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 more friendly 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 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 (2014)
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.

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 (2015)
Tensions increased on June 14th when tens of thousands of Russian troops backed by armored vehicles, gunships, and fighter aircraft invaded Ukraine. 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 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 (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. 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.

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.

In response, the United States and Canada both declared war on the Russian Federation and invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty; the invocation was quickly confirmed by NATO day and the Third World War had 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.

Within hours of the 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.). Russian naval infantry also secured the Aleutian Islands as well as the Alaskan islands in the Bering Strait.

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. By Christmas Day, the Russians had succeeded in securing all beachheads and were gradually pushing inland. By December 31st, much of the Pacific Northwest coast was occupied with most beachheads linked and Russian ground forces arriving in cities held by paratroopers.

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 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 toward 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 off 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 the eastern side of the Dnieper River and were sending troops into the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev.

Pacific Northwest Campaign (Early 2016)
The Russians maintained a firm foothold in the Pacific Northwest despite an increasing number of U.S and Canadian air strikes as well as the naval blockade virtually cutting off all support. Russian troops and armored vehicles backed by gunships staged a series of offensives to the east and south in order to further secure their foothold. By the end of January, the Russians took everything west of the Columbia River in Washington State and southern British Columbia. The western half of Oregon as well as the Californian cities of Crescent City and Yreka were also overrun.

Throughout the month, the 82nd Airborne Division (Fort Bragg), 1st Cavalry Division (Fort Hood), and 1st Marine Division (Camp Pendleton) were deployed to Idaho, northern Nevada, and northern California in preparation for a probable counterattack against the Russian occupation. Intense naval combat was fought as Russian warships were engaged by U.S and Canadian warships as well as aircraft.

The Russians were still gradually advancing in some areas in February though they were now facing increasing levels of resistance as the 82nd Airborne, 1st Cavalry, and 1st Marine Divisions had begun to reinforce the front lines. Furthermore, the Russian soldiers currently behind the lines were facing guerrilla attacks in several occupied cities with Seattle and Portland being among the worst.

Russian armored units were moving into Redding, California which was defended by the 1st Marine Division and the California National Guard. The 1st Cavalry directed a brigade combat team to Spokane to reinforce the Washington National Guard there; unfortunately a Russian airborne unit was dropped into the city before they could arrive and armored units intent reinforcing the paratroopers were on their way.

The U.S Army III Corps remained on standby as President Obama weighed his options. Keeping the III Corps in the States to push the Russians off American soil would mean that NATO stood little chance of successfully defending Eastern Europe relying solely on conventional means. Unfortunately, sending the U.S Army III Corps to reinforce the U.S Army V Corps would effectively prolong the Russian occupation of the U.S/Canadian Pacific Northwest even if the enemy could be contained.

The North American Campaign had mixed results for both sides. The Russians were forced to retreat from Redding and regroup after the 1st Marine Division had successfully defended the city. However the Battle of Spokane ended badly with Russian tank and motorised rifle units reinforcing the paratroopers; the 1st Cavalry Division established a defensive line to the east of the city.

With the Fall of Spokane, President Obama ordered that the entire U.S Army III Corps be deployed to northern California and the northern Rockies rather then deploy to Europe as originally planned.

The North American Front was locked in a stalemate throughout April with the U.S Army III Corps continuing to reinforce the front lines which forced the Russians to switch from an offensive to a defensive stance. Furthermore, the Russians were facing worsening guerrilla attacks behind the lines. The U.S and Canadian naval blockade established shortly after the outbreak of war ensured that no reinforcements nor logistical support reached the Russian-occupied Pacific Northwest.

The U.S began a series of air strikes and cruise missile attacks against Russian forces throughout May. Guerrilla attacks also intensified in all major cities occupied by enemy troops. A few weeks into the continued bombardment, the U.S Army III Corps and the Canadian military began launching a series of offensives, primarily reconnaissance-in-force.

Eastern European Campaign (Early 2016)
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 one-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.

The Battle of Warsaw continued into February with intense urban combat between Russian and NATO forces. By this point, the Polish capital city was completely encircled. Military death toll had exceeded well over 1,000 on each side. Furthermore thousands of Warsaw residents were also killed in the fighting and over 100,000 more lost their homes. Defense of the Polish capital was now NATO's top priority in Europe and European leaders were now calling for President Obama to send reinforcements as soon as possible despite the ongoing Russian invasion of the United States and Canada.

As the Battle of Warsaw continued, additional Russian-led CSTO forces continued their ground push into central and southern Poland. NATO commanders believed at this point that Russia's primary strategic objective was to push all the way to the Oder-Neisse line; NATO troops led by the Franco-German Brigade were sent to central Poland. By the end of the month, the Russians had occupied Ludz, Torun, and Lublin while advanced units reached Poznan, Wroclaw, and Rzeszow.

Farther south, the Russian military had taken the Romanian coastline and was now moving west toward 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 Bucharest began as Russian-led CSTO troops invaded the city.

The Battle of Kiev continued throughout most of February with combined Russian, Belarusian, and Novorossiyan troops pushing further into western Kiev. The Battle of Kiev ended on February 22nd, 2016 when surviving Ukrainian troops capitulated to the Russian military. During the final week of February, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was deposed in a coup and Ukrainian military leaders unconditionally surrendered to the Russian Federation. 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 front lines.

The Battle of Warsaw continued into March and the Russians still had yet to completely secure the besieged Polish capital. 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 capital. By the end of March, the Battle of Warsaw was virtually reduced to major guerrilla 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 March with NATO troops led by the Franco-German Brigade barely holding back Russia's advance toward the Oder-Neisse line. The Polish garrison defending Rzeszow didn't fare as well with the city falling in mid-March. By the end of the month, southeastern Poland had fallen.

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 ground forces invaded Hungary and Slovakia.

The Battle of Warsaw dragged on into April with isolated NATO defenders continuing to wage their guerrilla 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.

The Battle of Bucharest clearly favored the Russians with the Romanian capital completely surrounded and nearly taken. On top of that, Serbia surprised NATO by declaring war on Romania and invading from the west. Less then a day later, what was left of the Romanian government declared a state of surrender. Slovakia also surrendered at roughly the same time and the Czech Republic was at risk of invasion. Hungary held out a bit longer but eventually surrendered as well following their defeat in the Battle of Budapest.

NATO began to lose ground in the Battles of Poznan and Wroclaw as more and more Russian-led CSTO reinforcements continued to pour into central Poland. While NATO was able to move some additional forces to the front, it wasn't enough to halt the Russian onslaught. The NATO defense plan for Europe was ultimately dependent on the United States promptly deploying reinforcements to the front lines and this wasn't gonna happen as long as the Russian occupation of the Pacific Northwest continued. Eventually Poznan and Wroclaw fell along with much of central Poland. Furthermore, Russian forces also begun a ground invasion of the Czech Republic. By mid-May, the situation became more grim as the governments of both Poland and the Czech Republic surrendered to the Russian Federation. In addition to this, NATO defenses throughout western Poland had begun to crumble. With these latest developments, NATO Command ordered all remaining forces to begin a withdrawal to Germany and establish a defensive line west of the Oder-Neisse Line. By the end of May, the Russian had overrun nearly all Poland save for scattered pockets of resistance. Despite Poland's surrender, Polish militia and NATO holdouts continued their fierce guerrilla campaign against Russian troops occupying Warsaw.

Serbian troops backed by the Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Republika Srpska, the Serbian entity within Bosnia immediately sided with the Serbian military. Heavy fighting had already reached Sarajevo by the second week of the invasion. Serbian troops backed by Russian aircraft invaded the disputed territory of Kosovo. Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops and the reorganized Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were able to put up heavy resistance and held out for the remainder of the month.

War on the Korean Peninsula (Early 2016)
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 toward 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 toward the capital.

By the end of the first week of February, the North Korean had begun to move into the northern suburbs of Seoul. By mid-February, much of 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 U.S/ROK forces were fighting back. The Battle of Seoul lasted throughout the second half of February with much of the city being severely decimated. The invading KPA 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.

The Battle of Seoul continued throughout 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, U.S/ROK combined forces won the Battle of Seoul by the start of the last week of March and Allied air forces took out most remaining KPA artillery and missile batteries.

With the failure to take Seoul, the KPA instead attempted to encircle the South Korean capital by pushing through the suburbs. However, US/ROK troops were able to halt the attacks. By the end of March, the entire North Korean offensive throughout South Korea had been halted and Allied forces were gradually driving the invaders back toward the DMZ.

On April 1st, 2016, Kim Jong-Un ordered a full-scale nuclear assault against South Korea, Japan, and Guam. However, the nuclear launches were prevented at the last moment when the Kim Dynasty came to an abrupt end as the result of a coup d'état sponsored by the People's Republic of China. The following day, hundreds of thousands of troops of the newly reestablished Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) invaded North Korea and rapidly advanced throughout the country with minimal opposition. The new North Korean leader ordered the immediate withdrawal of all remaining KPA forces south of the 38th Parallel and to 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.