World War III (Atlantic Resolve)

World War III (often abbreviated to WWIII or WW3), also known as the Third World War, was a global war that started on 28 September 2016.

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 economic turmoil that lasted throughout the 1990's. Under Boris Yeltsin, the Russian Federation gradually had become friendlier with the West.

Kosovo War (1998-1999)
NATO bombing during the Kosovo War in 1999 led to heightened tensions between the West and Russia. Even after a treaty was signed with Yugoslavia, there was a short but tense standoff between Russian and NATO troops known as the Incident at Priština Airport which was resolved peacefully.

Rise of Vladimir Putin
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 chose 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 17 July 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
Operation Atlantic Resolve was initiated by the United States in response to Russian intervention in the internal affairs of Ukraine, mainly the War in Donbass as well as the annexation of Crimea. Additional US troops and equipment were deployed to the Baltic States and Poland, both to demonstrate solidarity with all members of NATO and as a message to the Russian Federation that attempting any military action to reclaim the Baltic region can only result in a far wider war.

2015 Military Exercises
On 16 March 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.

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 Ukrainian Revolution over the past year as well as the annexation of Crimea in 2014. On May 26th, NATO launched massive Arctic military drills in the Nordic countries; Russia responded by commencing its own Arctic war games.

Ukraine attacks Russian forces in Crimea (Point of Divergence)
Russia Day celebrations were held in Sevastopol, Crimea on 12 June 2015. When Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko learned of this the following day, he saw it as Russia further asserting dominance over Ukrainian territory. Angered by this, Poroshenko ordered an immediate air strike against Russian positions in the Crimea. Less then an hour later, Ukrainian warplanes bombed Russian military bases throughout Crimea, with the naval base at Sevastopol being hit hardest. The Novorossiya War had begun.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine
As a result of the Ukrainian air strikes against the Russians in the Crimea on June 13th, tensions throughout the region intensified greatly with Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring that the Ukraine had just committed an act of war against the Russian Federation and promised retaliation. This happened the following day with Russia invading Ukraine 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.

Bosnian Civil War (2016)
After the outbreak of the Novorossiya War, the ethnic tensions in the Balkans which had been presumably resolved following the conclusion of the Yugoslav Wars had begun to resurface over the following months mainly in the form of peaceful demonstration. The situation intensified in the first week of March however when the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska declared independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian government responded by declaring martial law and sending in the military to reestablish control of Republika Srpska. The Bosnian Serbs fought back and the country quickly descended into civil war. The Battle of Sarajevo begun almost immediately with Bosnian Serb insurgents attacking Bosnian government forces.

While the Republic of Serbia was initially neutral in the Bosnia Civil War, they did supply Bosnian Serbs with weapons and offered statements of support for their cause. The conflict was eventually locked down in a nationwide stalemate through November and most of December with neither side gaining much ground.

Creation of the All-Russian Federation
During the Russia Day celebrations on 12 June 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the "All-Russia Speech" in the Kremlin, stating that the Russian Federation wasn't just for Great Russia (Russia) but for Little Russia (Novorossiya) and White Russia (Belarus) as well. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Novorossiyan President Viktor Yanukovych, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed the Treaty on the Creation of the All-Russian Federation which unified all three countries in a new union.

Heightened Tensions
Relations between Russia and the West further deteriorated following Russia's de facto annexation of Belarus and Ukraine. President Barack Obama condemned the move and announced that the United States was leveling a total economic embargo against the so-called All-Russian Federation. NATO aircraft and ships increased their patrols of the Baltic and Black Seas while the US 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.

North Korea also committed a number of additional missile tests plus the entire Korean People's Army (KPA) was being fully mobilized. As a response, the United States deployed additional forces to the Korean Peninsula.

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
A coup d'état against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government was attempted on 15 July 2016 by a faction of the Turkish Armed Forces calling themselves the Peace at Home Council. The Turkish government however was able to topple the attempt the following day and many conspirators were arrested. Erdoğan accused US General Joseph Votel, head of United States Central Command, of supporting the coup conspiracy and even called into question Turkey's future cooperation with the United States. External power was cut off to Incirlik Air Base and a no-fly zone for US military aircraft established. On 10 August 2016, the unexpected happened when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the unilateral withdrawal of Turkey from the NATO alliance and even credited Russia with warning him of the failed coup d'état attempt.

War breaks out in North America
During the afternoon of 28 September 2016, seized control of airports, seaports, and national guard armories in several cities in Washington State and Oregon. The gunmen were initially believed to be domestic militia likely affiliated with the Alternative Right Movement (Alt-Right) due to demonstrations held by that group the previous week during which Lana Lokteff announced that a message was about to be sent to the US federal government in exactly one week. The ATF and the FBI were sent in to deal with the problem. Shortly after, numerous cyber attacks disrupted communications throughout the Pacific Northwest and a number of widespread power outages were reported. The theory of domestic militia came into doubt due to the scope of the operation as well as observers hearing the gunmen speaking in Russian. This was difficult to confirm due to the communications disruption and the Kremlin offering no explanation when asked what was happening.

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 Washington State (Olympia, Port Townsend, Raymond, etc.) and Oregon (Portland, Astoria, Coos Bay, etc.). Additionally, Russian paratroopers were dropped into several inland cities and towns in Washington State (Fork, Centrailia, Aberdeen, etc.) and Oregon (Eugene, Salem, Medford, etc.).

US President Barack Obama condemned the Russian invasion as a blatant act of war against the United States of America. In an emergency session, the United States Congress had declared a state of war with the All-Russian Federation in response to the invasion and President Obama had immediately signed said declaration. The United States also 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 confirmed by NATO within hours and the Third World War had officially begun.

Heavy fighting took place all along the US Pacific Northwest coast. With the majority of US active duty personnel in the normally stationed in the Pacific Northwest currently deployed overseas and eventually facing combat over there, the National and State Guards were practically the only military opposition that the invaders initially encountered. Intense urban warfare took place in several towns and cities with National Guardsmen, law enforcement officers, and some armed civilians defending against the overwhelming Russian onslaught. Evacuations were attempted during the start of the war though most were stopped by roadblocks established by Russian paratroopers around the affected cities.

War breaks out in Europe
The Russian invasion of the Pacific Northwest turned out to be a diversion to their main objective. Within hours following the outbreak of hostilities in North America, the Russians launched numerous air and missile strikes against NATO military installations throughout Eastern Europe as well as Germany, Denmark, and Norway. 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 ground invasion of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. 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 Russians concentrated a majority of their offensive operations in Europe on the Baltic States and Poland with several tank guards and motorized rifle divisions involved in the invasion. The Russians also employed the dreaded Iskander tactical ballistic missile system, targeting NATO positions throughout the Baltic States and Poland with conventional warheads. Russian paratroopers were also dropped into key areas throughout eastern Poland while naval infantry staged an amphibious landing near the Polish city of Gdansk. Additional naval infantry amphibious landings were made near the Estonian capital city of Tallinn and the Latvian capital city of Riga. Both cities rapidly descended into heavy urban warfare.

War breaks out in Asia
With the outbreak of open warfare between Russia and NATO, 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 and heavy combat took place all along the border. Within hours, ROK defenses had been overran and the KPA began their ground push towards Seoul. The Eighth United States Army and the I Marine Expeditionary Force were moving as quickly as possible to fortify Seoul as well as staging hit-and-run attacks to delay the KPA advance toward the capital.

The Syrian Civil War became part of World War III upon the outbreak of the global conflict. As such, fighting throughout Syria escalated with American, Israeli, and Syrian opposition forces facing off against Russian, Iranian, and Syrian government forces in heavy ground, air, and naval combat. Heavy fighting quickly spread into the surrounding countries including Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. Turkey, a former member of the NATO alliance, declared neutrality in the global conflict and expressly prohibited any NATO members from violating its territory.