Alternate Timeline of 1989 for T2k (all editions)

[Rainbow Six]

FWIW I'm also a fan of the V1 timeline (to the virtual exclusion of all others, including V4) and I've always butterflied away the first Gulf War as never having taken place.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

FWIW I'm also a fan of the V1 timeline (to the virtual exclusion of all others, including V4) and I've always butterflied away the first Gulf War as never having taken place.

Yeah, I'm still on the fence regarding the Gulf War. I used to toss it out as well, but creating an alternate timeline for '89 has got me rethinking things.

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[stilleto69]

I've included the Gulf War as well as Operation Urgent Fury and Operation Gothic Serpent as explanations for the increase in US defense spending as well as the overhaul of US Army light infantry units, i.e. the continuing creation of the US 9th ID (Motorized) to include LAV-75s as well as M8 Bufords.

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by stilleto69

I've included the Gulf War as well as Operation Urgent Fury and Operation Gothic Serpent as explanations for the increase in US defense spending as well as the overhaul of US Army light infantry units, i.e. the continuing creation of the US 9th ID (Motorized) to include LAV-75s as well as M8 Bufords.

Given the LAV-75's design intent as deployable light armor for a Middle Eastern intervention force, the Gulf War happening in-timeline is an elegant and appropriate rationalization for its in-game existence.

(It does raise the question of how a T2k with a Gulf War remains compatible with RDF Sourcebook and King's Ransom.)

- C.

[Louied]

Does anyone remember @Webstral ‘s alternate timeline? I think I have a copy somewhere. Very similar in that the POD is 1989, the Wall doesn’t fall however the Gulf War does happen while the Soviets are putting down insurrections in the Baltics and Caucuses.

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Louied

Does anyone remember @Webstral ‘s alternate timeline? I think I have a copy somewhere. Very similar in that the POD is 1989, the Wall doesn’t fall however the Gulf War does happen while the Soviets are putting down insurrections in the Baltics and Caucuses.

I think this is the most up to date version.

Link
https://www.docdroid.net/2l9eEus/the...y-webstral-pdf

PDF Attachment here in case the above dies.
https://forum.juhlin.com/attachment....1&d=1613321392

[Adm.Lee]

This is a pretty good place to bridge from 1989 to 1995.

I'm kicking around the idea of a similar coup pre-1985, but don't let me derail the discussion here.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

Given the LAV-75's design intent as deployable light armor for a Middle Eastern intervention force, the Gulf War happening in-timeline is an elegant and appropriate rationalization for its in-game existence.

(It does raise the question of how a T2k with a Gulf War remains compatible with RDF Sourcebook and King's Ransom.)

I've often thought that Saddam Hussein would not have ordered the invasion of Kuwait if the USSR, one of Iraq's main military suppliers, had disapproved*.

Then again, I've wondered whether, in an alternate timeline, if perhaps Moscow would have encouraged Saddam's plan to conquer Kuwait, hoping that it would raise global oil prices, giving the Soviet energy industry a much-needed boost. It seems plausible, but then I started looking into the USSR's IRL relationship with Kuwait, c.1990.

Apparently Kuwait was one of only two Gulf oil states to maintain diplomatic relations with the USSR. The Kuwaiti government apparently saw the Soviets as a stabilizing force in the region, and a guarantor against Iraqi or Iranian aggression. I still need some corroborating evidence but, if true, this information would lead me conclude that Moscow would in no uncertain terms dissuade Saddam Hussein as soon as the KGB became aware of his intentions (in an alternate Cold War continuation timeline).

I'm going to have to think on this some more. Maybe Hussein ignores Moscow and acts unilaterally, putting the new Soviet leaders in a bit of a pickle. What then?


*Similarly, I'm not sure if Yugoslavia would have disintegrated as violently as it did if the Soviet Union had still existed.

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