World War III (Call of Duty)

World War III (WWIII or WW3, also referred to as the Third World War) was a conflict between Ultranationalist Russia and NATO countries in the Call of Duty franchise. It began when Russian forces invaded the United States in response to the Massacre at Zakhaev International Airport. The United States was initially caught off guard but were able to hold several key positions. It started from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

International Tension and Buildup
After winning the Second Russian Civil War, the Ultranationalists came to power with Boris Vorschevsky becoming the President of Russia. The new Ultranationalist regime, with orders from a terrorist in the inner circle of the Ultranationalist party known as Vladimir Makarov, adopted an aggressively hostile foreign policy towards the United States. As a result of Makarov's move, a new Cold War emerged as the two superpowers looked again at each other with much suspicion. As a result for causing tensions with the United States and the Russian Loyalists, Vorschevsky and other members in the Ultranationalist Party controlling Russia removed Makarov from the party, while trying to improve relations with the United States and the Russian Loyalists. As a result of being removed from the Ultranationalist Party, Makarov vowed to kill Vorschevsky. One of the main intelligence operations during this period was the recovery of a downed American ACS module held in an Ultranationalist controlled base in Kazakhstan loyal to Makarov by Task Force 141 members John "Soap" MacTavish and Gary "Roach" Sanderson.

Massacre at Zakhaev International Airport
Vladimir Makarov, a known terrorist since 2001 and Russian Ultranationalist, personally led the attack at Zakhaev International Airport. Makarov, Axei Borodin (aka PFC Joseph Allen, a U.S. Army Ranger chosen to participate in a CIA deep covert mission by General Sheperd) and three other Ultranationalists (known only as Kiril, Lev and Viktor) assaulted the airport and slaughtered civilians, Russian airport security guards and FSB troops. Makarov eventually found out the true identity of Borodin. When they were preparing to escape, he killed him and then left his body behind in order to give the appearance that the operation was planned and carried out by the United States. The Russian government, upon seeing the use of American made weapons, English speaking terrorists and the body of a dead CIA operative, were led to believe that the massacre was supported, armed and carried out with the approval of the United States government. After the massacre, Vorschevsky claimed those who committed the attack would be held responsible.

Following the Shell
Resolved to clear America of the massacre, Task Force 141 discovered that the ammunition had come from Brazilian arms dealer Alejandro Rojas. Soap and his team tracked the arms dealer to Rio De Janeiro. After capturing and interrogating Rojas' right hand man, TF 141 traced Rojas to the Favela, where after a furious footchase, Rojas was captured. Unable to get extraction due to Russian invasion (Brazil having denied the U.S. access to it's airspace), Soap called Nikolai to provide transportation out of the city. The team barely escaped as the local militia converged upon them.

Invasion of Virginia
Following the supposed American attack at Zakhaev International Airport, Russia retaliates by launching a massive surprise attack on the eastern seaboard of the United States, sparking the war between the two countries. Russian aircraft was able to penetrate American radar defenses because of a recently retrieved ACS module and was copied unknown to Vorshevsky. With the copied module and still unknown to Vorshevsky, Russian forces were able to hack the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) system to give the illusion that an attack was happening on the West Coast, while concealing the real attack against the East Coast, making it undetectable to NORAD's PAVE PAWS radar station at Cape Cod. The surprise invasion attempt was considered an act of war by the U.S. government and in response, the United States of America declares war on Russia. Even some spillovers of the fight moved into Quebec, Canada.

During the initial stages of the attack many of the U.S. military, including the U.S. Army Rangers and U.S. Marine Corps were scatted across the Eastern Seaboard as Russian aircraft managed to drop as many paratroopers as possible and significant ground support. The 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, the closest regiment in Washington D.C., headed to secure a crashed High-Value Individual, codenamed Raptor, in Northern Virginia. The squad encountered heavy resistance including BRT-80's, Mi-28 Havocs and many Russian troops. The Rangers were able to extract Raptor and inflict heavy casualties on the Russian attackers in the process while countering Russian advances.

Most targets by the invading Russian forces included major cities in the east Coast such as Jacksonville, Florida and all the way up to New York City. Some areas and buildings on the East Coast that were attacked by the Russians included the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Camp David and the Pentagon. The Russians highest priority target in the United States was Washington D.C., where many American forces held off every advance in the capital.

As retribution for the airport massacre, the Russians took out their anger on the civilian population. Russian troops attacked residential neighbourhoods and shot up civilian homes. One report indicated that the Russians intended to kill at least a thousand American civilians for every dead Russian civilian in Moscow. Despite the invasion attempt, neither the United States or Russia resorted to the use of nuclear weapons. Following the extraction of Raptor, the Rangers continued to push through Northern Virginia en route to Washington D.C. Heavy fighting ensued in a community named Arcadia, where the Rangers, along with a Stryker ICV (callsign: Honey Badger), where buying valuable time for any remaining civilians to evacuate.

The regiment was also tasked with extracting another High Value Individual from a house on Brookmere Road: the HVI was found dead upon their arrival, apparently killed by Ultranationalist terrorists disguised as his guards. Upon investigating the safe-house, no evidence of a struggle is found. One of the HVI's guards was found to have Russian prison tattoos on his chest. Shortly after, the soldiers continued their defenses to hold Washington D.C. until reinforcements arrive.

Counter-strike in Pacific on Russia
After escaping South America, Task Force 141 had found out that Makarov had ties to a prisoner named "Prisoner 627" in a Russian Gulag. The team links up with U.S. Navy SEALs to take out a line of oil rigs that were being used as SAM sites to clear the way for the U.S. Navy. Phase One of the operation was to take out the SAM sites and eliminate the Russian ground forces that has taken control of the oil rigs while rescuing the oil workers that were being held hostage. Phase Two of the operation was to assault the gulag itself. After fighting their way into solitary confinement, Soap was surprised to find out that #627 was Captain John Price. The team barely escaped the prison before the U.S. Navy bombarded it into oblivion, though fellow TF 141 operative Worm was W.I.A..