Community:Fanfiction/Haddon War

Haddon War is a large conflict taking place across the former United States of America from the years 2301 to 2308.

Background
Belligerents in the Conflict included the New California Republic, Khanic Empire, Enclave, United Commonwealth Government, New Haven Federation, and Appalachia Coalition. Canada entered the war in 2307, and their contribution was responsible for a large portion of late-war gains. The war caused a vast amount of upheaval societally, politically, and economically, and, thanks to its devastation, was responsible for a period of peace shortly afterwards.

History
While the war itself only began in 2301, the circumstances and tensions behind it had existed for centuries. The beginning of the war, however, was spurred on by a diplomatic misunderstanding, and could potentially have been avoided.

In 2300, at the dawn of the 24th century, the New California Republic expanded yet again, eager for more land, resources, and influence. Spurred on by their recent successes in the Mojave, the NCR moved northeast, to Wyoming. There, however, Republic troops encountered what could be considered the greatest threat to their regional supremacy since the Legion: The Khanic Empire. The end product of the Khan's lineage, the Khanic Empire had carved out a vast swath of the midwest, establishing dominion over thousands of individuals. Thanks to the Khan's previous experiences with the NCR, having feuded with them since the Republic was merely a tiny farming community, first contact was tense, and the Californian troops were forced to leave. Tensions continued to rise, however, when the NCR discovered that a small border settlement, by the name of TwoTree, was sitting on a large gold stockpile. The Republic began positioning troops around the border, agitating the Khanic Army. Both sides began to move troops into entrenched locations, with increasing numbers being called up from the militaries of the opposing nations.

However, the true spark that ignited the powder keg that the situation had become was a single misunderstanding. The NCR President, hoping to distinguish themself from previous administrations, requested to send a diplomatic party to TwoTree to resolve the situation. The Khanic government was made aware and allowed this. For a time, it seemed as though both sides were willing to come to a peaceful resolution to the situation. However, none of the plans of the upcoming diplomatic summit were told to the head of TwoTree's militia, one Joseph Haddon. When the NCR diplomatic party of 20 arrived at TwoTree's gates, Haddon viewed it as an invasion force and opened fire.

Out of the diplomatic party, only 3 people survived. In retaliation, NCR Rangers attacked a Khanic border station 3 days later. Following this event, all negotiations were called off. Less than 24 hours later, the NCR declared war on the Khanic Empire. The New Haven Federation, having been wary of the Khanic Empire for some time now, and viewing the massacre of the NCR diplomatic party as an unprovoked act of aggression, declared war shortly after.

On the 23rd of January, 2301, NCR troops invaded TwoTree, taking control of the town and killing any who resisted. The invasion that Haddon had assumed the diplomatic party to be had arrived, and rapidly secured the town's borders. Khanic warriors attempted to retake the town repeatedly, but the entrenched position of the NCRA made such an act impossible. Under the command of General Lee Oliver, the NCR used TwoTree as a staging ground, rapidly transporting troops to the surrounding areas. With Khanic troops being repeatedly routed, the empire could provide little organised defense of major areas. Pushing towards Chay-yen, the Republic seemed unstoppable.

However, another party had been watching the situation with more than a veiled interest. The Enclave, having reestablished itself in the north, feared as to what would happen should the NCR conquer the Khanic Empire, due to the Republic's prior war with the organization. Knowing that the Republic could not be defeated by the Khans alone, the Enclave declared war on the NCR, entering the conflict on the side of the Khanic Empire.

Enclave troops proved to be a boon to the embattled Khans, rapidly arriving and helping to stabilise the situation. This, paired with the Khan's usage of irradiated metal in bullets and their cavalry divisions, swiftly turned the previous power dynamic on its head. The NCR and NHF were forced back to numerous strongholds, their positions rapidly overrun by Enclave soldiers equipped with Power Armour. The New Haven Federation itself had particular strain placed on it, with its supply lines being used by the NCR to supply its army. That, paired with an increasing subsidization of the NHF's military by the NCRA, led to certain questions as to whether the Republic respected the Federation's territorial integrity. Ultimately, the alliance between the two nations held, and the combined armies of both sides held the line, with the front lines becoming stagnant and unmoving for multiple months on end.

Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, a similar conflict had been ongoing for the past decade. The Brotherhood of Steel detachment on the East Coast had existed in an uneasy peace with the United Commonwealth Government for a few years following the destruction of the Institute, and despite there being occasional tense periods, the peace had held for as long as Arthur Maxson lived. But due to the peace only existing on a single condition, it fell apart rapidly after the Elder's death.

A team of Institute remnant synths had assaulted the Prydwen in 2290, succeeding in killing the Elder along with Lancer Captain Kells. With the Brotherhood lacking leadership, Knight Rhys seized power, and ordered the Commonwealth to be brought to heel. While some within the Brotherhood's ranks had protested, most had stayed silent, with the few who disagreed with Rhys' new campaign of aggression choosing to form a new order led by the exiled Paladin Danse. However, Rhys' campaign of extermination was met with one factor that he hadn't accounted for: the UCG.

The war between the two factions began when Rhys', flush with his victories in exterminating mutants and ghouls in the region, decided to remove the UCG from its position in Nordhagen Beach, sending Brotherhood troops to take control of the location. When the family occupying the farm fought back, the Brotherhood soldiers, on Rhys' orders, gunned them down. Only the young boy survived, and this incident caused a wave of defections within the Brotherhood. Rhys, however, viewed the destruction of Nordhagen Beach as a victory for the Brotherhood.

It wasn't.

On February 28th, 2291, UCG troops assaulted the Cambridge police station, massacring the BOS troops stationed there and seizing their Power Armour for themselves. Scribe Haylen, thanks to both her prior connection with Danse and Recon Squad Gladius, and her constant objections to Rhys' doctrine, was spared and put to work developing new technologies for the UCG. Thanks to both a combination of her work, the UCG's elite troops, and overall resentment for the Brotherhood, Rhys was forced to withdraw to the southernmost regions of the Commonwealth, where the UCG's presence was weakest. The Brotherhood who did not withdraw were wiped out when UCG artillery at Fort Independence destroyed the Prydwen and Liberty Prime, leaving Rhys' options minimal. By 2302, he had almost completely exhausted his supplies and soldiers, and was having trouble repelling even minor UCG incursions.

Rhy's salvation, however, came in the form of an unexpected alliance. Due to the Brotherhood's proximity to the embattled Gunners, another target of the UCG, the two groups entered an uneasy alliance, with Rhys effectively hiring the Gunners as privateers, giving them leave to raid settlements under UCG control, in exchange for their support of the Brotherhood. Despite this, Rhys manipulated the Gunners, treating them more as servants than allies, and eventually had the Gunner leaders covertly assassinated, effectively subsidizing them into the Brotherhood. Simultaneously, contact was made with a scouting party from the other BOS division on the East Coast: The Appalachian chapter. Convincing them that he had suffered a mutiny, Rhys convinced the Appalachian Brotherhood of Steel to come to his aid, which in turn convinced the loose alliance of merchants and settlers that governed the region to march on the Commonwealth. In a few weeks, Rhys had gone from losing a war, to leading one of the greatest threats to the stability of the Commonwealth since the Institute.

The Appalachian Army, led by the Brotherhood of Steel, marched through the Capital Wasteland, causing some amount of panic among its citizens. The coalition formed by Megaton, Rivet City, Big Town, Lincoln, Underworld, and other, smaller settlements decided not to intervene, fearing the Appalachian's firepower. However, the government of the New Republic of Dave, knowing what allying with the army could bring them, welcomed the coalition, supplying them with provisions and ammunition. In exchange, the Appalachians granted them a coalition detachment, along with a supply of advanced weapons and armour, allowing the New Republic of Dave to further secure and expand their borders. The Appalachian Army arrived in UCG territory on the 3rd of March, 2303, signaling the beginning of a new chapter in the Commonwealth war.

In Wyoming, the situation had gone from bad to worse for the Mutual Defense bloc. Enclave troops, backed by Khanic cavalry units, had arrived in larger numbers, driving the NCR and NHF from their fortified positions. The twin armies were pushed back to TwoTree, with almost none of their number existing outside the town. Promoting the now Captain Craig Boone to Colonel, General Lee Oliver proceeded to order an evacuation, before destroying his office and himself with planted explosive charges to avoid being captured by the Enclave. Reluctantly, the Mutual Defense bloc left TwoTree.

Boone's methodology differed from that of previous leaders, especially in regards to Power Armour. While other organizations and leaders had used Power Armour as an infantry support platform, this strategy was flawed. As Power Armour units were often spread thin, this resulted in the Power Armoured individual eventually being overwhelmed, as even with Power Armour a single individual could only contribute so much. However, Boone developed a new troop formation that was rapidly copied by most organizations with access to the technology: The Power Armour Division.

By placing all of his remaining heavy troopers in a single location, along with those who had the skills to maintain or use power armour, Boone created a bulwark, a way to break enemy formations, thus allowing for troops without Power Armour to safely advance and eliminate the stragglers.