WORLD WAR III AND ITS AFTERMATH
The devastation of World War III was global in scale, and did not end with the fall of the last bomb. The slide thru pestilence, famine, and anarchy continued for two decades after the war ended. The physical destruction was limited to the war zone (North America, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and China). A disaster of equal magnitude, however, was the destruction of the world's transportation network. Vulnerable ocean shipping fell victim to naval action early in the war and could not be rebuilt due to the loss of industrial capacity. Only Japan retained a viable merchant fleet, and it dominated world trade in the immediate postwar years.
World War III destroyed oil refineries and oil fields, but its greatest effect was the destruction of the world's oil distribution network. Once the war was over, the oil distribution networks were gradually reestablished, but great progress toward alternative fuels had been made in the interim. By 2070, a major portion of the world's industrial power was supplied by solar power satellites orbiting the Earth.
Into the power vacuum which followed World War III there stepped the only European nation that had not been ruined by the fighting, and that nation was France. With its numerous far-flung territories on the African continent and in the Pacific, France reestablished a commercial interest in peaceful world trade and calm international relations. French power was projected to resolve disputes among quarreling nations, the French national policy was overtly imperialistic. By 2060, the French were politically involved in virtually every region in the world, and French military forces imposed peace in those regions, albeit sometimes a very uneasy one.
Earth nations returned to space with the help of the L-5ers, with limited surveillance, weather, and communications satellite launches, and in the '50s manned missions. By the end of the century, the near-Earth orbit was cluttered with solar power satellites and orbital factories. The advancement into space naturally produced disputes concerning territoriality, access to orbits, and the appropriateness of specific targets in conflicts. A continuing international discussion culminated in a series of treaties and agreements collectively known as the Melbourne Accords (first signed at Melbourne, Australia in 2062).
The Melbourne Accords had three major provisions: certain orbits around Earth were demilitarized, power satellites properly operated and certified were classified as civilian targets (rather than military targets), and other worlds (at that time Mars, Mercury, and the Jovian satellites) were declared open to colonization by all nations. The Melbourne Accords bound signatories to its provisions only with respect to other signatories. Many smaller nations signed immediately; holdouts among the major powers included France, Germany, Britain, Canton, and Azania.
THE SAUDI WAR (2039-2040)
France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and Egypt occupied the Saudi oil fields in 2020 (to assure oil production for Europe) replacing United States forces which had been in the region since the start of the century. Iran objected to the occupation forces, and ended with the establishment of a buffer zone along the northern edge of the Shatt-al-Arab river. The French role in the Saudi War was an expression of its new status in the world. France was the only global power; interested in commerce and stability.
THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR (2055-2062)
The Soviet Union was splintered into three nation-states by World War III: the Ukraine, the Central Asian Union, and Russia. Russia included all of Siberia, but that region remained an unsettled frontier for a century afterward. The three nations lived in an uneasy peace marked by occasional border clashes. Russia retained some industry and struggled to rebuild; the Ukraine suffered from fallout-contaminated cropland but rehabilitated its soil over a period of 50 years; the Central Asian Republic remained primarily a backward agricultural nation. All three countries were unable to make any substantial progress due to a lack of capital and direction. In 2055, re-industrialized Russia invaded the Ukraine in a drive for its natural resources in the Caucasus. France, Poland, and Germany backed the Ukraine; Iran sided with Russia in exchange for a promise of part of the spoils, and Siberia remained neutral. Initial Russian gains gave them Kiev, but the war stalemated along river lines. Japan's entry into the war in 2060 turned the tide, and Russia collapsed in 2062.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR (2050-2055)
Mexico occupied the American Southwest (Texas, New Mexico, Ari- zona, and southern California) in 1999 and was able to hold the territory primarily because the United States was occupied suppressing rebellious regions in the Southeast and trying to unite its feuding military and civilian governments. Thru the first half of the 21st century, Mexico was able to develop the industrial potential of southern California, and Los Angeles became a rival to Mexico City in population, industrial output, and political power. The border between America (reunited in 2045) and Mexico became an armed (but stable) line drawn roughly along the Colorado River. By the 2050s, Mexico divided into three rival geographic regions with great power: central Mexico and Mexico City, northern Mexico and Los Angeles, and Texas and Houston. After a series of tax increases, Texas declared (in 2050) its independence from Mexico and appealed to America for aid, which was promptly provided, The Mexican responses in Texas were exceptionally brutal, which only hardened the Texan resistance. America offered statehood to Texas, and when Texas agreed, US forces overran the Mexican forces in Texas. Mexico was severely stained, and US troops invaded the southwest and occupied southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona, pushing the Mexicans out of the United States.
THE RIO PLATA WAR (2050-2055)
During the first half of the 21st century, South America was cut off and forced to fend for itself; between 2020-2045, Brazil industrialized with European and Japanese capital because it was a source of cheap labor. Thru most of the 21st century, Brazil and Argentina competed for foreign markets and increasing foreign aid, and, by mid-century, they were on the verge of open warfare. Uruguay was originally allied with Argentina; a chance change in government made it a Brazilian puppet. In 2050, Argentina attacked thru Uruguay with a drive on industrialized Rio de Janeiro. Brazil delayed by giving up territory slowly while mobilizing industry and population. Both sides declared mutually inclusive blockade zones which isolated the continent from seaborne commerce. Much of the war was fought at sea within 500 kilometers of the coast., Brazil, already a pioneer in lighter-than-air (LTA) transport for exploitation of the Amazon Valley, developed trans-oceanic LTA to bring in French electronics, fiber optics, and other war material from Africa. sea Major targets throughout the war reflected the underlying theme of the war: continental ascendancy. Strikes concentrated on ports and industrial regions. Both sides worked hard to cripple their rivals, and succeeded to some extent. Brazil turned the tide in 2054, and the front pushed almost to Buenos Aires, whereupon Argentina sued for peace. Peru was occupied by Brazil, and the Argentine capital was occupied for two years. Tensions smoldered for a decade to break out in the Second Rio Plata War.
SECOND RIO PLATA WAR (2057-2058)
Brazil's economic domination of South America after the First Rio Plata War placed Argentina at a severe disadvantage. However, Brazil's Portuguese language and heritage was a continuing barrier to markets in the Hispanic nations of the continent. Argentina, confident of assistance from other Hispanic nations, attacked Brazil in 2057. After several quick victories, when it became apparent that Chile and Bolivia would not join the fight, Argentina and Brazil concluded an armistice.
THIRD RIO PLATA WAR (2060)
In the aftermath of the Second Rio Plata War, Argentina encouraged insurrection in Peru and Ecuador. In 2060, seven major anti-Brazil resistance groups united under the banner of the Inca Republic; Argentina and Mexico immediately declared their support for the new nation. Initially, the fighting was concentrated in Inca territory with the Brazil-Argentine border a fortified line. When it appeared that the Inca Republic would fall, Argentina crossed the border into Uruguay and pressed on to southern Brazil. America eventually intervened when nuclear weapons were threatened by dropping nerve toxins along the disputed region and enforcing pullbacks on both sides.