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Steel Pegasus is a singleplayer mini-campaign/scenario set during the NATO invasion of Altis. It was added with the release of the Tac-Ops DLC.

Summary[]

During the invasion of Altis, NATO forces stage a daring air assault to open a second front.

« Government forces have attacked peacekeepers on Stratis. Now, NATO reinforcements are preparing to strike back. An air assault group is leaving the USS Freedom. Heading to the east coast of Altis, to open a second front. Operation Steel Pegasus has just begun... »


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NATO forces on the USS Freedom prepare for the invasion of the mainland.

Responding to the surprise attack on the peacekeepers of Task Force Aegis, NATO's invasion of Altis proceeds to commence in full swing. The U.S. Army's 111th Infantry Division (111th ID), comprising of the 7th and 21st Brigade Combat Teams, lead the charge with the aid of the 6th Fleet.

However, a direct attack on the Altis International Airport ends in complete failure after the 111th runs into heavy resistance from both the AAF and CSAT, and is forced to retreat all the way back to Neochori.

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The 21st BCT commences its diversionary assault on Chalkeia.

A second offensive, Operation Steel Pegasus, is proposed but in order to ensure its success this time around, a second front on the south-eastern coast of Altis is planned via amphibious assault instead.

Last minute reports of a CSAT submarine lurking around the coast quickly rules out the amphibious assault, however, and forces the plan to change into a (highly risky) airborne landing instead. Flying in via V-44X Blackfish VTOLs, the 21st leads the daring raid in the hopes of seizing the city of Chalkeia, and ultimately forcing the AAF to divert its main elements from the airport. The 21st is divided up into two forces designated as Operation Group Alpha and Operation Group Bravo. OG Bravo would be dropped off at LZ Blazer directly to the east of Chalkeia, while OG Alpha would be scheduled to land at LZ Mustang, south of Chalkeia.

Switching over to the view of one of the invading VTOLs primed to strike LZ Mustang (callsign Condor Four One), Corporal Louis Barklem and his fellow crewmembers in Sierra are shown proceeding with a hasty briefing. Not long before they arrive at their designated landing zone, their VTOL is suddenly hit by anti-aircraft fire and is forced to crash land into hostile territory just south of Mustang. Several other VTOLs ferrying the remainder of Mustang's forces are also hit by AA fire in the process, putting the entire operation into jeopardy.

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The 21st's transports come under fire.

Regaining consciousness after the crash, Barklem is revealed to be the only survivor of Condor Four One, with both the pilots as well as his fellow crewmen in Sierra, Bowker and Hawkes, confirmed to be KIA.

He manages to escape just in time before an AAF scouting party arrives to scour the crash site for survivors. Not long after, he receives a garbled message from one of the 21st's Blackfoot escorts, a pilot by the name of Terry Simpson (callsign Firebrand) who calls for assistance over the radio and relays the coordinates of the LZ's Emergency Rendezvous Point (ERV).

Firebrand fails to hear Barklem's replies, but he manages to make his way towards the crash site and rescues the pilot from an AAF patrol, though unfortunately he doesn't make it in time to save Simpson's co-pilot. The two form up and then come across two more survivors from LZ Mustang; a medic and his fellow squad member being held at gunpoint by an AAF patrol.

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Out of options, CPL Barklem attempts to meet up with the other survivors from LZ Mustang.

Barklem and Simpson quickly save the two, and with the help of the medical supplies brought to him by Barklem, manages to revive his fellow squad member at last. The two join Barklem and proceed to move towards the ERV.

After linking up at the ERV, the ragtag squad finally meet Third Lieutenant Jeremy Collins (callsign November), the only remaining officer left amongst the survivors of LZ Mustang. A distress call from the leader of a recon unit by the name of Sergeant John Sturrock (callsign Pariah) soon reaches them. November commands Pariah to fall back to the ERV, but the latter refuses to obey and insists on staying in order to ensure the safety of the left flank. Though they ask for reinforcements, November denies their request, which leaves Barklem and his team to assist them instead.

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The survivors mount a desperate defence against the odds.

With the left flank secured, the ERV itself eventually falls under attack from a large group of AAF troopers. Barklem and his team race back to the ERV to assist in the defence. After a heated firefight, the survivors manage to temporarily repel the AAF.

Despite their success, the survivors from LZ Mustang know that they are completely cut off from the main element at LZ Blazer and must manage a breakthrough at Point Superior somehow. Before they can plan their next move properly however, the AAF launch an artillery barrage at the ERV and force the survivors to move towards the ancient ruins at Atkinarki.

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With Barklem's help, Point Superior is quickly captured by November and Pariah.

To their luck, Barklem manages to find a still-intact Marshall IFV from a nearby crashed VTOL. Quickly repairing it, he uses it to support the breakthrough attempt at Point Superior, and begins ferrying the wounded from the ERV to LZ Blazer. Just before the rest of the survivors can also retreat to Blazer however, a three-pronged counterattack by a mechanised AAF force is spotted by November, and are racing towards Superior from all directions to plug the gap.

Volunteering to stay behind as a rear guard in order to buy time for the rest of the survivors, Barklem digs into Superior with the aid of the remainder of units from callsign Oscar, and brace themselves for the assault.

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Serving as rearguard, Barklem holds off the counterattack long enough for the others to retreat.

Barklem manages to hold off the attackers long enough for them to get across the no man's land. Upon reaching Blazer, November radios in for them to fall back, and the rest of Oscar mount up onto Barklem's Marshall to make their hasty getaway just before Superior gets overrun.

With all elements from the BCT now linked up at last, callsign Guardian green lights the main assault to take Chalkeia. Alpha (consisting of the combined elements from Mustang) and Sierra (Barklem's IFV) are tasked with the duty of relieving both Bravo and Charlie units, as both were pinned down from a previous failed attempt at taking the city.

Although still hopelessly outnumbered and knowing that the AAF have mechanised reinforcements ready to respond, the main objective of seizing the city as quickly as possible remains in place, and hope that air support arrives in time to aid them.

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The Battle for Chalkeia begins.

The combined forces of Barklem's Marshall along with units from Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, proceed to sweep through and eventually wrest control of Chalkeia from the AAF. They also manage to destroy a CSAT ZSU-39 that had embedded itself with the defending garrison, leaving the skies clear for friendly air to arrive.

However, the company of mechanised AAF reinforcements (consisting of four IFVs and even an MBT) are spotted rapidly closing in onto the city, having arrived earlier than the 21st had expected.

Unable to halt their progress, they easily slip through the defensive lines north of the MSR and proceed to wreak havoc on the 21st. Just as all hope seems lost, NATO gunships arrive in the nick of time to repel the counterattack. With their help, the battle for Chalkeia finally ends in a decisive victory for NATO forces.

Despite having suffered heavy materiel and manpower losses, Operation Steel Pegasus is declared a success. They had achieved their primary goal of forcing the AAF to divert the bulk of their forces from the main airport. Later that evening, the AAF would also lose control of the capital Pyrgos to the 7th; all made possible in no small part due to the efforts of the fighting men of the 21st.

Timeline[]

LZ Nowhere (9th August, 2035)[]

« As NATO's invasion of Altis falters, a high-risk plan is put into action. »

Taking off from the USS Freedom, the 21st attempt a daring early morning airborne raid by striking from the south-eastern coast of Altis. The invasion attempt ends in complete disaster after anti-aircraft fire downs several craft: Barklem's squad being one of them. He soon wakes up and manages to rendezvous at the ERV with the other survivors from LZ Mustang.

Breaking Through (9th August, 2035)[]

« Survivors from LZ Mustang attempt to reach friendly forces. »

Cut off from the main elements that successfully landed at LZ Blazer, the survivors from LZ Mustang regroup and attempt to reach safety before they get cutoff by AAF reinforcements. Barklem manages to discover and reclaim a still-intact Marshall from one of the crashed VTOLs, and proceeds to use it to ferry seriously injured soldiers to LZ Blazer while providing fire support for the other retreating units from Mustang.

Final Strike (9th August, 2035)[]

« Against the odds, NATO soldiers attempt to capture Chalkeia. »

Though still greatly outnumbered, the combined forces from both LZ Mustang and Blazer, along with Barklem's Marshall leading the way, commence the main offensive into Chalkeia. The attack is initially successful but suffers a setback after AAF reinforcements manage to break through NATO lines north of the primary MSR. Just as the battle seems to swing decisively in the AAF's favour, NATO air support arrives and manages to destroy the attacking platoon. With the AAF completely routed at Chalkeia, the city finally falls under the control of NATO forces at long last.

Achievements[]

  • Arma3-achievement-steelpegasus
    Steel Pegasus
    • Beat all three of the mini-campaign's missions. The order of completion does not matter so long as all of them are successfully finished.

Trivia[]

  • In LZ Nowhere, the pilot's survival depends on whether the player manages to reach the crash site in time before the roaming AAF patrols find and kill him.
    • In addition, the number of wounded that can be rescued from the ERV is determined by the player's decision on whether they choose to rescue the medic or not.
    • Retrieving the mortar in LZ Nowhere will also ensure that artillery support will be available to soften up the town's defences during Final Strike.
  • Barklem's name becomes a running joke throughout the campaign, with Collins, Sturrock, and Guardian all continuously mispronouncing his name as either "Barker", "Barkley" or "Barlem".
  • Sturrock is shown to have a disrespectful attitude towards Collins due to the latter's inexperience as a leading officer; continuously voicing disdain at his indecisiveness as well as acting with insubordination several times throughout LZ Nowhere and in particular, Breaking Through.
  • The final casualty count, as well as whether the player chose to do the secondary objectives or not will affect the epilogue. The success of Operation Steel Pegasus will range from being a pyrrhic to a complete victory depending on the player's performance throughout all three missions.
  • If the player fails to destroy the ZSU-39 Tigris in Final Strike before the enemy QRF arrive, a secret alternate ending will take place whereby the 21st BCT is ordered to retreat to the coast and link up with CTRG operatives led by Lieutenant James.
    • In this ending, James ferries the survivors back to their mobile base of operations, the HMS Proteus, after the latter destroys the same CSAT submarine mentioned in the briefing for LZ Nowhere.
    • This sequence is completely non-canonical, however, as it is directly contradicted by canon storyline events that take shortly after Steel Pegasus (i.e. Chalkeia is explicitly shown as being under NATO/FIA control in the final mission for Altis Requiem).

Video[]

Gallery[]

See also[]

Campaigns
Cold War Assault Resistance (1982)Cold War Crisis (1985)
Armed Assault Armed Assault (2006)Rahmadi Conflict (2006)Royal Flush (2007)
ArmA 2 Harvest Red (2009) [ Eagle Wing ] • Silver Lion (2010-2012)Operation Arrowhead (2012)Operation Crimson Lance (2012)Operation Black Gauntlet (2013)
Tactics Operation Tempest (201X)Operation No Deal (201X)
ArmA 3 Beyond Hope (2026)Prologue (2034)The East Wind (2035) [ Survive, Stepping Stone, Adapt, Win, Steel Pegasus, Altis Requiem ] • Remnants of War (2034/2035)Apex Protocol (2035)Old Man (2038)First Contact (2039)
Mobile Ops Liberator of Lignos (20XX)
Entries are listed in canonical order from left-to-right.
[Brackets] denote campaigns taking place concurrently within the same time period.
Italics denote spin-off or non-canon campaigns.
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