World War III (Atlantic Resolve)



World War III (often abbreviated to WWIII or WW3), also known as the Third World War, is an ongoing global war which had begun in 2015. The initial opposing military alliances were the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). A number of non-NATO countries quickly sided with the NATO alliance including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, etc. North Korea and Russia became reluctant allies against a common foe.

Euromaiden Protests
The Euromaiden was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest which began on November 21, 2013 when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych choose to suspend the signing of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement in favor of maintaining closer ties with the Russian Federation. The movement was initially limited to minor protests until a police crackdown led to a full-scale riot.

Ukrainian Revolution
The increasing unrest eventually led to the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution which ended with the ouster of President Yanukovych from power. Masked Russian soldiers without insignias took over the Supreme Council of Crimea and occupied strategic sites across Crimea. The Russian Federation annexed Crimea a few weeks later. In July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down after flying over separatist airspace in eastern Ukraine. It was alleged that Russian forces or pro-Russian separatists were responsible. In August 2014, Russian intervention in the War in Donbass became more visibly apparent due to numerous border crossings by Russian military forces into eastern Ukraine without permission from the Ukrainian government.

Operation Atlantic Resolve
In response to Russian intervention in the internal affairs of Ukraine, NATO launches Operation Atlantic Resolve. American troops and vehicles are deployed throughout Eastern Europe, most notably the Baltic States.

Russian Snap Drills
On March 16, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to go on full readiness alert in snap drills throughout Russia and the Arctic. This order was given just one day after Putin revealed in a Russian television documentary that he was prepared to order a full nuclear alert in the event of NATO intervention in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea the previous year. The Russian military snap drills including the deployment of bombers and ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad and Crimea.

Latvian Airspace Skirmish (POD)
On March 17, 2015, seven Russian military aircraft were intercepted by NATO aircraft over the Baltic Sea. Despite warnings one of the Russian aircraft strayed into Latvian airspace. The intruding aircraft was quickly shot down; the others acted almost immediately and an intense air battle commenced. The battle was swift and ended in a matter of minutes. The Russians lost three fighter aircraft while NATO lost only one. The surviving Russian aircraft disengaged from the skirmish and returned to Kaliningrad where the incident was reported.

President Putin strongly condemned NATO and authorizes fighter pilots to use their own discretion when facing close-up interception by NATO aircraft. President Obama in turn condemns the actions of the Russian military and holds Vladimir Putin personally responsible for the Baltic Sea skirmish.

Diplomatic and Economic Consequences
Russia is expelled from the G-20 and will not be invited to take part in the upcoming summit in November. This expulsion further isolates the Russian Federation diplomatically and the country is threatened with a possible economic recession. The United States and other NATO countries leveled a new series of trade embargoes and economic sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Heightened Military Patrols
Immediately following the March 2015 Latvian Airspace Skirmish, NORAD had upgraded its alert status to DEFCON 3. NATO aircraft and ships increased their patrols of the Baltic and Black Seas while the U.S. deployed additional troops to Europe. The Russians also stepped up construction of their base in the Arctic as well as increased aerial and submarine patrols throughout the region. Russia's Airborne Troops and Spetsnaz ran additional series of drills. Russian bomber interceptions off the coasts of NATO countries became more frequent then ever.

More Russian and NATO Exercises
Starting on May 4th, NATO commenced Operation Lightning Strike, a four-day military training mission designed to test troop readiness to react to a clandestine military incursion similar to the one the Russians used in Crimea in 2014. When the 2015 Moscow Victory Parade was held on May 9th to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany, the United States and the European Union refused to take part in the parade due to Russian intervention in the Ukraine over the past year as well as the  March 2015 Latvian Airspace Skirmish. On May 26th, NATO launched massive Arctic military drills in the Nordic countries; Russia responded by commencing its own Arctic war games.

Novorossiya War
Tensions increased on June 14th when tens of thousands of Russian troops backed by armored vehicles, gunships, and fighter aircraft invaded Ukraine. The invasion force quickly  linked up with pro-Russian separatists already fighting government troops. While NATO and the EU didn't outright go to war with Russia, additional material support was sent to the Ukrainian government. The Novorossiya War lasted over a month with Russian military forces occupying all of "Novorossiya" which consisted of Ukraine's eastern and southern Oblasts. The fighting ended with Ukraine begrudgingly signing an armistice.

Proxy War in Syria
The Syrian Civil War was slowly transforming into a proxy war between Russia and the West. At the request of the Syrian government, the Russian military began to launch attacks against the Syrian Opposition in September. In response, President Obama ordered additional military assets to be moved into the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. increased support for the Syrian opposition and threatened to shoot down any Syrian aircraft that threatened Free Syrian Army positions which resulted in a harsh rebuke from Russia.

2015 G19 Summit
The G19 (formally G20 prior to Russia's expulsion) held it's tenth annual summit in Antalya, Turkey on November 15-16, 2015. Included in the discussion was the world's biggest political and security crisis including Russian aggression, the Syrian Civil War, and the mass migration of refugees. While political issues seemed priority, economic issues were also discussed to determine how the world economy could adapt to hypothetical economic embargo against Russia. That discussion while seemingly insignificant did lead to the United States, the European Union, Japan, etc. leveling a total economic embargo against the Russian Federation. China, Brazil, India, and South Africa while not actively supporting Russian expansionist activities declined to embargo Russia out of fear that doing so could lead to war. Unfortunately the general mindset throughout the West was that war with Russia could very well be inevitable regardless.

Beginning of World War III
On December 16, 2015, the Russian military launched a surprise invasion of the U.S. State of Alaska. Airborne Troops were dropped into key locations throughout northern Alaska, Naval Infantry made numerous amphibious assaults in western Alaska, and conventional bombers attacked multiple U.S. military bases throughout Alaska. Within hours, the United States formally declared war on the Russian Federation and invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty; the invocation was confirmed by NATO less then an hour later and the Third World War had begun.

Arctic Front
Russian Airborne Troops and Spetsnaz involved in the invasion of northern Alaska was able to secure the entire National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) as well as occupy a number of cities in the region including Barrow the seat of North Slope Borough. Meanwhile to the southwest, Russian Naval Infantry and Spetsnaz had secured control over the Aleutian Islands as well as much of Alaska's Bering Coast including the City of Nome. Russian Army units were deployed within 72 hours to reinforce the beachheads in northern and western Alaska.

U.S. military response against the Russian invasion of Alaska had been stalled as a result of numerous conventional air strikes against several U.S. military installations throughout the state including  Fort Wainwright and Elmendorf Air Force Base. Martial law had been declared throughout the State of Alaska and the military took over all civilian law enforcement duties for the duration of the crisis.

Other locations throughout the Arctic Circle were attacked by Russian aircraft and cruise missiles during the initial outbreak of hostilities including Thule Air Base in Greenland and CFB North Bay in Canada.

Pacific Northwest Invasion Scare
Russian Spetsnaz GRU teams attacked several U.S. military installations throughout the Pacific Northwest including Fort Lewis. Additional Russian commandos staged takeovers of two international airports in Seattle, WA as well as torched the National Guard armory in the city. The Spetsnaz attacks caused many people living throughout Puget Sound to believe a full-scale Russian invasion was imminent which led to many fleeing the area; martial law had to be declared to clear all roadways for Armed Forces and Homeland Security personnel. However there was no follow-up moves and the Russian Spetsnaz had pulled out of Seattle by the time U.S. military forces moved on both occupied airports.

European Front
On December 18th, the Russians launched numerous air and missile strikes against NATO military installations throughout Eastern Europe as well as Denmark and Germany. While the Russians thus far refrained from the use of nuclear weapons, the devastation the attacks inflicted could not be denied.

 The Russians coordinated with the air and missile strikes with a full-scale invasion of the Baltic States and Poland as well as an amphibious invasion of Romania. Several hundred thousand Russian troops, backed by aircraft and armor support, were involved in this new offensive. The Baltic States, the Polish city of Gdansk and the Romanian city of Constanta were occupied by Russian and Belarusian military forces one week into the offensive.

 With their initial objectives secured, the Russians made their ground push towards the Polish capital city of Warsaw. The Russians at that point employed the dreaded Iskander tactical ballistic missile system, targeting NATO positions in and around Warsaw with conventional warheads. Russian and Belarusian troops had reached the eastern suburbs of the Polish capital by December 31st.

Simultaneous to the invasion of NATO Eastern Europe, Russian-led troops crossed the Novorossiyan-Ukrainian DMZ and invaded Ukraine. The Ukrainian military, still haven't fully recovered from the Novorossiya War, was caught of guard and was losing ground along the entire front. Moldova was also invaded and was overrun within 72 hours. By December 31st, the Russians had secured most of eastern side of the Dnieper River and were sending troops into the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev.

European Front
 Russian forces had entered Warsaw by the second week of January. Intense urban warfare was fought between Russian and NATO forces throughout the Polish capital for the remainder of the month. Much of the city had been devastated and many important historical structures were destroyed. The situation seemed hopeless as Russian-led CSTO forces had occupied nearly half of Warsaw with the remainder nearly being completely encircled. Russian-led CSTO troops were also moving into several additional Polish cities including Ludz, Torun, and Lublin.

 An additional Russian armored unit invaded Romania from Moldova and linked with the  Constanta beachhead by the end of the month. The Battle of Kiev lasted throughout the whole month with the Ukrainian military gradually losing ground. The Russians were eventually able to secure everything east of the Dnieper and were threatening to encircle western Kiev.

Korean Front
On January 10th, North Korea launched a full-scale attack on South Korea. Heavy artillery and ground-to-ground missiles rained down on ROK fortifications along the southern side of the DMZ. The Korean People's Army Special Operation Force (NKSOF) attacked key military and civilian targets throughout South Korea. The Joint Security Area within the Demilitarized Zone was rapidly transformed into a battleground as the ROK garrison was attacked by KPA and NKSOF forces.

Less then an hour after the initial attacks had begun, North Korean armored units crossed the DMZ into South Korea. ROK defenses were overrun in less then 48 hours and KPA forces began their push south towards Seoul. The Eighth United States Army was moving as quickly as possible to fortify Seoul as well as stage hit-and-run attacks to delay the KPA advance towards the capital. ​

Arctic Front
The Russians maintained a firm foothold in the State of Alaska despite a number of air strikes from the U.S. Air Force. The deployment of anti-aircraft artillery (triple-A) and surface-to-air missile (SAM) units meant that U.S. attack aircraft were forced to be extra cautious. Russian fighters were also a problem. Russian ground forces had staged a series of offensives to expand their foothold as well as attempt to link the western and northern beachheads.

82nd Airborne Division (Fort Bragg), First Cavalry Division (Fort Hood), and First Marine Division (Camp Pendleton) were deployed to southern Alaska in preparation for a probable counterattack against Russian forces. Elements of the U.S. Pacific Fleet engaged Russian naval forces in the Bering Sea.

European Front
The Battle of Warsaw continued with intense urban combat between Russian and NATO forces. Military death toll had exceeded over ten thousand on both sides. Furthermore thousands of Warsaw residents were also killed in the fighting and over a hundred thousand more lost their homes. Defense of the Polish capital city was now NATO's top priority and European leaders were now calling for Obama to send reinforcements as soon as possible despite the ongoing Russian invasion of  Alaska.

Further south, the Russian military had taken the Romanian coastline and was now moving west towards Bucharest. Additionally smaller Russian units were also staging incursions into Bulgaria in order to attempt to disrupt NATO support for the defense of the Romanian capital.

The Battle of Kiev lasted throughout all of February with combined Russian, Belarusian, and Novorossiyan troops pushing further into western Kiev.

Korean Front
By the end of the first week of February, the City of Seoul was rapidly transformed into a major urban battlefield as North Korean troops had begun pouring into the South Korean capital and US/ROK forces were fighting back. The Battle of Seoul lasted throughout the remainder of February and much of the city had been severely decimated. Invading North Korean troops were indiscriminate and showed no distinction between military and civilian personnel. As a result, civilian death toll in Seoul quickly exceeded the current overall death toll of all other battles combined.

Arctic Front
While the Russians were still gradually advancing in some areas, most of the Alaskan Front was virtually locked in a stalemate as additional U.S. military personnel from the Mainland arrived to join the fighting. The Russian military forces occupying parts of northern and western Alaska prioritized all offensive ground action to linking both beachheads as soon as possible. With the U.S. Pacific Fleet was gaining an advantage over Russian Naval forces in the Bering Sea and Russian supply lines constantly coming under attack, the Battle of Alaska was gradually becoming harder for the invaders.

European Front
The Battle of Warsaw continued into a third month and the Russians still had yet to completely secure the Polish capital. Even with western Warsaw all but encircled, NATO was still able to reinforce and resupply their troops fighting in defense of the city. Russian President Vladimir Putin was losing patience with the apparent lack of progress and eventually ordered a massive conventional bombardment of NATO-held Warsaw. After a week of merciless bombardment, Russian ground forces had resumed their push into the city.

 As the Battle of Warsaw continued, additional Russian-led CSTO forces continued their ground push into Poland, their apparent strategic goal being to push all the way to the Oder-Neisse line. By the end of the month, the Russians had occupied Lodz and Torun while advance units reached Poznan and Wroclaw.

 The Battle of  Bucharest began as Russian-led CSTO troops invaded the Romanian capital.

 The Battle of Kiev ended in mid-March when surviving Ukrainian troops finally capitulated to the Russian military. During the final week of March, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was deposed in a coup and Ukrainian military leaders unconditionally surrendered to the Russian Federation.

Korean Front
The Battle of Seoul continued into March. Despite numerical superiority of the Korean People's Army, their advancements into the South Korean capital had stalled thanks to the technological might of the Republic of Korean military and the U.S. Eighth Army. As the KPA was beginning to lose ground in Seoul, North  Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was becoming increasingly desperate and ordered all surviving artillery and missile batteries to commence full-scale bombardment of Seoul. Despite these attacks, US/ROK combined forces won the Battle of Seoul and Allied air forces took out most remaining KPA artillery and missile batteries.

The conflict worsened when North Korea made use of it's nuclear arsenal. While most missiles were shot down including the one targeting Seoul, a single 10 kiloton nuclear warhead detonated over US/ROK troops advancing towards the DMZ with an estimated death toll of 20,000-30,000. The U.S. response to North Korea's nuclear attack was swift. While the U.S. refrained from the use of nuclear weapons out of fear of further escalation, B-2 stealth bombers to commenced unrestricted conventional bombing of Pyongyang and other targets throughout North Korea.

On March 20th, the Kim Dynasty came to an abrupt end as a result of a coup sponsored by the People's Republic of China. Simultaneously Chinese troops invaded North Korea and rapidly advanced towards Pyongyang. The new North Korean leader ordered the immediate withdrawal of all remaining KPA troops south of the 38th Parallel and not not interfere with Chinese forces operating within the country. The following week, a new armistice was negotiated between North and South Korea  with status quo ante bellum maintained.

Arctic Front
Additional U.S. troops continued arriving in Alaska and moving up towards the frontlines while simultaneously Russia's ability to resupply or reinforce their invasion forces were severely setback. The U.S. Pacific Fleet had achieved de facto control over the Bering Sea, forcing the Russians to shift their resupply lines through the Arctic itself. Air strikes were also carried out against Russian forces outside of population centers. Despite gaining a clear advantage in the Battle of Alaska, the U.S. military still had to be cautious since the Russian military had at least a hundred thousand troops in the state.

European Front
With Ukraine knocked out of the war, the Russians had at least for the time being gained a military advantage on the ground throughout Eastern Europe with additional reinforcements and supplies being sent to the frontlines.

By mid-April, the Battle of Warsaw was virtually reduced to major guerilla warfare with surviving NATO defenders and Polish militia holding out from isolated pockets of resistance. By this point however, the Russian military had achieved de facto control of the Polish capital. The Battles of Poznan and Wroclaw continued throughout April with the Germans and French just barely holding back Russia's advance towards the Oder-Neisse line.

The Russians also made considerable progress elsewhere throughout Eastern Europe. The Battle of Bucharest was going very badly for NATO, attacks into Bulgaria continued, and a Russian armored division invaded Slovakia.

Arctic Front
Russian offensive action throughout the State of Alaska had all but stopped with both beachheads still remaining divided. With the Bering Sea now under control of the U.S. Navy, all resupply lines to Russia's western beachhead had been cut and the First Marine Division was systematically liberating the Aleutian Islands. Additionally the First Cavalry Division had launched a ground offensive into occupied western Alaska. The northern beachhead however remained virtually untouched with supply lines still relatively intact due to the Russians still maintaining control over the Arctic.

European Front
The Battle of Warsaw dragged on into May with isolated NATO defenders continung to wage their guerilla campaign to the point that the Russians were forced to deploy an additional motor rifle division into the Polish capital. Meanwhile French, German, and other NATO troops continued to hold back Russia's primary western advancement with heavy urban fighting continuing in Poznan, Wroclaw, and other cities throughout central Poland. NATO reinforcements from the States including the U.S. Army III Corps had begun arriving at the seaport in Szczecin, Poland.

Arctic Front
Russia's western beachhead in Alaska collapsed by mid-May with Nome and Dutch Harbor being liberated by the First Cavalry Division and First Marine Division respectively. Most surviving Russian military personnel throughout western Alaska including the Aleutian Islands surrendered at that time. Despite this important victory, the Russians still occupied much of northern Alaska and their supply lines in that area remained relatively intact.