Iron Nest Mission 14: Final Harvest - CBT Solutions

Worked example: Bearing, range, charge and elevation figures below come from a sample playthrough. Enemy spawns and your Iron Nest’s position vary each run — always measure on the map and follow the in-game ballistic calculator.

Mission Critical Strategy: Two Guns, One Powder Bunker

Final Harvest is the first mission where your limiting factor stops being aim and starts being logistics. You are asked to run a counter-battery duel and a friendly fire-support mission simultaneously, from a single turret, out of a single powder bunker.

Most operators fail here for one of two reasons:

1. They treat the Left and Right guns as one weapon. They are not. They are two independent firing solutions. The mission expects you to hold a loaded Left Gun on a howitzer while the Right Gun answers a fresh support call.
2. They spend their powder before the Emergency Move. Read the section below before you fire a single shell — the powder you burn in the opening phase is powder you will not have after you relocate.

The CBT pressure is the bait. The real timer is your charge inventory.

Why the powder bunker decides this mission

Every other mission lets you walk back to the locker mid-fight. Final Harvest does not — after the Emergency Move your firing origin changes, and the reload cycle becomes too long to cover with a single gun. The rule that survives the whole mission:

A long shot costs 4–6 charge bags. Requisition doubles what you think you need, then add two more bags for the post-move table.

Pre-Calculated Firing Solutions

Charge count is driven purely by range band: 10–15 km takes 3 bags, 15–20 km takes 4, 20–25 km takes 5. Elevation follows Elevation = Range (km) × Multiplier.

Opening table — coastal howitzers (before Emergency Move)

Target	Target Grid	Turret Bearing	Target Range	Powder Charges	Elevation (θ)	Ammunition
Coastal Howitzer ALFA	Grid B2 7.4	042.0°	22.40 km	5 Charges	53.76°	APHE
Coastal Howitzer BRAVO	Grid C5 1.8	055.6°	24.80 km	5 Charges	59.52°	APHE
Allied Advance Support	Grid E3 9.2	071.2°	17.60 km	4 Charges	52.80°	HCHE

Post-move table — after Emergency Move (new firing origin)

Target	Target Grid	Turret Bearing	Target Range	Powder Charges	Elevation (θ)	Ammunition
Coastal Howitzer CHARLIE	Grid C4 2.0	118.4°	19.20 km	4 Charges	57.60°	APHE
Barcelona Perimeter Block	Grid D6 8.3	131.0°	12.60 km	3 Charges	50.40°	HCHE

[!WARNING] Do not fire the post-move table from the opening position. After relocating, your bearings and ranges are invalid until you re-plot. If you fire the old numbers you will land shells on empty grid squares and waste the powder you deliberately conserved.

Step-by-Step Operator Routine

Phase 1: Requisition (Timer: Stopped)

1. Before touching the gun, open the requisition console and buy 14 powder charge bags — this is the single most common failure point of the mission.
2. Buy 3 APHE shells and 2 HCHE shells. Do not buy H shells for this mission; every target here is either armoured or danger-close to friendlies.
3. Plot both howitzer positions (B2 7.4 and C5 1.8) on your map board and confirm the bearings independently.

Phase 2: Opening Counter-Battery Duel (CBT 120s → 80s)

1. Load Left Gun: 1 APHE + 5 charge bags. Set elevation 53.76°.
2. Load Right Gun: 1 APHE + 5 charge bags. Set elevation 59.52°.
3. Traverse to 042.0°, select LEFT GUN, pull the lanyard. (CBT starts here.)
4. While the shell is in flight, traverse +13.6° to 055.6°.
5. Select RIGHT GUN, pull the lanyard. Confirm both howitzers silent with ~80s left on the clock.

Phase 3: Emergency Move (CBT 80s → 45s)

1. The moment the teleprinter prints the counter-barrage warning, execute Emergency Move. Do not finish a firing cycle first.
2. At the new position, request a Position Report before loading anything. Your old grid is dead.
3. Re-plot using the post-move table. Load Left Gun with APHE and 4 charge bags — 19.20 km needs one bag fewer than the opening shots.
4. The friendly support call (HCHE, 12.60 km, 3 bags) goes to the Right Gun only. Keep the Left Gun loaded and pointed at Charlie so you can re-engage the instant it fires.

Phase 4: Support the Barcelona Advance (CBT 45s → Stand Down)

1. Answer support calls with the Right Gun while the Left Gun holds Charlie.
2. Every third shell, re-check your charge count on the requisition console. If you are below 4 bags, stop taking optional support calls.
3. When high command confirms the advance has cleared the outer perimeter, cease fire. The mission completes on the objective, not on your remaining ammunition.

[!IMPORTANT] Operator Rule: The CBT timer is not the threat — running dry is. If you are forced to choose between answering a support call and keeping one loaded gun on Charlie, keep the gun loaded. A silent howitzer behind you costs more than a delayed support mission.