- "Verdansk was ground zero in the Cold War. A city of tunnels, gulags, bunkers, and weapons of mass destruction."
- — John Price
Verdansk (Cyrillic: Верданск) is the capital city of Kastovia. The city is featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and serves as the main setting for the Special Ops operations and Ground War maps of Modern Warfare. Verdansk was also the original battleground for Call of Duty: Warzone. Verdansk is also mentioned in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and is featured in several seasonal intro cinematics.
Following the Destruction of Verdansk event, the modern-day version of the map in Warzone was replaced by a 1980s version called Verdansk '84 with the Season Three of Black Ops Cold War. With the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard Season One, Verdansk was entirely replaced by Caldera.
Verdansk appears in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III campaign in the missions Operation 627, Deep Cover, Flashpoint and Gora Dam.
History[]
World War II[]
During World War II, Verdansk was occupied by German forces. They built an underground system of bunkers beneath the city, stockpiling weapons and ammunitions. As the war went on, the bunkers were abandoned by the Germans and barricaded off.
Cold War[]
At some point during the Cold War, Imran Zakhaev prevented Perseus from obtaining weapons or Nova gas in Verdansk by sealing its main facility, fearing that Perseus would turn the world against the Soviet Union.
Stitch's Grand Scheme[]
- "Stitch, the rats are here. Adler is secure and headed to you in Verdansk."
- — Kapano "Naga" Vang
In early 1984, CIA operative Russell Adler was captured by Perseus operative Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin. After being tortured in Laos for several months, Adler was sent to Verdansk where Stitch was operating.
On June 3rd, 1984, Stitch sent two operatives, Freya Helvig and Roman Gray, infiltrating a KGB black site at Mount Yamantau. The duo stole records of the "Dragovich Program", the Numbers program developed by Nikita Dragovich for brainwashed sleeper agents during the 1960s and notably used on CIA agent, Alex Mason. To cover their escape, the duo remotelly detonated a Greenlight nuclear device stored in the facility. Stitch observed the explosion from the Verdansk hospital where Adler was held prisoner.
Stitch worked on improving the Numbers brainwashing program, experimenting on Adler, to affect not only single individuals but entire nations in order to achieve Perseus' goal: the creation of a Greater Russia. However, one week after the destruction of Yamantau, a rescue team led by Frank Woods stormed the hospital and retrieved Adler.
Unbeknownst to Stitch, Adler's deep obsession with Perseus interfered with the brainwash. Now in an altered state, Adler subconsciously fought against Stitch's programming. In the days following his return to duty, on June 26th, Adler was sent to Algeria to retrieve an American satellite deorbited by Perseus operative Owethu Mabuza as part of Stitch's plan. After eliminating Perseus forces, Adler recovered the satellite data recorder but reported it was destroyed during the re-entry.
In July, Adler discovered the abandoned German bunkers and began secretly drilling into them. Knowing the only way to stop Stitch was to destroy Verdansk, Adler placed seismic charges on the stockpiled munitions. At some point, Jason Hudson and Woods discussed Adler's actions and noted he was off grid while working in Verdansk. They soon believed he was compromised and Hudson sent Woods to capture him. On July 30th, Adler was interrogated at the NSA by Hudson and Mason to no avail, Adler claiming he had to destroy Stitch's operation in Verdansk. Three days later, Mason broke Stitch's programing, restoring Adler's mind. At the same time, Stitch discovered the rigged explosives in the German bunkers and sent several search teams while accompanying Benito "Fuze" Ortega to one of the bunkers. While Fuze was able to defuse one of the explosive, the other charges detonated, including one at the city stadium, creating massive crevasses and leveling the entire downtown.
After the Cold War, Russia and the Western nations worked together to rebuild Verdansk.
Attack by the Inner Circle[]
On April 6th, 2019, Vladimir Makarov and its Inner Circle threatened to attack Verdansk International Airport before launching an attack on the Verdansk Stadium disguised as Kastovian Police and Paramedics. The terrorists detonated a bomb at the stadium while killing and injuring countless of civilians.
Captain John Price and the Bravo Team, comprised of Johnny "Soap" MacTavish and Burns were dispatched by General Herschel Shepherd to stop the attack. The team arrived at the stadium and engaged with the terrorists. The team reached the VIP lounge at the third floor of the stadium believing it was the next target. They entered a room and found Inner Circle members disguised as first responders. As Price questioned the man, a gunfight ensued and all the terrorists were killed. The team found the explosive and Burns stayed behind to secure it.
Price and Soap descended to the stadium parking and encountered an ambulance which tried to ram them. They managed to neutralize the vehicle and found Makarov inside. They captured him and brought him to an exfil point where Shepherd and Simon "Ghost" Riley were waiting for them. As the team left Verdansk, another massive explosion occurred at the International Airport.
Stealing Barkov's chemical gas[]
On October 24th, 2019, CIA Officer Alex Keller and several US Marines were deployed near Verdansk to confirm the presence of chlorine gas inside a depot belong to Russian General Roman Barkov. The team launched an attack on the depot and was able to confirm the presence of the gas which was ready to be shipped to Urzikstan. After engaging with Barkov's forces, the team began leaving the area with a truck loaded with the gas. However, they were soon ambushed by a members of Al-Qatala, secretly led by Hadir Karim, who left the team for dead and stole the gas.
War in Verdansk[]
Invasion by Al-Qatala[]
- "Price, there's something wrong in Verdansk. They are targeting their own. We need to find out why. Send fighters I can trust."
- — Simon Riley in the Modern Warfare Season Two intro
On March 3rd, 2020, the terrorist organization Al-Qatala-Aljahdid, under the new leadership of Khaled Al-Asad, and supplied by Victor Zakhaev, a Russian Ultranationalist, invaded Kastovia and launched a full-scale assault on its capital, Verdansk. Supplied with military vehicles and equipments, Al-Qatala overwhelmed the military forces in Verdansk and occupied the city and its surroundings. As the inhabitants tried to flee the city, many were caught by the terrorists and were either executed or taken hostages. As the invasion progressed, Al-Qatala began shipping and stockpiling chemical weapons, derived from Barkov's chlorine gas. A temporary military alliance was formed between Russia and the West, Armistice, to organize an evacuation of the city and stop Al-Qatala from pushing through to Urzikstan.
In the days following the invasion, several operations were mounted to eliminate high-value targets of Al-Qatala's network in the Kastovian capital. The operations, carried out by the Arm-4 team, were intented to cripple the organization's access to weapons, funds, intelligence, and hardware in order to stop it.
Fall of Armistice[]
The operations were successful in dismantling Al-Qatala's network and influence over Verdansk. In order to get rid of Armistice, Zakhaev and Al-Asad released the chemical weapons upon the city. In the chaos, Armistice operatives began turning on each other and proceeded fight among themselves to survive. Among the operatives was Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, member of Task Force 141, who started to investigate of the situation, requesting Task Force 141 leader, Captain John Price, to send him fighters he could trust to assist him.
Soon after, Zakhaev allowed Al-Asad and Al-Qatala to return to Urzikstan while his own men stayed in Verdansk. The conflict continued, however, as Price and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, another member of Task Force 141, joined the fight. Many operators from Allegiance and Coalition also arrived in Verdansk.
Stopping Zakhaev[]
- "They came to Verdansk to stop us, but they couldn't resist fighting each other. This war is 50 years in the making. No more treaties, no more diplomacy... These weapons will no longer lie dormant. Your work is not in vain, father."
- — Victor Zakhaev
Victor Zakhaev had long wished to fulfill his father's dream of bringing back the Soviet Union and getting rid of the Western influence over Russia. As a way to defeat Armistice, Zakhaev bribed one of their operatives, Arm 3-1, to attack other operatives. As distrust between Allegiance and Coalition grew, Zakhaev was able to travel throughout the city undetected. Arm 3-1 was sent to the Zordaya Prison by Zakhaev but managed to escape and, guilt-ridden, sent information related to Zakhaev to what was left of Armistice.
In the following months, little progress was made to stop Zakhaev, which led the Allegiance to enlist a private military company called Shadow Company. In August 2020, a small team of Shadow Company operatives led by Marcus Ortega arrived in Verdansk with intel from the Allegiance about comms traffic coming from the Verdansk National Arena. The team stormed the stadium, blowing off its roof and landed in its soccer field ready to eliminate any hostiles and hunt down Zakhaev. This proved to be fruitless as Zakhaev was nowhere to be found.
With the help of Ghost, Price discovered that Zakhaev had been evading detection by using the underground metro system to travel on foot. He tasked Chimera leader "Nikolai" alongside Farah Karim to enter the tunnels and power back the subway for use against Zakhaev. Afterwards, Price contacted Sergeant Marcus Griggs of the Demon Dogs to stand by for orders. Soon after, radiation was detected in the metro indicating that Zakhaev was moving radioactive material and dirty bombs through Verdansk.
In December 2020, Price and the Task Force 141, Ghost and Gaz, finally pinpointed Zakhaev location, in a bunker located near the coastline under one of the city spomeniks. Inside the bunker, Zakhaev was arming an ICBM aimed at Washington, D.C.. The Demon Dogs with the help of "Alex" and Farah launched a diversion while Price infiltrated the bunker. Price killed Zakhaev by throwing him off to the bottom of the missile silo. With Zakhaev dead, Price received the abort code, 6157, from "Nikolai" and prevented the missile from launching. The team then regrouped at the top of the Gora dam. There, Price received a call from Johnny "Soap" MacTavish informing him that things were heating up half a click off the coast of Verdansk. Price replied they were moving his way before they all jumped off the dam.
Destruction of Verdansk[]
- "Commander, I regret to inform you that Verdansk has fallen. Containment Protocol has been initiated."
- — Russian Officer
On February 25th, 2021, the Vodianoy, a ship that disappeared for almost four decades, re-emerged near Verdansk and crashed into the coastline. The ship contained chemical compounds, as well as an infestation of Zombies. Originally contained to the shipwreck, the zombies began spreading to other parts of the city between March 11th and April 15th. Eventually, the entirety of Verdansk became contaminated, and the Armistice Command Central ordered operators to begin an evacuation of the city. On April 21st, the evacuation of Verdansk began but 45 minutes into the evacuation, the ACC deemed it a lost cause and Russia launched a nuclear strike, destroying Verdansk.[Canonical?]
Makarov's Revenge[]
Escaping the Gulag[]
During the night of November 10th, 2023, three teams of Vladimir Makarov's Konni Group launched an assault on the Zordaya Prison Complex to break Makarov out during a prisoner transfer. Some members of the Gulag were bribed by Milena Romanova, who also used her wealth to acquire advanced vehicles, gears and weapons.
Alpha team, comprised of Ivan Alexxeve, Andrei Nolan, and Rook, approached the complex using a military submarine before ascending the castle and courtyard. Charlie team detonated explosives on the other side of the prison as a diversion to draw guards away, including a Mi-24 Hind, while Alpha team entered the prison. Bravo team took control the control room and turned off all the lights in the complex as Alpha team descending further. They began opening cells, creating a massive riot in the prison as another diversion. Alpha team breached a metal door, and found Makarov waiting in Cell 627. Fitted with a bulletproof vest, Makarov regrouped with Alpha team and took charge of the rest of the operation.
As Alpha team ascended through an elevator, Ivan stopped it after Bravo team announced there was heavy fighting at the top. Displeased, Makarov argued that any delay would put the operation at risk. As Alpha team reached the courtyard, they suffered heavy fire from one of the castle towers, Makarov called an airstrike from Raptor-1 destroying the nest. The team continued to advance as guards and prisoners fought each other. As the team was about to exit the castle, the Hind strafed the gates, killing Rook and forcing the others to reroute. Furious, Makarov criticized Ivan for not having dealt with the attack helicopter earlier. The team ran outside before jumping off the cliffs into the water where two Armored Patrol Boats were waiting for them. Makarov and the remaining Konni teams then left the area by sea.
Attack on Arklov Base[]
The next day, the Arklov Military Base was struck by two balistic missiles stolen by Konni Group and launched from Urzikstan with the goal of having the attack blamed on Farah Karim's Urzikstan Liberation Force and the militia to be branded as a terrorist organization, using the American-made missiles to increase tension between Russia and the West. The missiles' warheads were filled with highlighy concentrated Sarin gas, remnant of Roman Barkov's chemical research program during the occupation of Urzikstan. The attack killed at least 158 military personnels, including members of a Russian delegation, and over 200 people were injured.
The attack also occured during a secret meeting between Kate Laswell and Yuri Volkov who were discussing the threat posed by Makarov and the chemical weapons in his possession. Laswell managed to escape by reaching the roof of the administrative building before being exfiled by Nikolai.
Saving the Gora Dam[]
Five days later, on November 16th, members of Konni Group infiltrated the Gora Dam and rigged explosives in order to destroy it and the entire city in the subsequent flooding. Learning about their plan from General Shepherd, Ghost and Soap were sent in Verdansk at nightfall to stop its destruction with Laswell providing overwatch for them. They discovered that Konni also immerged several canisters of Sarin gas in its reservoir to poison the water. Ghost successfully disarmed all the explosives while Soap collected the canisters before Nikolai arrived to exfil them under heavy fire.
Geography and Infrastructures[]
- For Modern-day Verdansk, see Verdansk/Infrastructure of modern-day Verdansk.
- For Verdansk '84, see Verdansk/Infrastructure of Verdansk '84.
Verdansk is surrounded by mountains with Arklov Peak located in the north-west part of the region. Two rivers run through the city, the Gora River in the west and the Karst River in the east. Both rivers flow into the Kastovian Sea in the south.
Gallery[]
Call of Duty: Warzone[]
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile[]
Trivia[]
- Verdansk is inspired by the Ukrainian city of Donetsk which was partially destroyed during the War in Donbas. Specifically, the airport is inspired by the Donetsk Airport and the modern-day stadium was inspired by the Donbass Arena. Furthermore, Verdansk is referred to as donetsk, dntsk or don in the Modern Warfare game files.
- Verdansk was known by Operation names on different dates during the infil cinematic:
- During modern-day Verdansk, the map is known as "Operation: Rapid Sunder" and the date is Day 96, 14:11:38.
- During Verdansk '84, the map is known as "Operation: Subversion" and the date is Day 18, 7:15:12.
- In Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, the map is simply known as "Operation: Verdansk" and the date is Day 403, 10:47.
- The actual location of Verdansk is not well defined and inconsistently changed between Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare III:
- The Modern Warfare campaign menu places Verdansk in the Caucasus Mountains, south of Russia.
- The Modern Warfare Season Four cinematic showed Verdansk being located near or in Iran, although the Caspian Sea is not shown in the cinematic.
- The Black Ops Cold War Season Three cinematic showed that Verdansk was located close to Mount Yamantau and the Ural Mountains. Furthermore, the nuclear explosion featured in the cinematic could be seen in the far north of Verdansk' 84 between April 22nd and May 4th, 2021.
- The coordinates shown in the Black Ops Cold War Season Four cinematic indicated that Verdansk was located in the Kuban region of Russia, north of the Caucasus Mountains.
- In the Gora Dam intro cinematic, Verdansk is located in two different places. First, south of Mount Tebulosmta in the Akhmeta district of Georgia, and to the north of the Shirak province in Armenia.
- Verdansk features several references and easter eggs to the original Modern Warfare trilogy as well as the Black Ops series with the release of Verdansk '84:
- A slightly modified recreation of the Killhouse layout from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare can be found in Arklov Peak Military Base.
- The BCH TV Station, later known as BCH4, is a reference to the TV Station featured in the campaign mission Charlie Don't Surf and multiplayer map Broadcast from Call of Duty 4.
- A slightly modified version of Vacant from Call of Duty 4 can be found within the Port of Verdansk.
- The Obrovnik swimming pool located south of the Storage Town is inspired by the Azure swimming pool in Pripyat, featured in the Call of Duty 4 campaign mission One Shot, One Kill. The pool was redesigned in Verdansk '84 with all the damage fixed.
- Several Burger Town (Бургер Град) restaurants from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 can be found throughout Verdansk.
- The map Scrapyard from Modern Warfare 2 can be found within the Zhokov Boneyard.
- The Zordaya Prison Complex featured in the south of Verdansk is based on the Petropavlovsk Gulag featured in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign mission, The Gulag.
- Alongside a new version, several Teddy Bears from Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 can be found throughout Verdansk.
- In modern-day Verdansk, the destroyed plane outside the Verdansk International Airport was a reference to the plane in the campaign mission Mile High Club in Call of Duty 4. The plane was owned by the "NVSFT Airlines", a reference to Neversoft which merged with Infinity Ward in 2014.
- The Control Tower in Summit is a reference to the Soviet base encountered in the Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign mission WMD while the interior of the eastern facility is based on the multiplayer map Summit also from Black Ops.
- A modified recreation of the Standoff map from Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found in Krovnik Farmland.
- A slightly modified recreation of Shipment can be found on a small soccer pitch north of Tavorsk District. It was added with 80s Action Heroes.
- In a restroom of the Downtown Tower, a phone can be found with its screen displaying coordinates leading to Beenox studio in Québec.[1]
- Portraits of Infinity Ward employees can be found throughout Verdansk in various buildings such as police stations, the Parliament or the Acropolis National Bank.
- Several posters and boxes for a Rothwynn's 120GB console called "ACTIBASE" could be found throughout Tavorsk District in modern-day Verdansk. The posters featured a phrase that translated to "This is just the beginning" (Это только начало) with November 25, 2020, as the release date. This was a nod to Activision and the ninth generation of video game consoles with the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in late 2020.
- There are several small areas outside the playable part of Verdansk that appear pixelated on the Tac Map.
- A "S.O.S." sign spelt using plywood sections could be seen on the roof of one of the Torsk Bloc buildings in modern-day Verdansk
- A map of Verdansk and a miniature model of the modern-day stadium could be seen in Pawn Takes Pawn.
References[]
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