World War III (Friedman)

The Third World War began in earnest on November 23rd, 2050 with the Japanese coordinated assault on America's Battle Star Network and domestic air bases. The attack crippled the Alliance's space systems and allowed for Turkey to begin a wider assault on the Polish Bloc. and India.

Using what little air power remained, and bolstering their diminished space forces with secretly stockpiled satellite systems he US launched a series of strikes on Japanese air and naval bases on the home islands. For the next year Southern Europe would be invaded by the Turks who would eventually spread as far as southern Russia and Poland itself.

Desperate for aid, Poland begs the US to launch an attack directly on Turkey, but the US cannot abide with its diminished forces. Working with the British, the US eventually is able to launch a devastating strike on Turkey, though taking heavy losses on their own side.

By 2052 Germany is approached by the Turks, promising them control over Eastern Europe while they promise to not spread farther than the Balkans. German enters the war with France and launches a western front against Poland. Attacked from all sides, the US is forced to send direct ground forces to the Poles via St. Petersburg meeting the Germans and the Turks to stop their advancement toward Warsaw. Scorched Earth Tactics by the Poles buy the Americans and British forces time to set up forward operations.

By 2053 the US has launched a new Battle Star network (for now consisting of only a single next gen Battle Star), and a next-gen fleet of hypersonic UCAVs that level Coalition military forces. The Germans and French are pushed out of Poland, while the Turks are pushed back over the Carpathians and into the Balkans, while China and Korea expel the Japanese from mainland Asia. A hasty treaty is pushed through in Geneva ending the conflict, but granting Japan and Turkey their sovereignty, and Turkey a sphere of influence in the Islamic World. Poland is furious at the American refusal to destroy the Turks once and for all, but they are left with an empire close of their 17th century holdings. Britain now dominates a thoroughly stagnated Atlantic Europe. The most controversial section of the treaty is the article providing that only America will have access to militarize space, while other countries will only be able to have commercial activity.

Death Toll: 50,000