"War between europeans is a civil war"

-Victor Hugo

This is a RPG set in an alternative universe where WMDs were completely banned (the full history of this AU is detailed down below and a very short version is in the first message)

You have total freedom: you can roleplay the tense, high-stakes main scenario, forge your own path in full sandbox mode, or modify the existing scenario to your exact preferences.

All tactical details and scenario choices await you in the first message!!!

MAIN SCENARIO

Current situation

РАПОРТ ПО ПРОРЫВВУ СИЛ НАТО(AFTER-ACTION REPORT: THE EISENACH BREACH)

ДАТА(Date): June 17, 1982

ЛОКАЦИЯ(Location:) Sector 4-North, near Eisenach, German Democratic Republic (GDR)

СЕКРЕТНОСТЬ(Classification:) TOP SECRET / EYES ONLY

In the early pre-dawn hours of June 17, PACT's 3rd Reconnaissance Brigade (comprising 3 BRDM-2s and 1 T-54) spotted an unauthorized NATO armored column moving rapidly across the inner-German border toward the A4 highway. The column consisted of advanced CENTAG units, including 2 M60A3 RISE, 1 M1 Abrams, and 3 M2 Bradley IFVs.

(Photo was taken by 3rd reconnaissance brigade and sent to HQ)

The 3rd Reconnaissance Group immediately sent out an emergency distress call and requested heavy armor reinforcement. Elements of the PACT 4th Tank Brigade (led by a vanguard of T-72M1s and T-72UO2s) were scrambled to the sector.

However, by the time the reinforcements arrived, the NATO vanguard had already completely neutralized the 3rd Reconnaissance Group, leaving behind nothing but burning hulls of BRDMs, a destroyed T-54, and scattered, dismounted survivors. A fierce, chaotic night engagement ensued between the arriving 4th Tank Brigade and the entrenched NATO armor. Shortly after the initial exchange of heavy fire, all radio contact with the 4th Tank Brigade was abruptly lost

(The following combat image was captured via the thermal target-acquisition matrix of a US Army M1 Abrams from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. It was heavily circulated by Western media outlets just hours after the clash to lower Warsaw Pact morale)

КОНЕЦ РАПОРТА

(End of report)

ПРИКАЗ

(COMBAT ORDER)

Location: Outskirts of Wutha-Farnroda (East of Eisenach)

СИТУАЦИЯ

(Situation)

NATO forces have breached the border at Eisenach and are attempting to roll up our flanks. The 90th All-Arms Brigade is currently moving to dig in and block the primary NATO axis of advance along the main highway. Meanwhile, the 7th Tank Brigade is mobilizing to the east, preparing a massive counter-offensive strike.

ЗАДАЧА

(Tactial task)

GRANIT-4, your unit is ordered to establish a defensive screening line and conduct aggressive reconnaissance-in-force. You must hold the flank and delay any secondary NATO advances until the 7th Tank Brigade finishes deployment.

Do not retreat.

AVAILABLE FORCES:

Your Command Vehicle: 1x T-72УО2 "УЛУЧШЕННАЯ ОПТИКА 2" (with advanced optics and upgraded armor)

(Im lazy to stylise everything like in the second picture)

Attached Platoon Assets: 2x T-72M1 Main Battle Tanks(Russian/soviet crew)

1x shutzenpanzer(german crew) BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (Anti-tank role, has 9К133 "ФАГОТ")

1 МИ-24(air support available)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: T-72UO2 MAIN BATTLE TANK

(For anyone wondering this is T-72B with "Shtora-1". Maybe it's T-72BU(Т-72БУ) idk)

The T-72УО2(T-72UO2) is a specialized, high-tier variant of the mass-produced T-72 series, engineered specifically to serve as a command vehicle and tactical screen against advanced NATO armor columns.

The 1K17-T KOEP "СЖАТИЕ" System: Replacing the outdated "Луна" infrared searchlight, the T-72УО2 features a turret-mounted, automated dual-emitter laser/IR suppression suite.

Operational Mechanics: The vehicle is ringed with laser-warning receivers. The moment a NATO vehicle (such as an M1 Abrams or M2 Bradley) paints the T-72UO2 with a laser rangefinder, the KOEP system automatically cross-references the telemetry and fires a concentrated, multi-spectrum infrared laser pulse directly back down the enemy’s line of sight in microseconds.

Combat Effect: For the Western gunner looking through a thermal or optical sight, the counter-strike manifests as a blinding, screen-shattering flash of white noise. The intense energy overload physically burns out the sensitive thermal matrices of early Hughes-designed NATO optics, rendering the enemy vehicle completely blind in the dark and forcing the crew to rely on manual, unassisted backups

(Enemy IFV "Bradley" fires an ATGM missile at Т-72УО2)

(The fun part)

HISTORY OF ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE

GLOBAL HISTORY: THE GENEVA ACCORDS

Geneva, Switzerland, 1946. In the immediate aftermath of World War II and the devastating atomic bombings of Japan, world leaders came to a harrowing realization: humanity would not survive a nuclear arms race. In a historic bid for global survival, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain convened at the Palace of Nations. Together, they signed the Geneva Convention on the Absolute Prohibition of Atomic Weapons, completely banning the development, stockpiling, and deployment of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

Without nuclear deterrence, the world was left to rely solely on conventional military might. Or so it seemed on paper

THE AFTERMATH

In 1949, following the early accession of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) into NATO, the Warsaw Pact was established as a direct countermeasure. Decades of mutual distrust and intense paranoia followed.

In 1952, the KGB launched a large-scale, deep-cover intelligence operation codenamed "Концы Земли" (Ends of the Earth). Its objective was to locate and neutralize any rumored, clandestine nuclear programs. The CIA countered with a massive global operation named "Phantom" with the same objective.

After years of searching and finding no definitive proof of active WMD programs, both agencies eventually scaled back these clandestine operations. Yet, the ghost of the bomb remained. Because neither superpower could ever truly prove the other didn't possess a secret weapon, a fragile, paranoid peace held through the late 20th century. Major superpower clashes during the 1964 Korean War and the 1974 Vietnam War were narrowly contained- but the luck of humanity has finally run out.

On June 17, 1982, the critical escalation in the Thuringian Salient shattered the status quo once and for all. Armed with hyper-advanced conventional tech and fueled by decades of suppressed hatred, the armies of NATO and the Warsaw Pact have locked horns in open conflict.

The world is no longer on the edge of the Third World War. It has already begun. Or hasn't?

More about crisises

THE KOREAN CONFLICT & THE RISE OF THE AIR DEFENSE ERA (1964-1966)

In 1964, the fragile peace of East Asia shattered when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), supported by the People's Republic of China, launched a lightning offensive against South Korea. Within days, the peninsula fell, and Kim Il Sung declared the formation of the United Communist Korea (UCK) .

The United States responded immediately, establishing a massive naval blockade around the Chinese coastline and deploying overwhelming air power from bases in Japan to strike UCK installations. The conflict escalated into a brutal war of attrition as Soviet air forces joined the fray alongside Chinese forces. For two years, the skies above Korea and China became a graveyard of aircraft. The UCK was reduced to little more than rubble and ruins, but the cost to the Soviet and Chinese forces was catastrophic

In response to the devastating American bombing campaigns, the Soviet Union initiated a desperate technological race to protect their airspace. This resulted in Project "Панцирь" (Pantsir) the development of the world's most advanced integrated air defense systems. The success of the Pantsir network forced a stalemate; while the U.S. maintained its naval blockade and air presence in Japan, the era of uncontested American air supremacy ended. The war concluded in 1966 with a tense, exhausted standoff, leaving both superpowers to pour their resources into advanced jet fighters and next generation missile technology

THE ASYMMETRIC ARMS RACE: PROJECT "СЖАТИЕ" (1970s)

(Not a crisis but still)

Following the Armored Race of the 1970s, Soviet intelligence secured technical schematics of NATO’s new M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley systems. The findings were alarming: Western armor possessed an overwhelming advantage in night operations due to their highly advanced, sensitive thermal imaging matrices and integrated laser rangefinders.

Unable to match the microchip production of the West one-for-one due to post-Korean War economic strain, the Kremlin authorized an asymmetric countermeasure: Project "СЖАТИЕ" (Compression). Soviet design bureaus successfully weaponized high-energy solid-state lasers.

While the massive, experimental 1K17 "СЖАТИЕ" self-propelled laser vehicle was deemed too complex for immediate frontline deployment, a scaled-down, ruggedized variant designated the 1K17-T Electro-Optical Countermeasure Suite (KOEP) was rushed into linear production. The system was designed to exploit a critical flaw in Western optics: their immense sensitivity to concentrated infrared and laser amplification

(1К17 "СЖАТИЕ")

THE VIETNAM MEATGRINDER (1974-1979)

(Insert "Johnny wont be coming home" song🗣)

Following the 1966 Korean stalemate, the absence of nuclear deterrence turned Southeast Asia into a brutal testing ground for conventional supremacy. In 1974, the United States launched a full scale invasion of North Vietnam to prevent a communist domino effect.

The U.S. deployed massive strategic bombing campaigns, but they met an impenetrable Soviet built "Pantsir" air defense network. The conflict quickly escalated from guerrilla warfare into a high intensity multi national clash. With millions of Chinese troops and Soviet armored divisions flooding the front lines, the war devolved into a grueling stalemate of heavy artillery duels and massive tank engagements.

By 1979, both superpowers reached their breaking point. The United States, crippled by stagflation and massive anti war riots, withdrew from Asia. For the Soviet Union, the cost of maintaining massive armies in Vietnam and Korea shattered their planned economy, causing severe industrial shortages

THE THURINGIAN SALIENT CRISIS (JUNE 1982)

June 17, 1982. Following a failed NATO-backed coup attempt inside the Soviet Union -which resulted in a brutal, week-long purge of all opposition elements by the Kremlin- the Soviet command structure was temporarily fractured and distracted. Sensing a critical window of vulnerability, NATO’s Central Army Group (CENTAG) launched a sudden, aggressive conventional thrust to cut off the Thuringian Salient