, General Carville who was among others were able to escape after his office in the Pentagon was destroyed.

Trivia

 * Despite the fact the Hitler was killed off in the first Red Alert to change history, Japan, which would become an Empire of the Rising Sun in Red Alert 3, would still be active in the Second World War. Thus the Iwo Jima Memorial would still exist near the Soviet starting area. The same case applies regarding the appearance of the Arizona Memorial in the Allied campaign's seventh mission, Operation: Deep Sea.
 * The mission title, Red Dawn, refers to a 1984 American war film of the same name directed by John Milius. The movie also depicts a Soviet invasion of the United States.