World War III

The Russian-American War was a conflict between Ultranationalist Russia and the United States. It began when Russian forces invaded the United States after the latter was implicated in the Massacre at Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow. The United States was initially caught off guard by the attack, but was able to hold Washington DC after the initial onslaught. This marked the first invasion of the United States by a foreign power since the War of 1812.

5 Years Before the War: The Second Russian Civil War
Day 1-6, 2011

Before the Russian-American War, the Second Russian Civil War broke out, led by Imran Zakhaev of the Ultranationalist Party of the Russian Federation 5 years before this war, in 2011. He founded the Ultranationalist Party and opened a war with the Russian Federation. The Russians acted quickly, as Loyalists quickly fought the Ultranationalists. Zakhaev knew that this will call the US to combat, so he asked his comrade, Khaled Al-Asad, the second most powerful man in the Middle East, to launch a coup d'etat. Then, he discovered a spy in the camp codenamed Nikolai. Zakhaev immediately ordered an execution of him 3 hours after the coup d'etat, but an SAS team manages to rescue the informant. At the same time, the USMC started a full-scale war with Khaled Al-Asad's OpFor. After heavy fighting, a nuclear bomb went off in the capital city, killing 30,000 men. SAS intelligence believed that Al-Asad may escaped to Azerbaijan before the detonation. Captain Price and his team went there and witnessed Al-Asad's execution by Price himself. 8 hours after his execution, their squad holds against a raging army of Ultranationalists and escapes. Their intel service managed to find Zakhaev's son, Viktor. Viktor shot himself after a long chase. Losing his son, Zakhaev was enraged and took control of a nuclear launch facility from the Russian Loyalists. He launched 2 RT-2UTTH Topol M missiles to the U.S. East Coast. In the facility, SAS and U.S. Marines managed to auto-destruct the missiles. The team's efforts come short when their bridge is blown up, but after a firefight, then-Sgt. Soap MacTavish kills Imran Zakhaev.

Prelude of War: The Massacre at Zakhaev International Airport
Day 3, 2016

Vladimir Makarov became the leader of the party and attacked several locations around the world in terrorist bombings. Makarov, Alexei Borodin (who is actually PFC Joseph Allen, an American soldier chosen to do a CIA deep cover mission by General Shepherd) and 3 other Ultranationalists assault Zakhaev International Airport and committed a massacre of both civilians and Russian police/FSB. Makarov, however, shot the undercover American and left him to die. The Russian government, upon seeing the use of American made weapons, empty shell casings and the body of CIA operative PFC Joseph Allen, believe that the terrorist act was instigated by the CIA with U.S. support. Boris Vorshevsky claimed that those who committed the attack would be held responsible.

The War Begins: The Russian Federation Invasion of the East Coast of the United States of America
Day 4, 2016

Following the mass assault in Zakhaev International Airport, the Russian Federation now officially declares open war with the United States of America. To start, they made a replica of an ACS module recovered by Task Force 141. Upon using the module, they hack the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) system to and thus helped fighter jets enter the East Coast (other fighter jets possibly attacked both Alaska and California) Russian transport planes dropped paratroopers over Northeastern Virginia and Washington D.C. At the same time, the Russian Air Force takes out any American air support. The 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, the closest regiment at the time to Virginia, heads to secure a crashed High-Value Individual codenamed Raptor. The squad encountered heavy resistance including BTR-80's, Mi-28 Havocs and many Russian troops. A Predator-UAV drone the squad had been using was shot down, but after some time, they are evacuated by a convoy and they were requested by General Shepherd to go to Arcadia County and help the evacuation of civilians. A Stryker ICV callsigned Honey Badger assists the squad as they move through the neighborhood, and many civilians are evacuated by helicopter.

Washington D.C turned into a Battle Zone
Day 5, 2016

The massive Russian armed forces and Russian paratroopers managed take control of the city. American forces in the capital then proceeded to evac every civilian they can from the Russians at the Washington Monument. However, numerous Russian vehicles and soldiers delay their evacuation. Sgt. Foley (Modern Warfare 2) and his squadmates enter the Department of Commerce and provide sniper support. Private James Ramirez, using an M82A1 SASR with Thermal Scope, assists the evacuation by sniping Russians armed with Javelin missiles, before proceeding to eliminate the enemy artillery with the enemy munitions. The Ranger team are evacuated by a Navy SEALS team, and piloting a Black Hawk helicopter, shot down heavy Russian resistance at the World War II Memorial. The helicopter takes a hit (courtesy of the SAM sites on the top of the Department of Justice building)

The EMP: The Possible Defeat of the Russian Invading Force by the US
Day 5, 2016

At the same time as the squad's helicopter crashed, Task Force 141 assaulted a Russian submarine base with the intent of destroying a nuclear submarine. Captain John Price, however, commandeers the sub and launches a nuclear missile. Price intended to detonate the missile in orbit, creating an electro-magnetic pulse over the entire Eastern seaboard of the United States - disabling all electronics. At the crash site, Pvt. Ramirez, Cpl. Dunn, and Sgt. Foley are fighting against Russian ground forces who outnumber them heavily. In orbit, an astronaut 'Sat-1' stationed in the International Space Station, observes a fast-moving object in the sky. As both Houston control and the ISS try to figure out what the bogey is, the missile explodes, creating a shockwave so powerful that it disables all electrical equipment on the East Coast of America. The explosion also creates a shockwave in orbit which destroys the ISS. On the ground, as the situation for the American forces looks hopeless, the pulse reaches the ground disabling all Russian air support and ground vehicles. Now with their advantage removed, the Russian forces begin losing territory. At the same time the Russian forces closing in on the crashed helicopter are thrown into disarray when their own fighter planes and attack choppers begin falling to the ground as a result of the EMP. In the ensuing chaos Foley's team are able to escape and soon learn that Colonel Marshall is assembling a task force to re-capture Whiskey Hotel, the White House.

The team joins the other American soldiers and together they fight their way to the White House. During the assault an emergency broadcast is heard declaring that Washington DC is to be assumed lost to the Russians and that a carpet bombing is about to begin. Hearing this message the team desperately fight their way to the roof of the White House and deploy green flares to indicate the White House has been retaken and that Americans have regained control of the city. Corporal Dunn claims that he would like to burn Moscow down to the ground after the devastation of Washington, foreshadowing a possible counter-attack by the Americans on Russian soil.

Despite the Americans holding many building throughout Washington, the actual results of the battle are not known. The Russian forces are unlikely to have been defeated in the city but have certainly been weakened. Elsewhere on the Coasts and possibly Alaska, it can also be assumed that the war continues. Both Russians and Americans lost their electronics and vehicles in the blast, leaving them even on the ground, though the Americans have the home-field and the Russians seem to be very disorganized.

Aftermath
Most of Washington, D.C. is retaken. Though nothing has been confirmed regarding the aftermath of the attack on Washington, it can be speculated from dialogue at the end of Whiskey Hotel that there will be an American counterattack. It is unknown which nations will ally with Russia or the United States if or when a counterattack should occur.

Trivia

 * The attack on the east coast is entirely impractical, as Washington, D.C. is out of range of Russian fighters and helicopters. A possible situation is that the Russians have a carrier operating in the Atlantic (where it would be vulnerable to attacks from the US Atlantic Fleet), but this would not explain the massive amount of planes. A more practical invasion would be on the West Coast.
 * It is possible that Russian forces attacked the West Coast because there is a Spec Ops mission where you fight Ultranationalists on the Golden Gate Bridge.
 * Not a single Russian Main Battle Tank was encountered or reported during the entire war which is very strange as the Russian Military relies heavily on it's tanks and it does have the capability to transport them long distances with either Antonov An-124 cargo planes (possibly the much larger An-225 if they acquired any) and amphibious landing craft (such as the Ivan Rogov Class).