Ste. Mere-Eglise

"The roads of Ste. Mere-Eglise connect to Utah Beach to the main peninsula, which should put us in the path of the most likely German counterattack."

- Pvt. Martin on the importance of Ste. Mere Eglise

Ste. Mere Eglise is the third level in Call of Duty and Call of Duty Classic. The objectives of the level are to enter Ste. Mere Eglise and capture it by eliminating all German troops in the area and destroying three Flakpanzers.

Characters

 * Martin (playable)
 * Foley

Going past the field
Martin will spawn in the small trench that he entered at the end of Pathfinder. At its end are three large medical kits. Get out of the trench and the player will be at the end of a large field. Foley will instruct Martin to run past the field, but mortars will start to shell it. Don't worry about getting hit; unless it's a direct impact, the player will only lose a chunk of health and movement will become very slow. Even if Martin's been hit, continue to run through the field. At the end, the player will find two houses. the player will want to go through the right house, but it has two MG42s and there will not be an explosion to stop it. Martin will have to take out his rifle and shoot the gunners. When they are down, run over to the house and go inside. Take out the Thompson, and kill the 2 Germans upstairs.

Houses part 1
When that's done, go out the back door and the player will be in some ruins with enemies standing around. Take out the Thompson and mow them down. If they try to hide, either approach them or throw a grenade at their direction. When they are gone, head forward into what appears to be a train station. Take out the 3 or 4 enemies the player finds there (keep an eye out on the exit to the left of the entrance, as enemies might sneak up on Martin from there). Once the player's done with them, they will find an enemy shooting an MG42 at them from a Sdkfz-251\1 halftrack. This guy can be pretty tricky to take out because of the small area the player will have to hit him and the MG42 he's firing, so the player should go near a window, lean, aim down the sights, and shoot him. If the player cannot see him or is too exposed while leaning, move until the player's at a safe spot. When he's down, Foley will open the door to the next area.

(When the player gets into the train station, go to the last door on the left and toss a grenade out next to the halftrack. Martin can do this without exposing himself to the MG fire. This is an alternate method.)

(Another alternate method is to stand several feet back from the windows and aim down the sights and take out the machine gunner. At that range, Martin can kill the machine gunner without losing significant health).

Houses part 2
Now the player will be near another house. The garage on its right has an MG42 gunner, so try to take him out before the player goes to the house. When he's down, run to the left side of the house and throw grenades into the windows. This'll either flush out or kill the 4 enemies inside, making it easy for the player to get inside.

When the player's inside, turn right and toss another grenade. Again, this will take care of any problems in that room (4 enemies), so go in and finish off the survivors. When the player's done, go straight, and they will end up in the garage. If another gunner has appeared, take him out. Otherwise, go to its exit and take a right, then go forward until a staircase is seen. There should be a troop there, so take him out. If not, take the large medikit and go downstairs, take a right then go back to the main room. When the player is there, follow the Americans to the chicken coop and graveyard.

Graveyard
Martin will end up in a chicken coop/graveyard. The entrance has some large medical kits, so do not be afraid to use them. Grab the M1 Garand and aim at the heads of the troops who are hiding behind the fence. When the player gets out, make sure to check the right, since there's usually another troop or two behind the fence there. When the troops in the chicken coop are gone, the player will have to go through the graveyard.

Don't rush toward this area immediately! Pick off a few enemies that are near the route the player's going to (maybe 5), then run! It will save the player a lot of trouble. If the player gets hit during the trek, the medium-sized building on the left has a large medical kit and a few troops, so make sure to either toss a few grenades or bring out the Thompson before entering. Any allied troops who die here will sometimes be replaced by an ally with a BAR.

Flakpanzer 1
When the graveyard is cleared out, the player can either go left or go forward. If the player goes left, they will find the first objective being guarded by two MG42s. It's possible to stop them from there, but it's more trouble than it's worth. Instead, go forward, and they will end up in a church. Go to the left, and they will see a crack that leads to the gunners and the objective. Since the player have the advantage of surprise, they can take the gunners and the controllers of the objective out any way they want. When they are down, go to the objective from the left path described earlier. Place an explosive on it, and run!

Flakpanzer 2
Now that objective one is destroyed, the player can move to objective two. Go past the remains of objective one, and they will find a large field with objective two firing at the sky, along with some troops using the remains of a building as cover. If the player wants to, they can try taking out the 6 enemies from where they are, but that takes way too much time. Instead, run to the building's left and throw grenades while the player is running, take out the Thompson, and open fire when the player gets there. While the player will take some damage, it's much quicker and satisfying than trying to snipe them one-by-one. The first FG42 will be dropped here, so get it if the player wants it. It does very good damage, has reasonably manageable recoil as long as the player burst fires and a scope. Remember to set it to full-auto once the player gets it, since dropped ones are semi-automatic. Destroy the second objective, then move on.

(Alternatively, run through the ground porch on the right to the right side of the panzer. Shoot the enemy who sees Martin, slap a charge on the panzer and run—the explosion will take everyone else out.)

Flakpanzer 3
When objective two is down, go forward from the front of its remains, take a right, then look forward. The player will see a small opening with allies crowded around it. Go through it and follow it until the player gets to the end of a house. Look to the right of the ending, and they will find a mini-trench filled with troops (6). Grenades work best. When they are down, take a left and go forward until the player hears another Flakpanzer. When the player gets to it, look right and scan the area for a house with some troops in it (3-4). Open fire and take them out. Then, go to the house and open fire on the troops near the last objective (6). Tossing a grenade or two will help. When most of them are down, go to the objective and set a bomb on it. When it's destroyed and all of the enemies are dead, Foley will lead Martin to the exit.

Trivia

 * This is the first level in the series where the player sees the recurring gag, dead cows.
 * A paratrooper can be seen hanging on the church's spire. Possibly the famous Private John Steele, however he is wearing the 101st Airborne Division uniform but was in the 82nd Airborne Division.
 * The lieutenant seen being dragged to cover during the opening of the mission is wearing a captain's helmet.
 * One of the gravestones in the cemetery reads "B. ALLEN - Laissez-moi hors de cette boîte!" which in French means "Let me out of this box!" - another instance of the game's occasional dark humour.

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UiBd_Xfd5Y&feature=PlayList&p=26F63F2CBE593B8D&index=3