Shadow Play (Prelude to War)
During the earliest phase of the conflict the NWO remained hidden, manipulating events behind the scenes. The group's initial efforts were directed at increasing tensions between the UEG and EBSIS in the hopes of sparking an armed conflict that would potentially cripple one or both governments, paving the way for the NWO to take control. The first event of this shadow war is generally considered to be the bombing of the Tokyo Bay Bridge in September of 2028. What initially looked like a terrorist act was instead revealed to have been what appeared to be a Soviet covert air strike against the city. Less than a week after that came a false air raid alert, prompted by an intrusion into the Japanese defense computer network. The discovery of a covert squad of EBSIS battloids in Osaka further inflamed fears of an imminent EBSIS invasion of the Far East Sector, despite continued denials from Moscow. Air strikes against Perth and Ascendance City further raised tensions between the two world powers, as did apparent retaliatory air strikes by the Southern Cross against Soviet oil facilities in Africa (actions denied by the UEG).
Despite all of this, some intelligence reports raised the possibility of a third party agitator. This theory gained support in both government's intelligence circles when a pair of ATAC and EBSIS defied orders and instead of attacking each other (based on false intelligence planted by the NWO) they realized something was wrong and through combined efforts uncovered a secret mecha factory hidden in the Himalayas. Despite efforts by the mysterious group running the factory to destroy any intelligence before the factory fell to the combined mecha teams enough information was saved to bolster the theory of a third party being involved in the recent attacks.
Open Warfare
The growing evidence of a third party led to a diplomatic conference between the UEG and EBSIS in the neutral city of Shanghalla in December of 2028. The NWO destroyed the city with a surplus submarine-launched Russian nuclear missile in an effort to destroy both negotiating teams and sow chaos. Though the city was destroyed, both negotiating teams were evacuated in time. With no doubt left of the existence of a third party, the NWO went public with a global radio broadcast announcing their existence and their stated aim of taking down the two world powers, who the NWO accused of mistreating the countless refugees within their borders and keeping secret advanced technologies that could alleviate the global suffering still occurring almost twenty years after the alien attack that nearly wiped out humanity.
Following this announcement it was revealed that the NWO had been in secret negotiations with several independent nation states around the world. In exchange for military aid, mainly in the form of fully trained and equipped NWO mecha forces, these nation states had agreed to support the organization's goals. Shortly after the public announcement of the NWO's existence many of these nation states began offensive operations against UEG and EBSIS targets, or against neighboring states allied with the world powers. In addition to these allies, the NWO had also inserted guerrilla warfare experts into several unstable regions within the borders of UEG and EBSIS holdings, mainly into areas with large refugee populations that would be sympathetic to the NWO cause. These experts consolidated local resistance into potent insurgency groups that launched a series of terrorist attacks and popular uprisings in those regions.
Theaters of War
North American Theater
Beyond minor terrorist acts occurring in major centers like Monument City, New Detroit, Yellowstone City and Mexico City, the majority of the open conflict during the war centered around the southeast of North America. York Barony was revealed as one of the NWO allied states and used its newfound military power to finally take over the Arkansas Protectorate. At that point the Barony declared the creation (some would say restoration) of the Confederate States of America. In short order the city of New Orleans also became part of the CSA, offering no resistance, and capital city was established in the city of New Atlanta (an essentially brand new city created by the amalgamation of several small townships and a massive building effort). The CSA next turns its eyes towards the Florida panhandle, seeking to expand its territory across the entire southeast. Due to the extensive support of the NWO the Confederate Army was able to drive back the isolated UEG forces, forcing them to abandon the area and retreat to allied Cuba. The CSA assumed control of the former TAF base at Fokker Field and renamed it Fort Lee. Though they would threaten to expand westward, and Confederate forces engaged UEG forces from Fort Baker on a few occasions, the Confederacy's borders remained relatively constant throughout the remainder of the war and would be officially established by treaty at the end of the conflict
The only other major area of concern for the UEG in North America during the war was the Quebec Quadrant. Though not an initial ally of the NWO, once the global conflict erupted Quebec entered into several agreements with the NWO, offering natural resources in exchange for military and technical aid. Thanks to these agreements, New Quebec was finally able to establish a small but viable military mecha force. UEG forces at Ontario Base and Monument City spent much of the war preparing for Quebec to launch an offensive to expand its borders but this anticipated new offensive front never occurred.
South American Theater
South America saw considerably more open conflict than North America. The primary threat, at least in the view of the UEG and EBSIS, was the surprise revelation that the Merchant Republic had allied itself with the NWO. In rapid succession New Patagonia and Juaquin fell to the Republic and Ascendance City was under threat, causing the UEG to dedicate considerable resources to the protection of the birthplace of the Army of the Southern Cross.
The other major conflict area during the war was in West Brazilia. The warlord ruling La Paz and the area around Lake Titicaca had allied himself with the NWO, giving him the military might to conquer his rival warlords in the region. This newly consolidated territory was named Nuevo Tahuantinsuyo, or the New Incan Empire. By the end of the war most of West Brazilia was under its control, with only a small buffer area remaining to shield Venezuela Quadrant.
In addition to the open battlefronts in the area, major insurgencies erupted in the cities of Manaus and Federale, turning these large cities into small war zones with multiple factions vying for control and an overtasked UEG trying to regain control. By the end of the war the UEG had completely abandoned Manaus, leaving the city in chaos.
Beyond the looming threat from West Brazilia, Venezuela Quadrant only suffered from minor insurgent terrorist attacks, and occasional air strikes launched from the Merchant Republic.
European Theater
The European Theater of World War IV consisted solely of insurgencies in major cities. The refugee camps around Copenhagen was the source of the only uprising to threaten UEG interests in the region, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties and tying up UEG forces in pacification and humanitarian operations.
Even prior to the war there had been underground independence movements in the German and Polish Soviet Protectorates. NWO guerrilla warfare experts took advantage of these pre-existing movements to create strong, well-trained insurgency groups that launched frequent terrorist attacks against Soviet resources in Europe, forcing the Soviets to engage in major pacification operations to suppress these activities.
African Theater
The NWO had two major allies in Africa, the Islamic African People's Republic and the newly formed Kingdom of Kongo. The Islamic Republic was already a major player in North Africa. With the backing of the NWO, its military might increased exponentially. Though the UEG feared an imminent attack on their base in Niamey, the Islamic Republic instead launched an offensive across the desert wastelands towards the Soviet African territory, apparently intent on reclaiming the Islamic Holy Lands. While there were some skirmishes between UEG and Islamic forces, the majority of the Republic's attacks were directed at the Soviets in North Africa.
The Kingdom of Kongo consisted of several of the independent factions operating in the old Congo Quadrant disputed zone. NWO advisors had managed to pull these often hostile groups together into a coherent entity that launched a major offensive into Southern Africa. Luanda, already secretly allied with the Merchant Republic, sided with the NWO immediately. The under-equipped UEG base at Fort Hope was completely overwhelmed and fell immediately, giving the NWO control over much of the southern half of the continent. The Empire of Zimbabwe, though not directly allied with the NWO, remained neutral throughout the war, and often allowed NWO forces to pass through its territory.
The only other region of conflict in Africa was within the Congo Quadrant itself, with NWO forces assaulting UEG Fort Victoria and making forays into the Soviet holdings in the former Ethiopia.
Asian Theater
Multiple fronts opened in Asia targeting both UEG and EBSIS interests. In western India Quadrant, disparate Muslim tribes were brought together under a single leadership umbrella to form what was referred to as the new Mughal Empire. From this location both Soviet assets in the Middle East and UEG assets in India came under heavy attack. Minor insurgent activity also started up in many other Indian cities. Also threatening UEG targets in India were the forces of the China Quadrant. The new Red Chinese Army had been heavily supplied with mecha forces in the lead-up to the war and they quickly opened up multiple fronts. Chinese forces were simultaneously engaging UEG forces in eastern India and marching north into Manchuria Quadrant, where resistance was quickly overwhelmed and the Manchurian government forced to retreat back to Taiwan. The Chinese also moved south, annexing territory into the Thai peninsula to link up with their Indonesian NWO allies. The Chinese advance was only halted when EBSIS forces begin a counteroffensive into Manchuria Quadrant from their East Asian territory.
In addition to China Quadrant and the Muslim tribes, the NWO had also formed an alliance with a powerful Indonesian warlord. With NWO backing this warlord seized control over Indonesian territory, eliminating his rivals and proclaiming his new nation as the Sultanate of Indonesia with himself as absolute ruler. Once the Sultanate had control over the immediate region, its NWO-backed army began a major offensive into New Guinea, forcing the UEG forces to retreat to the base at Port Moresby and threatening nearby Australia (see Oceania Theater below).
Even Japan was not completely safe, as NWO terrorist cells conducted many small but effective attacks on civilian and military targets across the Far East Sector. Asia had also been the site of the first open shot of the war, namely the nuclear destruction of the island city of Shanghalla.
Oceania Theater
Oceania was the site of major fighting during the war, with the Indonesian assault on New Guinea being particularly bad. UEG forces on the island were driven back to their base in Port Moresby and early in the war there was a very real prospect of having to retreat from the island completely. This would have placed the NWO within easy striking distance for a full-on invasion of Australia, something the UEG simply could not afford. In addition to the open fighting in New Guinea, there were also NWO-sponsored uprisings and insurgencies in the refugee camps in Borneo and in the Australian cities of Darwin and Brisbane. Periodic terrorist strikes against Perth and small scale raids from Indonesia also took their toll.
In addition to the conflict raging around New Guinea and Australia, the NWO were also sponsoring operations in Manila, with the aim of allowing a single warlord to seize power and adding another nation state to their alliance.
The Tide Turns
Early NWO victories were more due to surprise than to any military superiority. Most of the NWO's gains occurred in the first month of the war. By February 2029 the situation in North America had stabilized, with the Confederacy content with its recent gains, and the realization that Quebec would not take any offensive action. That freed the UEG to deploy extra forces to South America, where the situation was more dire. However, even though they had no land-forces, or even territory, in South America, the Soviets were able to deploy the bulk of their prodigious Atlantic fleet to deal with the Merchant Republic (as they had only an insurgency to deal with in Europe, and no west African holdings, that required an Atlantic naval resource). This severely impacted the Republic's ability to receive additional support from NWO assets overseas and helped to slowly turn the tide. The Republic's rapid expansion stalled, and despite heavy losses in the defense of Ascendance City, the UEG was able to start a counteroffensive. By the spring the Soviets were landing ground forces into Argentine Quadrant to open a second offensive against the Merchant Republic. The stabilization of the situation in North America also allowed UEG forces from Mexico Quadrant to come south to support Venezuela Quadrant. This helped to halt the NWO advance in West Brazilia and prevent enemy forces from entering Columbia.
In Europe, the Soviets engaged in brutal pacification methods to quash the uprisings in its German and Polish control areas, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the insurgencies there. In UEG territory, the insurgency was contained to Copenhagen and did not spread into Scandinavia, resulting in large civilian casualties but few military consequences for the UEG. Africa was another story, though, as both UEG and Soviet forces remained on the defensive for much of the war.
In Asia the fiercest fighting continued, with the NWO-backed Chinese maintaining its offensive push, though its territorial gains had greatly slowed once Soviet forces moved into Manchuria. In Oceania, after an initial counteroffensive in January failed to stop the Indonesian advance in New Guinea a second counteroffensive with additional forces drawn from UEG bases across the region successfully pushed the NWO forces back. Later that month UEG forces in Australia were able to pacify the city of Darwin, cutting off a major entry point for insurgents onto the continent. UEG forces followed up this successful operation with a similar one in March in the Philippines that succeeded in putting the entire city of Manila under UEG control and succeeded in destroying some of the NWO's major naval assets.
Momentum truly began to turn against the NWO and its allies at the end of March 2029 when the UEG and EBSIS entered into a formal alliance, temporarily setting aside their differences in order to tackle the common enemy. With no need to worry about potential Soviet aggression in Europe or the Far East Sector, the UEG was able to dedicate even more of its forces to trouble spots elsewhere.
Victory
In April of 2029, the UEG began a major offensive operation into the China Quadrant from India. At the same time, reinforced Soviet forces were driving Chinese forces south out of Manchuria Quadrant and back into their own territory. By May the Chinese had lost all the territory gained earlier in the war, and now had the UEG driving into their borders in the south and west and EBSIS invading from the north. At the same time the combined EBSIS and UEG forces in South America had successfully contained the Merchant Republic.
A major blow against the NWO was struck in June of 2029 when UEG space forces located and destroyed the NWO's orbital mecha factory, a major source of mecha and pilots used to reinforce the NWO's allies. This left only a single major NWO production facility in operation (in Africa, though this was not known until later), severely curtailing the NWO's ability to resupply its allies with advanced weaponry. By July the only major fronts still active in the war were in Africa. The UEG landed troops in southern Africa in early July, taking the city of Luanda and reclaiming the base at Fort Hope by mid-month. By the end of the month the Islamic Republic had halted its advance, retaining a claim on a large swath of wasteland but not having gained any territory from the Soviets. The rapid UEG advance into southern Africa shattered the fragile alliance that was the Kingdom of Kongo, which soon splintered back into several warring factions.
In August, UEG forces moved deep into the Congo Quadrant, where intelligence had pinpointed the last major NWO base. Located in the ruins of the never completed African Grand Cannon, the base was taken by UEG special forces in early August, resulting in the capture of NWO political leader Malachi Kessler and chief scientist Dr. Jakob Erlich. With the loss its the central control the NWO alliance shattered, leaving the various NWO allied factions on their own with little outside support. Aside from minor battles still in progress, the war was effectively over.
Aftermath
Though it lasted less than a year the second Global Civil War dramatically altered the political landscape across the Earth. In North America the newly created Confederate States of America remained intact and well-armed, creating a new political power on the continent. The Quebec Quadrant also retained its new mecha army, presenting a new potential threat to valuable UEG assets in the region. In South America the Merchant Republic quickly surrendered to the EBSIS forces off its shore. Soviet forces quickly occupied the Republic, making it a de facto EBSIS protectorate and giving the Soviets a foothold in South America. In West Brazilia the Nuevo Tahuantinsuyo was the new power and still remained a threat to the independent nation of Columbia in neighboring Venezuela Quadrant.
In central Asia, the Soviets had quashed the Muslim forces, which splintered into several smaller tribal factions. These factions, though no longer united or backed by the military power of the NWO, continue to engage in insurgent attacks against both EBSIS and the UEG in the region. In southeast Asia, though driven back from New Guinea, the Sultanate of Indonesia remained intact and in control of the region, presenting a continued threat to UEG territory in the area. By far the biggest change in the area was in China Quadrant. The NWO allied nation that had the greatest success at the start of the war was now occupied territory, split in two with the Soviets controlling the north and the UEG controlling the south, a modern day equivalent of East and West Germany from the previous century.
With the external threats ended or contained, the temporary alliance between the UEG and the EBSIS collapsed and tensions between the two began again. This time, however, both world powers were on a war footing, and by early 2030 the risk of open war was again on the rise.