Europa Burning

The coup, crackdown, and build-up to war
May 1989-July 1992: In response to the repeal of the Brezhnev Doctrine, the failure of perestroika and glasnost, and anti-communist movements in the Eastern Bloc, a group of high-ranking hardliners supported by the military and several KGB units arrest Mikhail Gorbachev and his supporters, placing their own members in positions of power. The new hardline government repeals nearly all of Gorbachev's reforms, cracks down on dissent, and forces members of the Warsaw Pact to follow suit. The resistance by many Warsaw Pact states is fierce, causing the dissolution of the alliance and the occupation of East Germany, Hungary, Romania, and Czechoslovakia within the next eighteen months. The Warsaw Pact is subsequently reformed into the Socialist Collective Defense Initiative.

International condemnation of the attacks is widespread. In what would become to be an exceedingly rare moment of cooperation, the Soviet Union withdraws some of it's troops from the occupied nations, however, strong communist police states are put into power.

American troops spearhead an attack on Iraq. Tensions are escalated when the USSR declares support for Saddam's government. An internal coup overthrows the Iraqi government, and American forces begin to build bases in Iraq.

Things get even more tense when Chinese troops cross over the Soviet border. Not knowing how to respond, Soviet troops fire upon the Chinese. For months, various incidences such as this between the PRC and USSR occur, with neither side claiming responsibility.

Start of World War III
Eastern Theater
July 1, 1992: Soviet President Gennady Yanayev secretly authorizes a conventional assault on China. Manchuria is quickly occupied, and the Soviet Army comes within 15 miles of Beijing when a desperate People's Liberation Army launches a massive chemical attack, momentarily halting the offensive. The USSR replies in kind, followed by the use of small-scale nuclear weapons on the battlefield. Biological warfare becomes prominent when the PLA begins a war of attrition. By New Year's Day 1994, nearly 200 million Chinese have been killed. The Chinese government sues for peace, although by now the PRC has little authority over most of China.

Western Theater
October 29, 1993: A group of officers from both East and West Germany stage a coup against the Soviet Ground Forces occupying their nation. NATO and their allies initially attempt to stay out the conflict, but by February, public opinion and military strategy forces them to act.

The first direct engagement between NATO and SoCol was a surprise raid on a Communist base on the Rhine River (January 12 1994). The attack, while itself a failure, became widely recognized as the start of the Third World War.

The next portion of the war was fought largely conventionally, with a very limited battlefield use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Central Europe becomes a warzone, with local governments changing with the flow of the battle.

American Thanksgiving Day 1997: Soviet nuclear strikes on Los Angeles, London, and Paris precede a large-scale offensive across Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. NATO counterattacks on Leningrad, Vladivostok, Warsaw and Budapest immediately disrupt the offensive and force a withdrawal of SocCol troops as far east as Poland and Ukraine.

Aftermath of nuclear war
Despite increasing shortages of men and supplies, the war continues. Both sides attempt to advance back into Central and Eastern Europe. A breach between American President James Baker and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (led by Colin Powell) develops into an open rift between the Civgov (civilian government) and Milgov (military government), resulting in a low-intensity civil war.

In the Soviet Union, ethnic tensions in Chechnya, Georgia, and the Baltics once again flare up. Repression of these groups continues, however, this strains manpower even more. To make up for the lack of manpower, both sides form mixed units. Platoons are now made of men from every country involved in the war.

By early 2000, the European theater has been fought to a near draw. NATO launches an offensive across Northern Germany, Czechoslovakia and, Poland, only to be repelled by SoCol. Divisions and entire armies are eliminated, and in the chaos, supply lines are destroyed and the chain of command nearly entirely breaks down. Some remaining platoons serve in the garrisons of the free cities that develop. Others become bandits, and still other even conquer small towns. However, most remaining troops remain in some form of contact with their headquarters, even if only to get directions. NATO remains in Western Germany, with some incursions into Italy to restore order and even the occasional attack into Germany. SoCol troops, however, are more aggressive, and have been pushing west from eastern Poland and Ukraine