The first commercial fusion power plant is activated near the Niagara Falls. The energy it produces is fed into the power net of both the United States and Canada, who developed the reactor as a joint project.[1]
The GLA detonates a 5 kiloton tactical nuclear weapon during the PRC's 70th anniversary parade in Beijing. The later General Xing Chen is part of a rapid response force that is deployed to the scene. As a response to the GLA threat, the Party government re-institutionalizes the Red Guard as an auxiliary military and police force to complement the People's Liberation Army and inspire nationalist fervor.[2]
The GLA occupies the Hong Kong Convention Center and takes hundreds of civilian hostages. The fighting spreads throughout the entire Wan Chao district as Chinese forces move in to break the stalemate.[2]
The GLA launches an attack on the Three Gorges Dam. A Chinese Black Lotus operative issues the controversial order to destroy the dam, citing the swift destruction of the GLA as the more immediate concern. Despite a hasty evacuation attempt, thousands die as cities downriver are flooded by the wave. Chinese state propaganda claims that the dam itself was destroyed by the GLA in order to fan the revanchist fury of the population and prepare for a total mobilization of all military and industrial resources in the struggle ahead.[2]
2020
Chinese forces narrowly prevent the GLA from pumping toxic chemicals into the Yangtze River.[2]
Chinese forces liberate the GLA-controlled city of Balykchy, Aldastan. The US Air Force launches strategic bombing raids to support the ground assault, destroying large parts of the city in the process.[2]
Chinese special forces led by a Black Lotus operative destroy a major railway bridge in Bishkek, Aldastan, crippling GLA logistics in the region in preparation for a decisive attack on the capital.[2]
Chinese forces assault Dushanbe, the capital of Aldastan. The GLA's Central Asian branch suffers a heavy blow after General Tsing Shi Tao receives the clearance to deploy tactical nuclear weapons.[2]
The aftershocks of the ongoing conflict result in a global economic downturn. The European Union is hit hard with France and the Balkan countries, which had only recently joined the Union, at the verge of bankruptcy.[3]
An American consumer electronics corporation introduces iSaac, a domestic robot with an abstractly humanoid appearance that is capable of performing a variety of household chores.[1]
The International Space Station is deorbited over the Pacific Ocean.[4]
2021
GLA forces rally over the destruction of a vital dam in Chinese-controlled Shymkent, Kazakhstan.[2]
GLA raiders intercept UN aid deliveries near Almaty, Kazakhstan to fund their operations and incite public unrest.[2]
Violent protests against the Chinese and American operations in Kazakhstan escalate into a city-wide insurrection in Astana.[2]
The top-secret FB-40 Aurora aircraft is pushed into service by US Air Force as a fast strike bomber and suffers several catastrophic losses against GLA forces.[5]
With much of Europe destabilized after the economic collapse of Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Cyprus in the previous decade, euro-skepticism and anti-capitalism are on the rise across the entire continent. Protests and violent clashes become a common reality, with the Paris Riots standing out as the bloodiest example by far. Most prominently, a left-wing extremist by the name of Tahar Ibrahiim becomes the target of a major manhunt after he sent poisoned letters to several politicians and financial executives.[3]
2022
The first commercial vacuum tube train is activated between Miami and Ottawa.[1]
GLA forces mount a devastating attack against the US Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey.[2]
U S special forces launch an attack against the GLA-controlled ex-Soviet bio-chemical laboratories on Vozrozhdeniya, Kazakhstan.[2]
Bao Jin of the Chinese Ministry of State Security manipulates a Kazakh GLA leader to change sides, triggering a brief internal purge among GLA forces.[2]
2023
The populist Hope and Glory Party wins the British general election by a landslide. The party rejects further concessions to the European Union and enacts a policy of increased cooperation with Ireland and other Commonwealth nations.[6]
Despite the troubled polical situation, the EU governments sign the Treaty of Vienna which turns the European Union into a de jure federation. Civil rights activists express scathing criticism at the lack of fair democratic representation and dismiss the treaty as a last ditch effort at forcing all of Europe under a single authority. Over the following years, many EU regions in Spain, France and Italy break away in violent secession.[3]
Hundreds of thousands of refugees swarm into Europe due to the ongoing violence across Central Asia and the Middle East. Many of them end up in a socio-economic dead-end and develop pro-GLA sentiments.[3]
2024
Anwar Sulaymaan gains the respect of Deathstrike by providing the GLA with a steady flow of income and weapons through international arms deals even in times of great hardships. Western intelligence agencies manage to trace some of the materiel back to Russia, whose government comes under pressure from its own people who regard the possible GLA collaboration as an affront to the country's national honor.[7]
Angered by the EU central government, the Free Republic of Bavaria breaks away from the Union Republic of Germany and survives thanks to a military mutiny involving Wolfgang von Kuerten, who refuses to mobilize against his own people.[3]
The first module of the Pennsylvania Space Station, then still operated by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, is successfully launched into low Earth orbit on an Atlas V541 rocket.[8]
2025
After a vicious battle against Chinese and American defenders, GLA forces occupy the Baikonur Cosmodrome and proceed to launch a series of toxin-tipped Soyuz rockets. The first missile hits the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, killing thousands and prompting the Israeli leadership to enact authoritarian policies for the protection of the state. As the country severs all contact with its neighbors, tensions in the Middle East reach an unprecedented peak. In addition, the GLA successfully captures the Chinese and American military bases, gaining access to untold amounts of advanced technology and even some nuclear warheads, which spark new fears that the GLA will use the Soyuz rockets to launch nuclear attacks on the United States.[2]
GLA forces topple the pro-American regime in Baghdad, prompting the US to commence their third attack on Iraq in order to restore strategic control around the Persian Gulf. Iran and Saudi Arabia are heavily involved in the fight via proxies.[2]
A US-led manhunt for GLA leaders in Al Hanad, Yemen goes awry. American special forces enter the city to rescue three pilots that had been shot down by the GLA.[2]
General Malcolm 'Ace' Granger provides aerial security for an American casualty evacuation in northern Kazakhstan.[2]
Jeremiah Bradley takes part in the USMC coastal assault on a GLA training camp at the Caspian Sea coast.[2]
GLA hardliners ambush and kill the entire UN delegation during a peace summit in Kazakhstan and destroy a nearby dam to cover their retreat.[2]
Ismail Khan, a Chinese brigadier general from Xinjiang, defects to the GLA out of solidarity for the oppressed Uyghur people and is subsequently eliminated by the US military.[2]
Chinese General Ta Hun Kwai and Jeremiah Bradley mount a joint offensive on Akmola, the GLA-controlled capitol of Kazakhstan, dealing a heavy blow to the organisation's Middle Eastern branch.[2]
2026
The US Navy introduces its own jet-powered, carrier-capable gunship, the Spectre II, in order to provide a more immediate fire support solution than the aging AC-130.[9]
General Gregory 'Pinpoint' Townes presents the M1097 Avenger-L which replaces the aging anti-air missile system of the original vehicle with a state-of-the-art laser turret.[10]
With Russian forces unable to coordinate the operation in time, the American specialist Colonel Burton links up with a Chinese Black Lotus operative to destroy one of Dr. Thrax' toxin laboratories near Mount Elbrus, Russia. The US government speculates that the Russian government might be secretly aiding the GLA to further Russian interests in the Middle East.[11]
The GLA launches a Soyuz rocket at a US naval base in Narvik, Norway. After a failed counter-attack on the Baikonour Cosmodrome by the Russian Army, which was ordered by Moscow as a token gesture to disassociate itself from the GLA, a task force of American and Norwegian forces puts an end to the GLA occupation by dropping a GBU-43/B directly onto the launch pad.[11]
US forces deliver a decisive blow against a GLA cell in Mogadishu, Somalia, revealing disturbing intel about the elusive Dr. Thrax, who supplies the organisation with advanced bio-chemical weapons, including a modified strain of the Anthrax virus.[11]
The violent crisis in the Persian Gulf escalates after the United States accuse the Iranian government of collaborating with Dr. Thrax in an attempt to manufacture bio-chemical weapons for use against the West. US and Saudi forces invade Iran which retaliates by launching coordinated attacks against the desalination facilities that supply the Arabian Peninsula with drinkable water. The result is an unprecedented humanitarian disaster which plunges the entire Middle East into total anarchy.[12]
The US have tracked Dr. Thrax to a still classified location in the Middle East and initiate a kill-or-capture operation which eventually results in the death of the GLA's top-ranking bio-chemical scientist.[11]
Despite economic troubles and growing civil discontent at the Kremlin's possible backing of the GLA, the Russian military introduces the first production model of the Sentinel tank. The new super-heavy tank will not see combat until the adoption of its second, more refined version a decade later.[13]
At this year's Eurosatory exposition, the German defense company KMW unveils an entirely new main battle tank, the Leopard 3. Despite its cutting edge technology, the new tank remains a non-seller for several years with even Germany itself being unable to procure large numbers of it due to the desolate financial situation in Europe.[14]
2027
Deathstrike avoids capture by US forces and rallies his supporters in the aftermath of the GLA's apparent defeat after eight years of fighting.[11]
GLA loyalists under the command of Anwar Sulaymaan violently persuade Prince Kassad, leader of the break-away Cobra Cell, to renew his allegiance to Deathstrike by decimating his ranks in Egypt.[11]
GLA operatives hijack an American Particle Cannon Uplink and destroy CVN-76 USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier off the coast of Crete, Greece. Almost 5.000 US Navy crew members die within minutes, dealing a fatal morale blow to the American home front. Radiation released from the ship's nuclear reactors force the evacuation of Crete. Much of the Mediterranean Fleet is also destroyed.[11]
GLA sleeper cells stage a daring raid on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, recovering confiscated samples of the Anthrax Gamma virus developed by Dr. Thrax. The city of Livermore is leveled by intentional fire, and the civilian populace is completely exterminated.[11]
The GLA attacks the USEUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, prompting the American Paulson administration to cave in to its war-weary and crisis-stricken population and hurriedly withdraw most of its overseas forces.[11]
2028
After the US retreat, the GLA expends all manpower and resources to trigger an insurrection in Germany, the economic heart of the troubled European Union. The helpless EU central government calls upon China to intervene.[11]
In an attempt to deliver a hard blow against the Chinese homeland, GLA forces launch an attack on a new nuclear power plant that was built after the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam but fail to cause any serious damage.[11]
China deploys large contingents of troops to free several German cities from the brutal but unsustainable grip of the GLA, causing drastic damage to the vital infrastructure through the indiscriminate use of incendiary weapons.[11]
Tahar Ibrahiim joins the GLA and makes a dramatic entrance by dumping several tons of hazardous chemicals into the Rhine river system, rendering large swathes of western Germany uninhabitable until 2060.[15]
The 18-year-old Frank Jaeger loses his parents as a result of the GLA chemical attack and forms the 'Wolfsrudel', an urban guerilla group of students who fight against the GLA.[16]
Unable to hold out against the Chinese, GLA forces fall back towards their main base of operations in Hamburg, Germany while the Chinese Air Force performs relentless attacks on the retreating enemies, turning the famous Autobahn into a highway of death akin to the one seen during the Persian Gulf War.[11]
After half a year of fighting, Chinese forces under General 'Anvil' Shin Fai converge on Hamburg. Prior to his departure, Deathstrike orders Rodall Juhziz' Scorpion Cell to obliterate the city with a 10 megaton strategic nuclear warhead. Both Juhziz and Fai perish in the explosion, along with thousands of civilians.[11]
The United States have withdrawn all their overseas forces and China has put an end to the GLA insurrection that swept across Central Europe. While the 'invasion' never had any chances of lasting success, it managed to kill, injure and dislocate thousands, destroyed the urban infrastructure of major economic centers and polluted large swathes of land through chemical and nuclear attacks.[11]