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 conflict initially started out as a local aerial skirmish in which a number of Russian aircraft intruded upon Latvian air space over the Baltic Sea resulting in shootdowns by NATO aircraft. The skirmish led to another which led to another until finally escalating into a full-scale world war centered primarily in Europe. The initial opposing military alliances were the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Additional fighting quickly broke out in various locations around the world including a devastating North Korean attack on South Korea, an escalation of existing conflicts in the Middle East, a diversionary invasion of the U.S. Pacific Northwest from Russia, etc. 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. The People's Republic of China maintained neutrality for several months due to an unofficial alliance with Russia as well as an economic connection with the United States; China eventually was dragged into the conflict when they attacked Taiwan in response to the latter declaring independence from the former.

Background
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 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.

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. 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.

Point of Divergence (March 17, 2015)
The unthinkable happens when an interception of seven Russian military aircraft by NATO over the Baltic Sea and one of the Russian aircraft straying into Latvian airspace leads to an aerial skirmish.

Start of the Third World War
The battle was swift and ended in a matter of minutes. One Typhoon fighter belonging to the Spanish air force was shot down while the Russians lost three Su-27's, two An-26's, and one An-12 transport plane. The remaining Russian Su-27 managed to make it back to Kaliningrad where the incident was reported.

President Putin strongly condemns NATO for the attack and authorizes fighter pilots to use their own discretion when facing close-up interception by NATO aircraft. On March 18, 2015, a Russian submarine is torpedoed and sunk in the Arctic. In response, President Putin authorizes the Russian Northern Fleet to commence unrestricted warfare against NATO ships in the Arctic Sea: The Third World War had begun.

Asian Theater

 * Afghan Escalation
 * Korean Front
 * Taiwanese Campaign

European Theater

 * Baltic Campaign
 * Icelandic Campaign
 * Polish Campaign
 * Ukrainian Campaign

Middle Eastern Theater

 * Israeli-Palestinian Escalation
 * Syrian Escalation

North American Theater

 * Alaskan Campaign
 * Pacific Northwest Campaign