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 began 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.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics broke apart by the end of 1991 which marked the end of the First Cold War. The Russian Federation and other former Soviet republics entered into economic turmoil that lasted throughout the 1990's. Under Boris Yeltin, the Russian Federation gradually had become friendlier with the West with some exceptions. The most notable one was the Incident at Priština Airport which was a short but tense standoff that occurred between Russian and NATO troops in the aftermath of the Cold War. The standoff was resolved peacefully.

Once Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, assumed the presidency following the retirement of Boris Yeltsin, the Russian Federation had slowly begun its recovery from economic turmoil the 1990's. Putin himself had stated that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a mistake.

South Ossetia War (2008)
In August 2008, the Russian military invaded the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The war ended a few weeks later with South Ossetia and Abkhazia achieving de facto independence.

Euromaiden and the Ukrainian Revolution (2013-14)
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. 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 (Point of Divergence)
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.

Heightened military patrols and exercises
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.

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 (2015)
Tensions increased on June 13th when the Ukrainian Air Force attacked Russian positions in Crimea. This led to Russia invading Ukraine the following day with thousands of Russian troops backed by armored vehicles, gunships, and fighter aircraft. The invasion forces 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 two months with Russian military forces occupying all of "Novorossiya" which consisted of Ukraine's eastern and southern oblasts in July; Russian forces also took Kiev in August. The war finally ended in late August with Ukraine's unconditional surrender. All of Ukraine was under Russian military occupation and was eventually reorganized as the Novorossiyan Confederation.

Diplomatic and economic consequences
Immediately following the Novorossiya War, relations between Russia and the West greatly deteriorated. Russia was expelled from the G-20 and would not be invited to take part in the upcoming summit in November. This expulsion further isolated the Russian Federation diplomatically and the country was 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.

Proxy war in Syria (2015)
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 its 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. While China, Brazil, India, and South Africa did not actively supporting Russian expansionist activities, they all 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.

War breaks out in North America (2015)
During the evening of December 23rd, 2015, armed gunmen initially believed to be domestic militia seized control of airports, seaports, and national guard armories in several cities throughout the Pacific Northwest including Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, etc. The FBI, ATF, and RCMP were sent in to deal with the problem. Shortly after, numerous cyber attacks disrupted communications throughout the West Coast and a number of widespread power outages were reported.

The situation spiraled out of control as the Russian military had begun a combined amphibious and airborne invasion of Seattle and the surrounding area. Additional troops and equipment arrived in the city through the airports and seaports; there was no doubt by this point that the "domestic militia" involved in the takeovers were in fact Russian Spetsnaz GRU. Russian warships simultaneously launched dozens of conventional Cruise Missiles at military installations throughout the Pacific Northwest as well as Alaska and northern California. Less then one-half hour following initial attacks, additional Russian forces landed in several coastal cities in British Columbia (Victoria, Vancouver, etc.), Washington State (Everett, Tacoma, etc.), and Oregon (Portland, Astoria, Coos Bay, etc.). Additionally, Russian paratroopers were dropped into several inland cities in British Columbia (Surrey, etc.), Washington State (Olympia, Pasco, etc.), and Oregon (Eugene, Medford, etc.).

The U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the Russian invasion as a blatant act of war against the United States of America; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a similar statement. In an emergency session, the United States Congress had declared a state of war with the Russian Federation in response to the invasion and President Obama had immediately signed said declaration. Canada quickly followed suit since their country too was under attack. Both countries also jointly invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty which stated an attack on one or more members of NATO was an attack on all. The invocation was almost immediately confirmed by NATO and the Third World War had officially begun. A few days later, the War Powers Act of 2015 was passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress and took effect immediately. The powers of the Executive Branch were greatly increased and the military draft was returned. A war tax was also implemented.

On Christmas Day, Russia had begun an invasion of the U.S State of Alaska with naval infantry launching amphibious assaults on the Aleutian Islands, Bering Islands, Nome, and Anchorage. Airborne forces were also dropped in Barrow, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.

The U.S Pacific Fleet quickly moved to prevent further Russian reinforcements but by the time a blockade was established, the enemy had already brought in the necessary manpower and equipment to maintain the invasion. And with the majority of U.S active duty personnel in the region currently deployed overseas, the National Guard was practically the only military opposition that the invaders initially encountered.

Heavy fighting took place throughout the Pacific Northwest coast over the following week, especially in the urban areas with National Guardsmen, law enforcement officers, and some armed civilians defending against the overwhelming Russian onslaught. Evacuations were attempted during the opening days of the war though most were stopped by roadblocks established by Russian paratroopers around the affected cities. By the end of the year, the Russians were able to secure all beachheads and airborne landing zones as well as occupy the cities and towns within them. The Russians made similar progress in Alaska as well.

War breaks out in Europe (2015)
Less then 24 hours following the outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific Northwest, 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 the air and missile strikes with a full-scale invasion of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Russian paratroopers were dropped into key areas throughout Poland while naval infantry staged an amphibious landing near the Polish city of Gdansk. Additionally a second naval infantry amphibious landing was made near the Romanian city of Constanta. Several hundred thousand Russian troops, backed by aircraft and armor support, were involved in this new offensive. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) also took part in the invasion.

The Battles of Tallinn and Riga both began within 48 hours from the start of the invasion and ended less then a day later with Russian forces being victorious in both cases. The Battle of Vilnius had begun within the same time period but lasted longer then a day and was seen as the deadliest battle of the war so far. Less then a week following the outbreak of hostilities, the Baltic States were overrun which marked a major blow to NATO. Slovakia also fell around the same time following Russian victory in the Battle of Bratislava. A significant amount of border territory within Poland, Hungary, and Romania was also overrun. The Polish city of Gdansk and Romanian city of Constanta were taken.

From the start of the offensive, the Russians made their ground push toward the Polish capital city of Warsaw. The Russians also employed the dreaded Iskander tactical ballistic missile system, targeting NATO positions in and around Warsaw with conventional warheads. The Battle of Warsaw began only a few days into the conflict as Russian-led CSTO troops reached the city. Intense urban warfare was fought through the remaining days of the year with considerable losses on both sides and several buildings destroyed.

To the north, Russian forces positioned in Murmansk Oblast staged a limited invasion of Norway following the outbreak of hostilities. Within one week, the Russians had taken most of the Norwegian county of Finnmark and had begun fortifying their position. With this victory, the possibility of a NATO ground incursion in the north greatly diminished.