The Guns of Anchorage

The Guns of Anchorage is a quest in the Fallout 3 add-on Operation: Anchorage.

After finishing the quest Aiding the Outcasts, the player finds themselves in the Anchorage Reclamation simulation. All items are temporarily removed, instead replaced with a silenced 10mm pistol, a trench knife, a Stealth Boy and winterized combat armor.

Inside the simulation, all usable items glow red and emit a ringing sound when approached. Armor and weapon condition does not degrade. Health and ammunition can be replenished using health and ammo dispensers. All enemies vanish in a blue flash of light when killed.

Detailed walkthrough
The player starts off at the Anchorage Cliffs with Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery waking them up. He informs the player that they are part of a U.S. paratrooper infiltration team, and their objective is to destroy a set of three artillery guns located there. To do this, they must infiltrate the Chinese artillery outpost. Montgomery then proceeds to climb up the cliffs. The player must take the long way.

Following the path to the right, one will encounter a Chinese soldier. After sneaking past or killing the soldier, the player must cross a bridges follow a winding catwalk around the exterior of a building. Once at the top, the player can go down a set of stairs to their right to find a sniper rifle, a frag mine and a health dispenser. Heading through a small building, and one will have the option to loot a Chinese assault rifle and some more explosives. One may also replenish their ammunition using an ammo dispenser. Fighting more Chinese soldiers along the way, the player must cross a large pipe. If the player character walks up the broken bridge on this pipe, they will find a Stealth Boy sitting on top of some boxes. Procees up the path to reach the Cave Outpost.

Inside the cavern, a group of Chinese soldiers shoot at an American paratrooper whose parachute got tangled in a tree above the cavern. When killed, he will drop his Gauss rifle. A hidden room to the southeast has some microfusion cells, as well as other supplies. Proceeding through the cavern, the player will enter a room upstairs. Montgomery drops from the ceiling and rejoins the player. During the conversation, asking him for ammunition will result in him handing over 50 5.56mm rounds, 60 10mm rounds and 10 microfusion cells. He serves as a companion from this point on.

Upon leaving the cavern, one will notice a small bunker along the cliff on the other side of the ravine. The only way to access it is to cross the large pipe. Inside one will find a health dispenser, and a locked door to field storage area. Pick the lock (Very Easy) and enter the room, inside there is a computer terminal, the first of ten pieces of intel (1/10) underneath the desk and a holotape titled 'Bombardment.'

Leave the building and cross back over the pipe. Carry on up the path, fighting Chinese soldiers along the way. The player will cross a bridge and will be facing the locked door to field storage (Very Easy), in this room another intel suitcase (2/10) can be found at the back and a holotape titled 'Goodbye.'

Leaving field storage, follow the path towards the Chinese Artillery Outpost, which has two bunkers and one big Chinese flag. The player can then decide how to approach it. If the player crosses the bridge, Chinese soldiers and turrets will fire on the player character from the bunkers. Inside the lower left bunker is a Chinese inferno unit, a soldier with a flamer.

Alternatively, if the player looks to the right just before the opening that leads to the bridge across to the Artillery Outpost, there is a red door leading into the Cave Passage. On the other side of the door is a single Chinese soldier, and a staircase that winds up the side of the cave. This staircase leads to another red door that deposits the player on a cliff landing on the right side of the Artillery Outpost, above the bunker with the turret and in line of sight of the bunker above the door to the Artillery Outpost. From this vantage point, the turret cannot sight the player and the Chinese soldiers are much more easily dispatched.

Entering the outpost will leave the player in the sights of several more soldiers. Climb the stairs immediately to one's front and follow the path to reach a Very Easy locked door on the left. Inside is another intel suitcase (3/10), another holotape, titled 'Invasion,' and a Stealth Boy. Take a right, and follow the linear path, dispatching enemies along the way. One will reach a hallway where the right side drops away, which provides a distant view of the Chinese Chimera tanks. To the left just past this area is a locked door. This can be opened via lockpick or by using a nearby terminal. Both are (Very Easy). Inside are a pair of grenades, a terminal and the last intel case for this level (4/10).

Proceed up the stairs and follow the path. Along the way one will enter a room full of stacked artilery shells, followed by a room with two staircases and several Chinese soldiers. There is a health dispenser in a small room beneath the right staircase. After ascending either staircase and passing through the door to the west, the player will enter a hallway. To the right for is a (very easy) locked door, behind the door is a holotape titled 'Overrun.' Continue left down the hall and head up the stairs until one reachs an open room with several stairwells and many stacked shells. At first glance, the room is empty but within moments, multiple Crimson Dragoons, China's advanced stealth units, wielding swords will attack.

Upon exiting the outpost, one will be at the Artillery Overlook, right next to where the guns are firing. They are guarded by a multiple regular troops, inferno units and Chinese snipers, Crimson Dragoons armed with sniper rifles. The player must proceed to the base of each artillery gun, one at a time, and plant an explosive charge in the proper location. The player then has 20 seconds to get a safe distance away from each of the explosive charges.

Once all of the guns are destroyed with explosive charges, the Wanderer is told to report to General Chase in the U.S. Army field headquarters. The player is automatically teleported away from the mountain top to find themselves right in front of the general. This automatically concludes the Guns of Anchorage and begins the quest Paving the Way.

Rewards

 * 100 XP

Intel suitcases
4 of the 10 intel suitcases required for gaining the Covert Ops perk can be found during this mission. Please refer to the main article for their locations.

Behind the scenes

 * Markings on the shells give their size as 914 mm, the same as those fired by the giant Little David heavy mortar. Their shapes are also similar.
 * The quest name may be a reference to the war novel and film The Guns of Navarone where allied commandos are sent out to infiltrate an enemy stronghold and destroy its cannons.

Bugs

 * If one fires on the two Chimera tanks with a sniper rifle, they can cause a team of Chinese soldiers to appear and run alongside the tanks, the first Chimera may even return with one of the teams.
 * Sometimes Benjamin Montgomery will not appear after the Chinese soldier falls from the ceiling at the rendezvous point. Be sure to make a manual save before beginning Operation: Anchorage add-on as loading from a manual save or restarting the system may fix this.
 * Rarely when looking out to the mountains in the direction one begins (south-southeast) one can see what appears to be floating buildings above the mountain. These buildings have the same appearance as the buildings south of Rivet City in the Out of Bounds area (reloading fixes it).