Scenario: World War III (Russia vs. U.S.)

Background and Causes
World War 3 was a conflict involving most of the nations in the world lasting from 2019 to 2023, the opposing sides led by the U.S. and its allies and a Russian/Chinese alliance (Axis Coalition). A number of factors contributed to the start of the war, including the total economic collapse of Europe, and the dissolution of NATO after Russian clashes with the Baltic States and Central Europe. After a series of global failures on the part of the United States, middle eastern turmoil reached a fever pitch and erupted into a series of violent wars, eventually developing into the unification of many of the middle eastern countries into a Unified Islamic Caliphate. Resentment of the United States grew at an alarming rate due to their failure to subdue Islamic extremists and to stop Russia from expanding into Europe, leading to an increased American isolation that caused an economic crisis since labeled Great Depression II, or Second Great Depression (2020-2032). With NATO weak and crippled and the United Nations falling apart due to global tensions building, no major forces were in play that could counterbalance the momentum of the Axis powers.

The war officially began on February 7th, 2019, when Putin invaded Ukraine, however, it did not become a world war until the invasion of Baghdad in September of 2019. The war escalated quickly after it began, developing into a nine-year long global conflict. The war ended in drastic rearrangement of national boundaries and the humiliating defeat of the United States and its allies. The nation was not destroyed and remained an independent nation, but faced harsh conditions and restrictions after its losses, and was forced to pay reparations. Russia absorbed much of Europe and central Asia, while China absorbed Korea and all of southeastern Asia and Indonesia.

The death toll of this war was 165 million, making it the worst and deadliest war in the history of mankind. Nuclear weapons were used twice causing around 4.4 million deaths. The rest of the deaths were either civilian or military during the course of the war.

2015
The year 2015 was a year of great global turmoil, as it saw the beginning of the economic collapse, later just known as "The Collapse" with the second American stock market crash. The crash led to decreased capital gains for all Americans, both business owners and workers. The Obama administration kept raising taxes on Americans and eventually many became too poor to contribute much to the government. The government then cut off most trade with South America and Asia, bringing the economic collapse to countries including Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. A series of revolts takes place across these nations, developing into a '''Brazilian Civil War. '''All South American countries were unhappy with their governments, but none could sustain a revolution except Brazil.

The United States cut off trade with China, which was a major historic event, bringing economic damage to both sides, but Obama believed that if the United States became fully independent from other nations, it could come out of this economic crisis ans rise above other nations once again. Japanese/United States relations deteriorated into more of a mutual resentment than a friendship due to strains put on trade. China reached out to India at this point in hopes that they could settle their differences and become friends, which at this point was unsuccessful. The border crisis in the United States remained unsolved until about one fifth of the population was of Hispanic origin. About 10-20% of these were illegal immigrants from Central America, which meant more people on welfare and less people paying taxes.

Europe's economy completely crashed in July of 2015, prompting about half of the European Union to leave the EU. The value of the Euro was practically zero after this event, and Europe began to feel the effects of the Collapse as well. Many European countries completely dissolved their militaries or cut down on defense spending in hopes of stimulating the economy.

Russia's economy at this point was one of the few that, while still not great, did not feel the effects of the Collapse ironically because of sanctions imposed by the United States. In fact, the economy began growing. Putin's Eurasian Economic Union began to crumble, however, when the collapse hit eastern Europe, including Belarus. Belarus entered state of turmoil, in which the pro-Russian majority, and anti-Russian minority got into a series of violent conflicts, though they were not severe enough to be classified as a civil war. In late 2015, a group of pro-Russian militants who wanted Belarus to become a part of Russia, spotted an anti-Russian political leader in Minsk along with a very angry crowd, protesting near the Prime Minister. Fearing that the situation might escalate into an attack on the Prime Minister, the pro-Russian group fires at the anti-Russian leader, missing and hitting Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, but not killing him. This led people to believe that pro-Russian leaders were plotting a government takeover a many became opposed to the Separatist Movement in Belarus and an increased awareness that although Belarus was supposedly supposed to be aided by Russia economically, they were still feeling effects of the Collapse. This sparked a political change in Belarus turning most of the nation against Russia.

2016
The United States policy of isolationism sparks an even bigger collapse within the nation and its military budget is cut down and its total personnel drops to around one million. Its navy is almost non-existent, but its air force remains intact. During this year, Chris Christie changes his party affiliation due to "the need for larger government" and is chosen to run with Hillary Clinton as her vice presidential candidate. The two appeal to both parties and win in a landslide comparable to Reagan's re-election, although do not carry Texas and most of the Great Plains states.

The Brazilian Civil War ends in the overthrow of the current government, but rebel leader Josè Rabelo, who is viewed as a freedom fighter against oppressive government, takes power and forms a communist dictatorship on August 1st, 2016. This strategy mirrors that of Fidel Castro of Cuba. Throughout the rest of this year, he helps communist revolutions across South America overthrow the socialist governments in Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador, failing in Uruguay and Venezuela. These countries begin to grow closer and form alliances based on disdain for the USA.

Indian and Chinese relations begin to improve as they begin trading with each other. The Chinese Border Crisis begins due to a lack of food and money in Southeast Asia as inhabitants of these nations begin entering China illegally from the south. The Russian economy continues to grow as nations around the world begin trading with Russia in the absence of the United States. The Eurasion Union is further tested by a civil war in Kazakhstan led by anti-Russian militants who end up being successful in overthrowing the government. The new President of Kazakhstan, Bakhtiyar Kussainov, while remaining part of the Eurasian Union, is vocally anti-Russian.

Europe continues to fall apart, almost every western European country declaring bankruptcy excluding the UK, which after a short war due to tensions from poor living conditions, splits into three countries, with Wales absorbing northern Ireland, and Germany. Germany and Denmark form a temporary economic and military alliance, Denmark becoming a territory of Germany in exchange for protection from the German Armed Forces, which began growing after Germany left the EU, becoming nearly the largest military power in Europe. This agreement stimulated the economy, which also became one of the largest in Europe.

Australia, sensing the impending conflict, began increasing its military budget, causing economic turbulence. Australia also purchased New Zealand for $67 billion, nearly bankrupting the country. Fortunately, there was still enough economic mobility for the government to earn this money back.

2017
Hillary Clinton took office this year, and the United States removed itself from world affairs almost entirely. The economy did not continue to get worse, but did however remain stagnant. ISIS began performing terror attacks in the continental U.S. and continued its conquest of the Middle East.

Brazil invaded Paraguay and Uruguay and conquered them, adding their territory to Brazil. The economy of South American countries began slowly but surely improving thanks to closely knit alliances and friendships. Rabelo suggested that the communist governments of South America form one large union called the Brazilian Union of Communist States (BCS), an idea that caught on fairly quickly with the union being established on May 14, 2017. The BCS would be ruled by the President, Josè Rabelo, but each individual nation would be governed by its respective leader, chosen by Rabelo. The BCS invaded Bolivia on July 3rd and it was added to the BCS a short time after, placing the majority of South America under BCS rule. In December of this year, the BCS would purchase South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands for $6.7 billion.

China declared that its government is barely sustainable without trade with America and increased trade with India and Russia. The Eurasian Union is disbanded after threats of war against Russia from Kazakhstan, and Putin calls Kussainov a "deplorable fool." Russian increases in military spending prompt talks of a Second Cold War between the United States and Russia, except this time, the United States was not likely to come out on top. Kim Jong Un threatens to invade South Korea if the United States does not remove its sanctions.

The United States invade and occupy Taiwan, giving it independence from China, and promise to defend it in the event of a Chinese counter-invasion, hoping to gain territory near South Korea in order to defend it in the event of a North Korean invasion.

On October 9th, Iran formally announced that it had nuclear weapons capable of reaching the United States, and that it planned to eradicate Israel from the face of the Earth. Canada began taking the place of the United States in the region, putting strict sanctions on Iran and threatening it with war if it attacked either Israel or the United States. It became apparent at this time that the United States was no longer defending other countries, other countries were defending the United States. The UN was disbanded on November 18 after, in a meeting, the representatives from the United States and several of its allied countries were shot and killed by the Pakistani representative, who was a member of ISIS. The building, however remained intact, should the UN ever reform. Japan suffers a devastating tsunami on both sides of the island, raising the sea level in some major cities.

European economies remained bankrupt, prompting chaos and anarchy in many countries, and Germany aided some of the governments in stabilizing their economies and restoring order. France begins a slow recovery after forming a temporary alliance with Germany known as the Franco-German Alliance. Germany surpassed England as the largest economy in Europe and nearly triples the size of its army in 2017.

2018
The United States entered another recession after new taxes went into effect on January 1st. Clinton vetoed the Keystone Pipeline three times during this year, and America remained dependent on what small energy it could obtain in Texas and desert states. Industrial advancement all but ceased, and the national debt exceeded $30 trillion. Canada began increasing its military spending greatly and soon was on par with the BCS.

The BCS economy fully stabilized and many people were generally satisfied with the government, save for a strict curfew and a few cases of citizen mistreatment. The BCS became one of the largest military powers in the world, surpassing all but China, England, the United States, and Russia.

China, Russia and India became very close due to their trade systems, and Russia entered an economic boom in which quality of life increased greatly. Vladimir Putin began to be hailed as one of the greatest modern Russian leaders and won his second election in a landslide. China's economy stops its downward spiral, but remains stagnant. A video of Hillary Clinton denouncing Putin as a "hotheaded narcissist" surfaced in December, and Putin began talk of expanding into Europe, and invited Clinton to try and stop him. Clinton warned him not to try anything like that while "the greatest nation on Earth stands in his way." Putin began funding several projects created to advance Russian military technology.

Yemen was absorbed by Saudi Arabia after its government was overthrown by a terrorist group. Iran ordered Israel to allow Palestine to become independent or "face utter destruction." This demand was carried out due to Israeli fears of abandonment by the United States. Iran began forcing people to enlist in the military, growing its manpower to nearly one million.

Germany continued its growth and soon became what was considered a "superpower" at that time. Some would argue that it was more secure than the United States during this period. England and the rest of the former United Kingdom continued to fall behind, and England was forced to cut down on its military.

2019 (Jan-Feb)
The United States economy remained in decline and widespread unrest settled on the nation. A role reversal had taken place between Russia and the United States -- Russia grew and its military improved, and the United States declined, as did its military. Many considered this to be the Second Cold War, but these people were sadly mistaken. Canada's military surpassed the United States.

The BCS military surpassed the United States, Canada, and England, behind only Russia, China, and Germany. Its economy surpassed China's as well. The BCS was still hesitant to attack any U.S. allies or the U.S. because it lacked allies.

Asian affairs remained generally the same, except for a failed Japanese invasion of Taiwan to secure more land for cities lost in the tsunamis. Putin finishes plans for a major war in Europe and Asia, and depending on how it turned out, the United States and Canada. China's economy entered a second decline due to the immigration crisis, and it decided to deal with the situation by force.

Germany's military surpassed Canada, the U.S., and the BCS after major legislation went into effect on January 1. The English economy stops its decline, but its military remained substantially weakened, and the Australian military surpassed it on January 1.

Sudan and South Sudan had a short war, resulting in the unification of the two nations.

Countries That Left the EU (15)

 * Cyprus
 * Denmark
 * France
 * Germany
 * The Netherlands
 * Austria
 * Hungary
 * Finland
 * Greece
 * Slovakia
 * Sweden
 * Malta
 * Romania
 * Slovenia
 * Portugal

Countries Remaining (10)

 * Belgium
 * Bulgaria
 * Croatia
 * Czech Republic
 * Baltic States
 * Ireland
 * Italy
 * Spain
 * UK
 * Poland

Countries that Left (13)

 * Albania
 * Denmark
 * France
 * Germany
 * Hungary
 * Greece
 * Italy
 * Norway
 * Romania
 * Slovakia
 * Slovenia
 * United States
 * Netherlands

Countries Remaining (12)

 * Belgium
 * Bulgaria
 * Croatia
 * Canada
 * Iceland
 * Czech Republic
 * Baltic States
 * Poland
 * Portugal
 * Spain
 * UK
 * Turkey

War in Europe

 * Fall of Ukraine (February 2019)
 * Baltic States Invasion (April 2019)
 * Scandinavian War (January 2020)
 * Warsaw Battles (January 2020)
 * Treaty of Paris (October 2020)
 * European Terrorist Attacks (January 2021)
 * Battle of Spain (April 2021)
 * Fall of Poland (April 2021)
 * Invasion of Britain (February 2022)
 * Invasion of Russia (September 2022)

War in the Middle East

 * Fall of Syria (July 2019)
 * Invasion of Baghdad (September 2019)
 * Establishment of the Caliphate (December 2019)
 * Invasion of Israel (September 2020)
 * Saudi Arabian Collapse (April 2021)
 * Fall of Egypt (April 2021)
 * Fall of Turkey (April 2021)

War in North America

 * New York/Atlanta Terrorist Attacks (August 2019)
 * Gulf of Mexico Naval Battle (March 2020)
 * Battle of Mexico (September 2020)
 * National Church Bombings (September 2020)
 * British-Canadian War (February 2021)
 * Fall of Canada (January 2022)
 * Invasion of America (March 2022)

War in Asia

 * Fall of Kazakhstan (April 2019)
 * Reunification of Korea (May 2020)
 * Fall of Pakistan (June 2020)
 * Fall of Southeast Asia (July 2020)
 * Indian War (October 2021)
 * Invasion of China (January 2023)

War in South America

 * South American Unification (August 2020)
 * Central American War (August 2020)

War in Australia

 * Sydney Terrorist Attacks (September 2020)