My Alternate T2k timeline [Archive]

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:20 AM

Twilight 2000 Countdown to Armageddon: 1980

1980: The Year in Review

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January 1980

January 1980. D

9 January 1980. In Saudi Arabia, 63 Muslim fanatics are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979.

26 January 1980. The State of Israel and the Arab Republic of Egypt formally establish diplomatic relations.

February 1980

February 1980. D

4 February 1980. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banishar as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

13 February - 24 February 1980. The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada; they withdrew before the final vote.

22 February 1980. The United States Olympic Hockey Team defeats the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Winter Olympics, in the 'Miracle on Ice'.

23 February 1980. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

March 1980

March 1980. D

8 March - 16 March 1980. The Spring Rhythms. Tbilisi-80 (Russian: Весенние ритмы. Тбилиси-80, Vesennye ritmy. Tbilisi-80) was a musical event held in Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian SSR, Soviet Union, from March 8 to March 16, 1980. It was the first official rock festival in the Soviet Union and is frequently considered the turning point in the history of Soviet and Russian rock music. The festival was organized by the Georgian National Philharmonic Hall, the Union of Composers of the Georgian SSR, and the Republican Center for Youth Culture at the Georgian Komsomol Central Committee. The acclaimed Russian musicologist and the first Soviet rock-critic Artemy Troitsky was also heavily involved in organizing the event. The organizers enjoyed the support of Eduard Shevardnadze, the contemporary First Secretary of Georgian Communist Party, who is said to have sought, in this way, to pacify the Georgian youth increasingly involved in nationalist and dissident activities after the April 1978 demonstrations in Tbilisi, and to nurture his image as a liberal leader. Although dubbed by some as a "Soviet Woodstock", the festival was essentially a state-sanctioned musical competition with the declared aim "to promote the development of original Soviet VIA music... and to discover new talented performers and composers." The jury, formed by the officially established Soviet composers and musicologists, was chaired by Yuri Saulsky and included Murad Kazhlayev, Giya Kancheli, Konstantin Pevzner, Vladimir Rubashevsky, Arkadi Petrov, and others. Many suspected that the festival was an attempt by the Soviet establishment to channel the Soviet rock movement into a controllable ideological vessel. However, the event was truly democratic in that it allowed amateur performers to contest on equal terms with professional musicians. Over twenty groups from seventeen cities of the Soviet Union arrived in Tbilisi to take part in the event. Yet, several notable bands, for example Sergei Rudnitsky's Araks and Aleksey Romanov’s Voskresenie were not invited to take part in the competition.

18 March 1980. Fifty people are killed at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, when a Vostok-2M rocket explodes on its launch pad during a fueling operation.

21 March 1980. US President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics being held in Moscow, much to the disappointment of the American people.

April 1980

April 1980. D

7 April 1980. The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions, following the taking of American hostages on 4 November 1979.

24 April 25 April 1980. Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.

30 April - 5 May 1980 (Iranian Embassy Siege). Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London, UK. SAS retakes the Embassy on May 5; 1 terrorist survives.

May 1980

May 1980. D

4 May 1980. Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito dies. The funeral ceremony later becomes the world's biggest diplomatic meeting and media event ever, with more than 140 state delegations in Belgrade from all over the world (only the funeral of Pope John Paul II will have more news coverage and a higher number of delegations).

21 May 1980. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released.

22 May 1980. Pac-Man (the best-selling arcade game of all time) is released.

24 May 1980. The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran.

June 1980

June 1980. D

1 June 1980. The Cable News Network (CNN) is officially launched.

27 June 1980. U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs Proclamation 4771, requiring 18- to 25-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

July 1980

July 1980. D

19 July – 3 August 1980. The 1980 Summer Olympics are held in Moscow, Soviet Union. The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament were held in Leningrad, Kiev, and Minsk. The 1980 Games were the first to be staged in Eastern Europe. The United States and a number of other countries boycotted the games because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, though some athletes from some of the boycotting countries participated in the games, under the Olympic Flag.

August 1980

August 1980. D

7 August – 31 August 1980. Lech Wałęsa leads the first of many strikes at the Gdańsk Shipyard.

31 August 1980. Victory of the strike in Gdańsk Shipyard, Poland. Gdańsk Agreement is signed, opening a way to start the first in the communist block free organization not controlled by regime "Solidarność" i.e. Solidarity.

September 1980

September 1980. D

17 September 1980. After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.

22 September 1980. The command council of Iraq orders its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets," initiating the Iran–Iraq War.

22 September 1989 - 20 August 1988 (The Iran-Iraq War). The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the Imposed War (Jang-e-tahmīlī) and Holy Defense (Defā'-e-moqqaddas) in Iran, Saddām's Qādisiyyah (Qādisiyyat Ṣaddām) in Iraq, and the (First) Persian Gulf War, was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the twentieth century. It was initially referred to in English as the "Persian Gulf War" prior to the "Gulf War" of 1990. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, launching a simultaneous invasion by air and land into Iranian territory on 22 September 1980 following a long history of border disputes, and fears of Shia insurgency among Iraq's long-suppressed Shia majority influenced by the Iranian Revolution. Iraq was also aiming to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state. Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of the revolutionary chaos in Iran and attacked without formal warning, they made only limited progress into Iran and within several months were repelled by the Iranians who regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982. For the next six years, Iran was on the offensive.[19] Despite calls for a ceasefire by the United Nations Security Council, hostilities continued until 20 August 1988. The war finally ended with a United Nations brokered ceasefire in the form of United Nations Security Council Resolution 598, which was accepted by both sides. It took several weeks for the Iranian armed forces to evacuate Iraqi territory to honor pre-war international borders between the two nations (see 1975 Algiers Agreement).

29 September 1980. The Washington Post publishes Janet Cooke's story of Jimmy, an 8-year-old heroin addict (later proven to be fabricated).

30 September 1980. Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox introduce the DIX standard for Ethernet, which is the first implementation outside of Xerox, and the first to support 10 Mbit/s speeds.

October 1980

October 1980. D

31 October 1980. The Polish government recognizes Solidarity.

November 1980

November 1980. D

December 1980

December 1980. D

4 November 1980. The United States presidential election or 1980, Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, exactly one year after the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:23 AM

1981: The Year in Review

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January 1981

January 1981. D
19 January 1981. United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.

20 January 1981. Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days within minutes of Ronald Reagan succeeding Jimmy Carter as the President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis.

21 January 1981. The first DeLorean DMC-12 automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.

February 1981

February 1981. D

9 February 1981. Polish Prime Minister Józef Pinkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.

23 February 1980. Antonio Tejero, with members of the Guardia Civil, enters the Spanish Congress of Deputies and stops the session where Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo is about to be named president of the government. The coup d'état fails thanks to King Juan Carlos.

March 1981

March 1981. D

30 March 1981. U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.

April 1981

April 1981. D

12 April 1981. The Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia (John Young, Robert Crippen) launches on the STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on April 14. It is the first time a manned reusable spacecraft has returned from orbit.

May 1981

May 1981. D

13 May 1981. The first attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square at Vatican City. The Pope was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a trained sniper from Turkey, while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck 4 times, and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately, and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court. The Pope later forgave Ağca for the assassination attempt.

June 1981

June 1981. D
5 June 1981. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS).

July 1981

July 1981. D

7 July 1981. President Ronald Reagan nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.

August 1981

August 1981. D

September 1981

September 1981. D

October 1981

October 1981. D

6 October 1981. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who belong to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization; they opposed his negotiations with Israel.

November 1981

November 1981. D

December 1981

December 1981. D

13 December 1981. Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, to prevent the dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:26 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©
1982: The Year in Review

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January 1982

January 1982. D

9 January 1982. The Commodore 64 8-bit home computer is introduced by Commodore International at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show.

February 1982

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March 1982

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April 1982

April 1982. D

2 April - 14 June 1982. The Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur), also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom (UK) over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Falkland Islands consist of two large and many small islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina; their name and sovereignty over them is disputed. The Falklands War started on Friday, 2 April 1982, with the Argentine invasion and occupation of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Britain launched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force, and retake the islands by amphibious assault. The conflict ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, and the islands remained under British control. The war lasted 74 days. It resulted in the deaths of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers, sailors, and airmen, and the deaths of three civilian Falkland Islanders. It is the most recent external conflict to be fought by the UK without any allied states and the only external Argentine war since the 1880s. The conflict was the result of a protracted historical confrontation regarding the sovereignty of the islands. Neither state officially declared war and the fighting was largely limited to the territories under dispute and the South Atlantic. The initial invasion was characterised by Argentina as the re-occupation of its own territory, and by the UK as an invasion of a British dependent territory. Argentina shows no sign of relinquishing its claim, and the claim was added to the Argentine constitution after its reformation in 1994. The political effects of the war were strong in both countries. A wave of patriotic sentiment swept through both: the Argentine loss prompted even larger protests against the ruling military government, which hastened its downfall; in the United Kingdom, the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was bolstered. It helped Thatcher's government to victory in the 1983 general election, which prior to the war was seen as by no means certain. The war has played an important role in the culture of both countries, and has been the subject of several books, films, and songs. Over time, the cultural and political weight of the conflict has had less effect on the British public than on that of Argentina, where the war is still a topic of discussion. Relations between Argentina and UK were restored in 1989 under the umbrella formula which states that the islands' sovereignty dispute would remain aside.

3 April 1982 (Falklands War). Argentina's Invasion of South Georgia

25 April 1982. The State of Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in accordance with the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty.

26 April 1982 (Falklands War). The British retake South Georgia during Operation Paraquet.

May 1982

May 1982. D

2 May 1982 (Falklands War). The nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, killing 323 sailors.

2 May 1982. The Weather Channel airs on cable television for the first time.

12 May 1982. A second assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II took place just a day before the anniversary of the first attempt on his life in Fátima, Portugal when a man tried to stab him with a bayonet. He was stopped by security guards, although Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz later claimed that John Paul II had been injured during the attempt but managed to hide a non-life threatening wound.
The assailant, a traditionalist Spanish priest named Juan María Fernández y Krohn, was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of the Society of Saint Pius X and was opposed to the changes caused by the Second Vatican Council, calling the pope an agent of Communist Moscow and of the Marxist Eastern Bloc. Fernández y Krohn subsequently left the Roman Catholic priesthood and served three years of a six-year sentence. The ‘ex-priest’ was treated for mental illness and then expelled from Portugal, going on to become a solicitor in Belgium.

June 1982

June 1982. D

6 June 1982 - 17 May 1983. The 1982 Lebanon War (Hebrew: Milhemet Levanon Harishona, "the first Lebabon war"), (Arabic: Al-ijtiyāḥ, "the invasion"), called Operation Peace for Galilee (Hebrew: מבצע שלום Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil or Mivtsa Sheleg) by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon. The Government of Israel launched the military operation after the Abu Nidal Organization's assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov. After attacking the PLO, as well as Syrian, leftist and Muslim Lebanese forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon and eventually surrounded the PLO and elements of the Syrian army. Surrounded in West Beirut and subjected to heavy bombardment, the PLO forces and their allies negotiated passage from Lebanon with the aid of Special Envoy Philip Habib and the protection of international peacekeepers.

July 1982

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August 1982

August 1982. D

September 1982

September 1982. D

October 1982

October 1982. D

8 October 1982. Poland bans Solidarity after having suspended it on 13 December 1981.

November 1982

November 1982. D

12 November 1982. In the Soviet Union, former KGB head Yuri Andropov is selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid I. Brezhnev.

14 November 1982. The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, is released from 11 months of internment near the Soviet border.

December 1982

December 1982. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:27 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©
1983: The Year in Review

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January 1983

January 1983. D

1 January 1983. The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed.

26 January 1983. Lotus 1-2-3 is released for IBM-PC compatible computers.

February 1983

February 1983. D

March 1983

March 1983. D

8 March 1983. IBM releases the IBM PC XT.

23 March 1983. Strategic Defense Initiative: U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars".

April 1983

April 1983. D

18 April 1983. The April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut kills 63 people. The 1983 U.S. embassy bombing was a suicide bombing against the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on 18 April 1983 that killed over 60 people, mostly embassy staff members and United States Marines and sailors. It was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission up to that time, and is seen by some as marking the beginning of anti-U.S. attacks by Islamist groups. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the blast with a message "promising not to allow a single American to remain on Lebanese soil ... we mean every inch of Lebanese territory. ..." The attack came in the wake of the intervention of a Multinational Force, made up of Western countries, including the US, in the Lebanese Civil War, to try and restore order and central government authority. It also followed the Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinian refugees by Lebanese Christian militiamen, and four years after the anti-Western Islamic Revolution in Iran.

May 1983

May 1983. D

25 May 1983. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is released.

June 1983

June 1983. D
18 June 1983. STS-7: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space, on the Space Shuttle Challenger.

July 1983

July 1983. D

6 June 1982 - 17 May 1983. The 1982 Lebanon War (Hebrew: Milhemet Levanon Harishona for "The First Lebanon War", and Arabic: Al-ijtiyāḥ for "The Invasion"), called Operation Peace for Galilee (Hebrew: Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil or Mivtsa Sheleg) by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon. The Government of Israel launched the military operation after the Abu Nidal Organization's assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov. After attacking the PLO, as well as Syrian, leftist and Muslim Lebanese forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon and eventually surrounded the PLO and elements of the Syrian army. Surrounded in West Beirut and subjected to heavy bombardment, the PLO forces and their allies negotiated passage from Lebanon with the aid of Special Envoy Philip Habib and the protection of international peacekeepers.

15 July 1983. Nintendo's Family Computer, also known as the Famicom, goes on sale in Japan.

August 1983

August 1983. D

30 August 1983. STS-8: Space Shuttle Challenger carries Guion S. Bluford, the first African-American astronaut, into space.

September 1983

September 1983. D

1 September 1983. Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter near Moneron Island when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.

6 September 1983. The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight 007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.

16 September 1983. Ronald Reagan announces that the Global Positioning System (GPS) would be made available for civilian use.

25 September - 26 September 1983. Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averts a worldwide nuclear war by correctly identifying a missile attack warning as a false alarm.

October 1983

October 1983. D

19 October 1983. Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada, and 40 others are assassinated in a military coup.

23 October 1983. The Beirut barracks bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen. The organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing. Suicide bombers detonated each of the truck bombs. In the attack on the American Marines barracks, the death toll was 241 American servicemen: 220 Marines, 18 Navy personnel and three Army soldiers, along with sixty Americans injured, representing the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II, the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States military since the first day of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, and the deadliest single attack on Americans overseas since World War II. In addition, the elderly Lebanese custodian of the Marines' building was killed in the first blast. The explosives used were equivalent to 5,400 kg (12,000lbs.) of TNT. In the attack on the French barracks, the eight-story 'Drakkar' building, two minutes after the Marine attack, 58 paratroopers from the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment were killed and 15 injured, in the single worst military loss for France since the end of the Algerian War. The blasts led to the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping force from Lebanon, where they had been stationed since the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization following the Israeli 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

25 October – 15 December 1983. The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 US-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of just over 100,000 located 100 miles (160 km) north of Venezuela. It was triggered by a military coup which ousted a brief revolutionary government. The successful invasion led to a change of government but was controversial due to charges of American imperialism, Cold War politics, the involvement of Cuba, the unstable state of the Grenadian government, and Grenada's status as a Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as the monarch. Grenada gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974, but Leftist rebels seized power in a coup in 1979. After a 1983 internal power struggle ended with the deposition and murder of revolutionary Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the invasion began on 25 October 1983. A combined force of about 7,600 troops from the United States, Jamaica, and members of the Regional Security System (RSS) defeated Grenadian resistance and the military government of Hudson Austin was deposed. While the invasion enjoyed broad public support in the United States, and received support from some sectors in Grenada from local groups who viewed the post-coup regime as illegitimate, it was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Nations General Assembly, which condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law". 25 October is a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day, to commemorate the invasion.

November 1983

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December 1983

December 1983. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:28 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1984: The Year in Review

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January 1984

January 1984. D

24 January 1984. The Apple Macintosh is introduced.

February 1984

February 1984. D

8 February - 19 February 1984. The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at the time was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden. It was the first Winter Games and the second Olympics held in a Communist state (the first was the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union).

13 February 1984. Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

March 1984

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April 1984

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May 1984

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June 1984

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July 1984

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28 July - 12 August 1984. The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. When Tehran, the only other interested city on the international level, declined to bid due to the concurrent Iranian political and social changes the IOC awarded Los Angeles the Games by default. The Soviet Bloc initially intended to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, but at the last minute chose to participate.

August 1984

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September 1984

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20 September 1984. Hezbollah car-bombs the US Embassy annex in Beirut, killing 22 people.

October 1984

October 1984. D

19 October 1984. The Polish secret police kidnap Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Catholic priest who supports the Solidarity movement. His dead body is found in a reservoir 11 days later on October 30.

November 1984

November 1984. D

December 1984

December 1984. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:30 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1985: The Year in Review

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January 1985

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February 1985

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March 1985

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April 1985

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May 1985

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June 1985

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July 1985

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August 1985

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September 1985

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October 1985

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November 1985

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December 1985

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natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:31 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1986. The Soviet Union realizes that it is heading for an inevitable major economic collapse, and its war in Afghanistan can no longer be sustained. The Soviet Union withdraws all of its forces from Afghanistan, and slowly starts the downsizing of many of its other overseas ‘projects’. This will set into motion the events that are yet to come.

1986. AAI Corporation, Israel Aircraft Industries RQ-2 Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicle system.

1986: The Year in Review

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January 1986

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February 1986

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March 1986

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April 1986

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26 April 1986. A nuclear accident is just barely avoided at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The near catastrophe causes a major renovation of Soviet procedures and regulations concerning Nuclear Power production as well as a major overhaul of the Soviet designs of nuclear power plants.

May 1986

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June 1986

June 1986. D

July 1986

July 1986. D

August 1986

August 1986. D

September 1986

September 1986. D

11 October - 12 October 1986. The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in the famous house of Höfði in Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland, on 11-12 October 1986. The talks collapsed at the last minute, but the progress that had been achieved eventually resulted in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.

October 1986

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November 1986

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December 1986

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natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:33 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1987. Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov is replaced as the finance minister of the USSR by <name>, who introduces a series of reforms that would allow what is seen as micro-capitalist ventures that start to show improvements of the Soviet Economic outlook.

In an effort to save the economy, the Soviet Union gives up on its operations to destabilize the influence of the Allied Western powers in Africa and the rest of the Third World. The Soviet Union will continue to sell weapons systems and other armaments to these client states, but will not provide continued economic support.

Communist Hardliners in the Soviet Union start too gravitate between two men; Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky (a decorated high-ranking Soviet Army Officer whose exploits as a Soviet Military advisor in Vietnam and Afghanistan had drawn a large following that gave him major political capitol within the Soviet military machine and among those industries that produced the soviet military war machines) and Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov (a mid-level KGB Official whose charismatic speaking ability draws the loyalty of even those who had been supportive of Gorbachev and his reforms). These two men will rise to control the two largest factions of hardliners jockeying into position to oppose the reforms that were about to bring an end the Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe.

1987: The Year in Review

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January 1987

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February 1987

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March 1987

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April 1987

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1 April 1987. The Hanseatic City of Lübeck was the second-largest city in the Northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, and is one of the major ports of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League ("Queen of the Hanse") and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Situated on the river Trave, Lübeck is the largest German port on the Baltic Sea. The old part of the town is an island enclosed by the Trave. The Elbe–Lübeck Canal connects the Trave with the Elbe River. Another important river near the town centre is the Wakenitz. The Autobahn 1 connects Lübeck with Hamburg and Denmark (Vogelfluglinie). The borough of Travemünde is a sea resort and ferry port on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Its central station links Lübeck to a number of lines, notably the line to Hamburg. After a year-long public movement, the West German government signed legislation that granted the the status as an independent city-state (stadtstaaten) that would become known as the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck (Freie und Hansestadt Lübeck), exactly fifty years since the Greater Hamburg Act that had robbed it of its status as a Free and Hanseatic City during the Nazi regime.

May 1987

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June 1987

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July 1987

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August 1987

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September 1987

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October 1987

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November 1987

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December 1987

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natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:34 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©
1988: The Year in Review

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January 1988

January 1988. D

February 1988

February 1988. D

March 1988

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April 1988

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May 1988

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June 1988

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1 June 1988. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on 8 December 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on 27 May 1988 and came into force on 1 June 1988. The treaty is formally titled The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. The treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges, defined as between 500-5,500 km (300-3,400 miles).

July 1988

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August 1988

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September 1988

September 1988. D

17 September - 2 October 1988. The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. They were also the fourth Olympic Games to be held in autumn. In the Seoul Games, 160 nations were represented by a total of 8391 athletes: 6197 men and 2194 women. 237 events were held. 27221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics. 11331 media (4978 written press and 6353 broadcasters) showed the Games all over the world. North Korea, still officially at war with South Korea, and its allies, Albania, Cuba, Madagascar and Seychelles boycotted the games. For differing reasons, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Albania (who declared an Olympic-record fourth consecutive boycott) did not participate in the Games. However, the much larger boycotts seen in the previous three Summer Olympics were avoided, resulting in the largest ever number of participating nations to that date.

October 1988

October 1988. D

November 1988

November 1988. D

December 1988

December 1988. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:38 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1989: The Year in Review

X

d

January 1989

January 1989. D

February 1989

February 1989. D

March 1989

March 1989. D

April 1989

April 1989. D

15 April - 4 June 1989 (Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989). The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, referred to in much of the world as the Tiananmen Square massacre and in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (to avoid confusion with two prior Tiananmen Square protests), were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China (PRC) beginning on 14 April 1989. Unfortunately, the media coverage of the Black Winter will cause the Tiananmen Square Massacre to become a footnote in history. The protests were sparked by the death of Hu Yaobang, a Party official known for tolerating dissent, and whom protesters had wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, 100,000 people had gathered at Tiananmen Square. The protests lacked a unified cause or leadership; participants included Communist Party of China members and Trotskyists as well as liberal reformers, who were generally against the government's authoritarianism and voiced calls for economic change and democratic reform within the structure of the government. The demonstrations centered in Tiananmen Square to begin with but then later in the streets around the square, in Beijing, but large-scale protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai, which remained peaceful throughout the protests. The movement lasted seven weeks after Hu's death on 15 April. In early June, the People's Liberation Army moved into the streets of Beijing with troops and tanks and cleared the square with live fire. The exact number of deaths is not known. According to an analysis by Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times, "The true number of deaths will probably never be known, and it is possible that thousands of people were killed without leaving evidence behind. But based on the evidence that is now available, it seems plausible that about fifty soldiers and policemen were killed, along with 400 to 800 civilians." Globe and Mail correspondent Jan Wong placed the death toll at approximately 3,000, based on initial reports by the Red Cross and analysis on the crowd size, density, and the volume of firing. Following the conflict, the government conducted widespread arrests of protesters and their supporters, cracked down on other protests around China, banned the foreign press from the country and strictly controlled coverage of the events in the PRC press. Members of the Party who had publicly sympathized with the protesters were purged, with several high-ranking members placed under house arrest, such as General Secretary Zhao Ziyang. There was widespread international condemnation of the PRC government's use of force against the protesters.

May 1989

May 1989. D

June 1989

June 1989. D

July 1989

July 1989. D

August 1989

August 1989. D

September 1989

September 1989. D

October 1989

October 1989. D

7 October 1989. Gorbachev is assassinated when the aircraft carrying him back to Moscow blows up on the return flight from the 40t Anniversary of the Founding of the German Democratic Republic, the Hardline conspirators are able to convince the world that it was a terrorist act carried out by Islamic Extremists associated with Osama bin Laden… the one of the prominent leaders of the resistance to Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan.

9 October 1989. A popular uprising in the East German city of Leipzig occurs, with protestors demanding the legalization of opposition groups and democratic reforms.

9 October 1989 - 10 January 1990 ("The Black Winter"). On the morning of 9 October 1989, the Cabal of Hardliners back in Moscow issues the order that launches a coordinated military operation by the Group Soviet Forces in Germany, the Northern Group of Forces, the Central Group Forces and the Southern Group of Forces that springs into action with a horrifying brutality and swiftness not seen in decades. The Cabal of Hardliners had spent almost six months getting key personnel into position to support what could have originally been a coup d'état that would have unseated Gorbachev if their plan to make the assassination to look like a terrorist attack failed. Operation Red Phoenix occurred so quickly that the Western Powers could only watch on in horror to what will become remembered as "The Black Winter" by those on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

November 1989

November 1989. D

November 1989. d

December 1989

December 1989. D

20 December 1989 - 12 January 1990. The United States Invasion of Panama (codenamed Operation Just Cause) was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and ten years after the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama by the year 2000. During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general, and dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed, president-elect Guillermo Endara sworn into office and the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved.

24 December 1989.
25 December 1989.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:41 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1990: The Year in Review

d

January 1990

January 1990. D

February 1990

February 1990. D

March 1990

March 1990. D

April 1990

April 1990. D

May 1990

May 1990. D

June 1990

June 1990. D

July 1990

July 1990. D

August 1990

August 1990. D

2 August - 4 August 1990. The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf War. In 1990, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum through slant drilling, although some Iraqi sources indicated Saddam Hussein’s decision to attack Kuwait was made only a few months before the actual invasion, suggesting that the regime was under feelings of severe time pressure. Some feel there were several reasons for the Iraqi move, including Iraq's inability to pay more than $80 billion that had been borrowed to finance the Iran-Iraq war and Kuwaiti overproduction of petroleum which kept revenues down for Iraq. The invasion started on 2 August 1990, and within two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or escaped to neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The state of Kuwait was annexed, and Hussein announced in a few days that it was the 19th province of Iraq.

2 August 1990 – 16 January 1991 (Operation Desert Storm).

September 1990

September 1990. D

October 1990

October 1990. D

November 1990

November 1990. D

December 1990

December 1990. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:42 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1991. The East Asian Economic and Defense Cooperative Organization (AEDCO) is formed by the Peoples Republic of China, Mongolian Peoples Republic and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; many observers will refer to the new Chinese dominated political alliance as the Beijing Pact. It is through economic support from the other nations of the Beijing Pact that the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic were able to stabilize and maintain control. The Peoples Republic of China (1991), the Mongolian Peoples Republic (1991), the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (1991), the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (1993), the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (1993), the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (1996), Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1999).

1991: The Year in Review

d

January 1991

January 1991. D

17 January 1991 - 11 April 1991 (Operation Desert Storm).

February 1991

February 1991. D

22 February 1991. Iraq accepts a Soviet-proposed cease fire agreement, the United States rejects the agreement but states that retreating Iraqi forces will not be attacked if they leave Kuwait within 24 hours.

26 February 1991. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of all Iraqi troops from Kuwait and orders them to set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat, much to the displeasure of the new leadership of the Soviet Union who had attempted to broker the end to the fighting.

March 1991

March 1991. D

April 1991

April 1991. D

3 April - 6 April 1991. The U.N. Security Council passes the Cease Fire Agreement, Resolution 687. The Resolution calls for the destruction or removal of all of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons, all stocks of agents and components, and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities for ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km and production facilities; and for an end to its support for international terrorism. Iraq accepts the terms of the resolution on 6 April.

11 April 1991. The United States Armed Forces creates the Combat Action Badge for all military personnel that have found themselves under direct fire by enemy forces. The new Combat Action Badge is seen as being equal to both the US Army Combat Infantryman Badge and Combat Field Medic Badge that can be awarded to all other military personnel in all branches of service.

May 1991

May 1991. D

June 1991

June 1991. D

12 June 1991. Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov is able to maneuver himself into the position as the new Leader of the Soviet Union.

24 July 1991. The government of India announces its New Industrial Policy, marking the start of economic reforms meant to revitalize the economy of the nation.

July 1991

July 1991. D

August 1991

August 1991. D

September 1991

September 1991. D

6 September 1991. The name Saint Petersburg is restored to the city of Leningrad.

21 September 1991. Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked sixth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and Malaysia. The Ministry of Sound brand also includes various other products such as dance music compilations and clothing. Ministry of Sound is owned by MSHK Group Limited, which has offices in London, Sydney, Berlin and New York. The Chairman is James Palumbo, who is also the majority shareholder – a small minority share-holding having been sold to private equity house 3i in 2001 – the Chief Executive Officer is Lohan Presencer. MSHK Group has global sales of £80 million and employs up to 500 personnel worldwide. Its mission statement is: "to create the moments that people live for". The company also owns the Hed Kandi, Euphoria, and Hard2Beat brands, and co-owns Ministry of Sound Australia's Hussle Recordings, along with MoSA and Hussle's founder and MoSA's Managing Director/Founder DJ Tim McGee. MSHK Group though Ministry of Sound Australia also own Downright Records, etcetc and Astrx. Inspired by New York’s Paradise Garage, Ministry of Sound’s London nightclub was the brainchild of DJ Justin Berkmann, who set out to create London’s first club devoted to the American house music scenes of New York, Chicago and Detroit, with a room purely dedicated to sound. Berkmann stated: "My concept for Ministry was purely this: 100% sound system first, lights second, design third (in that order); the reverse of everyone else’s idea." Berkmann partnered with James Palumbo and Humphrey Waterhouse to bring the concept to life and a site, a disused bus garage, was located in Elephant & Castle in Southwark, London. The club opened on 21 September 1991.

21 September - 30 September 1991. IAEA inspectors discover files on Iraq's hidden nuclear weapons program. Iraqi officials confiscate documents from UN weapons inspectors, refusing to allow them to leave the site without turning over other documents. A 4-day standoff ensues. Iraq permits the team to leave with the documents after the UN Security Council threatens enforcement actions.

October 1991

October 1991. D

November 1991

November 1991. D

December 1991

December 1991. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:43 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1992: The Year in Review

The Red Army launches a major program of modernization using the lessons of Desert Storm to make sure that any ground combat between the Soviet Union and NATO will not be as one sided as the US-Led War against Iraq. The Soviet Union attempts to create a professional NCO Corps in a manner similar to that of the West and many of the nations of the Warsaw Pact.

Inside the Kremlin, existing tensions between the various factions of the Soviet leadership became more pronounced after the start of the war. Since the coup in 1989, the highest echelon of Soviet leadership had begun to split into two groups: the Danilovians and the Tukhachevskyites. The former group, led by Premier Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov, had allied themselves with the latter, led by Defense Minister Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky, for the purpose of deposing and replacing the Gorbachev government. However, the alliance between the two groups was always a shaky one.

The Danilov group, was smaller and less politically powerful than the Tukhachevsky cabal, was made up of true reformers who wished to modernize the Soviet Union to better compete against the west. The Tukhachevskyites were archconservative Communists whose principal goal was to ultimately hold onto power. The Danilovians needed the Tukhachevskyites for their control of the military, much of the security apparatus, and the economy. The Tukhachevskyites needed the Danilovians because Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov was the only rival to Tukhachevskyite power in the KGB and because Danilov was much more palatable to the mid-level Communist Party officials and to the international community than any of the Tukhachevskyites.

From the start, the intent of the Tukhachevskyites had been to use Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov as a front man while Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky and his cohorts wielded the real power in the USSR.

Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov proved to be a master power broker however. And he spoke the Tukhachevskyite language quite fluently. He reminded the Tukhachevskyites, together and separately, that unless the Soviet economy was fixed, there could easily be another coup attempt. Worse, there might actually be an open revolution. Even a successful counter-revolution on the part of the Soviet security apparatus would further erode the Soviet economy to a point where the nation would collapse upon itself. Grudgingly, the Tukhachevskyites would empower Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov to enact most of the reforms he sought.

After the Black Winter, The Soviet Union had replaced Egon Krenz with the return of Communist hardliner Erich Honecker to power as the leader of the German Democratic Republic. And under Honecker’s leadership, the DDR had quickly proven itself a major stronghold for hardliner communist leadership. Over the next few years Honecker had quickly became a major hurdle for many of the much needed reforms that Danilov had wished to implement throughout the Communist Bloc, and this was why the Kremlin took a direct hand in having Günther Manfred Neumann chosen to replace Erich Honecker as the leader of the German Democratic Republic after Honecker had been strongly urged by Danilov to retire due to complications that had increased with his failing health. Günther Manfred Neumann quickly proved himself to be much more responsive to the reforms and policies that had been started by to modernize the economy of Eastern Europe.

January 1992

January 1992. D

1 January 1992. The Republic of Zaire changes its name to the African Peoples Democratic Republic, the first step in establishing the Congo Pact.

1 January 1992. The US Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the USSR start modernization programs using the lessons learned from Operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm.

February 1992

February 1992. D

4 February – 1 November 1992: Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías coup d'état overthrows the Venezuelan government, it takes me most of the year to completely stabilize his power base.

7 February 1992. The talks surrounding the Treaty of Maastricht falls apart, originally the treaty was to have created the European Union and lead to the creation of a single European currency when France makes a series of objections dealing with the handling of the Black Winter and its aftermath.

8 February - 23 February 1992. The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics were held at the same site. Albertville was selected as host in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage and Berchtesgaden. The games were the third Winter Olympics held in France, after Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968, and the fifth Olympics overall in the country.

March 1992

March 1992. D

April 1992

April 1992. D

May 1992

May 1992. D

June 1992

June 1992. D

July 1992

July 1992. D

25 July - 9 August 1992. The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same year since 1924, and place them in alternating even-numbered years, beginning in 1994. The 1992 Summer Games were the last to be staged in the same year as the Winter Games.

August 1992

August 1992. D

September 1992

September 1992. D

16 September 1992 (aka "Black Wednesday"). The British Conservative government was forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) after they were unable to keep sterling above its agreed lower limit thanks to internatioanl currency trader George Soros, perhaps the most high profile currency market investors, who made over US$1 billion profit by short selling sterling.

September 1992. The Red Army launches a major program of modernization using the lessons they learned while watching Operation Desert Storm to make sure that any ground combat between the Soviet Union and NATO will not be as one sided as the US-Led War against Iraq. The Soviet Union attempts to create a professional NCO Corps in a manner similar to that of the West and many of the nations of the Warsaw Pact.

October 1992

October 1992. D

1 October 1992. The African Collective Security Treaty Organization (ACSTO) is formed by the African Peoples Democratic Republic (formerly Zaire), Republic of Congo and Central African Republic; many observers will refer to the new African Peoples Democratic Republic (formerly Zaire) dominated political alliance as the Congo Pact. When Joseph-Désiré Mobutu aka Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga died in 1997 he was succeeded by his son François Joseph Nzanga Mobutu Ngbangawe, whose policies had expanded the African Collective Security Treaty Organization and inspired a wave of pan-African nationalism that allowed the influence of his country to span all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean… and replaced the Soviet Union as the biggest sponsor of pan-African nationalist movements with the assistance of the Peoples Republic of China. Republic of the Congo (1992), Central African Republic (1992), Republic of Uganda (1994), Republic of Burundi (1995), Republic of Rwanda (1996), Republic of Tanzania (1997), Republic of Zambia (1998), Peoples Republic of Zimbabwe (1998).

November 1992

November 1992. D

3 November 1992. William Jefferson Clinton (D-AK) is elected president of the United States. The Clinton Administration will be plagued by personal and private scandals that will limit it’s abilities to deal with international affairs and embolden the leaders of all of the various anti-American Alliances around the world.

December 1992

December 1992. D

6 December 1992. High ranking officers in the Mexican armed forces overthrows the sitting government in Mexico City, and launches a series of major reforms and modernization programs to improve the lives of the average citizens of Mexico. Despite the initial misgivings of the American left, the Clinton Administration decides to put its support behind the military junta with grants and financial aide thanks to the passage of NAFTA. The Junta is able to rebuild the Mexican economy and infrastructure by using the Mexican Army as its primary tool. Over the next few years the Mexican Army is fully modernized with the aide of the United States who wished to create a stable democracy on its southern border.

9 December 1992 - 4 May 1993 (Operation Restore Hope). Operation Restore Hope is carried out to provide humanitarian assistance to the Somali Republic. Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia between 5 December 1992 – 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), UNITAF was charged with carrying out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794: to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of Somalia. UNITAF's original mandate was to use "all necessary means" to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid in accordance to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, and is regarded as a success.

24 December 1992. In one of his first official speeches, Premier Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov announces an end to the government prosecution of those religious ideals and groups that promote good will and remain neutral on all political matters. During his speech he admitted admiration of how religious people had held onto their beliefs despite the prosecution and hardships that they suffered… and how they had endured them all. That he hoped that his reforms could harness that kind of renewal of ideals that had founded the Soviet Union. The new government continued the pattern that had been established by Gorbachev with regard to the fund that had been established to protect and restore historical monuments including religious monuments, and to educate the nation in a spirit of love and respect for its national history and culture. Danilov championed the fact that many Christian writers had been given the opportunity to criticize the atheist propagandists in the national media... and when their articles had been printed, they always had argued that the decline of Soviet society had resulted from the loss of the traditional family which had been held together by Christian ethics and traditions.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:43 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

June 1993. The Military Junta ruling Mexico makes ‘peace’ with the Communist and leftist insurgents that had been operating in the Mexican countryside, bringing them into the many programs that have been meant to reform and improve the nation.

November 1993 - March 94. The Italian Republic petitions the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council to be allowed to help rebuild the failed state of Somalia after the horrible failures of previous attempts made by the UN and other Non-Governmental Organizations. The Italian Republic will spearhead the creation of the new Somali Republic with a series of major projects with the assistance of their NATO and other European Union allies. The Italian Republic given permission by the United Nations to rebuild the infrastructure of the Somali Republic.

1993: The Year in Review

d

January 1993

January 1993. D

February 1993

February 1993. D

1 February 2 - February 1993. During the first summit meeting between US President Clinton and Soviet Premier Danilov occur, the two world leaders quickly come to realize that they are a lot like, with many of the same interests. They will be able to work well together in an attempt at stabilizing the balance of power in the world. Unfortunately, their attempts at shaping the world will lead to the creation of the treaties and political alliances that will end with the world descending into a brutal and bloody world war whose repercussions that will take the world nearly a century to recover from.

February 1993. Thanks to changes in trade and commerce policies made by the Clinton Administration, the East German and Polish computer industries inside the Warsaw Pact are able to take-off and very quickly became equal to any of the computer operating systems that would be developed by their western counterparts.

2 February 1993 - 1 May 1995. The Soviet Union enters into major trade agreements with India and Vietnam, allowing the sell of modern warships, submarines, tanks and aircraft to the Southeast Asian countries. The trade agreements will also allow the Soviet Union to create an opening that will allow the inclusion of the sale of advanced modern weapon systems to the Peoples Republic of China and North Korea.

3 February - 1995. The Soviet Union allows the limited privatization of those companies that are producing the various military weapon systems and munitions for export. By the end of the year, the successes made by the Soviet arms dealers become the extremely needed shot in the arm that revitalizes the flagging Soviet economy.

March 1993

March 1993. D

2 March – 4 March 1993. Due to the Summit meeting between Clinton and Danilov, the Republic of Iraq is semi-officially divided into three sectors that are under the control of the United States (Kurdish region to the North and those areas to the south bordering Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) and Soviet Union (central Iraq, including the capitol of Baghdad that would remain under the government of Saddam Hussein).

April 1993

April 1993. D

April 1993. Despite the initial opposition from certain parts within the Clinton Administration, the Pentagon is allowed to continue the Reagan Administration’s programs that will continue to build up the strength of the US Armed Forces to deal with the growing threats around the world. The fact that the Pentagon had taken such a major stance against the desires of the civilian leadership would become known as the Pentagon Revolt by the American Media.

May 1993

May 1993. D

1 May 1993 - 1 May 1996. With the growing export of Soviet weapon systems to nations that had not been Soviet client states, allows the Soviet economy to rebound. The Soviet Union allows further limited economic reforms that allow small cottage industries that are dedicated to the production of various luxury items not only strengthens the Soviet economy, but improves the morale of the average Soviet citizens.

1 May 1993 - 15 June 1993. Günther Manfred Neumann reestablishes the office of the President of the German Democratic Republic at first to be nothing more than that as the ceremonial head of state with no official governing powers. The creation of this ceremonial position allows the average citizen to elect a representative from any political party or organization. Hans Schroeder will become the first elected President of the German Democratic Republic, from the East German CDU.

The President of the DDR (Head of State).
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DDR (Head of Government).
The President of the People’s Chamber of the DDR (Head of Parliament).

June 1993

June 1993. D

July 1993

July 1993. D

August 1993

August 1993. D

22 August - 13 October 1993 (Operation Gothic Serpent). Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The operation took place in Somalia, Africa from August to October 1993 and was supervised by the Joint Special Operations Command. As part of the operation, the soldiers were deployed in a mission to arrest two of Aidid's lieutenants. The result of that mission – executed under the command of Gothic Serpent – became known as the Battle of Mogadishu, or "The Battle of the Black Sea" to those who fought in it.

September 1993

September 1993. D

October 1993

October 1993. D

3 October 1993 ("Battle of Mogadishu"). U.S. Army conducts Operation Gothic Serpent in the city of Mogadishu, Somalia using Task Force Ranger. Two UH-60 Blackhawks are shot down and the operation leaves over 1000 Somalians dead and over 73 Americans WIA, 19 KIA, and 1 captured. Also known as the Battle of Mogadishu.

7 October 1993. The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy is enacted by the Defense Department that will allow homosexuals and bisexuals to serve quietly in the Armed Forces, and makes it harder for service members to be forcibly discharged from the Armed Services for such behavior as long as they do not engage in overt displays of behavior in public.

November 1993

November 1993. D

2 November 1993. The US Federal Government legalizes online gambling and medical marijuana (two years later marijuana will be legalized and allowed to be sold commercially with heavy regulation).

December 1993

December 1993. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:44 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

20 September 1994 - 1 May 1995: Thanks to years of negotiations between Soviet Premier Danilov and US President Clinton, the Soviet Union slowly starts to allow limited western business investments in the Eastern bloc.

1 May 1994 - 29 April 1996. The West Germans invite their East German brothers to join the major reconstruction program that they and the State of Israel have hoped would become the ultimate in ensuring the documentation of Nazi atrocities for all time. The project was to refurbish and return Nazi sites back to the appearance they had while in use... this Project would include the reconstruction of Nazi death camps and locations where the Nazi leadership held their most public and private ceremonies. The West Germans had already brought in assistance from the State of Israel and other holocaust survivor groups to assist in ensuring that no one could either forget or deny the horrors that the Nazi regime had committed on their fellow human beings. The two concentration camps that were chosen for the project were Dauchau & Ravensbrück, and they were both opened as Holocaust Memorials on 29 April 1996.

12 February - 27 February 1994. The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Kingdom of Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat Anchorage, United States; Östersund, Sweden; and Sofia, Bulgaria. The games were the first to be held in a different year than the Summer Olympics, the only to be held two years after the previous games, and the last to be held in a small town. The games were the second hosted in Norway, and the second Winter Olympics in the Nordic Countries, after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.

1994. The formation of the Bagdad Pact occurs in the Middle East of those nations that are opposed to the continued interference in Middle East Affairs by the United States of America and the other Western allied nations. The First signatories of the Bagdad Pact Alliance are the Republic of Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The member nations of the apt called Bagdad Pact begin a major program of modernization of their armed forces using the lessons learned during Operation: Desert Storm. The influx of the importing of modern Soviet weapon systems being used for the expansion and modernization of their armed forces provides a greater amount of economic recovery for the Soviet Union.

29 May 1994. Erich Honecker died from cancer. <Hans Modrow> had used the death of his predecessor to create a national week of mourning by giving him a state funeral with full ceremony that was combined with a great deal of pomp and circumstance. This allows <Modrow> to launch a major reorganization of East German political power, and ends the stranglehold of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany over political power in the DDR. Even with the modernization of the East German government, <Madrow> does not change the fact that the position of the Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic would remain the supreme leader of the DDR.

1994. The Persian Gulf Treaty Organization of Cooperation and Mutual Assistance is formed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic; many observers will refer to the new Iranian dominated political alliance as the Baghdad Pact. The formation of the Baghdad Pact occurs in the Middle East of those nations that are opposed to the continued interference in Middle East Affairs by the United States of America and the other Western allied nations. The First signatories of the Baghdad Pact Alliance are the Republic of Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The member nations of the apt called Baghdad Pact begin a major program of modernization of their armed forces using the lessons learned during Operation: Desert Storm. The influx of the importing of modern Soviet weapon systems being used for the expansion and modernization of their armed forces provides a greater amount of economic recovery for the Soviet Union. The Republic of Iraq (1994), the Islamic Republic of Iran (1994), the Syrian Arab Republic (1994), the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (1996), the Democratic Republic of Yemen (1997), the Yemen Arab Republic (1998), and the Palestinian National Authority aka the State of Palestine (1999).

1994. Fighting between Pro-Democracy and Pro-Communist forces in the Republic of Angola ends with the military intervention of the People’s Democratic Republic of the Congo shifting the balance of power and creating the new Socialist Democratic Republic of Angola that almost immediately joins the new Congo Pact.

20 September 1994 - 1 May 1995: Thanks to years of negotiations between Soviet Premier Danilov and US President Clinton, the Soviet Union slowly starts to allow limited western business investments in the Eastern bloc.

1 May 1994 - 29 April 1996. The West Germans invite their East German brothers to join the major reconstruction program that they and the State of Israel have hoped would become the ultimate in ensuring the documentation of Nazi atrocities for all time. The project was to refurbish and return Nazi sites back to the appearance they had while in use... this Project would include the reconstruction of Nazi death camps and locations where the Nazi leadership held their most public and private ceremonies. The West Germans had already brought in assistance from the State of Israel and other holocaust survivor groups to assist in ensuring that no one could either forget or deny the horrors that the Nazi regime had committed on their fellow human beings. The two concentration camps that were chosen for the project were Dauchau & Ravensbrück, and they were both opened as Holocaust Memorials on 29 April 1996.

12 February - 27 February 1994. The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Kingdom of Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat Anchorage, United States; Östersund, Sweden; and Sofia, Bulgaria. The games were the first to be held in a different year than the Summer Olympics, the only to be held two years after the previous games, and the last to be held in a small town. The games were the second hosted in Norway, and the second Winter Olympics in the Nordic Countries, after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.

1994. The formation of the Bagdad Pact occurs in the Middle East of those nations that are opposed to the continued interference in Middle East Affairs by the United States of America and the other Western allied nations. The First signatories of the Bagdad Pact Alliance are the Republic of Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The member nations of the apt called Bagdad Pact begin a major program of modernization of their armed forces using the lessons learned during Operation: Desert Storm. The influx of the importing of modern Soviet weapon systems being used for the expansion and modernization of their armed forces provides a greater amount of economic recovery for the Soviet Union.

22 May 1994. Pope John Paul II issues the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis from the Vatican, expounding the Catholic Church's position requiring "the reservation of priestly ordination to men alone" and formally allows Priests to marry if they they have done so before taking their vows.

29 May 1994. Erich Honecker dies from cancer. <Hans Modrow> had used the death of his predecessor to create a national week of mourning by giving him a state funeral with full ceremony that was combined with a great deal of pomp and circumstance. This allows <Modrow> to launch a major reorganization of East German political power, and ends the stranglehold of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany over political power in the DDR. Even with the modernization of the East German government, <Madrow> does not change the fact that the position of the Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic would remain the supreme leader of the DDR.

14 March 1994. Apple Computer, Inc. releases the first Macintosh computers to use the new PowerPC Microprocessors. This is considered to be a major leap in personal computer, as well as Macintosh history.

6 April 1994. Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira die when a missile shoots down their jet near Kigali, Rwanda. This is taken as a pretext to begin the Rwandan Genocide.

7 April 1994 - 4 July 1994 (Rwandan Genocide). The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days (from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6) through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate. Estimates of the death toll have ranged between 500,000 and 1,000,000... or as much as 20% of the country's total population. It was the culmination of longstanding ethnic competition and tensions between the minority Tutsi, who had controlled power for centuries, and the majority Hutu peoples, who had come to power in the rebellion of 1959–62 and overthrown the Tutsi monarchy. In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from Uganda in an attempt to defeat the Hutu-led government. They began the Rwandan Civil War, fought between the Hutu regime, with support from Francophone Africa and France, and the RPF, with support from Uganda. This exacerbated ethnic tensions in the country. In response, many Hutu gravitated toward the Hutu Power ideology, with the prompting of state-controlled and independent Rwandan media. As an ideology, Hutu Power asserted that the Tutsi intended to enslave the Hutu and must be resisted at all costs. Continuing ethnic strife resulted in the rebels' displacing large numbers of Hutu in the north, plus periodic localized Hutu killings of Tutsi in the south. International pressure on the Hutu-led government of Juvénal Habyarimana resulted in a cease-fire in 1993. He began to implement the Arusha Accords. The assassination of Habyarimana in April 1994 set off a violent reaction, resulting in the Hutus' conducting mass killings of Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus, who were portrayed as "traitors" and "collaborationists". This genocide had been planned by members of the Hutu power group known as the Akazu, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government; the genocide was supported and coordinated by the national government as well as by local military and civil officials and mass media. Alongside the military, primary responsibility for the killings themselves rests with two Hutu militias that had been organized for this purpose by political parties: the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, although once the genocide was underway a great number of Hutu civilians took part in the murders. It was the end of the peace agreement. The Tutsi RPF restarted their offensive, defeating the army and seizing control of the country.

28 June 1994. Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin nerve gas in Matsumoto, Japan killing 7 and injuring over 600 people.

25 July 1994. The State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon sign the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace that formally ends the state of war that had existed between both nations since 1948.

3 September 1994. The Union of Soviet Socialists Republics and the People's Republic of China agree to de-target their nuclear weapons against each other.

8 November 1994. Georgia Representative Newt Gingrich leads the United States Republican Party in congressional victories all across the country that allows them to assume legislative control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate during the midterm congressional elections, the first time in 40 years that the Republican Party are able to gain control of both houses of the United States Congress. George W. Bush is elected Governor of the State of Texas.

13 November - 28 November 1994. The Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Finland sign the Scandinavian Collective Security Treaty.

15 December 1994. The first version of the Netscape Navigator browser is released.

1994: The Year in Review

d

January 1994

January 1994. D

11 January - 14 January 1994. A Summit between US President Bill Clinton and Danilov end with the singing of the Kremlin Accords that will stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles toward each targets within each country and provides for the dismantling of each of their nuclear arsenals.

22 February 1994. Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged with spying for the Soviet Union by the United States Department of Justice. Ames is later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment; his wife receives 5 years in prison.

1994. United States Armed Forces uniform reforms, the adoption of digital camouflage by the United States sees the adoption of similar digital camouflage by other major militaries around The World.

1994. The East German and Polish computer and tech industries take off thanks to the trade policies of the Clinton Administration that allowed for the US Commerce Department to lift restrictions on the export of advanced computer technology.

February 1994

February 1994. D

28 February 1994: France officially withdraws from NATO over displeasure with how the United States and Western Europe had initially responded to the Soviet suppression of pro-Democratic movements throughout Eastern Europe known as "The Black Winter".

March 1994

March 1994. D

April 1994

April 1994. D

May 1994

May 1994. D

June 1994

June 1994. D

July 1994

July 1994. D

August 1994

August 1994. D

September 1994

September 1994. D

October 1994

October 1994. D

November 1994

November 1994. D

December 1994

December 1994. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:45 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

15 February 1995. Computer hacker Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and charged with penetrating some of the most secure computer systems in the United States of America.

26 February 1995. The oldest investment banking firm of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, the Barings Bank, collapses after securities broker named Nick Leeson looses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He will be arrested on 2 March for his role in the collapse of Barings Bank.

20 March 1995 (Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack). Members of the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult release sarin nerve gas on five subway trains in Tokyo, killing 13 and injuring over 5510 people.

19 April 1995 (Oklahoma City Bombing). Timothy McVeigh and one of his accomplices, Terry Nichols, set off a fertilizer bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people (including 8 Federal Marshals and 19 children).

1 May 1995. Lionel Jospin is elected President of the French Republic.

16 May 1995. The Japanese police besiege the headquarters of Aum Shinrikyo near Mount Fuji and arrest cult leader Shoko Asahara.

13 June 1995. The French Republic announces the resumption of nuclear tests in French Polynesia.

24 August 1995. Microsoft releases Windows 95.

September 1995. The DVD, an optical disc computer storage media format, is announced.
4 September 1995. eBay is founded.

4 October 1995. The French Republic launches a counter-coup in the Comoros with 600 soldiers, they Bob Denard and his mercenaries and take them back to France. Caabi el-Yachroutu becomes the interim president.

4 November 1995. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

3 December 1995. A series of labor strikes paralyze the public sector of the French Republic.

1995: A cabal of left-leaning officers carry out a coup d'état in Mexico. The new Mexican government secretly opens talks with Venezuela & Cuba establish a military treaty organization that will become known as the Havana Pact while taking US foreign economic and military aid.

Lionel Jospin (Socialist Party) is elected President of France after narrowly defeating Jacques René Chirac (Rally for the Republic), the Jospin regime will oversee the growth of a France dominated hegemony that will counter the United States around the world.

After the growing split between the heads of state of the Italian Republic and the Hellenic Republic with US and UK leadership of NATO, they formally withdraw from the NATO Alliance and announce the formation of the new Mediterranean Alliance.

In the Republican controlled United States Congress launches a series of major reforms that reshapes the Public Health Service to better deal with major medical emergencies on a national scale after the failure by the Clinton Administration to implement a government control over healthcare industry. The reforms undertaken by the PHS also provides medical and healthcare to the average American citizen, and provides educational opportunities to those a desire to become doctors, nurses and paramedics... but lack the finical support to follow their dreams.

August 1995. A group of world renown archeologists whom where working in the Harbor of Hong Kong searching wrecks from the Second World war discover a lost treaty between the United Kingdom and both sides of the Chinese Civil War that gives the British the rights to Hong Kong in perpetuity (along with several other nations being granted the same rights to their ‘colonial concessions’ such as the treaty made with the German government-in-exile after Nanking massacre). This causes a series of political problems and tensions between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China that ambassadors and negotiators from both sides to hold a series of summits to decide their countries future course of action. The People’s Republic of China hold talks with East and West German representatives in hopes of economic assistance in exchange for the opening of a neo-colonial concession.

April 1995 - May 1997. After years of loyal service to the Warsaw Pact, the East German Armed Forces are allowed to establish their own Soviet-style Air Assault Brigades that are unveiled on 1 May 1997.

1 January 1995. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is established to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

15 January 1995. The third and successful assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II took place in Makati City, Philippines. Pope John Paul II was killed during his visit to the Philippines during the World Youth Day 1995 celebrations. A suicide bomber dressed as a priest was able to get close to the pope as John Paul II passed in his motorcade on his way to the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. The assassination of the Pope was intended to divert attention from the next phase of the al-Qaeda funded Operation Bojinka, but the attempts to blow up twelve airliners failed when those tasked with the mission were captured during the security crackdown after the assassination. Al-Qaeda will use the planning and preparations taken for the Bojinka Plot by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed who will evolve this planning into the 11 September 2001 attacks.

31 January 1995. Despite US President Bill Clinton invoking emergency powers to extend a $20 Billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse, a group of military officers and left-wing groups carry out the overthrow of the Mexican government during the next three weeks. The new ruling Junta uses the $20 Billion loan from the United States to strengthen and assure their control over the government and people of Mexico.

1 February 1995. In the aftermath of the assassination of Pope John Paul II, the College of Cardinals is called to the Papal Conclave of 1995 for the task of electing the new pope. They elect the West German Cardinal Jospeh Aloisius Ratzinger who chooses the name Pope Benedict XVI. During the aftermath of the murder of the Pope by terrorists, the newly elected Pope Benedict is convinced to restore the disbanded security and military organizations of Vatican City-State.

25 February 1995. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization is founded; officially the ACTO was only to implement the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) that was aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. But this would slowly change over the next three years as Venezuelan President-for-Life Hugo Chavez funded the wave of Bolivarian governments and leaders who would seize control of nearly all of the governments of the ACTO member-states. ACTO Alliance would slowly evolve into a military alliance that would grow to expand into Central America and the Caribbean.

6 December 1995. The Latin American Cooperation Treaty Organization (LACTO) is formed; many will refer to the new Venezuelan dominated military alliance as the Havana Pact. The Republic of Cuba (1995), the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1995), the Democratic Republic of Nicaragua (1995), the United Mexican States (1996), the Federative Republic of Brazil (1996), the Plurinational State of Bolivia (1996), the Republic of Ecuador (1997), the Republic of Peru (1997), the Democratic Republic of Honduras (1998), the Republic of Guatemala (1998), the Democratic Republic of El Salvador (1998),

June - August 1995. A group of world renown archeologists whom where working in the Harbor of Hong Kong searching wrecks from the Second World war discover a lost treaty between the United Kingdom and both sides of the Chinese Civil War that reinforced the British the rights to Hong Kong in perpetuity. The lost treaty reinforced the earlier treaties that had been made concerning the territories. Such as the fact that Hong Kong Island had already been ceded to the UK in perpetuity under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 after the First Opium War, and the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula as well as the Stonecutters Island had also been ceded to the UK in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860 after the Second Opium War. At first this causes a series of political problems and tensions between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China that ambassadors and negotiators from both sides to hold a series of summits to decide their countries future course of action due to the Sino-British Joint Declaration made on 27 May 1985.

6 April 1995 – 1 May 1997. After years of loyal service to the Warsaw Pact, the East German Armed Forces are allowed to establish their own Soviet-style Air Assault Brigades that are unveiled on 1 May 1997. The Soviet Union allows the German Democratic Republic to take more direct role actions within the Warsaw Pact with the increases in the frequency of the yearly military trails and training exercises.

<month year>. The economic and political reforms that had been spearheaded by Danilov show major improvements in the Soviet Union and its East European satellite states. The growth in the Eastern Bloc states economies continues to start to show a swift upbeat to the morale of the average East European citizens.

1995: The Year in Review

d

January 1995

January 1995. D

1 January 1995. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is established to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

15 January 1995. The third and successful assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II took place in Makati City, Philippines. Pope John Paul II was killed during his visit to the Philippines during the World Youth Day 1995 celebrations. A suicide bomber dressed as a priest was able to get close to the pope as John Paul II passed in his motorcade on his way to the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. The assassination of the Pope was intended to divert attention from the next phase of the al-Qaeda funded Operation Bojinka, but the attempts to blow up twelve airliners failed when those tasked with the mission were captured during the security crackdown after the assassination. Al-Qaeda will use the planning and preparations taken for the Bojinka Plot by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed who will evolve this planning into the 11 September 2001 attacks.

31 January 1995. Despite US President Bill Clinton invoking emergency powers to extend a $20 Billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse, a group of military officers and left-wing groups carry out the overthrow of the Mexican government during the next three weeks. The new ruling Junta uses the $20 Billion loan from the United States to strengthen and assure their control over the government and people of Mexico.

February 1995

February 1995. D

1 February 1995. In the aftermath of the assassination of Pope John Paul II, the College of Cardinals is called to the Papal Conclave of 1995 for the task of electing the new pope. They elect the West German Cardinal Jospeh Aloisius Ratzinger who chooses the name Pope Benedict XVI. During the aftermath of the murder of the Pope by terrorists, the newly elected Pope Benedict is convinced to restore the disbanded security and military organizations of Vatican City-State.

25 February 1995. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization is founded; officially the ACTO was only to implement the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) that was aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. But this would slowly change over the next three years as Venezuelan President-for-Life Hugo Chavez funded the wave of Bolivarian governments and leaders who would seize control of nearly all of the governments of the ACTO member-states. ACTO Alliance would slowly evolve into a military alliance that would grow to expand into Central America and the Caribbean.

March 1995

March 1995. D

April 1995

April 1995. D

May 1995

May 1995. D

12 April 1995 - 1 May 1997. After years of loyal service to the Warsaw Pact, the East German Armed Forces are allowed to establish their own Soviet-style Air Assault Brigades that are unveiled on 1 May 1997.

June 1995

June 1995. D

July 1995

July 1995. D

21 July 1995 - 23 March 1996 (The Third Taiwan Straight Crisis). The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the waters surrounding Taiwan including the Taiwan Strait from July 21, 1995 to March 23, 1996. The first set of missiles fired in mid to late 1995 were allegedly intended to send a strong signal to the Republic of China government under Lee Teng-hui, who had been seen as moving ROC foreign policy away from the One-China policy. The second set of missiles were fired in early 1996, allegedly intending to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate in the run-up to the 1996 presidential election.

August 1995

August 1995. D

September 1995

September 1995. D

October 1995

October 1995. D

November 1995

November 1995. D

December 1995

December 1995. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:46 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1 January 1996. After nearly a year of intense five party negotiations, the United Kingdom is able to get the People’s Republic of China to solve the "Hong Kong question" with a referendum of the citizens of the colonial concessions being allowed to decide their own fate. The referendum to decide the future of Hong Kong and the other concessions are held and the people of the cities all choose overwhelmingly to remain independent of the People’s Republic of China. In exchange the People’s Republic of China is able to get the British government and other foreign nations to agree to pay ‘taxes’ to the Chinese Government as well as giving a sweet-heart trade deal that would allow the continued growth of the Chinese economy. This agreement has placed the British Government as the primary powerbroker who is able to negotiate with foreign investment groups and nations and the People’s Republic of China to create new neo-colonial concessions to allow for the economic growth to assist the Chinese economic miracle.

3 January 1996. Motorola introduces the Motorola StarTAC Wearable Cellular Telephone, the world's smallest and lightest mobile phone at that time.

29 January 1996. The French Republic announces a "definitive end" to nuclear testing.

10 February 1996. Chess computer "Deep Blue" defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov for the first time.

17 February 1996. Chess computer "Deep Blue" defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov for the second time.

18 February 1996. An IRA briefcase bomb in a buss kills the bomber and injuries 8 in the West End of London.

11 March 1996. John Howard is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Australia.

3 April 1996. The infamous "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is arrested in the Montana Cabin.

24 April 1996. At the urging of Yasser Arafat, the Palestine Liberation Organization drops its clause calling for the removal of Israel. The State of Israel responds by dropping a similar clause concerning the existence of Palestine.

30 May 1996. The Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, wins a narrow victory in the Israeli general election.

15 June 1996. A massive IRA bomb injures over 200 people in Manchester, England, UK and it devastates a large part of the city center.

23 June 1996. The Nintendo 64 video game system is released.

17 July 1996. The Paris and Rome-bound TWA Flight 800 (Boeing 747) explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, USA killing all 230 onboard.

23 August 1996. Osama bin Laden writes "The Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places" to make a public call for the removal of all American and western forces from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

29 August 1996. A Russian Tupolev 154 jetliner crashes into a mountain as it approaches the airport at Spitsbergen, Norway, killing all 141 people onboard.

17 November 1996. A bomb explosion in Kaspiysk, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, USSR kills 32 people.

2 December 1996. US President Bill Clinton signs the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments.

20 December 1996. NeXT, a company owned by Steve Jobs is bought by Apple Computer, the company that was co-founded by Jobs.

1996 - 1997. The leadership of Polish Peoples Republic and the German Democratic Republic are allowed to begin a series of economic programs that allow the import of luxury goods from the West. With the advancement of the trade of luxury goods from the west, allows for a major wave of western luxury goods to be traded through East Germany and Poland with the other Eastern Bloc states (including the Soviet Union).

1996. The Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic is allowed to enter into trade agreements with the Western European neighbors thanks to the increased access to the internet.

May 1996. In an effort to appear that the Clinton Administration will take a harder line against the growing threats against the United States and its allies, the Department of Defense announces the creation of the Unified Combatant Command dedicated to operations in Africa thanks to the growing perceived worldwide threats due to the growth of the Congo Pact, the new command will become known as United States African Command.

June 1996. The decidedly left-wing grassroots political action organization that will grow to become the Union for a Progressive New America (PNA) gets its start on the internet, pushing at first for the US Congress to only censure President Clinton for conduct unbecoming and move on with the business of governing the country. George Soros will become the primary financer and organizer of the Union for a Progressive New America, while Social Sciences College Professor named <Wade Kirkland> will become the face of the grassroots organization.

July 1996. A group of archeologists working in the Harbor of Hong Kong discover a sunken American submarine that contains a treaty between the United Kingdom and both sides of the Chinese Civil War that gives the British the rights to Hong Kong in perpetuity (along with several other nations that had been granted the same rights to their ‘colonial concessions’). This causes a lot of political problems and tensions between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China.

19 July - 4 August 1996. The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Athens, Attica Periphery, Central Greece, Hellenic Republic to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the modern Olympic Games.

August 1996. The Italian missions in Somalia start to show major improvements that many had not believed possible, and has allowed the creation of a stable government for the growing Somali Republic.

5 November 1996. Bill Clinton is reelected to a second term as President of the United States thanks to his growing perception as taking a much harder line against the growing communist alliances around the world.

18 November 1996. Shortly after his reelection Pres. Bill Clinton announces the formation of the Evaluation of Female Combat Personnel program by the Pentagon. The Evaluation of Female Combat Personnel Program was the pet project of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and a coalition of Congresswomen in both the House of Representatives and Senate that would allow for women to be allowed in the combat arms of the Armed Forces that lasted from 1996-1998. While there were some cases of problems with the Program, it for the most part showed that women could operate in combat positions. The legislation that was passed in 1998 that openly allowed for women in combat positions also opened the Draft to Women, the debate on this was heated and fell for the most part along party lines. But in the end, the entire legislation package was passed with the slogan of "Equal Rights, for Equal Risks" that was used by both its supporters and detractors. Despite allowing women in combat roles, there were several career fields (such as Infantry) that were not initially opened to women until the height of the Twilight War forced a change with the growing need for manpower.

1996: The Year in Review

d

January 1996

January 1996. D

February 1996

February 1996. D

March 1996

March 1996. D

April 1996

April 1996. D

May 1996

May 1996. D

May 1996. In an effort to appear that the Clinton Administration will take a harder line against the growing threats against the United States and its allies, the Department of Defense announces the creation of the Unified Combatant Command dedicated to operations in Africa thanks to the growing perceived worldwide threats due to the growth of the Congo Pact, the new command will become known as United States African Command.

June 1996

June 1996. D

June 1996. The grassroots organization "The Union for a Progressive New America" is formed with the financial support of George Soros who also alongside such groups like "MoveOn.org" and "The Center for American Progress" is founded, each is modeled on the far-left organization "ACORN". The decidedly left-wing grassroots political action organization that will grow to become the Alliance for a Progressive New America gets its start on the internet, pushing at first for the US Congress to only censure President Clinton for conduct unbecoming and move on with the business of governing the country. George Soros will become the primary financer and organizer of the Union for a Progressive New America, while Social Sciences College Professor named <Wade Kirkland> will become the face of the grassroots organization.

July 1996

July 1996. D

July 1996. A group of archeologists working in the Harbor of Hong Kong discover a sunken American submarine that contains a treaty between the United Kingdom and both sides of the Chinese Civil War that gives the British the rights to Hong Kong in perpetuity (along with several other nations that had been granted the same rights to their ‘colonial concessions’). This causes a lot of political problems and tensions between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China.

19 July - 4 August 1996. The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Athens, Attica Periphery, Central Greece, Hellenic Republic to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the modern Olympic Games.

August 1996

August 1996. D

August 1996. The Italian missions in Somalia start to show major improvements that many had not believed possible, and has allowed the creation of a stable government for the growing Somali Republic.

September 1996

September 1996. D

October 1996

October 1996. D

7 October 1996. The Fox News Channel beings broadcasting.

November 1996

November 1996. D

5 November 1996. Bill Clinton is reelected to a second term as President of the United States thanks to his growing perception as taking a much harder line against the growing communist alliances around the world.

18 November 1996. Shortly after his reelection Pres. Bill Clinton announces the formation of the Evaluation of Female Combat Personnel program by the Pentagon. The Evaluation of Female Combat Personnel (EFCP) Program was the pet project of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and a coalition of Congresswomen in both the House of Representatives and Senate that would allow for women to be allowed in the combat arms of the Armed Forces that lasted from 1996-1998. While there were some cases of problems with the Program, it for the most part showed that women could operate in combat positions. The legislation that was passed in 1998 that openly allowed for women in combat positions also opened the Draft to Women, the debate on this was heated and fell for the most part along party lines. But in the end, the entire legislation package was passed with the slogan of "Equal Rights, for Equal Risks" that was used by both its supporters and detractors. Despite allowing women in combat roles, there were several career fields (such as Infantry) that were not initially opened to women until the height of the Twilight War forced a change with the growing need for manpower.

December 1996

December 1996. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:46 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1997: The Year in Review

d

January 1997

January 1997. D

22 January 1997. Madeleline Albright becomes the first female US Secretary of State after confirmation by the United States Senate.

February 1997

February 1997. D

3 February - 1 August 1997. German Special Operations Division (Division Spezielle Operationen), Special Forces Command (Kommando Spezialkräfte) and Airmobile Operations Division (Division Luftbewegliche Operationen) are formed in response to the expansion of similar forces in the East German Armed Forces between 1995 and 1997.

5 February 1997. The so-called "Big Three" banks in the Swiss Confederation announces the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.

22 February 1997. In Roslin, Scotland, UK, a group of scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned was born in July 1996.

March 1997

March 1997. D

18 March 1997. The tail of a Russian An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey, causing the plane to crash. Killing all 50 onboard, resulting in the grounding of all An-24s.

April 1997

April 1997. D

6 April 1997. Pakistan tests medium-range ballistic missiles that are capable of hitting India.

22 April 1997. The end of a 126 day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Lima, Peru, after government commandos storm and capture the building. Rescuing 71 hostages, one hostage died from a heart attack due to stress, 2 soldiers are killed by rebel fire and all 14 Tupac Amaru rebels are slain.

May 1997

May 1997. D

2 May 1997. Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

May 1997. United States Territorial Guard is established as a land based counterpart to the United States Coast Guard. Among the duties assigned to the US Territorial Guard include search and rescue, security at airports and border crossings, and border patrol enforcement. In Congress there is a movement to incorporate the United States Forestry Service into the newly created paramilitary uniformed service, while at the same time limiting their law enforcement powers to insure that it would not become a centralized federal police force.

12 May 1997 - 24 December 1998. German Special Operations Division (Division Spezielle Operationen), Special Forces Command (Kommando Spezialkräfte) and Airmobile Operations Division (Division Luftbewegliche Operationen) are formed in response to the expansion of similar forces in the East German Armed Forces that had occurred between 1995 and 1997.

May 1997 - August 1999. The 'luxury industries' that are allowed to be imported into the Eastern Bloc: Starbucks Coffee Shop and Café, Victoria's Secret lingerie, Levi Strauss, Barnes and Noble booksellers, Pepsi, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken

June 1997

June 1997. D

30 June 1997. Bloomsbury Publishing publishes "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" by J.K. Rowling.

July 1997

July 1997. D

June 1997. Thanks to the increase in the trade of western style fashions to the Eastern Bloc with the free trade of luxury goods, the Polish city of Gdańsk has become the fashion capitol of the Eastern Bloc as Polish clothing designers and garment manufacturers’ start their own revolution in fashion. Polish clothing styles become part of the youth counter-culture throughout the Western world.

July 1997. Thanks to the micro-capitalism projects that had been allowed by Soviet Premier Danilov that legalized the underground cottage industries, the economic growth of the East European Communist Bloc states had allowed the East Europeans to enjoy many luxuries that where very similar to those that had been enjoyed by those who live in the West. Unfortunately, many of the hardline communists within the government see these policies as being an counter-revolutionary and totally against Marxist-Leninist and Stalinist ideals. These hardliners gravitate around Defense Minister Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky.

July 1997. The Mediterranean Alliance expands with the admission of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic.
17 July 1997. In Saint Petersburg, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried at St. Catherine Chapel, 80 years after he and his family were killed by the Bolsheviks.

August 1997

August 1997. D

31 August 1997. Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, is taken to a hospital after a car accident shortly after midnight in the Pont de I’Alma road tunnel in Paris. She is pronounced dead at 0400 local time.

September 1997

September 1997. D

4 September 1997. Google Inc. is founded in Menlo Park, CA, USA by Stanford University PhD candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

7 September 1997. The F-22 Raptor makes its first test flight.

October 1997

October 1997. D

October 1997 - October 1999. The construction of a series of ‘Houses of the Dead’ located on the sites of those concentration camps that would not be reconstructed and turned into Holocaust Memorial Museums is finally completed. Each of these structures will contain the names of the victims of the Holocaust that had died at these sites. Other ‘houses of the dead’ were also be built on sites to commemorate those who had stood up in defiance to the Nazi regime, and had been murdered for this by the Nazi regime.

November 1997

November 1997. D

December 1997

December 1997. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:47 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1998. The 1998 Summit held between Danilov and Clinton lays down the groundwork that allows West German companies to invest in the modernization of their East German counterparts. This allows East German factories and industrial facilities to undergo a major modernization that will increase their productivity and improve their production capacities. Within a year East German produced goods become available in West Germany, as West German produced goods become available in East Germany.

1998. The Soviet Union allows the German Democratic Republic to take more direct role actions within the Warsaw Pact with the increases in the frequency of the yearly military trails and training exercises.

1998. The leadership of Polish Peoples Republic and the German Democratic Republic are allowed to begin a series of economic programs that allow the import of luxury goods from the West. With the advancement of the trade of luxury goods from the west, allows for a major wave of western luxury goods to be traded through East Germany and Poland with the other Eastern Bloc states (including the Soviet Union).

1998. The Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic is allowed to enter into trade agreements with the Western European neighbors thanks to the increased access to the internet.

1998. The Eastern Bloc technological programs are able to catch up with the West thanks to the continued trade and commerce that had been the hallmark of the Clinton Administration policies that ironically had allowed the Eastern Bloc to counter the effects of the Reagan Administration policies that had nearly broke their economy by trying to keep up with the technological advances of the West.

1998: The Year in Review

d

January 1998

January 1998. D

1 January 1998. The United States Army undertakes a program that will reactivate the US XXII Corps, and reactivated 11th Infantry (Air Assault) Division, 17th Infantry (Airborne) Division and 2nd Cavalry Division that will become a second rapid reaction force capable of being sent anywhere on Earth at a moments notice. The US XXIII Airmobile Corps will also include the 4th Infantry (Mechanized) Division.

20 January 1998. The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet Cafes.

February 1998

February 1998. D

7 February 1998. King Hussein of Jordan dies from cancer, and his son Abdullah II inherits the throne.

7 February - 22 February 1998. The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participants contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice hockey, curling and snowboarding. National Hockey League players were allowed to participate in the Men's ice hockey.

16 February 1998. In the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, an apparent assassination attempt is made against the government leaders when a bomb detonates in the government headquarters.

March 1998

March 1998. D

3 March 1998. The Peoples Republic of China accepts the terms of the recently discovered Hong Kong Treaty, especially when they realize that they will be able to use the creation of these new ‘foreign concessions’ to strengthen their rapidly developing economic recovery. The major economic and political reforms have allowed the Peoples Republic of China to start and put the Tiananmen Square Massacre behind them.

4 March 1998. In a military court, United States Marine Corps Captain Richard J. Ashby is acquitted of the charge of reckless flying which resulted in the deaths of 20 skiers in the Italian Alps when his low-flying jet hit a gondola cable. This brings a great deal of resentment from the Italian people.

April 1998

April 1998. D

1 April 1998. Nunavut, an Inuit homeland is created from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories to become the third territory of the Dominion of Canada.

8 April 1998. The personal fortune of Bill Gates exceeds $100 billion due to the increased value of Microsoft stocks.

May 1998

May 1998. D

5 May 1998. Microsoft releases Windows 98 (second edition).

June 1998

June 1998. D

5 June 1998. <Excelsior> Rigid Airship Shipping Lines Company starts operation in a niche that provides heavy lift cargo transportation services of bulk cargo (and limited passenger services).

8 June - 12 June 1998. The 1998 Summit held between Danilov and Clinton lays down the groundwork that allows West German companies to invest in the modernization of their East German counterparts. This allows East German factories and industrial facilities to undergo a major modernization that will increase their productivity and improve their production capacities. Within a year East German produced goods become available in West Germany, as West German produced goods become available in East Germany.

4 July 1998: The United States Unified Medical Command is established, a major reform of the Public Health Service to better deal with major medical emergencies on a national scale. The reforms undertaken by the PHS also provides medical and healthcare to the average American citizen, and provides educational opportunities to those a desire to become doctors, nurses and paramedics... but lack the finical support to follow their dreams. Military medical research would become the responsibility of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland who would oversee and manage such work in an effort to limit the Armed Forces from wasting time and resources. The opening of a network of US Joint Services Medical Centres that would provide medical centers all across North American and Europe. This network would be used as a model the revamped Public Health Service to provide health and medical care to civilians during national emergencies and other health crises as part of the Department of Health and Human Services during non-emergency situations (and brought under Department of Homeland Security during Wartime and other Emergency periods of the declaration of Martial Law).

July 1998

July 1998. D

August 1998

August 1998. D

September 1998

September 1998. D

October 1998

October 1998. D

November 1998

November 1998. D

December 1998

December 1998. D

19 December 1998 - 12 February 1999. Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power, failed in the House. The charges arose from the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit. The trial proceedings were largely partisan, with only five Democratic Representatives voting to impeach and no Democratic Senators voting for conviction. With a two-thirds majority required for conviction, only 45 senators voted guilty on the perjury charge and 50 on the obstruction charge. It was only the second impeachment of a President in American history. Both Houses of Congress decide to officially censure the President for his behavior.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:47 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

1999: The Year in Review

d

January 1999

January 1999. D

February 1999

February 1999. D

March 1999

March 1999. D

April 1999

April 1999. D

May 1999

May 1999. D

6 May 1999. Elections are held in Scotland and Wales for the new Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales.

19 May 1999. "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" is released in theaters, becoming the highest grossing Star Wars film.

June 1999

June 1999. D

July 1999

July 1999. D

August 1999

August 1999. D

1 August 1999. EFCP proves successful and becomes standardized, laws pass that requires females to register for the Selective Services Draft.

31 August 1999. Apple Computer releases the Power Macintosh G4.

September 1999

September 1999. D

October 1999

October 1999. D

November 1999

November 1999. D

December 1999

December 1999. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:48 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2000

Exactly how and why Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov allowed things to evolve as they did over the past four years is still a mystery. He had much better control over events earlier in his career, when he was technically weaker. It has been suggested that he didn’t really believe war would start. It has been suggested that Danilov truly believed that a last-minute deal with Chinese Premier Zhu would head off a war and bring even greater prestige for himself. Whatever the reason, by the end of August 2000, Konstantin Dmitrievich Danilov would find his country involved in a war he had never wanted.

Selling this war would become a painful exercise for Danilov. There was very little he could say to the West that had any meaning beyond the usual propaganda, though he dutifully made his efforts at the UN and in the capitals of the West. For the most part, Danilov was forced to trade in much of the good will he had built in the West over the past decade in an effort to keep the economic credits flowing.

Since there was little the Soviets could do to justify the war in world opinion, it was important that they convince the world that the USSR was winning the war. Superiority of20Soviet arms and soldiery would be its own justification in the end. As a result, Soviet propaganda efforts initially focused on the excellent progress being enjoyed by Soviet armed forces in Manchuria. Never mind who was right—the Soviets were winning.

By contrast, China would find it quite easy to portray herself as the innocent victim. Though the Western media were never given the free reign on the Manchurian battlefields they would have liked, images of smashed Chinese villages and dead and injured Chinese civilians poured back to Western television virtually from the outset of the war. The Chinese Communist Party strove to play up two key images: the suffering of the Chinese people and the heroic resistance of the People’s Liberation Army. In this effort they were largely successful.

Beijing quickly moved to exploit the swell of sympathy among Westerners—particularly among Americans. The large Chinese-American community was solicited to provide financial support, political support, and propaganda support for China. Though not successful everywhere, Chinese-Americans answered the call of the motherland in large numbers. Though many conservative Americans were delighted to see the two great Communist powers at war, at least as many Americans were telling pollsters that the gallant Chinese people deserved the support of the United States against the Soviet aggressors. Washington took notice.

Throughout the Western political circles, the initial reaction was one of muted relief. Despite the warming of Soviet-Western relations during the first half of the 1990’s, NATO remained ready to defend against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Many were concerned that Danilov’s Soviet Union was a more dangerous Soviet Union because her core strength was now greater. A Soviet Union with a healthy economy and the ability to feed itself might come under the control of an aggressive militarist at a future date. At the same time, the growing economic power of China was causing concern in the West. How long would it be before China’s burgeoning economic power translated itself into military power?

Already the mid 1990’s, the People’s Liberation Army was undergoing a significant modernization. With the Soviet Union and China at war, the West appeared to have killed two birds without actually having to throw its own stone.

Naturally, there was some concern about the war going nuclear. This fear was at its most intense during the first few days of the war, when chemical weapons were used on a large scale both on the front lines and in the rear areas. Some Western military analysts feared that whoever got the worst of the chemical exchange might go nuclear as a means of rectifying the situation. Fortunately, the chemical exchange died down without the use of nuclear weapons; however, there were several very tense days at the UN as Western mediators attempted to get both sides to pledge to no-first-use of nuclear weapons (despite the fact that both parties to the war already had pledged as much).

In Europe, there was some alarm over the rapid rate of advance of Soviet ground forces in the opening weeks of the campaign. If the Soviets could make such short work of the PLA, how would they fare against the much less numerous Western European ground forces? Speculation was rife that NATO would be incapable of stopping a sudden Soviet sweep to the English Channel. As the Soviet advance ground to a halt, such irresponsible talk died down, though.

World opinion elsewhere varied. India gleefully watched one of her two principal rivals stagger under the heavy Soviet blows. Pakistan issued belligerent statements in support of China, one of her chief benefactors. Without China to counterbalance India, the Pakistani security situation was far more tenuous.

Generally, the Soviet client states gave their support for the USSR, while their Western clients loudly decried the invasion. Many countries in trouble spots around the globe heightened their military readiness, and some even mobilized additional troops. However, for the most part things settled down in the countries not directly affected by the fighting. Notable exceptions were the two Koreas, Vietnam, and Pakistan.

As seen, after a period of increasing tension and escalating border incidents, a full-scale war had erupted between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The Red Army had enjoyed rapid initial successes, and tank columns had roared deep into the northern Chinese industrial heartland.

However, the Chinese surpassed the expectations of most military analysts in their ability to mobilize reserves from the interior and shift them to the fighting front. While the Soviets continued to make impressive gains, their losses mounted and the tempo of advance slowed. Soon, large bodies of citizens' militia were operating in the rear areas, attacking installations and destroying supply convoys. More and more front line troops had to be detailed to mopping up these patches of guerrilla resistance, and the advance ground to a halt.

When the main Chinese conventional forces counterattacked, to the amazement of the world's military experts, large pockets of Soviet troops were formed. Most of the Soviet units, due to their superior mobility and tremendous firepower, were able to fight their way out of the pockets, but Soviet losses were great and the front was shattered.

The Soviet Union had already been mobilizing additional troops from the western military districts, and this was now placed on an emergency priority basis. As a stop-gap, half a dozen combat ready divisions were withdrawn from Eastern Europe and sent to the Far East. But the Far Eastern Front had become a meat grinder, which devoured divisions as quickly as they could be committed. As factory output switched more and more to wartime production, the flow of consumer goods dwindled to a trickle and standards of living in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union fell.

Motor vehicles and railroad rolling stock were increasingly drawn out of the civilian sector to support the war effort. As the first snows of winter fell, the Soviets began soliciting the other members of the Warsaw Pact for volunteer formations to serve on the Far Eastern Front. Resistance to this was surprisingly strong, but by the new year the first Polish, Czech, and East German divisions were traveling east by rail. At least one Hungarian and Bulgarian division would follow once they finished mobilizing and re-equipping with more modern weapons. No Romanians would be going east.

The United States and Europe growing increasingly fearful of the improved economic and political recovery of the Soviet Union throughout the 1990s prompts them to give support to the Peoples Republic of China during the outbreak of the Sino-Soviet war.

Even with tensions that will led to the Sino-Soviet War, the 2000 Olympics is held in <city>, <country> in an effort to promote the efforts to get both sides to participate in peace talks.

2000: The Year in Review

d

January 2000

January 2000. D

February 2000

February 2000. D

March 2000

March 2000. D

April 2000

April 2000. D

May 2000

May 2000. D

June 2000

June 2000. D

16 June - 20 June 2000. After several tense years of border skirmishes between their border protection forces, full blown open fighting between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China breaks-out along their shared Siberian border. This fighting will slowly spread to include the Central Asian front when the Chinese bring the rest of the Beijing Pact into the war forcing the Soviets to bring in their own Warsaw Pact allies. Danilov is forced by his cabinet to order a full scale invasion of the PRC in an effort to teach the Chinese a lesson. The initial Soviet objective is to occupy Sinkiang and Manchuria, to break the Chinese Army, and ultimately to humiliate China in an effort to bring the Chinese Communists back into the Soviet fold.

16 June 2000. What starts out as a minor skirmish between elements of the KGB Border Guards and the Chinese 52nd Border Defense Force along the Amur River near Khabarovsk leads to a full blown war between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

20 June 2000. Fighting between Soviet and Chinese border units dies down while diplomats try to stop the build up to war. But both sides use the attempts at negotiation as a chance to mobilize and shift combat troops into the theater. The NATO alliance nations put their forces on alert, and the inter-German Border is placed on heightened alert status. The United Nations attempt to negotiate a settlement, but both the Soviet Union and Peoples Republic of China refuse to accept the United Nations as a neutral third party.

July 2000

July 2000. D

August 2000

August 2000. D

19 August 2000. The lead divisions of the Soviet First and Second Far East Fronts launch the initial offensive into the Peoples Republic of China.

20 August 2000. The Soviet Union declares war on the Peoples Republic of China, officially starting the Sino-Soviet War. Tensions in Western Europe increase dramatically as states on both sides of the Iron Curtain place their militaries on a heightened alert status. In the first weeks of the Sino-Soviet War, the Soviet Red Army roars through Manchuria, crashing past the Peoples Liberation Army.

August 2000. In the United States, millions of Americans are alarmed by the possibility of the escalation of the Sino-Soviet War into a full blown nuclear World War. This leads to the American Media spotlighting the decades old evacuation plans that the government had dusted-off. When the media carry stories on these plans, many people start peaceful demonstrations that turn into riots in New York, New Hampshire and eastern Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, four US Department of Health and Human Services representatives are severely beaten while making surveys of potential host communities.

September 2000

September 2000. D

September 2000. The Soviet Red Army capture Shenyang, but start to show signs of suffering from major shortages in men and equipment. Expert West European military analysts start to predict that the Sino-Soviet War will grind to a halt, and lead to a stalemate and cease-fire before Christmas.

15 September - 1 October 2000. The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Commonwealth of Australia. It was the second time that the Summer Olympics were held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first one being in Melbourne in 1956, and as a result of this location and the dates, took place in early spring. During the XXVII Summer Olympic Games, its hosts had great hopes for promoting a peaceful resolution to the growing tensions that would eventually lead to the Sino-Soviet War.

October 2000

October 2000. D

October 2000. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army launches a major counter-offensive against the Soviet Red Army, leaving pockets of the Soviet Red Army cut off from supply lines and reinforcements.

30 October 2000. The United Kingdom stands down the alert status of most of its armed forces, only those assigned to Hong Kong will remain on alert.

November 2000

November 2000. D

7 November 2000. George W. Bush (R-TX) is elected president of the United States during the growing crisis around the world, thanks to the general feeling that the Clinton Administration could have done more to prevent it, falls heavily on the shoulders of Vice-President Albert Arnold 'Al' Gore (D-TN) who ends up facing a great deal of the blame for the failures of the Clinton Administration’s foreign policy to limit the growth of communist alliances that appear hostile to the United States and its allies all around the world.

11 November 2000. The Soviet Union launches the last of its high-orbiting weather-tracking satellites, DP-201.

December 2000

December 2000. D

December 2000. The Politburo and the Presidium order a general mobilization of all Soviet military forces; martial law is declared in the Far East, Siberian, and Transbaikal military districts. They also request that the Warsaw Pact nations to start the process of mobilization and preparing their armed forces for the possibility of being deployed to the Sino-Soviet Front. NATO realizes the Soviets intend to pursue the Sino-Soviet War to the bitter end.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:50 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2001: The Year in Review

d

January 2001

January 2001. D

20 January - 14 February 2001. Shortly after George W. Bush (R-TX) was sworn into office as President of the United States, he appointed US Army General Jonathan L. Cummings as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff. GEN Cummings is a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor due to his valorous conduct under fire during Operation Desert Storm.

February 2001

February 2001. D

March 2001

March 2001. D

April 2001

April 2001. D

9 April 2001. The Soviets launch a major spring offensive against the Peoples Republic of China in an attempt to capitalize on the early successes they had enjoyed during the start of the Sino-Soviet War. Unfortunately, the offensive known as Operation Red Willow was an utter disaster that forces the Kremlin to turn to their Warsaw Pact client states for additional military forces.

May 2001

May 2001. D

June 2001

June 2001. D

June 2001. The Soviet Union continues the full-scale mobilization of its armed forces, forcing its Warsaw Pact allies to follow suit and provide needed men and material for the war effort against the Peoples Republic of China.

July 2001

July 2001. D

August 2001

August 2001. D

September 2001

September 2001. D

11 September - 17 September 2001. After an extensive terrorist attack is barely avoided, the public outcry forces the Federal Government to establish the United States Department of Homeland Security. The FEMA, the United States Coast Guard and Territorial Guard all fall under the authority of the newly established federal department. The United States Department of Homeland Security is established by an act of Congress over the objections of President George W. Bush, who had only wanted to create a small agency that would have been known as the Office of Homeland Defense.

17 September 2001. The United States Department of Homeland Security is created in response to the demonstrations and riots held protesting the state of emergency preparedness, combined with the alarming amount of hostile forces around the world. The US Department of Homeland Security is tasked with a revamping of Civil Defense and FEMA preparedness for major disasters and any possible wartime national crisis.

October 2001

October 2001. D

November 2001

November 2001. D

November - December 2001. The East German NVA prepares to send one of its field armies containing its best military units to the Far East front in support of their Soviet allies along with all of its support elements, this is the largest contribution than any of the other Eastern Bloc Soviet client-states will make. The fact that the largest contribution was made by the smallest military forces in the Warsaw Pact, forces other Warsaw Pact states to promise to increase their contributions as soon as they are able. It also allows for the Soviets to approve that the East Germans can increase the size of the NVA. Unfortunately, this will only end up in allowing for the NVA to replace the losses of their finest military units.

December 2001

December 2001. D

15 December 2001. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems release the new F-22 Stealth air superiority fighter for mass production for the war effort.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:51 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2001: The Year in Review

d

January 2001

January 2001. D

20 January - 14 February 2001. Shortly after George W. Bush (R-TX) was sworn into office as President of the United States, he appointed US Army General Jonathan L. Cummings as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff. GEN Cummings is a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor due to his valorous conduct under fire during Operation Desert Storm.

February 2001

February 2001. D

March 2001

March 2001. D

April 2001

April 2001. D

9 April 2001. The Soviets launch a major spring offensive against the Peoples Republic of China in an attempt to capitalize on the early successes they had enjoyed during the start of the Sino-Soviet War. Unfortunately, the offensive known as Operation Red Willow was an utter disaster that forces the Kremlin to turn to their Warsaw Pact client states for additional military forces.

May 2001

May 2001. D

June 2001

June 2001. D

June 2001. The Soviet Union continues the full-scale mobilization of its armed forces, forcing its Warsaw Pact allies to follow suit and provide needed men and material for the war effort against the Peoples Republic of China.

July 2001

July 2001. D

August 2001

August 2001. D

September 2001

September 2001. D

11 September - 17 September 2001. After an extensive terrorist attack is barely avoided, the public outcry forces the Federal Government to establish the United States Department of Homeland Security. The FEMA, the United States Coast Guard and Territorial Guard all fall under the authority of the newly established federal department. The United States Department of Homeland Security is established by an act of Congress over the objections of President George W. Bush, who had only wanted to create a small agency that would have been known as the Office of Homeland Defense.

17 September 2001. The United States Department of Homeland Security is created in response to the demonstrations and riots held protesting the state of emergency preparedness, combined with the alarming amount of hostile forces around the world. The US Department of Homeland Security is tasked with a revamping of Civil Defense and FEMA preparedness for major disasters and any possible wartime national crisis.

October 2001

October 2001. D

November 2001

November 2001. D

November - December 2001. The East German NVA prepares to send one of its field armies containing its best military units to the Far East front in support of their Soviet allies along with all of its support elements, this is the largest contribution than any of the other Eastern Bloc Soviet client-states will make. The fact that the largest contribution was made by the smallest military forces in the Warsaw Pact, forces other Warsaw Pact states to promise to increase their contributions as soon as they are able. It also allows for the Soviets to approve that the East Germans can increase the size of the NVA. Unfortunately, this will only end up in allowing for the NVA to replace the losses of their finest military units.

December 2001

December 2001. D
15 December 2001. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems release the new F-22 Stealth air superiority fighter for mass production for the war effort.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:52 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2002: The Year in Review

Their ranks swollen with fresh troops, the Pact forces launched a spring offensive against the Chinese. Despite good initial gains, the drive soon stalled, with further horrendous casualties. Winter had witnessed a flood of new, modern equipment through Chinese ports from the NATO nations, particularly the United States. Now Soviet and Pact tanks were not facing obsolete wire-guided missiles, but modern Tank Breaker and Assault Breaker systems that made the massed tank assaults, which had been so successful the year before, suicidal.

New tactics were devised, but more troops were needed. Most Soviet category II readiness divisions were mobilized and sent to the Far East by mid-year, and almost a quarter of the category I divisions from the Eastern European garrisons were committed. Many of the low readiness category III divisions were upgraded to category II or mobilized, and for the first time in fifty years the mobilization-only divisions began training.

d

January 2002

January 2002. D

February 2002

February 2002. D

8 February - 24 February 2002. The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Östersund, Östersund Municipality, Jämtland County, Jämtland Province, Kingdom of Sweden. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout 165 sporting sessions. The anti-Soviet uprisings that were occurring throughout Central and Western Europe almost caused the Winter Olympic Games to be called off. Instead the Kingdom of Sweden used the facilities in Östersund to be also be used for a series of highly publicized peace talks and summits between the leaders of all the nations whom were currently engaged in combat around the world.

March 2002

March 2002. D

April 2002

April 2002. D

April 2002. The Soviet Red Army supported by fresh Warsaw Pact troops launch a major Spring Offensive to counter the losses they had suffered to the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army in the past year.

April 2002. The East German Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) sends the NVA Fifth Army containing its best military units to the Far East front in support of their Soviet allies along with all of its support elements, this is the largest contribution than any of the other Eastern Bloc Soviet client-states will make. The fact that the largest contribution was made by the smallest military forces in the Warsaw Pact, forces other Warsaw Pact states to promise to increase their contributions as soon as they are able. It also allows for the Soviets to approve that the East Germans can increase the size of the NVA. Unfortunately, this will only end up in allowing for the NVA to replace the losses of their finest military units.

April 2002. The French-led Mediterranean Alliance launches attacks against NATO Alliance states to support the Hellenic Republic in their dispute with the Republic of Turkey in the Aegean Sea after the localized fighting between Greek and Turkish nationals on the island of Cyprus blows up into open conflict. At first the conflict is limited to the Aegean Sea and Balkan front, but soon the fighting spreads to Central and Western Europe as well.

May 2002

May 2002. D

May 2002. The Soviet Spring offensive finds itself in serious trouble, and during the breakout from the Shenyang pocket the East German Fifth Army is used as a rearguard force to provide cover for the retreat of Soviet Red Army forces. The DDR Fifth Army does receive the withdrawal orders in time to make their own retreat, and they find themselves overrun and captured.

June 2002

June 2002. D

June 2002. After the destruction of the best NVA divisions that made up the DDR Fifth Army after having being used as nothing more than cannon fodder to allow Soviet Red Army units to safely withdraw from a series of active combat engagements; a series of secret talks are held between high-ranking military and civilian officials of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic with the assistance of American and British diplomatic officials. During these talks the agreement that the two German states should remain separate entities is agreed upon, as well as an attempt to remove Soviet forces from the German Democratic Republic so that they would finally be allowed to set their own future.

July 2002

July 2002. D

July 2002. During the naval war in the South China Sea the Soviets have all but destroyed the Chinese People Liberation Army Navy, but also lost a significant portion of the Soviet Pacific Fleet. The Soviet Union has managed to establish a blockade of the Chinese mainland that has all but stopped most imports into the Peoples Republic of China. The biggest problem for the Soviet blockade has been the fact that Hong Kong is still British territory, and shipping continues to flow through not only that port. But also through the other Foreign Concessions, that exist along the Mainland Chinese coast.

August 2002

August 2002. D

August 2002. North Korea launches a major offensive against South Korea, in an attempt to forcefully annex the southern Korean peninsula in hopes that with the United States and its allies engaged elsewhere would allow them to keep whatever they had gained. But the North Koreans did not expect the South Koreans to accept the Japanese military assistance to protect the Republic of Korea. The unexpected appearance of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces allows the Allies to block the North Korean southern offensive, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force alongside the Navy of the Republic of Korea are able to completely destroy the North Korean Naval forces and establish a blockade that cuts it off from any reinforcements from the sea. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force is able to assist the South Korean Air Force in quickly gaining air superiority over the Korean peninsula. And the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force is able to launch a major offensive against North Korea using amphibious landings to by-pass the heavily mined demilitarized zone.

September 2002

September 2002. D

September 2002. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army surprises the world when it apparently carries out a major offense against their western allies, and ended up being the recipients of a series of concentrated nuclear strikes that had ended the central government and controlling bodies of the PRC and its military forces. Evidence that the attacks against the Western Allies was undertaken by a rouge Peoples Liberation Army General who wished to establish himself as the next leader of the PRC. Thanks to the nuclear attacks that destroy the country’s infrastructure, the PRC quickly disintegrates as fighting between rival factions within the Peoples Liberation Army and other Chinese political groups’ causes total chaos in the Asia Theater as various warlords spring up overnight declaring their own fiefdoms and empires. Prolonging the war in the region, forcing the US and its allies to kept military assets and forces in the theater attempting to stabilize the region.

October 2002

October 2002. D

2 October 2002. Anti-War movement in the United States is born with a major anti-war rally held in Chicago, IL on 2 October 2002 that is organized by a Union for a Progressive New America.

12 October - 16 October 2002. A large group of students, veterans and other East German citizens lead major protests in Leipzig against the Soviet demands for the East Germans to provide even more troops to replace those lost on the Far East Front engaged in the Sino-Soviet War. When the NVA units sent to put down the demonstrations are unable to peacefully stop the demonstrations the Commander of the Soviet Forces in Germany orders a Motorized Rifle Division to brutally put down what he classified as a Counter-Revolutionary Demonstration.

November 2002

November 2002. D

27 November 2002. Northrop/McDonnell Douglas F-23 Black Widow II and Gray Ghost fighter planes introduced.

December 2002

December 2002. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:53 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2003. Soviet forces are stunned when they encounter extensive stiff resistance from both and Finland when they attempt to cross their territories to carry out an offensive against the Kingdom of Norway. This resistance allows NATO Alliance to deploy reinforcements into Norway, Sweden and Finland.

2003. Soviet Navy attempts to carry out a breakout sortie through the North Sea to carry out operations in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The largest naval battle since the Spanish Armada was destroyed by the British Royal Navy is fought between the NATO Alliance and Soviet Navy.

2003: The Year in Review

Appalled at the losses taken in their expeditionary forces, the other Eastern European members of the Pact agreed only reluctantly to provide more troops. In June, however, a small group of senior officers of the East German Army opened secret talks with a select group of their counterparts in the Bundesheer (Federal Army) and Bundesluftwaffe (Federal Air Force), the army and air force of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In September, a third call for troops from Eastern Europe was made, to be ready for movement by mid-October whether their equipment and training were complete or not. On 7 October 2001 lead elements of the Bundeswehr (Federal Armed Forces) crossed the frontier between East and West Germany and began attacking Soviet garrison units that had remained in the country, while the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) remained quietly in barracks.

Having not only having been appalled with how the best troops that the DDR could provide where treated by the Soviet Union and with the continuing increase of how harsh the Soviet Forces in Germany where treating the East German citizens who lived near their bases, Günther Manfred Neumann realized that his options where severely limited in how to respond and slowly starts to sink into a severe depression. When he received reports that the West Germans had crossed the frontier he made a live radio broadcast where he asked the East German people to remain in their homes, and attempt to avoid conflict with either NATO or Soviets. Hours later when the commander of Soviet Armed Forces in Germany demanded that Neumann order the East German NVA to immediately mobilize and assist in driving the Bundeswehr forces out of the country, Neumann politely refused the order. Even when the Soviet Primer Danilov had personally called Neumann and ordered him to mobilize the East German NVA, he once more had to politely refuse the order, and he stated that he simply knew that he no longer actually had the power or authority to issue orders the NVA.

Despite the initial surprise, the fifteen Soviet divisions remaining in Germany put up a spirited resistance and were soon joined by two more divisions from Poland and three from the garrison of Czechoslovakia. By 15 November there were also two Czech divisions and four Polish divisions in Germany, their orders to leave for the Far East hurriedly rescinded. To the surprise of the Western nations, the Czechs and Poles fought well, as neither wished to see a reunited Germany.

By the end of November, the Bundeswehr found itself in serious trouble. Soviet Frontal Aviation had left their most modern aircraft in the west; these were qualitatively a match for the Luftwaffe and quantitatively more than a match. As the Bundeswehr lines began to crumble, high ranking officers of the East German Army made their move. In a bloodless coup, the civilian leaders of the country were deposed and replaced with a military junta. Two days later the new government ordered the army into the field against the Pact forces in the country and formally requested intervention on their behalf by NATO.

After the bloodless coup Marshall der DDR officially replaced Günther Manfred Neumann as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, who remained as an unofficial advisor for the new provisional government. During the conflict the E. German NVA mobilized all of their reserves, and enacted a nationwide draft to allow the DDR to liberate their nation from foreign occupation.

On 9 December the representative of the DDR to the United Nations, had announced the German Democratic Republic’s desire to remain an independent state that that would remain neutral in world affairs, and formally requested any assistance and support from the other members of the United Nations. Despite the assurances that the DDR wished to remain an independent state, many other nations did not believe these statements to be true. Despite the initial desire to remain as a separate independent nation, the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany would later reunify as the German Federal Republic after years of negotiation that would see the new government taking the best aspects of both governments, while purging the worst.

<Danilov’s attempt to negotiate fails miserably to end the fighting in Europe, and is purged…>

While the political leadership of the European members of NATO debated the prudence of intervention, the U.S. Army crossed the frontier. Within a week, France, Belgium, Italy, and Greece at first demand that U.S. troops withdraw back to their start line and then withdrew from NATO in protest. British and Canadian forces crossed the border, however, while Danish and Dutch troops remained in place, still partners in NATO but not party to the current war.

In the far north, Soviet troops made a bid for quick victory in northern Norway. Most of the best Arctic-equipped divisions had already been sent east, however, and the third-line troops available were unable to break through to the paratroopers and marines landed in NATO's rear areas. As crack British commandoes and U.S. Marines joined the battle, the front line moved east again toward the Soviet naval facilities on the Kola Peninsula, and the elite Soviet paratroopers and marines were isolated and destroyed.

At sea, the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet sortie and attempted to break through the Greenland-lceland-United Kingdom Gap into the north Atlantic. For three weeks the opposing fleets hammered each other, but the western fleet came out on top, badly bloodied but victorious. 80% of the Soviet northern fleet tonnage rested on the bottom of the Norwegian and North Seas. Scattered commerce raiders did break out, however, and by year's end were wreaking havoc on the NATO convoys bringing ammunition and equipment across the Atlantic.

Having repeatedly given excuses when asked to provide troops for the war effort, Romania was finally presented with an ultimatum on December 5th: either support the war effort fully or suffer the consequences. The time limit expired without a formal reply from the Romanian government, but throughout Romania troops hurried to their emergency mobilization posts.

The Warsaw Pact apparently had expected Romanian compliance with the ultimatum, for it was not until December 20th that sufficient troops were assembled to begin an invasion. As Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Soviet troops cross the border, Romania formally withdrew from the Warsaw Pact, declared war on the three invading nations, and applied to NATO for assistance.

The first nation to rally to Romania's aid was her neighbor, Jugoslavia. Within 24 hours, three divisions and five brigades had crossed into Romania and two days later were at the front operating under Romanian command. NATO responded shortly thereafter with the offer of full membership in the security organization to both nations, which they quickly accepted. More concrete assistance took the form of the Turkish First Army, which launched its offensive against a thin Bulgarian covering force in Thrace on Christmas Eve.

January 2003

January 2003. D

February 2003

February 2003. D

February 2003. With the major advances being made by South Korea and its allies, the North Korean General Staff carries out a nearly bloodless coup that allows them to sue for peace.

March 2003

March 2003. D

April 2003

April 2003. D

April 2003. After the news of how the Far East Front Theater commander had been using the finest Warsaw Pact military units that had been deployed to assist the Soviet Red Army during the Sino-Soviet War had been ‘thrown away’ with the use of them as nothing more than cannon fodder causes a series of demonstrations and protests throughout Eastern Europe. The most unexpected and prominent resistance had come from those who had been the staunchest and most loyal of the East European Soviet satellite states, the German Democratic Republic. This occurred because the East German liaison officer had overheard the Soviet leaders laughing about how the Germans deserved nothing better than being used as cannon fodder thanks to the actions of the Nazis during the Second World War.

May 2003

May 2003. D

June 2003

June 2003. D
June 2003. After nearly three months of talks, South Korea officially annexes North Korea and places many former North Korean government officials on trail for crimes against humanity and war crimes trials.

June 2003. The NVA is able to finally rebuild the DDR Fifth Army after the return of those men and women whom had been captured as Prisoners of War thanks to the intervention of West Germany. The divisions of the DDR Fifth Army are severely under strength, and it will take several months to bring them back-up to a combat ready status.

July 2003

July 2003. D

August 2003

August 2003. D

September 2003

September 2003. D

October 2003

October 2003. D

1 October 2003: DDR Bloodless Coup overthrows the pro-Soviet government while the Polish coup flounders thanks to KGB interception of major leaders of the Conspiracy who were in route to their positions.

3 October 2003. After the bloodless coup Marshall der DDR <name> officially replaced <Günther Manfred Neumann> as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, who remained as an unofficial advisor for the new provisional government that was composed of a panel of officers from every branch of the NVA. During the conflict the East German NVA mobilized all of their reserves, and enacted a nationwide draft to allow the DDR to liberate their nation from foreign occupation.

3 October - 9 October 2003. When the talks between Moscow and East Berlin break down, the DDR calls upon the BRD for assistance in helping them reinforce the sovereignty and their independence as a sovereign state in evicting the Soviet Forces in Germany from within their borders.

7 October 2003. The Bundeswehr crosses the inter-German border and starts surprise attacks against the Soviet garrisons in East Germany. The East German NVA remains in their barracks, refusing to interfere with the intrusion. The Soviet divisions stationed in East Germany attempt to put up a stiff resistance, and are joined by two divisions from Poland and three from Czechoslovakia. The West German Luftwaffe launches a series of long-range interdiction strikes, one of which is against Gliwice-Katowice complex in Silesia.

8 October 2003. The West German First and Third Panzer Division engage Soviet Forces, the West German Seventh Panzer Division crosses the inter-German border. The West German Eleventh Panzergrenadier Division engages Soviet forces along the East German Baltic coast.

9 October 2003. The official representative of the DDR to the United Nations announced a heartfelt desire of the people of the German Democratic Republic to remain an independent state that that would remain neutral in world affairs, and formally requested any assistance and support from the other members of the United Nations. Despite the assurances that the DDR wished to remain an independent state, many other nations did not believe these statements to be true. Despite their initial desire to remain as a separate independent nation, the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany would unify to create the German Federal Republic after the French led invasion of the Rhineland in an effort to ironically keep the two states from unifying. It would take years of negotiation that would see the new government taking the best aspects of both governments, while purging the worst for the formal unification and constitutional convention that saw the birth of the German Federal Republic.

9 October 2003. The West German Fifth Panzer Division overruns and all but destroys the Soviet 47th Motorized Rifle Division. The Seventh Panzer Division engages Soviet forces.

10 October 2003. The Danish Army undergoes a general mobilization. The West German Sixth Panzergrenadier Division enters East Germany as a reserve force. The Canadian First Infantry Brigade is deployed to the Kingdom of Norway.

10 October 2003. Danilov is placed under house arrest by KGB officials loyal to Soviet Defense Minister Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky.

10 October – 17 October 2003. After a short weeklong period of apparent chaos within the Kremlin, Nikolai Tukhachevsky is able to succeed Konstantin Danilov as the Premiere of the Soviet Union and Secretary General of the Communist Party. One of Tukhachevky’s first acts as the Soviet Premiere is the purge of many of the Danilovians whom where in positions of authority in the Soviet armed forces, and prominent Soviet government officials. Instead of the purge killing the Danilovians, they are assigned to military operations on the Far Eastern Front against the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.

11 October 2003. The King of Norway proclaims a state of emergency and calls upon the Parliament to pass a string of emergency measures to keep Norway out of the war.

12 October 2003. After years of behind the scenes backroom dealing among hardliners who felt that Danilov had sold out Stalinist Ideals, Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky finally seizes control of the Soviet Government.

12 October 2003. The United States Congress reinstates the Draft. The United States reinstates the Draft due to the growing tensions in Europe and Asia.

16 October 2003. The West German Second Panzergrenadier Division enters Magdeburg, DDR and find themselves being greeted as liberators.

21 October 2003. The US Second Armored Division is placed on Alert. The US Fourth Infantry Division is deployed by air to West Germany and placed under the US Fifth Corps.

30 October 2003. Two East German tank divisions leave their barracks and attack Soviet Forces.

November 2003

November 2003. D

November 2003. Soviet forces are stunned when they encounter extensive stiff resistance from both and Finland when they attempt to cross their territories to carry out an offensive against the Kingdom of Norway. This resistance allows NATO Alliance to deploy reinforcements into Norway, Sweden and Finland.

November 2003. Soviet Navy attempts to carry out a breakout sortie through the North Sea to carry out operations in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The largest naval battle since the Spanish Armada was destroyed by the British Royal Navy is fought between the NATO Alliance and Soviet Navy.

7 November 2003. The US Fourth Marine Division becomes fully operational, and is transported to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

15 November 2003. Two Czech divisions and four Polish divisions arrive in East Germany and engage West German troops.

November 2003. The US Second Armored Division transferred by air to West Germany under the auspices of the US Seventh Army. The US Tenth Infantry (Mountain) Division along with the Norwegian Third, Fifth and Tenth Regiments and the Norwegian Second Dragoon Regiment enters combat against Soviet troops in the Bardufoss region of Norway. These forces are able to blunt the Soviet drive towards Narvik, and allow the Norwegian and NATO forces to deploy. The Soviet Fifth Guards Motorized Rifle Division that was spearheading the invasion takes heavy Causalities.

17 November 2003. The maximum extent of the Soviet advance in Norway reaches the area between Narvik and Bardufoss.

19 November 2003. East German Fourth Motorized Rifle Division engages Polish Forces, executing a well-timed flanking attack against elements of the Second Polish Army in the Karl Marx Stadt area. The East German First Motorized Rifle Division deploys from their assembly areas to engage Warsaw Pact forces.

25 November 2003. The East German Eleventh Motorized Rifle Division deploys from their assembly areas and engages Warsaw Pact forces, suffering heavy damages.

28 November 2003. The East German and West German governments make official announcements at the United Nations General Assembly that they are not seeking to unify, but express their desires to remain as two independent German states to put at ease the fears of a reunified Germany that had prompted the opposition from both Eastern and Western European states.

30 November 2003. The III US Corps Headquarters becomes operational in West Germany. The First US Cavalry Division and the Second US Armored Division are put under the auspices of the III US Corps, as well as the Third US Armored Cavalry Regiment. The East German Ninth Panzer Division enters combat.

November 2003. Warsaw Pact counterattack against West Germany; the West German First Panzer Division takes heavy losses while the First Panzergrenadier Division does well. The First US Cavlary Division is transported to Europe by air, coming under the command of the I Netherlands Corps. The Sixth US Infantry Division is deployed to Norway by air. The 35h US Infantry (Mechanized) Division is deployed to West Germany by sea and air under the auspices of the III US Corps.

November 2003. With the entry of the NATO Alliance in the European War, a short-term panic occurs in the United States thanks to media hype. The sale of firearms, medical supplies, survival gear, tools and canned goods skyrocket overnight. A New York Times poll shows that 76% of American believe there will be a nuclear exchange within the next six weeks. Shortages in survival-related durable goods become a national problem in the United States. A steady climb in the crime rate, especially in metropolitan areas happens, but local authorities are able to cope thanks to assistance of the mobilization of National and State Guard units. Soviet Naval Infantry units occupy part of Narvik for three weeks, but NATO Alliance naval and air forces are able to stop attempts to reinforce them, causing the Soviets to order their withdrawal.

November 2003. The official start of the Euro-Soviet War.

December 2003

December 2003. D

2 December 2003. The 11t US Armored Cavalry Regiment crosses the inter-German border, signaling the start of the V US Corps’ initial offensive into East Germany. The East German National Volksarmee is completely mobilized, and the East German 9th Panzer Division engages Soviet forces in Germany.

5 December 2003. After having repeatedly refused to honor its Warsaw Pact obligations, Romania is given an ultimatum by the Soviets. The British 5th Mechanized Division is formed from the 5th British Field Force and used as internal security in Great Britain.

20 December 2003. Hungarian, Bulgarian and Soviet Troops launch an invasion of Romania, forcing Romania to formally withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and declare war on its former allies. Romania officially petitions to join the NATO Alliance.

24 December 2003. The Turkish 1s Army launches a major offensive against a think Bulgarian covering force in Thrace. NATO forces reach the outskirts of Berlin, and the British 1s Corps relieves the besieged NATO forces after a week of bitter street fighting that will be remembered as the Second Battle of Berlin.

26 December 2003. The 5th US Infantry (Mechanized) Division is deployed by air and sea to West Germany.

31 December 2003. Shortly after the Soviet Forces in Germany have been forced to withdraw out of East Germany, the leadership of the NATO Alliance attempts to open peace talks with the Soviet Union to end the conflict. The new civilian government of the German Democratic Republic is elected, and comes to power. The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic officially start talks to formalize their continued existence as two separate national entities.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:53 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2004

On the first day of the new year, the NATO heads of state declared their support for a Polish government in exile, headed by a committee of Polish émigrés. While the news was greeted with scattered worker uprisings in Poland, the majority of the Polish Army remained loyal to the central government, and open resistance was soon crushed. An underground movement began forming, however, and by spring small guerrilla bands, leavened by Polish Army deserters, began to harass Warsaw Pact supply convoys and installations.

During January, continuing Turkish successes in Bulgaria sparked a wave of patriotism in the Turks, particularly since Greece had remained neutral in the fight against the communists. On Cyprus, unoccupied and supposedly re-united for three years, the Turkish Cypriots demonstrated in favor of Turkey. The demonstrations turned into anti-Greek riots, and the Cypriot Army moved to restore order. In response, the Turkish Army invaded Cyprus and quickly occupied most of the island. Greece first sent military units to Cyprus to resist the Turks and then declared war on Turkey and attacked the Turkish forces in Thrace.

In late February, the socialist governments of Italy and Greece concluded a mutual defense pact. While Italy was not obligated by the pact to enter the Greco-Turkish war, the Italian government declared the war to be a regional conflict unrelated to the more general war raging elsewhere, promising to intervene on Greece's side if NATO tried to tip the balance in Turkey's favor. Within a week Greece declared a naval blockade against Turkey and warned the world's shipping that the Aegean was now considered a war zone.

In an attempt to restore the situation in Germany, Soviet and Czech troops went over to the offensive in southern Germany but did not have the strength to make any significant gains. With the coming of spring the NATO offensive gained momentum and in April the first German troops crossed the frontier into Poland. By June 17th, Warsaw was surrounded, and Polish army units and the citizens of the city prepared for a siege.

By late spring, NATO's Atlantic fleet had hunted down the last of the Soviet commerce raiders, and the surviving attack carriers and missile cruisers moved to northern waters. The NATO drive in the north had bogged down on the banks of the Litsa River, but the Northern Front commander now contemplated a bold move to destroy the remnants of Soviet naval power there. While U.S. and British units attempted a rapid outflanking move through northern Finland, the NATO Atlantic Fleet would close in on Murmansk and Severomorsk, subjecting the Soviet fleet anchorages and air bases to a massive bombardment. On June 7th the ground offensive was launched and the fleet closed in on0Athe Kola Peninsula shortly thereafter.

Finland had been expected to offer token resistance to the violation of its territory; instead the Finnish Army fought tenaciously, seriously delaying the flanking move. At sea the plan fared even worse, as coastal missile boats and the remnants of Northern Fleet's shore-based naval aviation inflicted crippling losses on the NATO fleet. By mid-June the last major naval fleet in-being in the world had been shattered.

In the south, the front in Romania stabilized and entered a period of attritional warfare. Soviet mobilization-only divisions, largely leg-mobile and stiffened with a sprinkling of obsolete tanks and armored personnel carriers, entered the lines. Although the Romanians proved better soldiers than the over-aged and ill-trained Soviet recruits, the manpower difference began to be felt. The best Soviet troops were shipped further south to Bulgaria, and by May had managed to halt the Turkish drive. As Greek pressure on the Turkish left flank in Thrace built, unit after Turkish unit was shifted to face the Greeks. It became clear that, without aid, the Turkish Army would have to fall back or be defeated.

On June 27th, a NATO convoy of fast transports and cargo ships, accompanied by a strong covering force, attempted the run to the Turkish port of Izmir with badly-needed ammunition and equipment. Light fleet elements of the Greek navy intercepted the convoy and, in a confused night action off Izmir, inflicted substantial losses and escaped virtually unharmed. Two days later NATO retaliated with air strikes against Greek naval bases. On July 1st, Greece declared war against the NATO nations, and Italy, in compliance with her treaty obligations, followed suit on the 2nd.

In early July, Italian airmobile and alpine units crossed the passes into Tyrolia. Scattered elements of the Austrian army resisted briefly but were overwhelmed. By mid-month, Italian mechanized forces were debouching from the Alpine passes into southern Germany, and their advanced elements were in combat against German territorial troops in the suburbs of Munich. The Jugoslavian Army launched a gallant but costly offensive against northeastern Italy, but soon was stalled. Italy responded with a major counteroffensive which, while draining troops from the German front, quickly shattered the thinly-spread Jugoslavian northern grouping.

The Italian Army enjoyed tremendous success in the first month of its involvement in the war, primarily for logistical reasons. Most of its opponents had already been at war for six months or more. Their peacetime stocks of munitions and replacement vehicles had been depleted, and their industries had not yet geared up to wartime production. The Italians had intact peacetime stockpiles to draw on. As summer turned to fall, however, the Italians too began feeling the logistical pinch, aggravated by the increasing flow of munitions and equipment from the factories of their opponents.

In Asia, pro-Soviet India and anti-Soviet Pakistan drifted into war through an escalating spiral of border incidents, mobilization, and major armed clashes. Outright war began in the spring, and by mid-year the Indian Army was slowly advancing across the length of the front, despite fierce resistance.

Mid-September

2004: The Year in Review

d

January 2004

January 2004. D

January 2004. Turkish successes spark a wave of nationalism, and leads to riots on Cyprus and pro-Greek armed forces immediately mobilized and crush them. This prompts the Turkish army to invade and occupy Cyprus, and this prompts Greece to launch attacks against Turkish army forces in Thrace and Cyprus. The Hellenic Republic (Greece) turns to its Mediterranean Alliance allies to also follow suit in a declaration of war on NATO. Soviet forces are pushed out of Norway, but the NATO offensive is halted at the Litsa river.

1 January 2004. The heads of state of the members of the NATO Alliance all declare their support for the Polish Government-in-Exile.

3 January 2004. The international media is shocked when Dan Rather is arrested by the Tukhachevky Regime and is tried by a Soviet military tribunal as a spy. Rather had travelled to Moscow so he could interview Danilov after the completion of the peace talks. Instead he was able to give the first and only interview with Nikolai Tukhachevky, an interview that put the new Soviet Premier in a less than generous light. Many feel that this is why the Tukhachevky Regime ordered the arrest of Dan Rather. Sometime in mid-July 2006, Dan Rather will be executed by a firing squad after having spent two grueling years in a Soviet prison labor camp.

4 January 2004. Despite the best efforts of the federal government, President G.W. Bush is forced to call for rationing of critical war related resources and goods in the United States to support the war effort as shortages have become increasingly rampant.

7 January 2004. The British Army of the Rhine reaches Frankfurt-an-Oder on the Polish Border, lead elements enter the city but are unable to seize the bridges over the Oder intact.

10 January 2004. When attempts to get the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact to accept negotiation to end the fighting in Eastern Europe the NATO Alliance launches a major offensive across the border into Poland, in an attempt to link up with pro-democracy and pro-NATO forces.

2004. The Italian Republic launches an offensive into the Federal Socialist Republics of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Austria; and they are backed by expeditionary units of the other Mediterranean Alliance members.

2004. The Italian military operations into Austria and Yugoslavia forces the Swiss Confederation to officially declare itself in a state of armed neutrality, after the destruction of an elite Italian Alpine battalion when one of the Italian Alpine Brigades had attempted to use Swiss territory to launch their offensive into Austria when the Swiss used tactical nuclear explosives to close the passes into their country.

February 2004

February 2004. D

14 February 2004. <Excelsior> Rigid Airship Shipping Lines opens up regular civilian passenger service. Initially the company only provided services all over the United States and Canada, with limited service to Iceland and the United Kingdom.

February 2004. The 82n Infantry (Airborne) Division is moved by air to Saudi Arabia. The Mediterranean Alliance begins a Naval Blockade of the Aegean Sea to isolate Turkey from being able to be reinforced by NATO via sea. NATO Alliance perform a successful amphibious landing at Teriberka, USSR.

March 2004

March 2004. D

March - July 2004. The rift between the Danilovian and Tukhachevskyite blocks within the Soviet government and military remains despite Nikolai Tukhachevsky's best efforts to 'purge' those officials loyal to Konstantin Danilov grows as open fighting breaks out throughout Eastern Europe and rebellious Warsaw Pact states request aid from NATO and other western states.

March 2004. The Armed Forces of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia mobilize to provide support for Hungary & Romania in their attempt to 'go their own way' and leave the Warsaw Pact, unfortunately Yugoslavia will suffer greatly during the next year and half when they are caught between pro-Soviet Warsaw Pact and the co-belligerent Mediterranean Alliance force.

March 2004. The 9th Infantry (Motorized) Division, 101st Infantry (Air Assault) Division, 1st Marine Division and 24th Infantry (Mechanized) Division are deployed by air to Saudi Arabia.

March 2004. A second successful NATO amphibious landing is made at Teriberka, but they are still unable to flank the Soviet troops.

April 2004

April 2004. D

April 2004. Marital Law is declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Soviet 103rd Guards Airborne carries out a major air assault against Bandar Abbas, forcing the Iranian militia to flee. The front in Norway is locked in a stalemate.

2 April 2004. NATO Alliance launches Operation Advent Crown, the German 3r Army crosses the frontier into Polland near Gorlitz advances up the Oder River. The German 2d Army drives up the Baltic coast. The German 1st Army with the British 1st Corps drives through central Poland.

6 April 2004. David Bloom, NBC Field Correspondent dies from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). He will be remembered for his creation of the first "Bloom Mobile"... an Army tank recovery vehicle that was retrofitted by Miramar, a Florida-based company Maritime Telecommunications Network, with live television and satellite transmission equipment so he could continuously broadcast reports as troops made their way toward Baghdad. Bloom was traveling with the U.S. Third Infantry Division when he suddenly died due to deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism.

13 April 2004. The supertanker Universe Carolina is sunk while enroute to Boston. Military authorities announce in Boston that fuel ration will begin. American media outlets report that the Boston-area refineries were exclusively turning out naval light fuel oil and aviation fuel, leaving heating oil and civilian fuel short.

May 2004

May 2004. D

1 May 2004. The Peoples Democratic Republic of Iran is established by the Tudeh guerillas at Tehran, but only the Soviet Union and Syria recognize the new Iranian government.

11 May 2004. The British 4t Armored Division takes Kalisz with only token resistance. Wroclaw falls to NATO forces after being pounded to rubble. The Battle of Wroclaw leaves the Soviet 3rd Motorized Rifle Division heavy damaged.

17 May 2004. The British 4t Armored Division reaches Lodz.

June 2004

June 2004. D

17 June 2004. Warsaw is surrounded by NATO forces, the city beings to prepare for a siege.

27 June 2004. NATO Convoy of fast transports and cargo ships along with their strong covering force attempt to run the Mediterranean Alliance blockade to make port at Izmir, Turkey. Light fleet elements of the Greek navy savage the convoy during the night and escape relatively unharmed.

29 June 2004. NATO sends air strikes against Greek naval bases.

July 2004

July 2004. D

1 July 2004. Italian airmobile and alpine units cross passes into Tyrolia. Scattered elements of the Austrian Army resist briefly, but are overwhelmed forcing them to retreat. NATO advance elements close on the Soviet-Polish border, while the siege of Warsaw continues. The Polish Government moves the capitol to Poznan.

25 July 2004. Italian Mechanized forces enter southern Germany, with advance elements combating German forces around Munich. The British First and Second Armored Divisions immediately move against the Italians.

August 2004

August 2004. The 6th Air Cavalry Combat Brigade, suffering considerable attrition due to combat and mechanical failure is withdrawn to Saudi Arabia for rest and refit.

September 2004

September 2004. D

October 2004

October 2004. D

November 2004

November 2004. D

2 November 2004. The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday 2 November 2004. The Republican Party candidate and incumbent President, George W. Bush (R-TX) defeated Democratic Party candidate the junior US Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry (D-MA). Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the United States involvement in what the media has dubbed the Twilight War.

December 2004

December 2004. D

24 December - 25 December 2004. The unofficial Christmas Truce between troops on the frontlines occurs. The initial reason for the truce does not become readily known, but when it is learned that the truce was called by troops on both sides to rescue a burning orphanage and children’s hospital. The initial truce was to have only lasted till both sides were able to evacuate the building, but quickly grew to a point where both sides took children back to their encampments to receive medical care. During this period the officers and men on both sides start to come to understand each other. And the news that

26 December 2004 - 3 April 2005. As NATO forces start to near the Polish-Soviet board, the leaders of the Swiss Confederation are able use the success of the unofficial Christmas Truce between forces on the frontlines to convince both NATO and Warsaw Pact leaders declare a temporary ceasefire in an attempt to open peace talks in Geneva. The Soviet leaders jump at the chance to regain their footing and agree to talks, forcing the hand of NATO leadership to accept the peace talks. During the period of the peace talks sporadic skirmishes between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces occur all up and down the front in Poland and the Balkans. During this period both NATO and the Warsaw Pact devote their resources to other combat theaters.

26 October 2004 - 3 April 2005.
10 October 2003.
Premiere Konstantin Danilov is placed under house arrest by KGB officials loyal to Soviet Defense Minister Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky.

10 October – 17 October 2003. After a short weeklong period of apparent chaos within the Kremlin, Nikolai Tukhachevsky is able to succeed Konstantin Danilov as the Premiere of the Soviet Union and Secretary General of the Communist Party. One of Tukhachevky’s first acts as the Soviet Premiere is the purge of many of the Danilovians whom where in positions of authority in the Soviet armed forces, and prominent Soviet government officials. Instead of the purge killing the Danilovians, they are assigned to military operations on the Far Eastern Front against the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.

12 October 2003. After years of behind the scenes backroom dealing among hardliners who felt that Danilov had sold out Stalinist Ideals, Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky finally seizes control of the Soviet Government.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:54 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2005: The Year in Review

By early July, NATO advanced elements were closing up on the Polish-Soviet frontier in the central region, while continuing the siege of Pact-held Warsaw. The Polish government in exile established its temporary capital in the city of Poznan, and asserted its claim to the pre-1939 Polish borders in the east. In the Far East, Pact forces began major withdrawals all along the front, and the mobile elements of the Chinese Army began a victorious pursuit.

On July 9th, with advanced elements of the 1st German Army on Soviet soil, the Red Army began using tactical nuclear weapons. In the West, they were used sparingly at first, and for the first week were used only against troop concentrations no further than 50 kilometers from the Soviet border. In the Far East, however, they were used on a massive scale. Chinese mechanized columns were vaporized, caught in the open on the roads in imagined pursuit. Strike aircraft delivered warheads on the northern Chinese population and industrial centers still in Chinese hands. The Chinese response was immediate, but Soviet forward troop units were dispersed and well-prepared. Ballistic missile attacks on Soviet population centers were frustrated by an active and efficient ABM system, and the Soviet Air Defense Command massacred the handful of Chinese bombers that attempted low-level penetration raids. Within a week, the Chinese riposte was spent, but Soviet attacks continued. The Chinese communication and transportation system, already stretched to the breaking point, disintegrated. The roads were choked with refugees fleeing from the remaining cities, all of them potential targets. China began the rapid slide into anarchy and civil disorder.

On the western front, the forward elements of both armies on the Soviet-Polish frontier were hit hard by tactical nuclear strikes, as NATO matched the Warsaw Pact warhead-for-warhead. By late August, the first of the Soviet divisions released from the Far East were entering the lines. Although the front lines were fluid everywhere, they began moving gradually west. On September 15th, the siege of Warsaw was lifted, and a week later Czech and Italian troops began a renewed offensive in southern Germany. The southern offensive gained momentum, and NATO forces in Poland increased the rate of their withdrawal, practicing a scorched earth policy as they fell back.

The Soviet and Bulgarian forces in Thrace also began a major offensive against the Turks in September. The one-sided use of tactical nuclear weapons broke the stalemate, and by month's end Bulgarian tank brigades were racing toward Istanbul. Simultaneously, Greek and Albanian troops launched a drive against southern Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslavian Army began to break up. The Yugoslavian expeditionary force in Romania was recalled for home defense, but before it could return, Beograd had fallen to Italian mechanized columns. At the same time, the limited use of tactical nuclear weapons, the increasing numbers of Soviet reserves, and the withdrawal of the Yugoslavians caused the Romanian front to collapse. As War saw Pact columns swept through both countries, isolated military units withdrew into the mountains and began to wage a guerrilla war.

In the west, NATO air units began making deep nuclear strikes against communication hubs in Czechoslovakia and Byelorussia in an attempt to slow the Warsaw Pact advance. The Pact responded with similar strikes against German industrial targets and major port cities. NATO's theater nuclear missiles were launched against an array of industrial targets and port cities in the western Soviet Union. Throughout October the exchanges continued, escalating gradually. Fearful of a general strategic exchange, neither side targeted on the land-based ICBM's of the other, or launched so many warheads at once as to risk convincing the other side that an all-out attack was in progress. Neither side wished to cross the threshold to nuclear oblivion in one bold step, and so they inched across it, never quite knowing they had done it until after the fact.

First, military targets were hit. Then industrial targets clearly vital to the war effort. Then economic targets of military importance. Then transportation and communication, oil fields and refineries. Then major industrial and oil centers in neutral nations, to prevent their possible use by the other side. Numerous warheads were aimed at logistical stockpiles and command control centers of the armies in the field. Almost accidentally, the civilian political command structure was first decimated, then eliminated. The exchange continued, fitfully and irregularly, through November and early December, and then gradually petered out.

Pakistan and India waged their own nuclear war. Facing defeat, Pakistan launched a pre-emptive strike on India's economy and nuclear strike force. Although industrial centers were hit hard, enough of India's nuclear arsenal survived to launch a devastating retaliatory strike. The Indian-Pakistani war soon wound
down, as each country's economy no longer could feed its civilians, let alone supply military units.

January 2005

January 2005. D

February 2005

February 2005. D

March 2005

March 2005. D

April 2005

April 2005. D

3 April 2005. Peace talks break down between NATO and Warsaw Pact leaders when Soviet forces launch a major offensive to retake Warsaw.

May 2005

May 2005. D

June 2005

June 2005. D

June 2005. NATO Offense drives into Poland. The 8th Army Offense towards the Yalu River. The 1st Marine Division drives north and captures the airfield complex at Yazd but is heavily engaged by Soviet Mechanized forces from the Turkestan Military District and Afghanistan.

July 2005

July 2005. D

9 July 2005. The German First Army enters soviet territory, prompting the Soviet Red Army to use tactical nukes. Their first targets being Bialyostok, Poland and Harbin, Peoples Republic of China. NATO follows suit. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army for all intents and purposes is annihilated by nukes.

19 July 2005. NATO Alliance forces withdraw from Czestochowa, and the US 5 Infantry (mechanized) division detonates a 10kT nuclear demolition charge that severely damages the industrial section of the city.

20 July – 12 August 2004. The United States federal government starts to implement the preliminary steps towards the evacuation of the major cities of Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. The US Government moves European gold stores in the Federal Reserve in New York City out to Long Island due to fear of nuclear attacks. The use of nuclear weapons in Europe and China causes widespread panic in many major American cities that are feared to be targets for Soviet nuclear warheads. The Soviet counteroffensive in Europe is launched with the Battle of Brest where the 1s German Army comes under attack by the 3rd Guards Tank and 8th Guards Tank Divisions.

August 2005

August 2004. The East German 1st Motorized Rifle Division covers the withdrawal of Panzergruppe Oberdorf from Poland, taking heavy casualties. The 5th US Infantry (Mechanized) Division retires from Czestochowa into East Germany under German orders. German Troops start to withdraw from Silesia. British Army of Danube is able to halt the Italian drive through southern Germany. The 40th US Infantry Division suffers heavy causalities from tactical nuclear strikes in Poland, and is withdrawn into Germany to reform.

August 2005. The Soviet 14th, 41st and 114th Motorized Rifle Divisions land in the Alexander Archipelago and capture Juneau, Alaska. 62nd and 120th Motorized Rifle Divisions land on the coast of British Columbia. The Soviet 1s Army is sent to Iran. Some British units are withdrawn from Norway for reassignment to Iran. British 24t Infantry Brigade is sent to Poland to help NATO forces. Soviet 42n Guards Tank Division spearheads the Ploesti campaign in Romania, destroying the Romanian forces routed by nuclear exchanges. The Norwegian front stabilizes, and the Canadian 1s Infantry Brigade is withdrawn to Canada.

September 2005

September 2005. D

1 September 2004. The 1st US Marine Division successfully fights its way out of encirclement at Yazd and rejoins the main body of US I Amphibious Corps north of Bandar Abbas.

7 September 2004. The 25th Infantry (light) Division links up with elements of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army 31st Army.

12 September 2004. Czestochowa, Poland is retaken by Warsaw Pact troops.

15 September 2004. The Siege of Warsaw is lifted by the Warsaw Pact when the Soviet 7t Guards Tank Army breaks through. The British 1st Corps begins a fierce withdrawal action but is too heavily outnumbered.

18 September 2005. NATO tactical missiles strike Byelorussia and the Ukraine, hitting Kiev, Lvov and Odessa, severely weakening the Soviet attempts to build up the western front. The Soviet 87th Tank Division is destroyed in Kiev.

22 September 2005. The Czech and Italian forces begin a renewed offensive in southern Germany. NATO forces withdraw from Poland. Six Trident II tactical nuclear missile airburst strikes are made over Warsaw to slow Warsaw Pact forces and to cripple the road and communications networks are fied form a British submarine. Two other missiles hit military targets to the South East.

September 2005. The Czech and Italian forces drive into Bavaria. The 1s Armored Division is withdrawn from the Polish front to join the XV US Corps in southern Germany. NATO forces retreat from Warsaw, the 2nd Armored Division suffers heavy casualties from the tactical nuclear strikes. The 44th Armored Division returns to German. The 8th US Infantry division is withdrawn and rushed to southern Germany to battle Czech and Italian forces. The 3rd US Armored Cavalry Regiment suffers as a rearguard regiment. The 107th Armored Cavalry Regiment is surrounded by elements of the Soviet 3rd Guards Shock Army and abandons all vehicles, managing to make it out back to Germany. The 116t Armored Cavalry Regiment takes heavy causalities from rearguard actions. 4t Marine Division suffers heavy causalities from tactical nuclear strikes and retreats from the frontlines in Korea. The survivors formed around the 23rd US Marine Regiment while excess command and support returned to the US to form a new Division.

October 2005

October 2005. D

14 October 2005. Rotterdam, Holland is hit by a nuclear warhead. The Netherlands 304th Reserve infantry brigade is badly damaged in the blast, but is able to regroup.

October 2005. The 50th US Armored Division and 5th US Infantry (Mechanized) Division are shifted north under the command of the XI US Corps. While US and allied forces halt the Soviet drive further south, the 82nd fights a number of skillful holding actions against Soviet and allied forces from the north. The 4th US Marine Amphibious Brigade is moved south to the Baltic Sea and disbanded, reverting to the 2nd US Marine Division along with the 6th US Marine Regiment.

October 2005. Bytom, Poland is struck by a 2 megaton NATO tactical nuke.

October 2005. The Dutch 105t Recon Battalion returns to Holland for rest and refit. The tactical nuclear exchanges continue to gradually escalate.

November 2005

November 2005. D

7 November 2005. Ostrava, Czechoslavakia is destroyed by a 200kt NATO nuclear bomb.

24 November 2005 (Thanksgiving Day Massacre): A limited nuclear exchange occurs between the world superpowers, the much maligned Space Defense Initiative was able to force the hands of nuclear armed superpowers to keep the use of strategic nuclear weapons limited when they quickly learned that the odds against their ballistic missiles getting through the ballistic missile defense network. What had originally been a bluff, proves itself as a major defender of the American heartland. The first nuclear attack is carried out against the continental United States occurs with the first strike that is made against Washington, D.C. on Thanksgiving Day in an attempt to decapitate the American leadership. The nuclear attack will become known as the Thanksgiving Day Massacre by the Western Media. Thanks to the constant reports made by the American Media trying to keep the American citizens updated on the evacuation plans of the Civil Defense Corps and FEMA, provides the Soviet Union with a great deal of valuable intelligence on the American war plans. The Soviets use this information to use both conventional and nuclear weapons to hopefully pressure the Americans to either sue for peace or pressure them to accept a cease fire.

December 2005

December 2005. D

24 December 2005.

25 December 2005. The year Santa missed Christmas.

10 October 2003. Danilov is placed under house arrest by KGB officials loyal to Soviet Defense Minister Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky.

10 October – 17 October 2003. After a short weeklong period of apparent chaos within the Kremlin, Nikolai Tukhachevsky is able to succeed Konstantin Danilov as the Premiere of the Soviet Union and Secretary General of the Communist Party. One of Tukhachevky’s first acts as the Soviet Premiere is the purge of many of the Danilovians whom where in positions of authority in the Soviet armed forces, and prominent Soviet government officials. Instead of the purge killing the Danilovians, they are assigned to military operations on the Far Eastern Front against the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.

12 October 2003. After years of behind the scenes backroom dealing among hardliners who felt that Danilov had sold out Stalinist Ideals, Nikolai Ivanovich Tukhachevsky finally seizes control of the Soviet Government.

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:56 AM

Twilight 2000: Countdown to Armageddon
by Richard A. Spake ©

2006: The Year in Review

The winter of 2005-06 was particularly cold. Civilian war casualties in the industrialized nations had reached almost 15% by the turn of the year, but the worst was yet to come. Communication and transportation systems were non-existent, and food distribution was impossible. In the wake of nuclear war came famine on a scale previously undreamed of. Only the exceptionally cold winter delayed simultaneous epidemics. In the nations of the Third World, destruction of their major industries together with cessation of western food aid caused severe dislocations, with famine and starvation in many areas. With the spring thaw, the unburied dead finally brought on the epidemics the few remaining medical professionals had dreaded but were powerless to prevent. Plague, typhoid, cholera, typhus, and many other diseases swept the world's population. By the time they had run their courses, the global casualty rate would be 50%.

In Europe, France and Belgium had been hit the lightest and stood virtually alone in maintaining a semblance of internal order throughout the cataclysm. As refugees began flooding across their borders, the French and Belgian governments closed their frontiers, and military units began turning back refugees with gunfire. The French government authorized the army to move west to the Rhine to secure a solid geographical barrier. As the refugees piled up on the French and Belgian frontiers, a large lawless zone sprang into existence. Open fighting for food was followed by mass starvation and disease, until the lawless zone had become barren and empty.

The average strength of NATO combat divisions at the front had fallen to about 8,000, with U.S. divisions running at about half of that. Warsaw Pact divisions now varied widely in strength, running from 500 to 10,000 effectives, but mostly in the 2-4,000 range. Lack of fuel, spare parts, and ammunition temporarily paralyzed the armies. Peace might have come, but there were no surviving governments to negotiate it. Only the military command structures remained intact, and they remained faithful to the final orders of their governments. In a time of almost universal famine, only the military had the means of securing and distributing rations. Military casualties had been much lower than casualties among civilians.

In the Balkans, the partisan bands in the mountains of Romania and Jugoslavia had escaped almost untouched, while many Pact regular units had been destroyed in the exchange or had just melted away after it. The Romanians and Jugoslavians began forming regular combat units again, although still structured to live off the land and subsist from captured enemy equipment. At first, there was a great deal of enemy equipment just lying around waiting to be picked up.

There were border changes as well. The Italian Army formed the satellite states of Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia while the Greek Army directly annexed Macedonia. The Albanian Army, always a reluctant ally, first protested, then withdrew from the temporary alliance, and finally began sporadic attacks on Greek military units. At the same time, many Italian and Hungarian units were withdrawn from the Balkans and shifted to Czechoslovakia and southern Germany.

In North America, a flood of hungry refugees began crossing the Rio Grande, and most of the remaining military forces of the United States were deployed into the southwest to deal with the mounting crisis. They moved at the orders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now the de-facto government of the United States. Widespread food riots and violence in refugee areas were met with military force. The Mexican government protested, and within months Mexican Army units crossed the Rio Grande to protect Mexican lives. More U.S. units were shifted south. Scattered fighting grew into open warfare, and Mexican armored columns were soon driving northeast toward Arkansas and northwest into southern California. The front quickly stabilized in northeast Texas and central California. Elsewhere in the U.S. civil disorder and anarchy increased with the withdrawal of Army units.

In late June, the Pact forces in southern Germany renewed their offensive in an attempt to seize the scattered surviving industrial sites in central Germany. Actually, the most intact parts of Germany were those areas in the south which had been under Warsaw Pact occupation, as neither side was willing to strike the area heavily. Galvanized into renewed action, NATO forces made a maximum effort to reform a coherent front, and the Pact offensive finally stalled along a line from Frankfurt to Fulda. In late August, NATO launched its own offensive from the area of Karl Marx Stadt, driving south to penetrate the Pact rear areas in Czechoslovakia. The thinly-spread Czech border guard units were quickly overwhelmed and Pact forces in central Germany began a precipitous withdrawal to Czechoslovakia, laying waste to southern Germany as they retreated.

A simultaneous offensive by the Jugoslavian Army drove north in an attempt to link up with NATO. The Jugoslavians were halted near Lake Balaton, however, and then thrown back. As more Pact units arrived in Czechoslovakia, the NATO drive ran out of steam and lost its sense of direction. Troops were shifted west to garrison the recaptured but devastated south of Germany, and many lives were wasted in a futile attempt to force the Alpine passes into Italy. As the autumnal rains began, NATO and the Pact initiated a short and weak second nuclear exchange, directed primarily at surviving industrial centers in the United Kingdom and Italy.

Fighting gradually ran down to the level of local skirmishing as both sides prepared for another winter.

January 2006

January 2006. D

February 2006

February 2006. D

March 2006

March 2006. D

April 2006

April 2006. D

May 2006

May 2006. D

June 2006

June 2006. D

July 2006

July 2006. D

August 2006

August 2006. D

September 2006

September 2006. D

October 2006

October 2006. D

November 2006

November 2006. D

December 2006

December 2006. D

natehale1971

08-04-2011, 02:58 AM

Twilight 2000 Countdown to Armageddon: 2007
by Richard A. Spake ©

2007: The Year in Review

Once spring planting was finished, the United States Congress reconvened for the first time since the first exchange of missiles. Senator John Broward (D-Ark), the former governor of Arkansas who appointed himself to fill one of the two vacant senatorial seats, was elected President by the House of Representatives. General Jonathan Cummings, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, refused to recognize the constitutional validity of the election, citing the lack of a proper quorum and numerous irregularities in the credentials of the attending congressmen.

(Although Cummings' decision would later be widely criticized, there was much validity to his position. Many congressional seats were disputed; several of the congressmen in attendance were merely self-appointed local strongmen who had gained control of large parts of the old congressional districts, and some had never seen the districts they purported to represent. There was at least one confirmed shooting between rival claimants to a seat while Congress was in session.)

General Cummings declared a continuation of martial law until such time as a new census was practical, that being necessary for a meaningful reapportionment of congressional seats and presidential electoral votes. President Broward responded with a demand for Cummings' resignation, which Cummings declined to submit. While some military units sided with the new civilian government, the majority continued to take orders from the Joint Chiefs, particularly those overseas, for two simple reasons. First, the habit of obedience was deeply ingrained, and, in many cases, was all that had allowed units to survive thus far. Second, the Joint Chiefs controlled virtually all surviving telecommunications networks.

In North America, the main effect was a further erosion of central authority. Forced to choose between two rival governments, both with considerable flaws in their claims to legitimacy, many localities simply chose to ignore both.

The surviving foreign and national organizations dealing or concerned with the United States, choose between the rival governments. The German military government and Polish government in exile continued relations with the Joint Chiefs, while the partisan commands of Yugoslavia and Romania recognized the civilian government. The remnants of the Central Intelligence Agency obeyed the orders of the civilian government, while the Defense Intelligence Agency, loyal to the Joint Chiefs, organized a field operations branch to replace the CIA "defectors." Officially, forces of the two governments refrained from violent confrontation, but there were sporadic local clashes over key installations, occasional bloody coups within military units, and numerous assassinations and "dirty tricks" by rival intelligence agencies.

In the autumn, the dispatch of troops to Europe resumed, although only as a trickle. A few warships were available as escorts, and various old merchant vessels were pressed into service as transports. Initiated by the civilian government, both governments briefly competed in a struggle to outdo the other, viewing success as a litmus test of their ability to mobilize the nation. In fact, the call-ups affected only the Atlantic coast and led to widespread resistance. The dispatch of troops, supplies, and equipment to Europe made little sense to most, considering the appalling state of affairs in the United States.

The actual reinforcements sent included a small number of light vehicles and ammunition but consisted mostly of light infantry. Mortars were becoming the most popular support weapon for troops, as they could be turned out in quantity from small machine shops and garages.

In Europe, the fronts were static for most of the year. Low troop densities meant that infiltration raids became the most common form of warfare. The "front" ceased to be a line and became a deep occupied zone, as troops settled into areas and began farming and small-scale manufacturing to meet their supply requirements. Local civilians were hired to farm and carry out many administrative functions in return for security from the increasing numbers of marauders roaming the countryside. In other areas, the security the military unit provided to its civilians was from the unit itself. Many units stationed in barren areas drifted apart or turned to marauding when supplies did not arrive. Although most attacks by large bodies of marauders were directed at areas held by "the enemy", they begin to be directed at "allied" units as well, although at first not against units of the same nationality.

January 2007

January 2007. D

February 2007

February 2007. D

March 2007

March 2007. D

April 2007

April 2007. D

May 2007

May 2007. D

June 2007

June 2007. D

July 2007

July 2007. D

August 2007

August 2007. D

September 2007

September 2007. D

October 2007

October 2007. D

November 2007

November 2007. D

December 2007

December 2007. D