Mojave Campaign

The Mojave Campaign is a move by the New California Republic to annex the entire Mojave Wasteland. The campaign, which started in 2253, erupted after the massacre of 38 NCR citizens at the hands of Mojave raiders in the same year. President Tibbet subsequently lost a motion of no confidence. Her replacement, Wendell Peterson, ordered three battalions of NCR infantry into the Mojave, beginning the campaign.

The Campaign
Many of the scouting parties that the NCR sent east discovered that the pre-War city of Las Vegas (now re-named "New Vegas") had been relatively untouched by the Great War, and Hoover Dam was still in operational condition. Realizing the militaristic and economic values of these locations, the Republic quickly sent a detachment of their army to take control of the New Vegas region in hopes of using the rich resources there to rebuild their strength after their long war against the Brotherhood of Steel. They also fought the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel in the year of 2274, eventually, just like in the past, the Brotherhood of Steel was overwhelmed by NCR's superior numbers. The NCR defeated the Brotherhood at Helios One, driving them back to Hidden Valley.

Once they arrived at the city, they discovered that it had already been occupied by an army of Securitrons and heavily armed tribals. After a short stalemate, a Securitron approached the NCR position as a representative of Mr. House and demanded to "parlay" with the NCR government. This was the republic's first contact with Mr. House and the three families of New Vegas. Eventually, the New Vegas Treaty was negotiated. The NCR was given control of Hoover Dam and was allowed to divert 95% of the electricity generated to the Republic's core regions. In exchange, the New Vegas Strip was given the remaining 5%. Also, the NCR was allowed to deploy their military forces in the region, but would have to recognize New Vegas' independence and allow NCR citizens to visit the Strip without interference. Although the NCR government agreed to honor the treaty, they still plan to annex the entire Mojave region in the long run through either diplomacy or military force.

First conflict with the Legion
The NCR's new founded wealth and territory would soon come under threat however, from the looming power of Caesar's Legion. Under the command of the Malpais Legate, Legion forces marched against the NCR garrison at Hoover Dam, in an attempt to take the strategic asset and river crossing. In what became known as the "First Battle of Hoover Dam". Malpais initially had the upper hand and was able to push the NCR defenders back and lead his forces over the dam. Lead elements of the NCR, including members of the 1st Recon Battalion and NCR Rangers, executed a tactical retreat west across the dam and into Boulder City, all the while using their prowess in marksmanship to kill the Legion officers (primarily Centurions and Decani). Malpais, unable to adapt strategies in combat, ordered his legionaries to push forward, not knowing the NCR had booby-trapped Boulder City, laying explosives along their line of retreat, and were drawing the Legion into a trap. When the Legion forces entered the city, the NCR detonated the explosives and inflicted severe casualties among the Legion forces, crippling their offensive. The NCR forces then counter-attacked, pushing back and eventually routing the Legion forces who fled east back over the dam.

The NCR also met resistance from a new incarnation of an old enemy, the Great Khans, culminating in the Bitter Springs Massacre. The Khans quickly began to arm themselves and the Fiends against the NCR.

New conflict with the Legion
The Legion would not stay quiet for long either. One of the NCR's forward bases, Camp Nelson, was completely obliterated by a Legion task force in an eerie repeat of Fort Aradesh's loss. Another camp, Searchlight, was heavily irradiated in a legion feint, which transformed all the survivors of that base into feral ghouls. Led by President Kimball and the inept General Oliver, morale among the soldiers is at an all-time low, and desertion rates (especially in the New California Rangers) are high. The main camp on the front lines is Camp Hope, though nicknamed by the soldiers and citizens of the Mojave, Forlorn Hope, which as its nickname suggests, is full of depressed and constantly embattled soldiers. They are holding a defensive line across the Colorado River and preparing for the upcoming battle on the Hoover Dam that could decide the fate of the entire area. The soldiers are spread far too thin across the front to prevent the Legion from crossing the river, as is illustrated by the attacks on Nipton and Ranger Station Charlie.

The NCR's gold-backed currency lost much of its value after the Brotherhood of Steel ambushed and destroyed their gold deposits, so the NCR's dollar is now backed by water. They hold an iron fist over Hoover Dam's production capabilities, and lease electricity and drinking water to the Strip and other nearby communities in exchange for military supplies and a firm foothold in the region.

The NCR aims to wrestle control of the Strip from Mr. House eventually, but cannot do so while Caesar's Legion remains a threat. While the NCR does openly engage Legion patrols upon sight of them, such efforts have proved futile in any sort of long-term damage to the Legion. The Securitron armies possessed by House pose a massive threat to both the NCR and the Legion, but this uneasy stalemate between the three factions is threatened by the arrival of the platinum chip. In addition, the Mojave campaign has become increasingly unpopular among NCR citizens, mostly in regions far away from Vegas, to whom the campaign is nothing but taxes and lost children. Senators opposed to the war leverage this unrest to their advantage in the upcoming Senate elections of 2281.

Conflict with the Brotherhood of Steel
The NCR and the Brotherhood of Steel staged a long and bloody war spurred by disagreements on how technology should be regulated in the wasteland. Despite having far superior technology and training, the Brotherhood has gone into retreat after having lost many battles on the front lines. The outcome of the war is best illustrated by the Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. After taking heavy losses in the Battle of Helios One, they retreated to Hidden Valley and have remained in exile. The NCR success can be traced to their superior commanding, such as Colonel Moore, as Elder Elijah was a scribe and doesn't know about military tactics, but most notably to their far superior numbers. For example in the Battle for Helios One, they outnumbered the Brotherhood twenty to one. However, the conflict was a pyrrhic victory for the NCR at best. Heavy losses to Brotherhood meant redirecting troops from the front lines against Caesar's Legion, and less soldiers to protect vital caravan trading routes.

Conflict with the Great Khans
In the early parts of the war the Great Khans took to raiding NCR military outposts and civilian settlements. The NCR then started to launch counter-attacks against the Khans. They eventually traced a group of Khan raiders to their settlement at Bitter Springs, leading to the Bitter Springs Massacre. The Khan leader Papa Khan now holds resentment against the NCR. Now he is contemplating joining Caesar's Legion and he has also ordered the Khans to sell chems to the Fiends, so they can harass the NCR.