Rise of the Reds

Rise of the Reds is a modification for Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour created by SWR Productions. It expands the game by adding two new sides, the Russian Federation (a.k.a. the Socialist Republic of Russia), and the European Continental Alliance. Rise of the Reds will also bring back the nine alpha generals that were planned to be in the original Generals, but with a unique general assignment system.

The project saw its first release under the new management, labeled Rise of the Reds 1.0 SWR Edition, in December 2008, released a follow-up installment called version 1.5 in 2009 and gained further prominence after a merger with Sir Maddoc’s mod Rise of Europe, leading to the planned inclusion of the European Continental Alliance as a second fully unique faction that is currently in the making. Soon after the release, the development team relocated to its own independent forum at SWR Productions where Rise of the Reds along with the team's other projects has remained ever since.

Story
The take on the story starts 20 years after the events of Zero Hour.

The first two decades of the 21st century have not been kind to Mother Russia. After the end of the reign of Vladimir Putin in 2008, the rot prevalent during the Yeltsin years resumed its tragic march. The economy grew only sluggishly, chaos ruled the streets, and many outlying areas were in a state of civil war. To make matters worse, the rise of the GLA in Central Asia in the 2010’s further destabilized the rickety Russian Federation.

Once-pliant border states in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe were being turned into American satellites almost overnight. There seemed to be no way out of the maelstrom.

In times of trouble, Russians look to a strong man to restore order. That man was Nikolai Suvorov, head of the newly-revitalized Communist party. With his charisma and populist appeal, Suvorov swept the elections of 2016, gaining a solid lock on both the Duma and the presidency. Overnight, Russia passed from the hands of the doddering old post-Yeltsinites and into a new generation of rulers. With Suvorov at the helm, the Socialist Republic of Russia would rise again.

The GLA has driven the Americans out of Germany, France, etc… only to be destroyed in turn by China. With the Americans entering a phase of isolationism, the Chinese and (continental) Europeans create a mutual defense pact called the “Eurasian Unity League”, encompassing China and Europe save the United Kingdom, the Balkans, who want to stay out of this whole mess, and Spain and Portugal, who still allow a few American bases. With the formation of the League, relations between America and China/Europe start to sour.

The Americans accuse the EUL of a “stab in the back”, the EUL call the Americans cowards for leaving Europe. Relations between America and China are on the rocks when ROTR starts. The Americans still maintain some bases in the Middle East and Central Asia, but they’re mostly secondary installations.

The GLA leadership fractures after the European fiasco. Deathstrike and Juhziz control the Middle East cells, although there are still plenty of Dr. Thrax loyalists about. Recently, Prince Kassad, long thought dead, has emerged from hiding and has made a play for control of North Africa. The GLA cells in Iran, the ‘Stans go their own way, but are too weak to be any threat, and the Southeast Asian GLA unifies independently of Deathstrike and the other commanders. There are also a few sleeper cells around in Europe.

About two years after ZH ends, Russia goes communist once again, and abandons its neutral stance in favor of an alliance with the EUL. China takes on Russia as a junior partner in the EUL, working to the best of both parties. Russia gets Chinese and European economic assistance and a pass to bring the states of Central Asia and Eastern Europe under Russian aegis. The Chinese get an ally with a strong military, and one that will do some heavy lifting in Europe, allowing China to concentrate on interests closer to home.

However, in light of American actions on traditional territory, (including the deployment of American forces in Central Asia without Russian consultation, and the operations against GLA bases on Russian territory the new Russian government is strongly anti-American, and cares little for American interests. That’s where the ROTR missions start. There are four campaigns:
 * The Chinese campaign deals with China’s efforts to remove the GLA presence in Southeast Asia.
 * The GLA campaign focuses on the rise of Dr. Thrax and Prince Kassad over Deathstrike, and their move to drive the Americans from the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. However, these guys care little of the GLA beyond this area. As a result, about halfway into the campaign their arsenals are uprated with old Soviet export-market military equipment supplied from Russia to use against America. As a result, they give intel on some non-aligned GLA cells that are pestering Russia. Unfortunately, the Afghan middlemen the Russians are using sell some of this stuff to the GLA in Southeast Asia, giving China a hard time.
 * The American campaign deals with military actions across Asia to combat Thrax and Kassad, as well as some old-fashioned espionage against the Russians.
 * The Russian campaign shows Russia securing its interests in the Caucasus, Balkans, and Eastern Europe from independent GLA warlords, as well as taking a swat or two at the Americans.

Trivia
Originally, in the early stages of Generals 1, Russian and the European Union (alongside with the other factions) were suppose to be included in Generals (not Zero Hour) but the Russian and the European Union factions where cut from Generals. The concept art can be seen in this web page: http://www.cnc-source.com/forums/index.php?app=gallery&module=cats&do=sc&cat=57.