Command & Conquer Wiki

Welcome to the Command & Conquer Wiki! Log in and join the community.

READ MORE

Command & Conquer Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Third World War, also known as World War III, was a global conflict, triggered by an invasion of the United States by forces from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics two decades after the end of the previous war.[1] The Allies had won the war, but the rise of Yuri forced them to use the time machine to repeat the war and stop the psychic from taking over the world.

Origins[]

The Allies had won the Second World War and suitably, they set about "declawing" the Russian bear. They forced it to disarm, removing its MiGs and missile submarines, and installed a puppet dictator, Alexander Romanov. Although an aristocrat and a member of the Communist Party, Romanov was an outward advocate of peace.[2]

He did what the Allies wanted him to do: turn the Soviet Union into a benevolent force. It was benevolent, for a time, establishing relationships with other socialist countries and giving humanitarian aid. But despite this seemingly benign foreign policies as secretly, Romanov seethed with anger and bitterness. He thought of his predecessor, Stalin and how the Allies destroyed his beloved motherland.[3]

As such, Romanov made the decision to rebuild the Soviet Union as a military power. Unable to build MiGs, he researched Kirov airships and developed the technological marvel of tanks, being the most mighty and advanced tank of all: the Apocalypse tank. He also found other "resources", such as Yuri, a powerful psychic.

He also found General Vladimir, an excellent tactician. But best of all he formed, a very formidable navy ranging from Typhoon Subs to Dreadnoughts, the world would finally see the Soviets rival the Allies in terms of naval powers. Then, he made his move. Premier Romanov built up the World Socialist Alliance, outwardly a loose alliance meant to distribute peaceful economic aid to other socialist nations. Iraq, Libya and Cuba joined with the Soviet Union in the new alliance.[3]

RedAlert2EveofInvasion

World Socialist Alliance members, including Russia (in red) on the eve of Red Dawn and Lone Guardian. Blue is all of the Allies on the map.

Ultimately, socialist Mexico joined the WSA; the Soviet Union would then used a local revolution in Mexico as an excuse to move Soviet military forces from Mexico without arising any suspicions. In reality, the Soviets had moved a massive portion of their land army to Mexico, and was amassing amphibious assault fleets from Soviet fleets in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.[2][3]

The Invasion Begins[]

Soviet invasion confirmed!
- Ben Carville, confirming the President of the United States' worst fears(src)

One day, President Michael Dugan gets a phone call from General Carville. Dugan received the news of a full Soviet invasion. Both coasts were under threat from Soviet Kirov airships and Soviet naval forces were staging amphibious landings, along the northeastern coast. In a masterfully coordinated attack, Soviet troops that had been deployed in Mexico were racing across the Texas border as well. Along at least the eastern and western fronts, Soviet planes deployed huge numbers of paratroopers to sow confusion and weaken American pockets of resistance.

Dreadnoughts Kirovs San Francisco

The Soviet ships and their destructive weapons.

In the face of such massive Soviet power and realizing that a swift victory was the only way to prevent a massive war on American soil, President Dugan ordered an American nuclear response. However, he did not realise that the US military nuclear command channels had been compromised, allowing Yuri to transmit a signal that mind-controlled its listeners.

The mind-controlled nuclear silo crews launched their nuclear missiles, while the silo doors were still closed, making them harmless for the Soviets at least: exploding underground. With its nuclear arsenal disabled, the US had to bear the full weight of the invasion. During the early phases, Soviet forces benefited from both superior forces and the element of surprises.

Meanwhile, Soviet naval and aerial forces overran San Francisco and soon after that, the whole of the west coast fell with it. The Soviets then tried to capture New York City, but although they were successful in destroying the Statue of Liberty, they were unsuccessful in capturing the city itself. Agent Tanya was present in New York and destroyed the poorly defended Soviet supply base which had been hastily assembled. The recapture of New York would have to wait until later.

America Stands Alone[]

Romanov's sending his bulldog, General Vladimir, for our air bases. His forces are romping through the country like an angry bull in a Texas rodeo.
- Ben Carville(src)

The Soviet army's ground forces poured into the United States from Mexico, while naval and air forces attacked from the west and east, conducting a major amphibious landing in the northeast which quickly overran the region.

The scheme of Mutually Assured Destruction had broken down: the United States' nuclear arsenal had been destroyed harmlessly in their silos, but the Soviets were unwilling to use full-scale strategic nuclear weapons against American forces, as they wanted to conquer the mainland USA, not destroy it outright. Tactical nukes were used only sparingly by the Soviets during the war.

However, to "conquer" the stubborn American people, Soviet forces also began deploying "Psychic Beacons", developed by Yuri. Using the mind control powers of Yuri's Psychic Corps, the Soviets converted American civilians in conquered territory to be totally loyal slaves to the Soviet regime, thus stamping out most resistance before it started. Psychic Beacons were also used to enable the rapid fall of Washington, D.C..

President Dugan and the Pentagon's military command staff were briefly mind-controlled, before being rescued and evacuated from Washington DC. Before the city totally fell to the Soviets, the American government and military Commanders reallocated its HQ to Canada and struggled in a rapidly losing fight.

The main thrust of the Soviet invasion spread from the southwest across the Great Plains to the Mississippi, covering over a quarter of the country, while the amphibious Soviet salients in the northeast had spread in all directions. From Illinois, the Soviets mounted a drive on Chicago, an offensive which would cut the remaining free parts of the USA (in the northwest and eastern seaboard) in two.

The American military staged an amphibious attack from across the Great Lakes to retake Chicago soon after the Soviets advanced into the city, where they discovered that the Soviets had installed a "Psychic Amplifier". If activated, it would mind-control the whole of North America. Fortunately, the Americans were successful in destroying the Amplifier and repulsed the Soviet advance into the city.

However, the enraged General Vladimir ordered a nuclear bomb dropped on Chicago, destroying the entire American relief army as well as a large portion of the remaining Soviet troops in the city. This was the only time in the war that a full-scale nuclear weapon was used, in order to destroy a major US city. With Chicago in nuclear ruins, a major remaining American army destroyed, and the nation cut in two, the United States' situation was dire.

European Involvement[]

Our men will go nowhere until this threat is eliminated!
- German Chancellor(src)

However, the Soviets seemed to have bitten off more than they could chew. European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany had up until this point been unwilling to enter the war, because they were afraid that, in response, the Soviet Union would attack them with nuclear ICBMs. The nuclear bombing of Chicago frightened the European leaders, and they later became receptive to American requests for aid. The European nations would join the war, contributing troops and funds, if a US commando mission led by Tanya had succeeded to destroy two ICBM silos, located along the Polish border.

In one of the most important missions of the war, Tanya was successful in slipping her team past the border and destroying the missiles. The Soviets hid their remaining missiles deep inside Russia for safety. Even though, this meant that they were out of range of any European targets and strategically worthless after this point.

The European entry into the war divided the Red Army between the North American and European fronts, taking pressure off of the USA. Perhaps more importantly, Professor Albert Einstein who was working out of his lab in the Black Forest of Germany was able to develop new technologies to share with the Americans. Perhaps the most notable of these was the Prism tower, designed to counter the threat of Soviet Tesla coils.

Using these new assets, American forces staged a large attack on Washington DC and in the ensuing battle, the capital city was liberated. Much of the city had been left in ruins and several landmarks vandalized, but the city was now free of any Soviet presence and the Pentagon also remained intact. The tide slowly started turning against the Soviets and American officials returned home afterwards. During this time, the Republic of Korea joined the Allies in fighting the Soviets.

The Soviet fleet then attacked Oahu, hoping to annihilate the US Navy at Pearl Harbor and capture the Hawaiian Islands in order to stage further attacks on the American west coast. While the Soviets were able to capture Kauai and Niihau, wiping out the American presence on both islands, they failed to capture Oahu and were eventually repulsed. The success of the American defense blunted the Soviet advance throughout the Pacific theater, taking more pressure off of the contested American mainland.

With battle lines fluctuating, the Soviets mounted a counterattack against St. Louis in the state of Missouri, using another Psychic Beacon to take control of the city.

However, Tanya's commando team infiltrated the city and destroyed the Psychic Beacon located in the bombed- out Busch Memorial Stadium. Conventional forces were then freed to enter the city without fear of mind-control. By this point, the Allied army had adapted Einstein's Prism Tower technology into mobile Prism tanks. They served as a highly effective artillery unit, whose long range and heavy firepower proved devastating against enemy base defenses. St. Louis was liberated and the Soviets were again forced into retreat.

With the capture of a West Coast Allied base, the Soviets also captured a Prism Tower. Subsequently, they tried to reverse-engineering the technology at a laboratory in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, hidden in the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum. However, an assault by a crack team of American Navy SEALs was able to wipe out the lab. The Soviets had been completely removed from the northeast, and were rapidly being pushed out of the few areas of California, they still controlled.

Counting Up, Counting Down[]

By this point in the war, the continental United States had been liberated and US forces were pushing into Soviet-occupied Mexico, but internationally the World Socialist Alliance still held a strong hand.

The global conflict spread to almost every nation on Earth. Satellite countries in South America, Africa and Asia switched between Allied and Soviet control repeatedly. However, these were mostly sideshows and did not have a notable impact on the overall course of the war.

During this time, the Soviets started using some suicide bombers in a campaign of assassination attempt to take out top Allied Generals and leaders. One of these attacks claimed the life of General Carville, the Supreme Allied Commander.

Meanwhile, the Soviets realized that Einstein was responsible for many new technologies, the Allies were using to counter the advanced technology, the Soviets had been ready at the beginning of the war. Furthermore, they also learned that he was working on a new Chronosphere that would most certainly prove a great and posing threat to them.

As a result, the Soviets mounted a massive drive from the Polish border westwards, capturing much of southern Germany, as they moved onto the Black Forest in the southwest corner of the country (however, Berlin remained under Allied control). In a massive battle, the Soviets attacked Einstein's residence in a three-pronged attack using their new technologically superior Apocalypse tanks, the ultimate land weapons. However, the Allies were able to stem the tide of the Soviet advance, thanks in no small part to Einstein's new Mirage tanks, which were capable of disguising themselves as trees for surprise attacks. After a grueling battle that claimed the lives of many German soldiers, the Soviets were repulsed and Einstein's lab was secured.

Chrono-Invasion and Victory[]

Apocalypse Tank

Black Guard Apocalypse tanks, moments before being obliterated by a Harrier airstrike.

Realizing that it would take many years and cost many lives to defeat the Soviets using conventional weapons, the Allies developed the plan to use Einstein's new Chronosphere to teleport an invasion force into Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, Einstein determined that in order to do this, the Chronosphere would have to be constructed at the perfect place within Earth's magnetosphere and this site turned out to be on an island in the Florida Keys, "only a few short kilometers from Soviet Cuba". However, Cuba was the home of several Nuclear Silos and Terrorists in forming a great and major threat to the Chronosphere's deployment.

The Allies starved off wave after wave of Soviet attacks and mounted multiple air and amphibious assaults on Cuba in order to destroy three Nuclear Missiles which were about to be fired against the Chronosphere. The Allied attack on Cuba succeeded and the Soviets watched helplessly as the Allies activated the Chronosphere.

With the Chronosphere completed, every able bodied unit was rushed through the Chronosphere for a full-scale chrono invasion of Moscow. With the element of surprise and most of the Soviet army out in the field, the Allies were able to push through the city in a fierce urban-to urban combat battlefield.

Prism Tanks Moscow

Prism tanks prepare to vaporize St. Basil's Cathedral.

Teams of Allied vehicles, an MCV, as well as other forces were teleported in. Suddenly, Soviet forces found themselves fighting a battle within Moscow itself. Although surprised, they still had an operational nuclear missile silo as well as the secretly rebuilt the Iron Curtain device, both of which would prove extremely useful.

However, the Allies encountered these threats with a Weather Control Device and the Chronosphere. The Allies, eventually overran the entire city defenses and eradicated the Soviet superweapons. After eliminating Romanov's Black Guard, which included some of the finest, most elite and advanced Apocalypse tanks in the Soviet Union, Romanov refuses to surrender and swore Allied death in a shout from the Kremlin. Agent Tanya was brought in and her team stormed the Kremlin. She eliminated Romanov's guards inside and eventually found the great man himself - down to his boxers and underwear. This moment of utter humiliation was made public in the newspapers around the world for the Allied Forces.

Romanov was brought to the Parliament Building in Great Britain and forced himself to sign a treaty, proclaiming that the Allies were victorious and that the Soviet Union would stand down. After the treaty was signed, he was locked away in the Tower of London. However, in the chaos of the bloody Battle in Moscow, the Allies overlooked one critical detail: Yuri was nowhere to be found. This would prove to be a critical mistake on the Allied part, as now the whole world was in greater danger than the conflict had already began...

Aftermath[]

The Third World War saw an Allied victory, one again and however, they did not escape completely unharmed. The United States infrastructure and military forces were utterly devastated by the attack of the Soviets. Countless civilians and cities were lost from both the armies clashing and the area of Chicago was left highly irradiated after the Nuclear attack.

Europe sustained slightly less damage, but was still hit and the city of Moscow was devastated by the Allied attack, again and Russia was broken down to keep it from making any further military action. After the ending and some time later, there's trouble for Michael Dugan at a White House meeting with Yuri.

Major events[]

Allied missions[]

Soviet missions[]

RA2Sovietlogo The following is based on the Soviet campaign of Red Alert 2 and might contradict canon.

References[]

Conflicts
Advertisement