War of Jerusalem[]
With the loss of Germany's powerful control, the Empire of Jerusalem collapsed, leading to a fight between the Jews, led by Chaim Herzog, and the Palestinians (PLA), led by Yasser Arafat. The objective of the goal was to capture the holy city of Jerusalem. The Jewish controlled it first, defeating the PLA in the opening days of the war. Arafat managed to negotiate weaponry contracts with China and the Iran-Iraq Confederation, and soon lay besieged to the city. Herzog then issued the "Order of Defense" which asked all Jews to come to defend the Holy Land. Thousands from the United States went, but officially, the United States declared itself neutrality, and the President declared that "The UN will try to do its best to end the violence". What happened was far worse.
Representatives from the two sides met in September 1981 to attempt to stop the fighting. On September 27, the same day as the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, a combined Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, and Iran-Iraq attack broke through the Jewish lines and forced the Jews to retreat. The Jewish representative to Great Britain was assassinated by terrorists, causing great anger at the new alliance. When the alliance refused UN demands to end the attacks, the UN sent military divisions to help the Jews.
WMDs and Oil[]
The US and the Iran-Iraq Confederation were both members of the Free World Alliance, but following its violation of official FWA neutrality, the US cut all relations with it, and troops stationed there were withdrawn. The PLA's alliance then banned all oil coming from their territory, except to China, who had promised to alliance weapons, supplies, and money. This dealt a huge blow to the world, as Saudi Arabia and Iran-Iraq created a huge amount of oil. US President Kennedy, to deal with the oil crisis, opened up new oil plants in Alaska and created deals with Canada to import oil. The rest of the world also turned to Canada, creating the Canadian Oil Boom, which lasted for most of the 1980s. Canada also began major exports of petroleum and natural gas. This caused Canada to have one of the strongest Western economies of the 1980s.
American soldiers with gas masks equipped.
In the 1960s, it was suspected, but never proven, that the Geisel administration helped Iran-Iraq develop of nuclear missile program. When Geisel's term ended, the project was ended. Because of recent gas attacks, Kennedy believed that Iran-Iraq had used the technology to produce chemical weapons. To end this, Kennedy authorized Operation Golden Eagle, where chemical plants were destroyed. For the next two years an estimated 25 plants were destroyed. Chemical warfare was decreased during the two years, but the Palestinian advance was not crippled in any way.
Peace[]
Map of the former Empire after the war. Blue is Israel, Purple is Palestine and Red is UN Administrated
By 1984 the war was wearing down on America's economy, and Ted Kennedy's reelection bid failed horribly, and Republican candidate Ronald Reagan won in a landslide. Reagan promoted a slow but steady end to the war. The FWA hosted peace talks between representatives from both sides, and provided high security so no terrorists could interrupt. Terrorist groups were beginning to become involved in the war, the most powerful being the new al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda supported the Palestinians, and committed attacks against the Jews, most of which were frowned upon by the ON and FWA. In 1985, two massive American bombing raids killed many al-Qaeda members, including Osama bin Laden, the leader of the organization. Al-Qaeda left the war, but continues in the present day to support a Palestinian victory.
In 1986, a peace treaty was finally signed by the United States, Iran-Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and the Jewish that led to the creation of a northern Jewish state, and a southern Palestinian state. Jerusalem, which had been fought for many times in the war, came under UN administration and both Jews and Palestinians were allowed to enter. With two separate states, the Middle East is more peaceful now.
49 Degrees[]
A picture of the Global Thermometer in 1983 at 49 degrees.
With the collapse of Germany, tensions between the two remaining powers, the US and China, flared, reaching levels not seen since the 50s. In 1982, the "Global Thermometer" was created by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The thermometer "measured" the "hotness" of the Cold War. The higher the temperature, the closer to a catastrophic event the world is. Once the thermometer is 50 C degrees, it means a catastrophic event is about to happen or underway. The thermometer was started at 47 degrees. However, with the onset of Able Archer 83 and the New Germany War, the thermometer was quickly changed to 49 degrees.
Able Archer 83[]
The US quickly secured an alliance with Russia, which was the most powerful nation in Europe after the collapse of Great Britain. The US new that China was going to try to expand into Europe through Kazakhstan, the US and Russia began Operation European Shield, which had the Russian Navy occupy the Caspian and Black Seas. Many US generals feared a Chinese attack on the shield, so the US began running exercises about possible Chinese attacks. The largest, last, and most famous is Able Archer 83.
The exercise assumed a Chinese first strike on navy bases around the two seas, followed by subsequent missile and naval attacks on the Russian ships at sea. The US would counter-attack with strikes at Chinese bases in Central Asia and Kazakh cities. The DEFCON level would change, and leaders would be evacuated and take part in nuclear missile drills. The exercise saw the largest peacetime military buildup in US history. This including the movement of the new Scott II Missiles in Europe. The exercise lasted ten days, starting at October 1 and ending at midnight on October 10.
Meanwhile, operatives in China had been spying on the US, and suspected that Able Archer was in fact a coverup for a real first strike. China soon readied its military, placing the nuclear silos across the country on high alert. Units in Kazakhstan were mobilized, as well as the navy. The Chinese were ready for any kind of attack. No attack ever came, but Chinese officials still remembered the buildup through the New Germany War.
Space Race[]
James Brady, the architect of the US space program
Because of the Cold War, ideas for space exploration took a backseat. However, in the 1980s US scientists led by James Brady came up with the idea of a "space missile" that could launch at any point at Earth, and because there was no technology to take down a satellite, it would be nearly impossible to destroy. President Reagan, wanting an edge on China, authorized the construction of satellites. For the next three years, Brady's scientists tested many ideas until an idea was successful. In 1985, during the first years of the Bush administration, the satellite, the Washington I, was launched. The launch inspired China to begin a program of their own, beginning the Space Race. Washington I stayed in orbit for three months, sending back many radio transmissions until it burned up. Five more satellites were launched until the programs end. China began to the building of satellites, mainly at the Lop Nur space center. Its first satellite, the Zodiac 1, was launched in 1987.
In 1988, America began the Hermes program, with Hermes I bringing Alan Shepherd into space, making him the first human in space. However, disaster struck the Americans: both Hermes II and Hermes III were destroyed during their launch. This allowed China to catch up, with the Zodiac Program continuing and the new Dragon program brought the first man from China into space. Finally, in 1998, the US would send Hermes XI to the moon, and Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon. China could not match this, and was defeated in the Space Race and later collapsed in 2002. The Space Race was won by America.
New Germany War[]
The New Germany War was the descendant of the war between the German democrats and the communists during the late 1970s. New President George H.W. Bush focused on it now because he realized that if New Germany fell, that meant that Australia would fall and the Pacific would belong to China. In an address about the war, President Bush had this to say:
"The world is in a time of great danger. The communists are eyeing the Pacific Ocean, something that they can't have. We are America, and America will shine over all dictatorships, all bigotry, all corruption, all greed and hate. If China takes the Pacific, it will tip the Cold War in their favor, in the favor of a dictatorship. Who knows what will happen if we let that happen? We can't let it happen. The Pacific will not crumble unless we let it. And we will not."
By the mid-1980s, America was in an extremely nationalistic mood, and everyone thought that America was going to the win the Cold War. Thus most Americans supported the war. The first troops landed in 1986, and began to engage the NGCF (New Germany Communist Front), which mostly involved heavy jungle fighting. The fighting was difficult, as the NGCF had about six million men at their disposal, and did not openly fight, instead using guerrilla tactics and raids. Even though the Americans lost the jungles, they held Jakarta and other major cities.
In 1987, America landed at Sumatra, which was the main location for the NGCF. Heavy fighting occurred, and the Americans could not take the island.
Operation Thunder Strike[]
Bombers during Operation Thunder Strike
Because the NGCF was dug so deep in the rain forests of Sumatra, the USAF created Operation Thunder Strike, a huge aerial bombing campaign of the NGCF positions. The other goal was to cut off the northern NGCF from the front lines. The USAF utilized their new bomber, the B88, and several older ones, such as the B65, for the campaign. Cities, factories, and bases were all aimed for. The thick jungle often caused the bombs to be off target, but most struck their targets. However, the campaign failed at some points: the bombs striking the cities managed to kill some NGCF members, but as civilians were killed more joined the front; and while some forward bases were destroyed, other main bases still survived.
Simultaneous to the bombing runs, the Army began to advance. The goal was to take Palembang, a city with a major manufacturing base and provided the NGCF with much supplies. After the USAF bombed it, the military attacked it. The city was heavily guarded, but after a week the Army managed to break past the defenses and moved into the city. After 5 days of fighting the city fell to the Marines, and became their forward operations headquarters.
Using intelligence from Palembag, the US learned that the major leaders of the NGCF were located at a base at the Aceh River. Two bombing runs struck the area, managing to destroy part of the base and kill Endriartono Sutarto, the leader, and Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani, the second in command. The army subsequently attacked the northern part of Sumatra, and with the death of the two major leaders, the defenses fell apart. The remaining NGCF commanders fled to the last NGCF stronghold in Borneo.
Fight at Borneo[]
American soldier in Borneo
The NGCF was on its last legs, and after its devastating defeat at Sumatra, was now only located at Borneo. In 1989, the USMC invaded Borneo, wiping out any coastal NGCF fortifications. The Marines continued to advance inland, but slowed down because of guerrilla warfare in the jungles. An assault on the west coast split NGCF defenses, allowing the US to move in further. The goal was to capture Sibu, which was the headquarters of the NGCF. After five months of fighting, the US began the assault on the city. The US took the city after two weeks of fighting, and captured many commanders. However, the main commander, Taur Matan Ruak, had escaped to China.
With the US gaining New Germany, this meant that all of the Pacific (except the Philippines and small, Chinese islands) were now under control of the US. This was a major blow to the Xiaoping Administration in China, who was just starting off. Because of China's weakness in the war, this gave the Tibetan rebels more confidence, and eventually led to the downfall of China.