The Stone-Faced Witnesses

"Stone-Faced Witness" was a battle fought on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean, between Soviet and Allied forces, and between Soviet forces loyal to Premier Cherdenko and those who were considered a threat by the Premier and marked for elimination.

Background
With the Empire of the Rising Sun destroyed (see "To Tame a Living God"), the war became a two-sided struggle between the Soviets and the Allies. The two sides had agreed to meet on Easter Island to discuss a peace treaty, but Premier Cherdenko had formulated a plan to ambush the Allied fleet travelling to Easter Island, ordering two Soviet commanders to build a fleet and destroy the Allies as they approached the island. Unbeknown to both the Soviet commanders and the Allies, Cherdenko had constructed a secret fortress built into the volcano on the island, and had built up a large force there under his personal command.

Part 1 - The Ambush
The Soviet commanders built up their bases in the south-east of the island, next to the harbour and the huts where the peace conference was supposed to take place. The Allies, rightly suspecting an ambush, had a large, well-armed escort accompanying the Allied envoys. As the Allied moved near the island, the commanders struck. In the naval battle, the envoys and the escorts were sent to the bottom of the Pacific. Meanwhile the Allies had landed on a small island nearby and were preparing for a counter-attack. This base was quickly destroyed by the Soviet forces.

Part 2 - The Betrayal
Once the Allies were vanquished, Premier Cherdenko launched the secret phase two of his plan. He now denounced his (unnamed) commander as a traitor to the Soviet Union, and attacked with the loyalist troops on the island. The Soviet intelligence officer Dasha, and the co-commander Zhana however decided to support the commanders. The commander was advised to destroy the support structures of the Volcano Fortress. The fortress however was well-defended, and the Premier also had a number of advanced weaponry, including Tesla Tanks and the Vacuum Imploder. In a brutal battle the support structures were destroyed, and the Volcano Fortress collapsed in on itself, burying the Premier.

Consequences
It was revealed afterwards Cherdenko had faked the attempt on his life and framed General Krukov and was responsible for the subsequent disappearance of Dr. Zelinsky, in order to eliminate the witnesses to the time travel incident that brought him to power. With the Allies reeling from their defeat the time was deemed right for the assault on the United States.