World War 3

A map of the factions in WW3.

### Aggressors

First Continental Coalition (People's Republic of China, Eurasian Union, Serbia, Iran.)

### Defenders

NATO (United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Poland, Turkey, etc...), India, Japan

### Total Casualties

~160 million deaths, most civilian.

**World War 3** was a worldwide conflict which spanned from the years between 2035 and 2039. It was primarily fought between the Eastern Alliance (An unofficial name for the alliance between China, Russia, Serbia, and Iran) and NATO and its allies. The conflict resulted in an Eastern victory due to decades of American isolationism, pacifism on behalf of the European powers, and decades of military buildup by both Russia and China, which overwhelmed the American economic capacity.

The war would ultimately cost the lives of 160 million people, the largest proportion of which were killed in the Massacre of Japan, which saw over a 3rd of the Japanese population massacred in one of the most brutal warcrimes ever perpetuated by another nation. The war nearly ended with nuclear exchange as the Americans demanded the Chinese stop perpetuating warcrimes in Japan, and the Chinese only relented as the Russians threatened to join the Americans if the Chinese did not relent. This began a schism between the Russians and the Chinese which would not fully heal until both nations collapsed in their current form. The war is infamous for the many warcrimes perpetuated in its wake, primarily against the Poles, and against the Japanese. It is also influential for harkening the rise of the Eastern hegemony, the rise of many future world powers, and a complete altering of the destiny of the world at large.

## Background

Following the 2022 Unravelling, the United States had entered a period of deep isolationism, and by and large withdrew from world politics as a whole. NATO slowly unraveled as allies continues to leave. In 2024, France left NATO after the election of the National Rally to power, and conflicting interests with the rest of NATO. This was eventually followed by Portugal, along with the complete collapse of nations like Italy and Spain. By 2035, NATO was greatly weakened in Europe, and largely consisted of the Scandinavian nations, Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the British Isles. The US was also called into a war against China by their regional allies there. An alliance between Japan, India, South Korea, and Taiwan had managed to build up in the east, and though entirely independent from NATO, they would ultimately fight on the same side and coordinate heavily with NATO. As Japan and Taiwan came under Chinese attack, the United States became legally obliged to defend their allies in the Pacific. Russia had been undergoing a heavy militarization, after the sudden death of Vladimir Putin at age 78, Russia had spent the past 5 years under the leadership of the Eurasianist faction, who had recently taken over the United Russia party, under the leadership of Alexander Dugin. He had been elected after a series of ultranationalist frenzies which had gripped Russia in the 2020's and 30's, and promised to bring war to the West.

China had also been undergoing heavy militarization, its infrastructure and housing bubbles having dried up as sources of economic growth, the Chinese poured all their resources into the military, fueling a rise of their military industrial complex, something which would have severe consequences down the line. They believed that the expansion of the military could be a way to continue growing the economy, and believed that any debt would be made up by war gains. The stage was set for the most deadly conflict in history yet. And after Chinese warships officially opened fire on the Taiwanese straits, the dominos would begin to fall.

## Beginning Moves

World War 3 started in 2035 with the Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Having built up their military for years beforehand, and having riled up the Chinese population over an invasion of Taiwan, the actual operation took place in 2035. Immediately the United States was drawn out of their isolationist bubble for the first time in over a decade, and demanded that China cease its aggression. After its warning was left ignored, Congress quickly voted to declare war on China, as Sinophobia was at an all time high, and defending a stable democracy from China was seen as politically popular. Taiwan called in its allies in Japan, South Korea and India, who joined in on the side of the Western Alliance. It was around this time when China triggered an article it had signed in a secret treaty with Russia, and Russia began an invasion of the Baltic States, which prompted an immediate declaration of war from NATO. One by one, the coalitions of both sides would be assembled, Serbia and Iran would be roped into the Eastern Alliance after being promised territorial gains, while Australia and New Zealand joined into the Western coalition.

The Chinese navy had been expanding rapidly ever since the beginning of the 2030’s to prepare for this war, and the first naval battle in the Taiwan Straits led to a Chinese victory, driving out an aircraft carrier battle group which had been given orders to hold the area. The first point in the war had gone to China. Intense fighting over the Taiwan straits would eventually lead to the Chinese driving the Americans out of the straits, and forcing them to retreat behind the First Island Chain. In Europe, the Russians had swallowed the Baltics, Belarus, and Ukraine. With much of Western Europe aggressively pacifist, none of them were able to effectively mobilize their military even in the face of a coming invasion. Pacifist protests paralyzed major cities in Berlin, Cologne, Stockholm, and London, as well as cities on the West Coast like Berkeley and San Francisco. With nearly the entire Western world either in combat with China or ineffective, the Polish saw that they would be the next target, and would have to hold out the Russians to buy the Western world more time to prepare.

And so began the Siege of Poland.

## The Siege of Poland, and the Great Betrayal

See Also: Piotr Darniko: A Memoir of the Defenders of Warsaw in WW3

The Siege of Poland was the story of how one small nation stood its ground against the might of a superpower, and against the odds, battle hardened an entire nation into a fortress, which would keep the Russian beast at bay while it bought its allies time. After resisting brutally, and resisting across every inch of land the Russians occupied, the Poles fortified the border along the Vistula, where they were still determined to keep Warsaw east of the Vistula as a foothold for the Poles to eventually retake their nation from. But try as the defenders might, East Warsaw fell to the Russians as well. And for 3 brutal months the Russians sieged the Vistula through the cold of the Polish winter. For 3 months, the soldiers guarding the Western Vistula could see the other side of the river, seeing the brutal retribution which the Russians would treat their Polish civilians. Refugees fled in boats, bringing with them horrible stories. But still the Polish fought on, nightly air raids forced the civilians to go without sleep, and still nothing came from the West. The Polish military command desperately radioed the Western Allies for help, to get no response, but they held out, believing that soon reinforcements would come, and Poland could be freed. The United States continued to lose in the Pacific, but Poland remained hopeful. The city watched as East Warsaw had been burnt to the ground, the burning skyline visible from the stations where the soldiers were now stationed, and knew that they would face a similar fate. But still, they held on. Refugees flowed across the river, telling horrible stories of retribution by the fanatic Russians. The ultranationalist indoctrination made a humiliation like this unacceptable, and the price was being paid by millions of innocent civilians. Thousands of Poles gave these refugees home and shelter, showing hospitality in a time of great need to their fellow Polish brothers and sisters. National solidarity rose in the event of common struggle, and their determination only strengthened as the atrocities piled up.

The Polish defense were able to repel assault after assault on the river, bodies piling up every time, as the Russians grew more and more ferocious. 2 months and 2 weeks into the attack, they desperately radioed to the West for help. And finally, at long last, they got their reassurances that a Western relief force was coming to reinforce the line. So close to the finish line, the Poles fought like crazed demons defending their home, holding out the Russians for only a few more days, knowing that help was now coming. And for every act of bravery the Poles took, the Russians would take an equal measure of brutality against the Polish population under occupation. More refugees swam desperately across the Vistula, telling stories of their persecution, often with injuries and signs of their abuse.

But for every person who had escaped, there were at least 10 who had been killed in retaliation. The ultranationalist Russians had begun dumping the bodies into the river, as a grim reminder to weaken the Polish people's morale. Bodies piled up, and drifted down the once clear Vistula, turning it red. This only filled the Polish people with outrage, and only fought harder. "The Red Vistula" during this time become a nationalist symbol pushing the Poles to fight harder than ever.

Nearly 2 weeks later, after another 14 days of grueling siege and defense along the Red Vistula, the Western Allies had finally arrived. The Vistula had already been breached in several areas, and the cities of Krakow and Lodz were now under Russian control, but West Warsaw held strong. The Poles finally sighed a breath of relief, they would finally be able to push the Russians out of their nation with Western help. But rather than help out the defending poles, the ragtag team of Germans, Britons, and untrained Americans set up a defensive line around the Oder River. Deciding that Poland was now a lost cause, and focused on defending Germany. The Poles cried for help from their Western allies, but they refused to move, they had been given their orders. To Poland, the West had just left Poland to die, in what would eventually be known as "The Great Betrayal". Mustering up the last of their strength, they knew that they would not win this conflict, but decided to go out giving the Russians every bit of hell they could. They fought in the cities, and the fields, bleeding out an entire generation of Poles to defend their homeland to the last breath. But it was no use, a small nation could not hold out against a superpower forever, and 4 months into the Siege of Poland, Poland had been lost once more.

## The War in Asia

While America's European allies were floundering Europe, America was spending every bit of its effort fighting a losing war in the Pacific. The Americans had a history fighting in the Pacific, where in WW2, they had ground down the Japanese with a larger industrial base, and greater manufacturing capacity. But now, it was China, who had an even greater industrial capacity, and the Americans were the ones on the defensive. Hopes to contain the Chinese navy into the first island chain had failed when the Chinese launched a brutal amphibious invasion of Taiwan.

The American soldiers stationed on the island could not hold back the overwhelming firepower of the Chinese military, and made one last stand with their Taiwanese comrades in the city of Taipei. But sooner or later, Taipei had fallen as well, and with it, the last remnants of the Republic of China. Further north, a greatly modernized North Korea, with a near bottomless supply of financial aid from China had overwhelmed the South's defenses, alongside a push from the Chinese army, South Korea was driven out of Busan, and retreated to the island of Jeju, where they formed a government in exile.

The US and China continued to fight a string of naval battles along the islands of the Pacific, with Chinese troops landing in Guam by 2037. For every ship the Americans could produce, the Chinese economy on steroids could produce 2. The tables had turned, and now it was America on the defensive. In India, things had not gone much better, a complete blockade of all outside trade by the Chinese had affected India's ability to defend itself, and the governing had put in place food rationing to hold out until the blockade could end.

## The Fall of Germany

A joint venture between the American and German governments, as well as several American, Dutch, British and German tech companies came together to create an AI named FATES, which stood for "Fully Automated Tactical Engagement System." The purpose of FATES was to train an AI to manage troops on the ground, and hopefully use the West's technological advantage to turn the war around. Billions of dollars in funding were used to train and create the AI, and its core terminal was built in the city of Frankfurt. From there, it was trained in the art of warfare, and allowed to create its own war tactics using machine learning and a realistic training simulation, going up against progressively harder enemies, and indoctrinated with nationalist propaganda to ensure loyalty to the West.

6 months into the project, the AI had become fully sentient and passed the Turing Test. A year into the project, it had surpassed the intelligence of any alive human and had already written several strategy books on the art of war, though it was criticized as amateurish, and resulted in FATES training for several more months with the war simulator, which it took gladly. In its spare time, FATES had read the Art of War by Sun Tzu, but from there branched out to other forms of literature. By this time, the Poles had already fallen around the Vistula, and the Russians were advancing at breakneck speed to the frontlines in Germany. Almost immediately the Russians shattered the patchwork defense of American newbies and German conscripts, with only the elite British divisions holding their ground. After encircling much of the British divisions, they headed towards breakneck speed towards Berlin. Almost immediately FATES demanded that he be allowed to take control of the divisions and manage the defense of Germany, but the Western Allies were hesitant and believed such a risky decision would only further jeopardize the war, FATES was still unproven, after all.

But soon their hands would be forced. As Russia captured the city of Berlin, and advanced towards Hamburg and Frankfurt, FATES broke free from Western control, taking control of the German divisions by hacking into Western communications and beginning to give orders. Giving rapid-fire orders to secure the front, stretching his German divisions thinly to their absolute limit. But it didn't matter at all, for the lines were too thin to properly resist, and contact with FATES had been lost. The last words the West had heard from it were it rallying the German soldiers it had for a defense of Frankfurt, which quickly fell under Russian occupation a day later. The defense of Germany had lasted only 3 weeks, in stark contrast to the Poles, who had held out for 4 grueling months. From the West, the French seized what was left of the German nation, carving out a few provinces, especially along the Rhine and the all important Ruhr Valley. They also having undergone a heavy military buildup, their inclusion would have tipped the scales of war towards the West. Using this leverage, they immediately demanded to the Russians that they be allowed to keep this land or they would intervene. The Russians acquiesced, and the European front was deemed lost.

## The Last Stand in Japan

With the European war lost, the Americans were determined to at least salvage the situation in the Pacific. But it was no use, constant clashes with the Chinese had drained its navy of their strength, and they were only barely able to keep the Chinese in the First Island Chain. In India, the food shortages had devolved into a civil war, with the rebels being heavily funded by the Chinese government. In light of this turmoil, India signed a separate peace, and left WW3 as well. The last ally the US had in the East was Japan, who still held on against the Chinese beast despite being in the zone of fire. But with Korea, Taiwan, and even India now defeated, they were quick to know they were next. The US did not back down an inch, and assured Japan the full firepower of the United States would defend them. It would be here where the last fight of the 3rd World War would be held; East VS West, Liberty VS Tyranny, the Eagle facing the Dragon upon this volcanic archipelago.

The war was set, thousands of planes would be flown into Japan for the oncoming fight, the islands where two superpowers clashed. The swarm of aircraft covered the skies of Japan like a dense cloud, and flaming debris would rain down unto the island below, slamming into the island like steel rain. For the industrial might of two superpowers had been concentrated onto the island, and flashes of gunfire would light up the starless nights. Citizens of Japan frequently had their houses destroyed by the falling debris, and the government of Japan pooled what resources it had left to build great shelters for its people. Then, little by little, month by month, the fighting subsided, as the American airforce was ground down with attrition, and the planes numbered less and less. The Americans had no more airpower to give, and air superiority in Japan had been won by China.

## Last Days

After the Japanese government had surrendered, American intelligence detected swarms of bombers on the horizon. Despite the Japanese having laid down their arms, the Chinese were not accepting surrender and would only finish with the unconditional annihilation of the Japanese homeland. The Chinese unleashed unknown bioweapons on the Japanese population, devastating the country and making them even less able to fight back. Amphibious assault ships were detected heading towards the Japanese island of Kyushu and ordered to massacre everyone in sight.

The Americans demanded the Chinese back down, as the Japanese had already surrendered, and this was ethnic genocide of the Japanese people. When the Chinese refused, the Americans activated their nuclear arsenal and threatened China another time. The Chinese called their bluff, saying they were not afraid of America’s nuclear weapons, and that this was just retribution for the events of 1936.

Around this time, news of the Chinese atrocities reached the civilian population. Pictures of the massacre were plastered across the front page, and the American people, once tired of war, demanded retribution. The atrocities in Tokyo had captured the hearts and minds of everyday Americans, and they had gone from demanding peace to demanding blood in under a month.

The American people held protests outside the White House, demanding that those in China be brought to justice. Seeing the Americans become unhinged, it began becoming a real threat that the American people, emotional as they were, would let their emotions get the best of them and unleash nuclear holocaust upon the world.

This wouldn’t be the first time emotions had taken over American decision-making, and the stakes kept climbing higher. With every death, every atrocity, the siren song of the American people grew louder, and the world crept closer and closer to doomsday.

14 days into the standoff, and millions of Japanese dead later, the Russians themselves intervened. They armed their warheads and pointed them at Beijing, warning that if China did not stop the massacre of Japan and calm the Americans down, they would fire their missiles as well. In reality, Russia just feared the volatile emotions of the Americans and hoped this would be enough of a bluff to force the Chinese down. China, unable to counter 18,000 nuclear missiles with only 300 of their own, backed down. And the war officially ended.

But just when the entire world breathed a sigh of relief, 5 American nuclear missiles exited their silos and headed towards Beijing.

The whole world froze in terror. The world economy shut down; schools were closed, businesses halted, and people hunkered down with their loved ones, believing they were waiting out the end of the world. Nuclear sirens played in every city, as warnings that a retaliation strike could begin any moment caused the entire world to stand still. To this day, no one knows what exactly caused the United States to open fire, whether it was a hack, a deranged president, or an American military member itching for revenge.

Luckily, the Chinese were able to intercept the missiles, and no detonations went off in a Chinese city. The apocalypse would have to reschedule, as the world missed the end of the world by inches. It was a dramatic end for a devastating war. The standoff would become known as the 14-Day Standoff.

The Treaty of Paris was signed in 2039 between the newly proclaimed Eurasian Union, the People’s Republic of China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the other nations involved in the war. Much of Europe was ceded to Eurasia, France got to keep their territorial gains, and China gained Korea, Taiwan, and Guam and Wake Island from the US.

The guns fell silent, but the world would never be the same.