January 20 Attack

The **January 20 Attack**, also known as **1/20**, was the detonation of a Bovido Imperium underwater thermo-nuclear bomb in the Gulf of Mexico at Noon on January 20, 2037, and the ensuring aftermath of said attack upon the southern states of the United States of America.

Following months of strained relations between the Bovido Imperium and the United States of America during the Bovido-American Diplomatic Crisis, tensions between the two nations began to reach breaking point following the election of Alexandria Raines as president on November 4, 2036 after Raines had campaigned on a platform of increasing American intervention on the world stage, specifically mentioning the conflict in Africa as an example of a situation where American influence would be needed.

Against the backdrop of the Shanghai Pact's invasion of Jerusalem State, Bovido Imperator Julios Cragen authorised the Bovido armed forces to conduct a pre-emptive strike against the United States of America to prevent it from entering into the conflict; on January 4, 2037, Imperator Cragen gave a public address on the anniversary of his seizure of power to denounce the "abhorrent dereliction of morality" that president-elect Raines was intending to partake in as part of her manifesto pledge. On January 6, 2037 this address was broadcast again following the certification of Raines' victory in the 2036 presidential election.

On January 16, 2037, the nuclear-equipped submarine *INL Peacemaker* launched on a 4 day journey to the Gulf of Mexico from the Pindoraman provinces of the Bovido Imperium, equipped with a high-yield thermonuclear bomb. At 12:01 noon on January 20, 2037, just moments following the inauguration of President Alexandria Raines, the *Peacemaker* received the order from Imperator Julios Cragen and detonated it's payload in the gulf, causing a mushroom cloud of water vapour to form in the initial aftermath. The *INL Peacemaker* and a nearby oceanic documentary crew ship were obliterated in the initial explosion.

As a direct result of the thermonuclear explosion, a large tsunami wave struck the south coasts of the states of Florida and Alabama within hours of the detonation, causing widespread death and destruction in the aftermath. In response to the detection of a nuclear detonation, President Alexandria Raines and Vice President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were quickly taken from the site of the inauguration at the Capitol in Washington D.C and taken aboard a modified Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post designated as *Nightwatch*, which took up the moniker of *Air Force One* upon President Raines' boarding, whilst the helicopter *Marine Two* carrying Vice President Ocasio-Cortez flew quickly to Virginia. After being in the air for several hours, President Raines gave an address to the nation from *Air Force One*, before returning to Washington D.C. The attack on the United States would see President Alexandria Raines commit the nation to fighting in the Conquest of Africa, triggering Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence pact to launch a western assault against the Bovido Imperium during the Siege of Jerusalem less than a month later.