Stronghold (Mission)

"Stronghold" is the fifteenth mission of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The mission takes place shortly after "Blood Brothers", at an old castle, Karlstejn, near Prague. In this mission the player plays as Yuri. Price and Yuri assault a castle that is and has recently been used by the Russians as a firebase. The main objective is to learn the location of Vladimir Makarov.

Characters

 * Yuri (playable)
 * John Price
 * Nikolai
 * Vladimir Makarov
 * Alexi (K.I.A)
 * Boris Vorshevsky (P.O.W.)

Plot
During the loading cutscene, Price contacts MacMillan, informing the latter of Soap's death. The mission starts with Yuri and Price parachuting into the castle grounds. As they approach the ground, Price eliminates two guards with his pistol. The pair cross open space and hide behind an old wall as a patrol passes by. The two then drop down into a courtyard with numerous vehicles in it. Crawling under the vehicles, Price plants C4 to cover their escape. Emerging from the last vehicle, Yuri takes out a guard and Price hides the body. A spotlight scans the area, and after it passes, the pair rush across to a platform. Crawling under that, Yuri plants C4 on the underside. Once reaching the edge, a guard drops down and puts out his cigarette. Once he has left, the pair creep to the security center. Price bangs on the door, and when it is opened, proceeds to kill all personnel inside. Studying the cameras, Price decides to go straight to the command center. Using a dead guard's fingerprints, he opens the door. The pair clear out a dark dungeon, using night vision to kill guards. The guards become wise to this and throw flares to help spot the attackers.

Yuri and Price are thrown into open combat, and clear out a floor full of enemies. Emerging outside, the two climb up a ladder to reach scaffolding attached to an old bridge, and Yuri places more C4 on it. After crossing the rickety bridge, they breach a wall in a corridor, timing it with the thunder as so not to alert anyone. The hole in the wall reveals a narrow, vertical passage with rickety wooden beams in it. Yuri and Price climb up until they find a small vent, and overhear a conversation between Alexi and Makarov, which reveals that the Russian President is being interrogated for the nuclear launch codes and that Makarov's men are on their way to Berlin to capture his daughter.

A guard alerts Alexi that the base has been breached, and Price throws a grenade through the vent to buy the pair some time. The two slide down the passage and land in a kitchen where there are more hostiles. Price contacts Nikolai about the location of the girl and he and Yuri move outside where they face more resistance. Returning back inside, the two clear out an office and go through doors to a courtyard where more hostiles are stationed. They quickly dash through and end up on a platform overlooking the bridge. Yuri detonates the C4, killing a large force of enemies on the bridge. The pair jump off the platform and charge across the bridge towards another courtyard, where they encounter heavy resistance from infantry and vehicles. A BTR blocks their exit so the pair steal a jeep and drive out of the castle. The jeep comes under more fire from enemy vehicles and the engine is heavily damaged sending it plunging off a cliff. However the pair both have spare parachutes and safely glide down to the ground as Price signals for Nikolai to pick them up.

Video Walkthrough
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Found in level
The following weapons can be found with or without attachments.

Intel
35. After being on the wrong end of a flashbang, there is a control room with lots of TVs. The intel that is in the back left corner of the room on top of a power generator.

36. Leave the command center through the front door, then head right, south, up a flight of stairs and look for a storage area off the catwalk. The intel is atop a small crate.

Video:MW3 - Intel Locations - Stronghold - Mission 13 - Scout Leader Achievement Trophy guide Intel locations

Achievements/Trophies
Storm the Castle (10 / Bronze Trophy ) - Complete "Stronghold" on any difficulty.

The Darkest Hour (25 / Silver Trophy ) - Complete "Eye of the Storm", "Blood Brothers" and "Stronghold" on Veteran difficulty.

Trivia

 * Yuri's MP5 has a grip, shown when reloading or toggling the night vision goggles, but he holds it as if it wasn't there. However, Price's one doesn't have a grip; this can be effectively seen if the player gets compromised, which would result in Price's death, allowing the player to pick up his MP5.
 * Yuri's P99 with the suppressor and tactical knife is just called P99 Tactical not P99 Tactical knife, it is also strange that it has two attachments because this is impossible for the player to do.
 * In the beginning of the level, the two enemies that Price kills have silenced weapons. The small patrol ahead also have silenced weapons. If they are all killed without attracting attention, the player can use them as substitutes for the starting weapons.
 * The SCAR-L Suppressed that can be found from killing the guards near the beginning of the level has a different firing sound, which sounds like the sound of the P90 Suppressed in the previous Modern Warfare games.
 * This level seems to have a lot of models from the previous game:
 * UMP45s found in this level use the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 model and are equipped with the old ACOG Scope design.
 * It is possible to find a L86 LSW with or without a SUSAT scope in this level. This is also a model lifted directly from the previous game.
 * Price uses the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 USP .45 in this level (the model used by the player in "Hunter Killer", "Bag and Drag", and "Iron Lady") rather than his more common Desert Eagle.
 * When Price breaches the security office, the knife he uses has the same model as the one Soap used to kill Shepherd in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * There are some AK-47s with shotguns in a gun shelf which located in the North East corner of the security office. They are in the bottom shelf and hard to spot.
 * This is the second mission in which the player will get the caption 'Objective Failed' without the death/failure screen with quote. The player can fail to plant the C4, where Price will scold him and place it himself, and the player can detonate the breaching charge before the thunder, which will attract enemies, but not compromise the mission.
 * It is possible to fail the objective if too many prisoners are killed.
 * This is the only level where the PM-9 can be found and used.
 * Coming towards the end of the level, after the player exits the command center, there is an RPG-7 with no visible rocket loaded, yet can still fire.
 * If the player doesn't detonate the C4 placed under the bridge when Price says, Price will detonate instead of the player and he will also call Yuri a "sloppy bastard". Additionally, approaching the door at the top of the stairs while holding a grenade will have the same effect. The player will still be able to blow the C4, but the objective will be listed as failed regardless.
 * If the player holds a grenade before walking through the door leading to blowing the bridge and throws the grenade right after the bridge blows, they will pull out the clacker and then put it away leaving the player with no weapon in hand and unable to pick up another weapon. Additionally, clicking on night vision is instant and has no animation.
 * This is the first time in the Modern Warfare series where parachuting happens, as in "Ultimatum" it was only in the cut-scene.
 * After detonating the C4 attached to the bridge, there will be an enemy soldier still moving, but he can't be killed.
 * When Makarov talks to Alexi, Makarov's name is shown red in subtitles, while oddly, Alexi's name is shown green, despite enemies' names in subtitles usually being marked with red.
 * If one picks up the RSASS found next to the ammo-less RPG-7, and tries to put on the night vision goggles, it won't show the animation but still show the effect of the night vision.
 * If the player attempts to activate night vision while holding the P99 Silenced w/ Tactical Knife, the animation will show the player pulling the goggles up/down while still holding the knife in their hand.
 * The PMC victory theme can be heard after Yuri reserves his chute.
 * A photo of Yuri can be seen in the briefing, along with a photo of Sandman, Soap MacTavish, Ghost, and Price on their assignment known as Operation Kingfish.
 * If Price is killed during the infil, a message will appear saying "Your actions got Captain Price killed.", similar to the level "All Ghillied Up".
 * The enemies during the stealth part of the mission seem to have the PMC models.
 * If the player were to expose themselves at the start, but manages to kill the enemies off, Price will say "Next time, I'll let them kill you."
 * If the player takes too long too take out the guard while avoiding getting caught in the spotlight, Price will say "Lost your edge? Let me show you how it's done," and then kills the guard.
 * It is unknown how MacMillan was able to send Price the equipment for the attack in such a short time. Possibly a time-skip later, then they storm the place
 * The animation when Yuri kills one of the guard with Tactical Knife is similar when Yuri kills the sleeping Africa Militia in "Back on the Grid".
 * This is the only level where C4 is usable in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign, in contrast to its extensive presence the first two Modern Warfare games.
 * This is the final level where MacMillan is heard.
 * This is second out of two levels Yuri's starting handgun loadout did not consist his usual handguns which was Desert Eagle, first one being "Eye of The Storm".