Skip to content
WALKTHROUGH · Mission 5 OF 11

The Cradle

Mission 5 of 11

Infiltrate a lavish palace to retrieve a powerful device — go stealth or loud.
Setting: Saddam’s palace, Iraq · 5 February 1991

Bring what you earned in Hunting Season

The reusable killstreaks from the previous mission — Mortar Strike, Stealth Bomber, Chopper Gunner — are for this rooftop defence, and they recharge. If you cleared the points of interest back there, this is where it pays off. If you did not, the last section is the hard way round.

The route, objective by objective

1. Locate the bunker

You go in with an SAS squad. The opening is the courtyard: clear it, and deal with the snipers on the rooftops first — they are what punishes you for pushing across open ground. From there it is under the arch, through the courtyard with the winged-lion statue, into the palace itself, and round to the bunker at the back.

2. The armoured one at the door

There is a heavily armoured enemy waiting at the bunker, and he does not fight like the rest: he throws gas that slows you down and then closes to melee. Do not let him corner you in the cloud — keep moving out of it and make the space back before you commit to shooting.

3. Search the bunker

Inside, follow Adler and Marshall down and open the hard case. This is the quiet part of the mission and the reason the whole operation exists.

4. Regroup with the SAS and clear the exfil zone

Out of the bunker, take the rope up the building in front of you and hold the rooftops. This is the defence, and it comes in waves: two helicopters drop reinforcements, and there are rocket launchers lying around near the rope access point to answer them — two more arrive later and go the same way. Gladney comes for you once you have cleared enough of the enemies and the RPG teams. Board Talon One and the mission is over.

What finishing it gives you

  • Bunker Busters — the achievement, and note it spans two missions: it needs Hunting Season and The Cradle both finished, on any difficulty.
  • Onyx Echo — a weapon blueprint for the LR 7.62 sniper rifle, for completing the mission on any difficulty.
  • No campaign challenge is documented for this mission. That may be because it does not open from the Evidence Board, so there is nowhere to read its challenges before you play it — but we are not going to invent one. If you find it in-game, it belongs here.

Still to verify

Cross-checked on 5 September 2026 against a second, independent walkthrough (VideoGamer/Deltia’s Gaming) — which agrees on the two-plus-two helicopter wave structure above, and against a second source confirming this mission is genuinely absent from the campaign’s four documented Dark Ops challenges, for the reason already given below. No source, old or new, names a weak point for the armoured enemy at the bunker door beyond keeping distance from its melee and its gas. What is still unverified is the exact objective text the game shows — and that is the only thing reading cannot settle regardless — nobody here has played it.

Track it as you play

Everything below syncs to your Game Memory, so you can tick items off on one device and pick up on another.

← Hunting Season Next: Emergence →
Back to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Guide

Last updated

Recently updated

Shows pages changed in the last 60 days.

Community tips

Short, practical things that helped you on this page.

Sign in to leave a tip.

Support the Guide

Did This Guide Help You?

Maintained through hundreds of hours of gameplay and research. If it saved you from dying 47 times against a boss, consider supporting the project.

🅿️

Donate via PayPal

Any amount — no minimum. Every donation helps keep the guide updated with every new patch.

💙 Donate with PayPal

One-time · No subscription required

🔴

Subscribe on Patreon

A weekly email with what changed in the games you track. Your name in the credits below. Up to 25 Game Memory slots, saved builds, focus mode and export.

❤️ Join on Patreon

Cancel anytime