Liberate Smithon

 is a storyline mission given by the Arano Restoration as part of the campaign in Battletech, available after completing a couple of contracts after Liberate Panzyr.

Synopsis
The Restoration Army is engaged in a battle of attrition against Directorate forces, and our ground forces need resupply if they're going to prevail. To that end, I'm sending you to capture a Directorate munitions dump. Eliminate their defenses and prevent them from getting away with the munitions; our support staff will handle the rest.

Walkthrough

 * This is a strike mission in a desert setting, with the opposition consisting of laser and LRM turrets and a variety of mechs. Bring a lance with good defense and heat management, since you'll be under heavy fire in a hot climate.
 * Your primary goal is to destroy the units guarding the munitions depot. This is 2 full lances with 8 fully armored mechs in total, including: Locust LCT-1V, Firestarter FS9-H, Spider SDR-5V, Panther PNT-9L and a Dragon DRG-1N. In general, junking the light mechs early on is worth it, as the heavier ones take a while to arrive. Furthermore, exploit the terrain and draw the enemy into confined spaces. Don't get caught out in the open.
 * An optional mission objective is to preserve 3 or 6 ammo crates. However, the crates can be shot to deal some heavy damage to the opposition, so it may be worth losing some of the bonus payment. You get two crates to destroy without a penalty, though.
 * Another optional objective is to shoot the ammo transports trying to escape. However, unless you have some very fast mechs this can be extremely hard to do, and it's generally advisable to focus on the primary mission objective, since there is quite heavy opposition on this map. Alternatively, you can navigate and take cover with a pilot with Sensor Lock, then just hammer the transports with LRM barrages.