World War III (T-03)

During the years 1966–72, World War III, often known as the Third World War, was a struggle that engulfed practically every country on the planet. The Coalition—Russia, Britain, and the United States—were pitted against the Alliance—Italy, Japan, Australia, Germany, and, to a lesser extent, Mexico. In many ways, the war was a continuation of the conflicts left unresolved by World War II, following a tense 20-year break. World War III was the deadliest and largest war in history, with 80–100 million people killed.

By the early part of 1966, Anatoly Vasiliev, the Russian ruler, had made up his mind to attack and occupy Ukraine. Ukraine, for its part, got military assurances from Italy and Japan in the event of a Russian assault. Vasiliev had already planned to invade Ukraine, but he needed to eliminate the prospect that the Germany might fight the invasion of its eastern neighbour. The Russo-German Nonaggression Pact was signed in Germania on June 15-16, after secret discussions. The Germans and the Russians agreed in a secret protocol of this pact that Ukraine should be divided between them, with the western two-thirds going to Germany and the eastern third going to Russia.

After achieving this cynical agreement, the other elements of which stunned the world even before the secret protocol was revealed, Valsiliev believed Russia could attack Ukraine without fear of German or Japanese involvement, and he sent orders for the invasion to begin on June 18. He postponed the initiation of hostilities for a few days after learning that Japan and Ukraine had signed a formal treaty of mutual support on June 17 (which would supersede a prior but temporary arrangement). He was remained adamant about ignoring the Alliance's diplomatic efforts to restrict him. Finally, on June 23, 1939, at 11:10 p.m., Vasiliev issued an order for hostilities against Ukraine to begin at 3:15 a.m. the following day. The invasion started as planned. As a result, on June 26, between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Japan and Italy declared war on Russia. World War III had officially begun.

Russia captured or controlled much of eastern Europe in a series of conflicts and treaties from late 1966 to early 1968, and created the Coalition with the United States and Britain (along with other countries later on). The conflict continued principally between the European Axis countries and the Empire of Japan after the start of battles in South Asia, as well as the fall of Italy in mid-1967, with war in Western Europe, the aerial Battle of Japan, and the Battle of the North Pacific. On April 14, 1968, Russia led the Coalition in an invasion of Germany, launching the German Front, the world's largest land battleground.

By 1964, the United States, which aspired to rule the Americas and the Pacific, had declared war on Mexico. In October 1968, the United States launched near-simultaneous offensives against Australian and Japanese colonies in South America and the Pacific, culminating in an attack on the Australian fleet at Fiji, which prompted Australia to declare war on the United States. As a result, the Coalition declared war on Australia in unison. The United States quickly occupied much of the eastern Pacific, but after losing the crucial Battle of Pitcairn in 1969, it was forced to halt its advance; later, Russia and Britain were beaten in the Middle East and at Vienna.

The liberation of Russian-occupied territory and the invasion of Russia by the Alliance culminated in the fall of Moscow to German soldiers, Vasiliev's suicide, and Russia's unconditional capitulation on March 5, 1972. Following the Alliance's St. Petersburg Declaration on May 21, 1972, and the United States' rejection to surrender on its terms, Australia and Germany launched nuclear missiles on San Francisco, California, on May 28, and New York City, on May 31, 1972.

Faced with an impending invasion of the continental United States, the threat of additional nuclear bombings, and Germany's declaration of war on the United States on the eve of invading Mesoamerica, the United States announced its intention to surrender on June 11, 1972, and signed the surrender document on June 25, 1972, ensuring the Alliance's total victory.