Resource Wars

The Resource Wars were a series of conflicts that began in April 2052 with the start of the war between the European Commonwealth and the Middle East, and ended with the Great War on October 23, 2077. Some of the conflicts included the annexation of Canada by the United States and the Chinese invasion of Anchorage, Alaska.

Resource Wars timeline

 * 2052


 * April: The Resource Wars began. Many smaller nations went bankrupt, and Europe, dependent on oil imports from the Middle East, responded to the Middle East's rising oil prices with military action. The long drawn-out war between the European Commonwealth and the Middle East had begun. The work of Chinese geologists and petroleum exploration engineers to tap the last remaining oil fields deep beneath the Pacific Ocean was sabotaged by American spies, allowing the United States' energy company Poseidon Oil to erect an Oil Rig of their own and claim the resource. The strained relations eventually led to the Chinese invasion of Alaska in 2066, where the Anchorage Front Line became the first and most important battlefield.


 * May - July: The United Nations, already suffering, began to collapse. In a series of heated debates, many nations withdrew from the organization as the U.N. tried to keep the peace. On the 26th of July, the United Nations was disbanded.


 * Note: This information comes from Chris Avellone's Fallout Bible time line. According to the Sierra Depot GNN transcript holodisk, which Avellone claims is non-canon, as it was supposedly modified by the Sierra Army Depot soldiers, the U.N. still existed in 2074.


 * December: A terrorist nuclear weapon destroyed Tel Aviv.


 * 2054


 * January: Limited nuclear exchange in the Middle East raised fears throughout the world, and set the United States' Project Safehouse in motion.


 * 2059


 * The Anchorage Front Line was established, as the United States increased its military presence in Alaska to protect its oil interests. The Anchorage Front Line raised tensions in the United States and Canada, as the United States attempted to pressure Canada into allowing American military units to guard the Alaskan Pipeline.


 * 2060


 * The Euro-Middle Eastern War came to an end as the oil fields in the Middle East ran dry. There was no longer a goal in the conflict, and both sides were reduced almost to ruin.


 * The European Commonwealth dissolved into quarreling nation states, fighting over the remaining resources.


 * 2066


 * Winter: In the winter of 2066, China invaded Alaska. The Anchorage Front Line became a true battleground.


 * Note: This date for the Chinese invasion of Alaska comes from Chris Avellone's Fallout Bible time line. According to the Sierra Depot GNN transcript holodisk, which Avellone discards as non-canon, as it was supposedly modified by the Sierra Army Depot soldiers, this happened on October 10, 2077


 * Winter: As a sign of increasing tension between the two countries, Canada proved reluctant to allow American troops on Canadian soil or allow American planes to fly over Canadian airspace. The tensions between the United States and Canada rose, but Canada eventually backed down, and US troops passed through Canada. This set the stage for the Canadian annexation in 2076.


 * 2067


 * The first suit of T-45d power armor was deployed in Alaska. While lacking the full mobility of future versions, its sheer power was incredibly effective against Chinese infantry. Its ability to carry heavy ordnance became key in various localized conflicts, and it had the power to destroy entire towns without endangering the wearer. China rushed to create its own versions, but they were many years behind the United States.


 * 2069


 * Canada began to feel the pressure from the United States military as the US drew upon Canadian resources for the war effort. Vast stretches of timberland were destroyed, and other resources in Canada were stretched to the breaking point. Many Americans referred to Canada as Little America, and Canadian protests were unheard.


 * 2072


 * The United States' increasing demand for Canadian resources caused protests and riots in several Canadian cities. An attempted sabotage of the Alaskan pipeline was all the military needed as an excuse to begin its annexation of Canada.


 * Completed B.O.M.B. missiles were sent to different space centers around the U.S. so that they could be carried into space and installed into the B.O.M.B. satellites. The process was slow; however, it was being carried out fairly regularly. (source: Reservation design document)


 * 2073


 * September 15 : As China became increasingly aggressive with their use of biological weapons, the United States government felt that a countermeasure was needed. The Pan-Immunity Virion Project (PVP) was officially formed and plans were made to begin experiments at the West-Tek research facility in Southern California. (mentioned in the FEV research holodisk)


 * 2074


 * Negotiations between the US and other world powers come to a dramatic end, with the President walking out of oil talks with the other world powers. After a much heated debate, the President stormed out of the meeting and declared that the last known supply of petroleum in the world would be used exclusively by the US and the US would not sell or trade any oil to outside parties.


 * Contrary to their claims of seeking only to retake Alaska from the Chinese, American power units, infantry, and mechanized divisions were deployed to China, but they become bogged down on the mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines.


 * Note: This information comes from Chris Avellone's Fallout Bible time line. According to the Sierra Depot GNN transcript holodisk, which Avellone discards as non-canon, this happened on October 22, 2077


 * 2075


 * February 14: Canada, after being almost entirely taken over by U.S. troops, finally agreed to be annexed by the U.S. The annexation was finalized almost a year later. (source: Sierra Depot GNN transcript holodisk)


 * 2076


 * January: The United States annexation of Canada was complete. Canadian protesters and rioters were shot on sight, and the Alaskan Pipeline swarmed with American military units. Pictures of atrocities made their way to the United States, causing further unrest and protests.


 * March 30: The U.S. President ordered the Pacific Fleet to the Poseidon deep sea oil derrick located at a secret location out in the Pacific. (referenced in the Sierra Depot GNN transcript holodisk)


 * June: T-51b power armor was invented. This was the pinnacle of power armor technology before the Great War. Many of these units were sent to China, and they began to carve a swath through the Chinese forces. The Chinese resources were strained to the breaking point, and the supply lines from the nations China has annexed begin to break down.


 * 2077




 * January 10: Alaska was reclaimed, and the Anchorage Front Line was again held by the Americans.


 * January 22: The first domestic use of power armor within the United States was for crowd and quarantine control. Units originally serving in China and the Anchorage Front Line found themselves fighting Americans at home. Food riots increased, and many civilians were killed. Several soldiers defected from the military, both in Canada and the United States. They were captured, and sent to military prisons.


 * March: Prepared for a nuclear or biological attack from China, the president and the Enclave retreated to remote sections around the globe and made contingency plans for continuing the war.


 * October 23: The Great War began, and to the present day it is unknown who fired the first weapon. Air raid sirens sounded, but very few people went into the Vaults, thinking it was a false alarm. The Vaults were sealed and the world was plunged into nuclear winter.

Behind the scenes
A pre-Fallout "Resource Wars" game set in collapsing Europe (during the United Kingdom's invasions of the Middle East) is one of the games that J.E. Sawyer would like to make if he could do any game, regardless of money and developing time.