Kharg Island

Kharg Island (Persian:جزیره خارگ‎) is a multiplayer map in Battlefield 3 and is one of the nine maps in the standard edition. The map is inspired by the real-life Kharg Island (or Khark, depending on the romanization). At roughly seven square miles, the island contains an airfield, a paved circuit serving the northern region, and the KHEMCO oil facility in the south. A wildlife refuge is located on an island roughly two miles to the northeast. It is one of the largest maps of the base game.

History
Kharg Island is an island located off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf. It is used by Iran to distribute its crude oil. About 90% of Iran's crude oil is distributed via Kharg Island. During the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq began bombing the island, badly damaging the pipelines and facilities there. After the war, Iran gradually repaired and restored them.

Southwest of the Persian Gulf is the Gulf of Oman and Dubai, UAE.

Description
Kharg Island is the second map with boat gameplay. Thematically it represents an assault against Kharg Island in the Persian sea, an industrialized island not far from the Iranian coast. Its mountainous terrain makes it great for snipers, however the map is slightly more focused on vehicles with longer distance between flags than other maps such as Noshahr Canals. This is one of the six (of all Battlefield 3's) maps where jet combat is available (five on consoles). The abundance of fuel containers gives plenty of opportunities for kills by secondary explosions.

Rush
In the Rush game mode, the assault begins on the coastline with a well-defended beach that you need to break through to create a beachhead for further attacks on the island.

Stage 1
The Americans spawn aboard one of their amphibious assault carriers, the USS Essex. The Russians currently occupy the beach. Alpha is located behind a cluster of rocket launchers and barriers and Bravo is located within a small structure.

Stage 2
LCACs ferry ashore a pair of M1A2 Abrams tanks and several Growler ITVs, limiting the possibility of these vehicles being stolen by the Russians. The Russians are given two T-90s and one Kornet Launcher. Alpha is located at the end of a pipeline and Bravo is located next to a building surrounded by containers.

Stage 3
Now that the second base has been captured, one tank and several Kornet launchers will be available for the defenders. The attackers will gain a RHIB to use. Alpha is housed within the second floor of a three story building. Bravo is placed in front of a building adjacent to a wall surrounding the area.

Stage 4
The Russians have been forced away from most of the oil facility, but continue to hold the Docks. Alpha is located on the second floor of a large building and Bravo is located in the first floor. One tank will spawn and one Kornet Launcher will be available to use for the defenders. This is the last base.

Deployments
As with Rush mode, the US deploys from the USS Essex, as well as the beachhead (again with parked LCACs holding ground vehicles). Until US forces clear the nearby ridge, they have no sight on any of the objectives.

Russians spawn from a dock area holding ground vehicles, and a small strip of highway holding their air assets. T-90 tanks spawning here have a clear line of fire to the Docks area, as did a Pantsir-S1 that used to appear next to the ground vehicle spawn. Much of the mountain range can be seen from the Russian deployment. Note that the Army base is only available to PC players because of the "larger" maps.

Docks
This area can be captured anywhere inside or on top of the building, and in parts of the Conex yard (including some of the toppled containers). The built-up yard prevents RHIB Boats from being scuttled ashore, forcing occupants to ascend ladders. When capturing from an enemy, be sure to throughly check the building for enemies and spawning becons.

Construction Site
A paved section of the site and the area containing an unfinished building to the south constitute the capture area. It is well exposed to snipers camping in the mountains. Two concrete walls cordon this area from the street and the adjoining Offices. The large building can be forced open with explosives. This area is usually filled with enemies hiding behind the concrete walls and buildings. The base is popular with tank and helicoptors so watch out. Also if your in a tank, thermal is recommended because it usually littered with anti-tank mines.

Offices
Many unfinished and vacated buildings appear here. The area can be captured anywhere inside of the concrete walls—ground vehicles have to move off the side street. A small ridge separating this area from Gas Station gives attackers some height, as well as vantage to Construction Site. This area, along with Gas Station, is vulnerable to attack by sea. When capturing, be sure to take cover in building and dont stay in the open. Like the Construction Site, it is popular with tank, helicoptors, and mines. Snipers are also a problem because of the base's openness. Also be aware of the large building under construction in front of the base. Engineers and Snipers like to spawn camp in the building a rack up kills from anyone at the Offices base.

Gas Station
The station can be captured from inside the building and much of the surface surrounding. The station is one of few buildings that can be completely toppled. The terrain shields this area from much of the mountain range, although a separate crevasse (and the comms towers at Army Base) has clear view. This is by far the hardest base for the Russian team to capture so it is recommended that players quietly go around the hill side next to the offices and walk along the shoreline leading up to the base. Also, never hide in the center building. Because any team who has captured the objective expects players to hide in the building, it is usually destroyed. A safer plane would be to hide and defend the object next to the large explosive tanks or close to the gas station itself.

Army Base
[Conquest Large] Set more inland from the other flags, this area is often assailed by snipers. The nearby structures also give plenty of view. If advancing from the Gas Station to capture this base, it is recommended to use the same tatic used above to capture the base. Also, dont stay out in the open too long. Take cover in building, etc.

Team Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch bouts take place in the Docks area and the Conex box yard to the west. The key here is teamwork and cover. If in the Conex box yard, then travel close to containers and watch corners. Shotguns are popular here so dont engage in close quarters unless necessary. If in the building, find a spot and rack up kills from there. Another tatic would be to use a spawning becon to parachute on top of the building and kill enemies from there.

Squad Deathmatch
Squad Deathmatch bouts occur in the Offices and Construction Site. Like before, Teamwork is key. Move as a group and dont stray too far from each other. Find a "base" and defend it. The building under construction and the office buildings are recommended. Dont stay in the same area too long however, keep the other squads on their toes.

Trivia

 * Kharg Island is most likely the second largest map in the base game.
 * The size of the map for Team Deathmatch was increased in the 1.04 update, due to spawning issues.
 * If heading from the US deployment to the gas station objective and turning left into the open area to the left of it, heading straight to the mountain you will come upon an underdeveloped section of the map that has two-dimensional trees and minor details.
 * If one tries to bail out from a jet or helicopter onto the oil tanker ships outside of the RU deployment, upon contact, the player will instantly die from bad luck.
 * Bringing vehicles to the beach in Rush can be particulary difficult as the defenders can see incoming vehicles as soon as they leave the spawn and disabled vehicles can not be repaired as the surrounding water prevents them from doing so.

Gallery
Insel Kharg