Robotech Campaigns Campaign Chronology

Robotech is a generational saga covering many decades. The following timeline shows the significant events for the period leading up to and following the First Robotech War.

1995 June Space Station New Frontier becomes operational. Disputes over the station contributed to the international tensions that would later explode into open conflict.
1996 Dozens of major conflicts erupt across the world. Almost all nations are involved in one or more of these conflicts, which become collectively referred to as the Global Civil War.
1999 July 21 A large object bursts through hyperspace into Earth's atmosphere and crashes on a small island in the South Pacific. This object turns out to be an alien warship, later christened the SDF-1.
1999 August Leaders of the world's nations call a cease-fire to assess the alien threat. Precise, accurate, and minute investigation of SDF-1 begins. The island is designated a UN sphere of jurisdiction. The Global Civil War ends, though the terms are not satisfactory to all parties.
1999 September According to first report of the study of the SDF-1, it is discovered that the alien spacecraft is military in nature, and its crew are on average, six times the size of human beings, with exceptional individuals exceeding fifty feet in height. Terrified by the all too real prospect of invasion from deep space, a plan is drafted to unify the countries of Earth and to establish an Earth U.N. Government.
2000 July Disputes and protests against a unified planetary government under the U.N. start in the Middle East.
2000 October In the Sea of Tranquility on the Lunar surface, construction of a large-scale permanent base, "Apollo," begins.
2001 January Inauguration of Earth U.N. Government and the establishment of Earth U.N. Forces and the United Nations Space Command.
2001 July Construction of a permanent Mars base begins.
2002 Global opposition to the U.N. Government is organized into the Anti-UN coalition. Over the coming years the Anti-UN will stage a series of military strikes against top-level U.N. targets as well as terror attacks against U.N. and allied military and civilian targets in a conflict referred to as the U.N. Wars.
2005 September Anti-UN forces hijack the UN Space Command Oberth class destroyer Tsiolkovsky and attack Mars Base Sara. The 3000 UN personnel there are killed and the base is abandoned. UN space destroyer Goddard under the command of Capt. Henry J. Gloval attacks and the destroys the Tsiolkovsky in the first use of Robotech reflex weaponry in combat.
2007 January U.N. Wars end with the defeat of the main Anti-UN army. Splinter groups remain and the Anti-UN remains a threat until the end of the First Robotech War.
2007 January 20 The U.N. Government becomes the United World Government and the UN Space Command is renamed the Robotech Defense Force.
2008 September Veritech fighter prototypes see combat for the first time in a series of skirmishes with Anti-UN forces in the South Pacific.
2009 February Launch ceremonies for the SDF-1 Macross begin, and are scheduled through the 28th, with the actual launch of the SDF-1 scheduled for March 1st.
2009 February 27 A Zentraedi fleet, commanded by Fleet Commander Breetai, arrives in the solar system and the war between the Earth and the Zentraedi begins. ARMD-01, -02, -03, and -10, as well as four Oberth-class destroyers, are lost in the initial battle, with the loss of two Zentraedi scoutships and a single cruiser. Attempting to evade the enemy the SDF-1, under the command of Capt. Henry J. Gloval, executes a hyperspace fold jump while still in the atmosphere. A navigation error sends the SDF-1 as well as the entire Macross Island to the edge of the solar system.
2009 March To avoid revealing the arrival of the Zentraedi to the general public UWG officials cover up the incident at Macross Island by stating that Anti-UN terrorists attacked Macross City, destroying it and the SDF-1.
2009 October 12 SDF-1 reaches Mars on their return journey to Earth. While resupplying they are attacked by the Zentraedi and are forced to destroy the abandoned Mars Base Sara in order to escape.
2010 March 10 SDF-1 punches through the Zentraedi lines and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific Ocean.
2010 March Initial efforts by Captain Gloval to persuade the UWG to let him relocate the Macross refugees currently on board the SDF-1 are unsuccessful. The government does not want the public to learn the truth of what happened on Macross Island the year before.
2010 July 10 Desperate to force the United World Government to allow him to resettle the civilians aboard the SDF-1, Captain Gloval begins low flights over cities by the SDF-1, while broadcasting his demands over uncoded frequencies. Eventually, the provincial government of Ontario agrees to allow the citizens of Macross City to disembark there. During an attack by Zentraedi warships on the SDF-1 while in Earth's atmosphere, Toronto and much of the surrounding countryside is destroyed when the SDF-1's omni-directional barrier overloads. Permission to resettle the refugees is immediately withdrawn.
2010 July 30 The SDF-1 leaves Earth's atmosphere under orders to sortie away from the planet. The United World Government hopes this will draw the Zentraedi forces away from the planet.
2011 January 27 In Alaska the RDF completes construction of the Grand Cannon, a massive reflex-based weapon designed for planetary defense.
2011 March Numerous Zentraedi soldiers take the opportunity to defect to the SDF-1 after exposure to "Micronian" (Earth) culture shows them a life beyond the warlike existence they have known.
2011 April 3 Veritech ace pilot Max Sterling marries Zentraedi defector Miriya in a ceremony broadcast live to the citizens population aboard the SDF-1 and outward where it is intercepted by the Zentraedi fleet. The effect of the broadcast causes the Zentraedi fleet under the command of Breetai to defy orders from their Supreme Commander Dolza to destroy the SDF-1.
2011 April 18 Breetai approaches the SDF-1 under a flag of truce and sends his aide, Exedore, to negotiate an alliance. In the face of the "contamination" of Breetai's fleet Dolza has brought the entire Zentraedi armada to wipe out the "infected" Zentraedi and to destroy the SDF-1 and the planet Earth. Earth is heavily bombarded from orbit, causing the destruction of the vast majority of the planet's surface in an attack later known as the Rain of Death. The Grand Cannon is fired in retaliation, destroying a large fraction of Dolza's fleet before malfunctioning irreparably. The SDF-1 and Breetai's fleet counter-attack. Almost all of Dolza's fleet and Dolza's base are ultimately destroyed, with Breetai suffering heavy casualties to his own forces.
2011 April 19 Victorious, but badly damaged, the SDF-1 is forced to land. Approximately a million Zentraedi ships survive the battle in serviceable condition. Under the cease-fire treaty, those loyal to Dolza surrender to Breetai, and the new combined fleet spends the next two months clearing Earth orbit of debris, and salvaging protoculture and supplies from the dead hulks. The recovered protoculture, it is agreed, is to be split between the Zentraedi and Earth. The First Robotech War ends.
2011 May Atmospheric Purification Initiative begun.
2011 September 11 The interim World Government is formed, with New Macross City (which built up around the grounded SDF-1 at its landing site in North America) as its capital, in order to supervise the Reconstruction of the planet.
2013 January 17 First mixed Zentraedi-human birth, when Dana Sterling is born to Max and Miriya Sterling.
2013 March Rioting by Zentraedi the world over begins. Patrols begin for the sake of maintaining law and order. The United World Government orders the forced relocation of the Zentraedi to where Earth forces can monitor them more closely.
2013 May Genetic studies support the hypothesis of a common origin between humans and the Zentraedi.
2013 June RDF troops and Zentraedi forces under the command of Breetai capture a Robotech Factory Satellite. After repairs are completed the satellite is folded back to Earth orbit.
2014 January The battle of New Macross City. Rogue Zentraedi commander Khyron launches an all out assault on the UWG capital. Khyron's ship, the SDF-1 and SDF-2 are destroyed and the city is left a ruin. New Macross City is quarantined and the majority of the population is relocated to Monument City.
2014 July The New United World Government is formally established with its headquarters in Oslo. Several nations refuse to sign on, most notably the newly formed Eastern Bloc Soviet Independent State.
2015 February The Army of the Southern Cross is formally established as an arm of the United Earth Defense Forces under the UWG.
2015 March Construction of Expeditionary Forces vessels begins aboard the captured Robotech Factory Satellite in preparation for the large scale mission to find the homeworld of the Robotech Masters.
2016 Preliminary navigational surveys are conducted with long-range advance scout vessels, laying the groundwork for the main Robotech Expeditionary Force.
2016 February Moon and Mars bases are re-established.
2016 May Deep Space Communications base Io is constructed at Jupiter to maintain contact with the Expeditionary Force scout vessels.
2017 Attacks by rogue Zentraedi, called Malcontents, increase across the globe. Fighting is fiercest in Africa and North and South America.
2017 September An Expeditionary Force task force captures a second Zentraedi factory satellite. The newly captured facility is named Space Station Liberty and work begins on converting it for human use.
2018 August Jupiter Base Io is fully operational and receiving reports from the Expedionary Force scout vessels.
2018 September Zentraedi Malcontent factions across the globe are secretly united under a new Zentraedi commander.
2018 December The newly organized rogue Zentraedi forces begin major offensives in South America. This is the start of the Malcontent Uprisings.
2019 January A huge Zentraedi army hidden in the Congo in Africa is discovered by RDF and EBSIS forces before it can launch a surprise offensive. The Malcontent Uprisings now include conflicts in Africa, Europe, Indonesia, and North and South America.
2019 September To combat the Malcontent forces the EBSIS reluctantly forms an alliance with the UWG.
2020 March RDF forces in South America under the command of Max and Miriya Sterling rout the Malcontent forces there, liberating the Zentraedi-occupied city of Manaus in the process.
2020 April The last of the Malcontent forces are eliminated in a combined RDF-EBSIS operation in central Africa. The Zentraedi leader is killed, ending the Malcontent Uprisings.
2020 June EBSIS forces left in Africa after the Malconent Uprisings refuse to leave the former Ethiopian Free Holding (an independent nation overrun by the Malcontents early in the Uprisings). The EBSIS lays claim to the territory and its rich petroleum and natural gas resources.
2020 October As a result of the Malcontent Uprisings the UWG requires that all loyal Zentraedi be micronized. An exception is made for a few thousand loyal troops that will crew Zentraedi vessels designated as part of the Expeditionary fleet.
2021 Newly designed Robotech Expeditionary Force mecha move into full production and training of the Expeditionary Force personnel begins in earnest.
2022 May The Army of the Southern Cross formally assumes the role of primary Earth defense force as the majority of the RDF facilities are shut down or transferred to Southern Cross control and the personnel assigned to the Robotech Expeditionary Force.
2022 October Final preparations begin for the departure of the REF Pioneer mission to find the Robotech Masters homeworld.
2022 December SDF-3 launches and takes its position as the flagship of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, marking the official start of the Pioneer mission.
2023 January The Robotech Factory Satellite folds to join the Pioneer mission as a support facility but does not arrive. Its fate remains unknown.
2023 February After years of tension the EBSIS ends its alliance with the UWG forged during the Malcontent Uprisings.
2023 March Dozens of independent nation states break away from the UWG.
2023 June The UWG is formally dissolved.
2023 July 1 A new United Earth Government is formally established in the place of the UWG with former UWG senator Wyatt Moran as its first Prime Minister. The EBSIS refuses to take part in the new government and remains independent, as do many other nations. The UEG retains control of the United Earth Defense Forces, including the Army of the Southern Cross and the remaining RDF forces.
2023 September Space Station Liberty assumes the role of primary communications link with the Expeditionary Fleet. Jupiter Base Io is maintained as a scientific research role base and backup communications link.
2024 The EBSIS begins a major expansion to the east into Asia.
2026 The EBSIS consolidates its eastern borders with the creation of the East Asian Soviet Protectorate.
2027 October The EBSIS constructs a major military installation on the Korean peninsula and begins massing troops there.
2028 March The EBSIS starts major oil drilling and refining operations in the Middle East.

Note: this is the timeline for my Robotech RPG campaign universe and differs from the official Robotech timeline.

Events from the different Robotech RPG campaign games are covered in the separate sections of this web site covering those games.

Approximate date ranges for the games are:

Warp Zone | Robotech RPG | Campaign Chronology