Great War



The Great War (not to be confused with World War I or World War II), started (and ended) on October 23rd, 2077. It is not known, however, who dropped the first bomb. It lasted two hours, but was unbelievably destructive. More energy was released in the early moments of The Great War than all previous conflicts combined in the history of the world combined.

Lead up to the Great War
The situation leading to the war included China invading Alaska, and the United States' annexing Canada. The European Commonwealth reacted to the Middle East's raising of oil prices by taking military action. As the United Nations tried to keep the peace, many members pulled out of the UN, and within two months of this the UN was disbanded. This period of conflict was called the Resource Wars. Many smaller nations went bankrupt in the ensuing conflict The Resource Wars was ended by The Great War.

The Great War
The Great War itself began when the nuclear weapons were launched by everyone that had them, and lasted about two hours until the world fell into the darkness of a nuclear holocaust. The west coast of the United States was hit first, and as a consequence some on the east coast were able to get into the Vaults and personal protection shelters. In the two hours of nuclear fire, the face of the world changed. Entire mountain ranges were created as the earth buckled and moved.

The Aftermath
Yet, the world was not completely destroyed. Somehow, humanity was able to cling on and eke out an existence among the ruins, establishing communities and even cities (Vault City with the help of GECK). Some major cities were not completely obliterated either, and some areas such as Washington DC had entirely intact buildings but most streets were blocked with rubble making very difficult to move around above ground. some of the metro were blocked but were in no danger of collapsing. The vaults opened after the two hours of the great war.In Fallout 3, various bones that look like they could be pre-war can be found in the tunnels, along with old beds, and desks. This may imply that some citizens tried to live out their lives underground. It would explain how several above-ground communities started again, as anyone on the surface would have been annihilated by the nuclear blasts and the resulting fires and radiation. A week after the bombs fell, rain started to pour, but, sadly, none of it was drinkable. The rain was black; coated with soot, ash, radiation, and other chemicals found in nuclear weapons this was the start of fallout. The rain lasted days, and thousands of species, be it animal, plant or micro-organisms, went extinct in the first few days. Those who remained after the rain were left to the harsh Wasteland where nearly all plant life died from the intense radiation.

The reason for a large amount of casualties
Many citizens did not heed the air raid sirens, as they believed it was just another drill. The Vaults (not including Vault 12, which was never intended to shut) sealed themselves as the Earth burned. A few citizens that took the air raid sirens seriously, but did not have access to vaults, made their way to various locations that they felt would be safe from the bombs, like sewers and subway stations, or in the case of the Keller Family, the National Guard Depotand Carol. However, without a VERY strong outer shield to defend them from both the blast and the heat of the blast(such as lamplight caverns), very few would survive at trying this and a few become ghouls. Those who had already earned their admission into the Vaults went into them. Those who did not, however, were left to the mercy of the bombs and their own nearby fallout shelters. A female ghoul named Carol in Underworld on Fallout 3 claims "My family did not have much money, so we could not get into a vault." It seems only the moderately wealthy could buy there way into a Vault at the time of The Great War.

The effects of The Great War
A week after the bombs fell, rain started to pour, but, sadly, none of it was drinkable. The rain was black; coated with soot, ash, radiation, and other chemicals found in nuclear weapons (TNT must have been in it too.) The rain lasted days, and thousands of species, be it animal, plant or microbiotic, went extinct in the first few days. Those who remained after the rain were left to the harsh Wasteland.

After the bombs fell, the world "Fell under a blanket of nuclear fire and radiation, and was silent for many years to come".