Great War

The Great War was a global nuclear event that took place on Saturday, October 23, 2077. The attacks ended the Resource Wars, resulting in mass casualties, exposure to radiation and subsequent collapse of society.

Background
The event ended decade-long conflict between the United States and China. By 2077, a combination of attrition, loss of supply routes, and offensives conducted by the United States across the front left Chinese units in Alaska stranded and cut off from reinforcements. The liberation of Anchorage aided by winterized T-51 Power Armor units under the command of General Constantine Chase marked the end of the Anchorage Reclamation. After United States victory in Anchorage, the conflict transitioned into a stalemate. Media outlets reported billions of dollars wasted with no clear end or victor in sight. Preparing for a nuclear or biological attack, the president of the United States retreated to an oil rig off the west coast in March 2077.

The war both began and ended on October 23, 2077. Submarines were identified by COMPACFLT at 00:03 EST off the West Coast. At 03:37 EST, a squadron of high-altitude bombers were sighted off the Bering Strait. Six hours later, at 09:13 EST, IONDS detected the first four missile launches and the United States moved to DEFCON 2.

Four minutes later, NORAD reported confirmed strikes. Citizens of Washington received warnings after the West Coast was already destroyed. Unclear where the bombs came from or who initiated launch first, air raid sirens sounded, and at 09:26 EST, the president ordered a retaliatory strike according to scenario MX-CN91. Nuclear bombs hit Pennsylvania and New York at 09:42 EST. By 09:47 EST, facilities had gone offline.

The nuclear exchange continued for two hours. The Chinese stealth submarine Yangtze launched its missiles at the American east coast from the Boston waterway. Las Vegas was spared a direct nuclear strike as Mr. House had also prepared for the inevitability, disabling or destroying 68 out of the 77 warheads heading for the city. A relative few were able to reach safety in underground vaults constructed by the Vault-Tec Corporation.

Although emergency response units and elements of the National Guard were mobilized on the evening of October 22, their ability to provide aid to victims and refugees was decreased by the lack of any centralized command and control, resulting from electromagnetic pulses which disabled communications equipment. Despite efforts by the military to bolster relief efforts, disarray and the onset of radiation sickness resulted in many deserting their posts. Other first responders persisted, mobilizing to provide order and crisis relief. The resulting aftermath of the war led to the deaths of 7.54 billion people.

Event time

 * According to Carrie Delaney's holotapes, the school was packing up to leave Little Lamplight after a field trip when the bombs hit.
 * Mr. House shares that the Platinum Chip was to be delivered in the afternoon of October 23, "but by then, the world had ended."
 * A terminal in the Palace of the Winding Path in Fallout 76 states a group of technicians saw "bright lights on the horizon, and clouds of fire in the sky" during the morning of October 23.
 * According to the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money, the bombs were launched during the night of the Gala Event.
 * The opening narration of the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues also states the bombs fell during the night.
 * The beginning of Fallout 4 starts out in pre-War Boston in the morning, only moments before the bombs fall. New York and Pennsylvania were hit at 9:42 AM and Boston and Washington, D.C. were hit at 9:47 AM.
 * Some clocks across the wasteland are stopped at 9:47 AM.

Behind the scenes

 * The Great War is mentioned in the Fallout Bible.
 * In the Fallout intro, the narrator states that "the storm of world war had come again." On the back of the Fallout Trilogy PC box, the war is called World War III.
 * The character description for Roger Maxson in Fallout Shelter Online identifies the Great War as the "War of the Century."
 * Tim Cain stated that his vision of the Fallout setting involved the Great War happening amid FEV research increasing international tension with China. Cain stated that he doesn't know who shot first, commenting that it "was probably some rogue nation."