War for the Commonwealth

> "*The Commonwealth itself is nothing but a war-ravaged quagmire of violence and despair.*"
> ― Dr. Zimmer
>
>

The War for the Commonwealth was a large scale war that occured within the Commonwealth. It was fought between the United Commonwealth -formed from the Institute and Minutemen, Eastern Brotherhood of Steel, and the Gunners, who were aided by both the Children of Atom and Railroad. The war is of particular note for crippling the Eastern BoS following its failure to take the region.

## Background

The War for the Commonwealth officially began in 2287 with the Quincy Massacre at the hands of the Gunners. The massacre left most of what remained of the Minutemen dead and scattered. Preston Garvey was one of the few detachment leaders to survive. He led his detachment north, a trip that proved perilous with the deaths of all but himself, Sturges, and a few civilians.

2287 also marked the date in which the Sole Survivor awakened from her tomb and saved the Minutemen. The Sole Survivor agreed to help Garvey rebuild the Minutemen in exchange for help with finding her missing child. Within only a few months the city of Sanctuary was a bustling community and the Minutemen had their flag picketed in many settlements.

The Eastern Brotherhood of Steel arrived in the Commonwealth later that year and established a base of operations at the Boston Airport. There the BoS began spreading its influence across the Commonwealth and made it clear that their intention was to subjugate it. This did not set in well with either the Minutemen nor the Institute, and in October the two factions met at Diamond City.

The Institute's representative was Madison Li, head of Advanced Systems and a fervent opponent to the Brotherhood, while Preston and the Sole Survivor met in the Minutemen's steed. During the meeting, the two sides came to the agreement to form an alliance to push the BoS out of the Commonwealth. The United Commonwealth was born.

The bulk of the forces under the United Commonwealth's control were synths, who served as the nation's cannon fodder against the powerful paladins of the BoS. A large contingent of human Minutemen were also involved and were often equipped with scavenged battle equipment.

In 2287, the Sole Survivor met with the leader of the Institute. They would be at the side of the Institute's leader until the leader's death in December. Taking over for Father was Madison Li, who took on a much more merciless approach towards the BoS, who she believed had ruined her life years ago.

Early 2288 saw the destruction of the Railroad in the Battle of Old North Church. The battle came as a result of a Railroad Agent leaking the location of the Railroad. It saw multiple coursers pitted against the best of the Railroad. In the end, the Railroad's base of operations was burned to the ground with its leaders. The Railroad would continue fighting, and still do to this day, but now only as a nuisance.

Late 2289 marked the most important battle of the war with the Battle of the Prydwen. The battle had been in planning since 2287, but had not been put into effect because of complications with the BoS's repair of Liberty Prime. Once the robot was confirmed to be operational, the Institute sent a large force of Synths the hijack the robot and aim its laser at the Prydwen. The battle ended in resounding success with the deaths of both Elder Maxson and Lancer Captain Kells. The BoS, as a result, declared the war futile and sent a scribe named Bigsley to negotiate peace.

The war from 2289 to 2291 was mostly made up of skirmishes between the United Commonwealth and Gunners, who had by then allied with the Children of Atom. In early 2290, the Minutemen fought largely alone in the Battle of Quincy and reclaimed the city under its flag. The battle resulted in the deaths of a large portion of the Gunners in the Commonwealth. The final battle waged against the Gunners was in late 2291 with the Battle of Gunner's Plaza, which resulted in the death of the Gunner's leader Captain George Wes.

The war was announced over in December of 2291 and the Commonwealth was officially under the United Commonwealth's banner.

## Battles and Engagements

* 2287: Quincy Massacre
* 2287: Battle of Boston Airport
* 2288: Battle of Old North Church
* 2288: Battle at the Cambridge Police Station
* 2289: Battle of the Crater
* 2289: Battle of the Prydwen
* 2289: Battle of Sentinel
* 2290: Battle of Quincy
* 2291: Battle of Gunner's Plaza