Alternate timeline/events for the Twilight War

[StainlessSteelCynic]

This page is taken from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine from a now dead page for GDW's 2300AD game. The work was done by Rob Myers, the original index page was http://homepage.mac.com/robmyers/jiex/index.html The specific Archive page for the following material can be found here

Twilight 2010.

The Twilight War.

The future history of 2300AD begins in the year 2000 with the end of the Twilight War. 2300AD does not describe the Twilight War in detail, but its scenario is taken from another GDW game; Twilight:2000, published in 1984. Twilight: 2000's scenario begins with the Soviet Union invading China in 1995, then turning to Europe when East and West Germany attempt to re-unify. As the war drags on, use of nuclear weapons in 1997 and 1998 slowly escalates to the point where half the world's population has been wiped out by the year 2000.

A second edition of Twilight:2000 was published in 1990 to take account of changes in the world since 1984, but its revised scenario was also soon made obsolete by real-world events. 2300AD's timeline is therefore now that of a parallel universe, which detracts from its "realistic" feel. The Twilight War forms such a major part of the moral and historical background of 2300AD that removing it from the timeline changes the whole character of the next 300 years. Moving the date of the war, and changing the scenario to reflect current trends, maintains the timeline and hopefully keeps the feel of the game.

The World Since 1990.

The real world has changed considerably since the second edition of Twilight:2000 was published. The Warsaw Pact is no more and NATO has expanded to include several former Pact member states (including Poland). With the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian army is restructuring to become a smaller, non-conscripted force supported by a significant nuclear capability.

Re-unified Germany is committed to the European Community (EU), NATO and the new European Rapid Reaction Force (RRF). Germany believes that its greater size, population and position in Europe should give it a greater voting rights in the EU. This has led to tension with France, and will continue to do so. In contrast, Germany and Poland are enjoying closer political, economic and cultural relations.

The United States is concerned that the RRF weakens NATO and has announced a National Missile Defense system (NMD) to protect itself against nuclear proliferation, leading Russia to announce its own anti-missile system in response. The US is reducing its military commitment in the Balkans.

Russia and China are co-operating militarily and economically. They are however competing for influence in Asia, and have conflicting allies in the region. China's "all-weather" support of Pakistan and Russia's of India means they are on different sides of a nuclear arms race.

Flashpoints between East and West remain in the Balkans, on the Russian border with prospective new NATO members, in the former Soviet states to Russia's South, in the Middle East, in Asia and on the Indian sub-continent.

The Revised Scenario.

2001 - 2004

The United States expels 40 Russian diplomats, beginning a new era of mistrust and competition between the two states. Despite this, the US begins to focus on China as the greatest threat to its security and scales back its presence in Europe.

The United Nations peacekeeping force remains in place in the Balkans with a reduced American presence as ethnic conflict continues there. Crime lords fuel aggression with black-market arms supplies. They are acting to protect their lucrative smuggling operations and have no interest in seeing order restored.

France becomes uneasy as Germany reasserts its political power in Europe and begins to increase its military capability under the umbrella of the RRF. Germany repeatedly requests more votes in the EU parliament and a leading role in the RRF due to its size, population and central position in Europe.

2005

China is losing many of its most skilled workers among illegal emigrants crossing the Russian border on their way to the West. After a series of border security crackdowns fail, China demands Russian assistance in tackling the problem. While the two governments argue over the issue, radical Chinese nationalist junior officers provoke a series of increasingly violent border incidents with Russian forces.

The conflict worsens to the point where Russia launches a full-scale land assault on China. Russia's initial rapid gains soon grind to a halt as the Chinese army deploys in force. Public opinion in Russia begins to turn against the war, and the Russian government begins looking for a way to restore its lost popularity.

In the Balkans, a new wave of Ethnic Albanian separatists in Macedonia attack government positions, dragging the country into civil war. The Hungarian minorities in Yugoslavia and Slovakia follow suit. Serbian groups in Bosnia take up arms as civil unrest and inter-factional fighting spreads throughout the Balkans. The RRF deploys to support NATO peacekeeping forces in the area, and Russia competes with America to send reinforcements.

2006

The conflicts in the Balkans spread North and refugees pour into Poland, leading to a familiar cycle of recriminations and border incidents with Slovakia and Belarus. Tensions rise between NATO and Russia as they compete for control of key Balkan positions. After American and Russian troops exchange fire during riots in Yugoslavia, Russia refuses to co-operate with NATO and begins strengthening its forces in the region. As Russian forces in the West mobilize to protect Belarus's border with Poland, NATO goes on full alert.

NATO gives Russia a deadline of 8am on August 8th to begin falling back from formerly neutral positions it has taken in Yugoslavia and Macedonia. Two hours before the deadline, Russian planes bomb roads and bridges in Macedonia, Poland and the Ukraine to prevent NATO advancing on Russian positions. NATO patrols fire on the Russian planes, which retaliate.

On August 28th, Russian tanks roll into the Ukraine and Poland. The officially given reason is to provide Russia with a buffer against NATO aggression, but Western observers believe that Russia is desperate to acquire resources to support its armies in China and the Balkans. A panicked German government sends its own tanks into Western Poland to prevent Russian forces advancing further. As Poland protests at both invasions, Germany demands and receives the presidency of the RRF from Italy. France refuses to support Germany's actions and withdraws from the RRF. American support of Germany silences British protests and leads France to withdraw from NATO as well.

2007

Routed in China and pushed back in Europe, Russia is running out of options. In China a full retreat is guarded by nuclear strikes, destroying the pursuing Chinese army. China prepares to retaliate, but Russia launches a full scale preemptive nuclear attack. What remains of China descends into chaos.

Russia detonates nuclear weapons in the path of advancing NATO forces to buy time for forces from the Far East to arrive. NATO assumes the attacks are aimed directly at its troops and responds with its own nuclear weapons.

The exchange escalates slowly, with neither side noticing when they cross the threshold of armageddon. Russian bombers destroy NMD bases in Europe, allowing both sides to destroy first military, then civilian and finally even strategic neutral targets. Civilian governments begin to collapse before the missiles stop falling by the year's end.

2008

Following a cold winter, the survivors of the nuclear exchange must face famine and disease as well as radiation poisoning and lawlessness.

The European front hardly moves throughout the year, with both sides failing to break through. War has spread to Greece and Turkey, and Italy and its neighbors. Nuclear exchanges in wars raging in the Middle East and on the Indian Sub-Continent bring the full devastation of the war to America and Russia's allies in the South. Only Australia and parts of the Far East are untouched by the conflict.

In the US, the Joint Chiefs of Staff become the de-facto heads of government with the death of the President and Vice-President. Any remaining traces of civilian government and industry are finished off by the final, weaker, nuclear exchanges of the war in the autumn.

2009

Without the resources to advance, both sides in Europe dig in for a relatively quiet year. The front is not so much a line now as a deep zone of conflict stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Africa and Asia are in the grip of famine and civil unrest. The West is in no condition to send aid, or even to receive word of the tragedy. As South America is wracked by war, refugees begin to cross the Rio Grande into the southern United States. America and France declare no-go zones along their borders for refugees. Many are killed trying to enter.

A legal challenge to the military government in the US sees a rival civilian government emerge. The military government refuses to recognize the civilian government, and retains control of overseas forces.

2010

The final reinforcements and supplies from the US governments reach Europe allowing the last tactical offensives of the war to be fought.

By July, there are no civilian or military authorities left in Europe outside of France and Belgium. There is no-one to continue directing the war, let alone negotiate its end.

Half of the world's population has died in the war, which has all but wiped out civilian government and left most major population centers in ruins. The survivors have a long, hard journey ahead of them.

Notes.
Thanks to Scott David Orr for information from Poland, and the Chinese immigrants scenario.