Story

Armored Warfare's story has been rewritten several times over the course of it's existence, with the latest batch of story being a complete revamp by the Lead Content Manager, starting in early 2017. This page will cover primarily the new lore for Armored Warfare as it expands outward. Many Global Operations and PvE Missions revolve around various events within the lore.

=The World of Armored Warfare=

The Broken World
In the late 2010s, Europe found itself at the brink. With a worsening economy, a detached political sphere, and an increasingly isolationist United States, EU leaders made the choice to leave its collective border open to the vast groups of refugees flooding in from the war-torn Middle East. Due to an inadequate response to the reality of new security risks, Europe experienced the worst series of terrorist attacks in history, culminating in the detonation of two "dirty" nuclear devices on the outskirts of Paris and Berlin. This sparked a revolution of the kind Europe had never seen before. The United States, while mostly immune to foreign terrorism due to their new isolationist policies, suffered economically with the establishment of many domestic militias in the southern states, funded by South American drug cartels, and eventually devolved into civil war.

From Europe's fires of revolution rose populist leaders to power with promises to end corruption, solve the constant state of crisis and make Europe safe again. Backed by unprecedented popular support, a political witch hunt began, and by the time the fervor subsided, thousands of political figures, bankers or businessmen had been executed or imprisoned. The popularity of the new leaders soon began to wane as the economic situation spiraled lower and lower due to the near complete destruction of the economies of the European nations. In desperation, the leaders turned to corporations for help, hammering the last nail into the coffin of the old world.

Rise of the Corporations
The largest corporations in the world survived the entire European crisis relatively unscathed due to their global nature, with many exploiting, to give them a better bargaining position. When the dust settled, many of the largest companies found themselves richer than the nations themselves. With such vast wealth, any attempts to rein them in and tax them failed, as the corporation's influence permeated all levels of society. In their desperation, European leaders traded the only thing they had left for bailouts and relief – rights, privileges and land. Within a few years, entire regions had been sold to corporations as private property in exchange for financial aid, strengthening them further. This Culminated in the signing of the 2029 Bordeaux Treaty, granting major corporations exemption from control by any local governments and allowing them to form private armies and police forces.

Territories owned by corporations (termed "Corporate Space") became centers of trade and business wealth, causing hundreds of thousands of citizens to flock towards them. What that found was a Despotic system where basic rights such as free speech, the freedom to assemble or the right for political representation were disregarded in exchange for the promise of food and shelter. Any newcomers found acting out of line from these laws were hunted down by corporate security forces and deported from its territory – or worse.

Corporate Armies and Mercenaries
After the Bordeaux Treaty, each major corporation established a military branch, with a core based on its own security service, expanding by recruitment of many former soldiers and mercenaries. Due to the unbridled nature of these new Private Military Coorperations, an international agreement defining the rules of law relating to private military forces, called the Private Military Treaty, was created. In order for a PMC to be considered a legal entity (and therefore subject to fair treatment during wartime), legal PMCs had to be registered, and were subject to restrictions and a uniform Code of Conduct.

The Badlands
Those who fought the new system, for one reason or another, were drawn to the far corners of the world where they could exist in relative peace; The Badlands. These areas, such as the American Southwest, north-western China, and central Africa, were some of the last bastions of freedom in a world controlled by corporate will. While occasional corporate PMCs intervened in the area, a protracted guerrilla war would follow occupation, ending in eventual desertion of the area due to the expense of holding the area.

The World as It Stands Today
In the late 2030s, an uneasy balance was achieved between countries and corporations. But corporate greed has begun to clash with the dozens of freedom fighter groups, criminal organizations and deadly cults that form every year. It is only a question of time before the world is plunged into the chaos once more. Welcome to the world of Armored Warfare.

=Special Operations=

Before the storm
The world of 2042 is a broken one with corporations usurping much of the world’s resources and former superpowers like the United States of America are but a shadow of their former glory. This is a result of decades of deterioration, greed and unbridled exploitation of the most powerful consortiums, some of which are wealthier than entire continents combined. These corporations control private mercenary armies, equipped with all kinds of weaponry short of nuclear. Entire divisions of armored vehicles are at their disposal, ready to do their master’s bidding – not out of patriotism or loyalty, but for Credits – the universal currency of the new world.

In the late 2030s, a series of conflicts that would eventually become known as the Corporate Wars devastated large portions of Europe and the United States. Several major corporations including the British Clayburn Industries and the German Lodestar GmbH engaged in conflicts that left massive territories in corporate hands. Mercenaries, private security forces and rebel militias fought each other all over central Europe and the Balkans. The years of strife culminated in the 2039 Seahawk Rebellion when an entire battalion-sized unit of Clayburn Industries rose up against orders to commit genocide.

Unbeknownst to them, the uprising was in fact a clever ruse prepared by the mastermind behind the Clayburn Industries Corporation, Andrew Clayburn, to gain more influence across the world. Employing the services of a Corporate Wars veteran Sebastian Grimm known for his campaign against Clayburn’s rival, Lodestar GmbH, Clayburn’s plan worked almost flawlessly, resulting in thousands of dead enemies and a massive territory and wealth influx for the company, including a portion of the former American south. The handful of surviving Seahawks retreated to Istanbul, reduced to a life in shadows.

Now, two years later, you, commander, are amongst the mercenaries tasked with protecting the Clayburn Industries facility in the Mojave Desert against unknown assailants...

Chapter 1 – Attack
Your mercenary unit was hired by the ISD (an international security organization overseeing the legal mercenary groups) to investigate a Clayburn Industries facility deep in the Mojave Desert, which suddenly felt silent. You find the facility abandoned, save for a mysterious group of assailants, led by a man who introduces himself as Magnus Holter. While investigating the area, it becomes clear that the mysterious enemies are trying to loot it for chemical weapons. Despite your best efforts, Magnus Holter escapes with enough chlorine to wipe out an entire city.
 * Date: September 6, 2042
 * Location: Mojave Desert

Chapter 2 – Pursuit
The mysterious mercenaries from Mojave escaped with the chemical payload, but you are hot on their trail. Summoning an ISD-provided transport ship equipped with a Zubr landing craft, you pursue the assailants to the Panama Canal only to find the sluices blocked and protected by the same forces that previously attacked the Clayburn Industries plant. You defend the Zubr while opening one sluice after another in order to allow it to pass through while looking for clues. You find out that the mercenary ship you are pursuing made its way through the canal without any trouble on its way to Jamaica, only to be ambushed by Clayburn Industries security! Could the mercenaries be actually working with Clayburn?
 * Date: September 15, 2042
 * Location: Panama Canal

Chapter 3 – Threat from the Sea
Arriving at Port Antonio, you find out that the area is occupied by two unmarked enemy warships. The Zubr landing craft drops you off at the far side of the town but you soon find that the beautiful, tropical beaches of Jamaica are far deadlier than anyone would have thought. The town is occupied by mercenaries who not only have considerable forces stationed in the area, but also operate sophisticated equipment never previously seen on any battlefield, such as anti-aircraft lasers. The Zubr craft is taken out, leaving you only one way – forward. It turns out that the plan of the enemy commander, Magnus Holter, is, for reasons unknown, to destroy the town using a warhead made using the chemicals from the looted Clayburn facility.
 * Date: September 17, 2042
 * Location: Port Antonio, Jamaica

You take the city after a tough fight and now it is the enemy commander who is left with no choice but to evacuate to a nearby island where the last of the mercenary forces are seemingly entrenched. In the midst of a heated battle to take the AA positions on the island, you see three Clayburn Industries fighter jets arrive and take out the enemy warships, followed by a forced landing of a Clayburn Industries kill team. It’s clear you’re in for the fight of your lives.

Chapter 4 – Exfiltration
By a strange twist of fate, you find yourselves on the side of your former enemies with a Clayburn Industries kill team having arrived to wipe you all out in an attempt to leave no witnesses alive. It’s now clear that there is some deeper connection between the enemy commander and Clayburn Industries – something the corporation definitely doesn’t want you to find out.
 * Date: September 17, 2042
 * Location: Port Antonio, Jamaica

The Clayburn forces quickly overrun and rout Magnus Holter’s forces, leaving only pockets of stragglers. Desperate to get out of there alive, you gather whatever’s left of your former enemies, saving one of his top lieutenants, Andrey Zaytsev, in the process. Pushing towards the Clayburn Industries landing, you take out an entire armored company sent against you and commandeer one of the massive Zubr hovercrafts they arrived in. Desperate to stop you at all costs, the entire Clayburn force descends at you as you realize you’ve just become an enemy of one of the most powerful corporations in the world. Following the battle, Magnus Holter welcomes you to his side and starts to explain his past in Clayburn Industries...

Chapter 1 – Meeting in Batumi
A year before the events of the Caribbean Crisis, Magnus Holter, then a commander of the Clayburn Industries security service, was sent to the capital of Georgia, Batumi, on a mission to resolve a situation where valuable cargo was allegedly damaged by Clayburn forces. Georgia, once a teeming holiday resort with all the attraction a discerning tourist might crave for, was hit hard by the events of the 2030s, becoming a nest of rogue mercenaries, criminals and wannabe revolutionaries. Even so, the mission was expected to be nothing more than a formality – after the Corporate Wars and the enormous influence gains during the Seahawk rebellion, Clayburn assets were all but untouchable.
 * Date: September 14, 2041
 * Location: Batumi, Georgia

Holter and his small escort arrived in Batumi to meet his contact in a nearby seaside hotel. His colleague and friend, Aleksandr Cortez, the commander of the Black Eagle mercenary company (at that time in Clayburn service), was in the meanwhile dispatched to the other side of the city to guard the cargo. The hotel turned out to be a trap. The place was empty but Holter’s guards were attacked by unknown mercenaries. Holter quickly found out that the entire city had been emptied and fortified – something very wrong was going on. To top it off, Cortez came under attack by the same mercenaries and was having a hard time repelling their assault.

Upon having his forces search the hotel thoroughly, Holter decided to go to the regional Clayburn HQ not far from the hotel. The HQ was emptied as well – it looked like everyone had left in a hurry. The approach to it was, however, heavily fortified with the mysterious mercs fighting Holter every inch of the way. Upon seeing the scale of the enemy mercenary presence, Holter decided to unite his men with Cortez and wait for extraction on a nearby beach. But he was too late – before he could get to him, Cortez’s units were overwhelmed and captured. The cargo itself was destroyed. Fighting off yet another wave of enemy mercenaries, Holter was successful in holding the beach until a Clayburn landing craft arrived to pick his forces up. Holter decided to report the incident to the CEO of Clayburn Industries, Sebastian Grimm. An investigation into what had happened was launched.

Chapter 2 – Tkvarcheli Siege
As Holter had predicted, Grimm was furious. He wanted the culprits found and punished. Clayburn Industries’ intelligence network found them rather quickly – the mysterious mercs were a local band called the Evocati. They were known for taking pretty much any job, no matter how dirty, although no evidence of anything illegal had ever been found – the Evocati didn’t like or leave witnesses. Under the Bordeaux Treaty and the Orleans Treaty, they were legal, but just barely.
 * Date: November 5, 2041
 * Location: Tkvarcheli, Georgia

The Evocati had a base in an old mining city of Tkvarcheli. Tkvarcheli was a relic from the Soviet era, its golden days long gone following the decline of its coal mining industry – a perfect hideout for a group of mercenaries who were supplied by the few locals left living in the area in exchange for “protection”. Their leader, Douglas O’Reilly, had a well-deserved reputation for ruthlessness and brutality.

Grimm tasked Holter with leading an invasion to teach the Evocati the price of crossing Clayburn Industries. The whole operation was technically illegal – such faction wars were specifically prohibited by the Orleans Treaty, but Clayburn Industries was an influential company and it made sense that it would get away with such an (arguably justified) breach.

It turned out that the Evocati controlled a vast amount of manpower and vehicles. What was supposed to be a small-scale punitive operation turned into a massive battle, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Corporate Wars, involving dozens of armored vehicles and heavy artillery. The Clayburn Industries forces advanced on the city center where most of the Evocati mercs were holed up. Halfway through the battle, Holter was contacted by badly wounded Aleksandr Cortez, who alone was able to escape captivity in the chaos. Cortez tried to warn Holter of something and told him to get out of there, but he was interrupted by radio jamming.

The Evocati forces were finally pushed to the brink of annihilation when the Clayburn forces received an order to withdraw from an unknown source. Holter and his closest allies were left stranded along with the surviving Evocati. Just as the fighting was dying down, the entire area was suddenly surrounded by ISD forces led by Fedor Volkov, declaring the operation illegal. Additionally, Douglas O’Reilly, clearly allied with the ISD, arrived in his AC-130 gunship. The regular Clayburn forces retreated from the area, leaving the blame solely on Holter’s shoulders.

Chapter 3 – Tkvarcheli Trap
The International Security Department (ISD) was a multi-lateral body, established following the end of the Corporate Wars to oversee any large-scale mercenary operations across the world so that such a major conflict would never happen again. The Orleans Treaty that ended the fighting specifically prohibited such aggressive corporate assaults.
 * Date: November 5, 2041
 * Location: Tkvarcheli, Georgia

However, the whole world also knew that some parties to the Treaty were more equal than the others. The ISD would never do anything that would openly cross the interests of Clayburn Industries and was effectively a corporate puppet, existing to give the semblance of lawful oversight to the masses tired by constant warfare.

The fact the ISD forces conveniently appeared in Tkvarcheli just as the fighting was almost over only meant one thing – they acted with the consent of Clayburn Industries.

Fedor Volkov, commanding the ISD operation, was an old acquaintance of Holter’s back from the days when the ISD and Clayburn Industries had cooperated on regular basis. From his intercepted radio transmission, Holter learned that he had been stripped of his Clayburn Industries security commander rank and that he was to be taken – dead or alive.

Realizing what that meant, Holter refused Volkov’s appeal to turn himself in and a battle ensued with the ISD forces. During the battle, Douglas O’Reilly supported the ISD forces with his AC-130. He was ultimately shot down by Holter’s forces, but not before revealing that Sebastian Grimm, the CEO of Clayburn Industries, was behind the order to throw Magnus Holter to the wolves. Hearing that, Fedor Volkov realized it was all a set-up and pulled his battered forces back to regroup, allowing Holter half an hour to escape...

Chapter 4 – Stronghold
Instead of running, Magnus Holter and his remaining forces decided to make an aggressive move and assault the Clayburn Industries regional headquarters in Gori, some 60 kilometers north-west of the old Georgian capital, Tbilisi, hoping the catch Sebastian Grimm, the Clayburn CEO, off-guard.
 * Date: November 6, 2041
 * Location: Gori, Georgia

Ditching most of their heavy equipment in order to make the best time possible, Holter’s forces made it just in time to be welcomed by all the Clayburn forces Grimm could muster, including a whole tank company Scores of Clayburn Security Forces men (soldiers in all but name) took their positions around the city, armed to the teeth with anti-tank guided missiles. The mission seemed hopeless but, seeing no other option, Holter decided to launch a desperate attack anyway. In a private radio conversation, Grimm told Holter of his motivation, how Holter had become too powerful and popular for his own good, threatening Grimm’s position – he had to be removed, but not before being discredited as a rogue mercenary, a war criminal who had broken the Orleans treaty.

Advancing under the cover of a snowstorm that grounded the local squadron of assault helicopters armed with guns and rockets, Holter and his forces fought their way to the base dominating the city, defeating platoons of Clayburn tanks and clearing one street after another of enemy combatants.

The snowstorm cleared halfway through the battle, allowing Grimm to reinforce his faltering units in the city with helicopters and long-range artillery strikes – but to no avail. Magnus knew about the base’s weakness and disabled its external power supply before breaking down the gates and entering the base itself.

Searching one bunker after another while evading constant enemy strikes, Holter’s forces reached the top of the base only to watch Grimm escape in a fighter jet, powerless to stop him. The situation seemed hopeless – dozens of remaining Clayburn armored vehicles were amassed outside of the base and were readying themselves to re-take it. Clayburn helicopters pounded what was left of Holter’s men to oblivion. In desperation, Holter called out to an unknown ally – a choice he knew would come with a hefty price tag in the future. A stealth bomber with previously unseen cloaking technology was dispatched to drop an EMP bomb over the entire city, knocking out the power in every vehicle on the battlefield. In the chaos that ensued, Holter was able to escape the encirclement.

And so ends Holter’s story of how he became a “war criminal” – betrayed by the man he had trusted and left for the ISD to deal with. Extending an invitation, he is ready to welcome you amongst the ranks of his followers.

Chapter 1 – Plant in El Arish
More than five months have passed since you met Magnus Holter in Jamaica and defected to his side to fight Clayburn Industries, now a dominating force in the mercenary world. Sebastian Grimm, the CEO of CI, used the fallout from Holter’s attempt to destroy the CI base in Port Antonio using chlorine gas. Painting Holter as a war criminal and worlds’ biggest threat, Grimm used his influence to withdraw from the treaty of Orleans that had, years prior, ended the Corporate Wars that had been ravaging much of the world. He spent most of late 2042 consolidating his power, taking over one competing enterprise by another, both peacefully and by force, while the rest of the corporations, ever suspicious, bickered bitterly amongst themselves, withdrawing their support from ISD one by one.
 * Date: February 26, 2043
 * Location: El Arish, Egypt

Magnus Holter’s forces, on the other hand, were ravaged in the clash with CI and he spent much of the past half-year to rebuild his strength and to recruit new followers with promises of freedom from corporate oppression, revenge or – in most cases – money. Luckily for Holter, Clayburn forces overextended themselves and Holter’s intelligence corps reported one of the CI processing plants located in Egypt was left temporarily vulnerable. In a twist of fate, the security was also provided by another organization from Holter’s past – the Evocati PMC, now fully in CI service. Magnus Holter decided to take the opportunity to strike at his old enemy.

Your unit participates in the strike under the call-sign “Steel Breakers”, supported by Holter’s elite units, call sign “Willow” and a hired local mercenary flight, the Hawks. You fall upon the plant like a whirlwind, quickly overrunning the outer defenses and forcing the Evocati tanks into a desperate counterattack, which you crush easily with the help of Hawks’ bombers. Even understaffed, the plant seems remarkably well defended, a fact that doesn’t escape Holter’s notice.

As you press forward into the facility, you notice a train ready to depart as well as a large number of trucks evacuating the premises – Clayburn Industries have been warned of your strike and are removing the most valuable assets. Clearly, this plant is more than it seems, you realize, as a large contingent of Evocati arrives to reinforce the reeling defenders. After a pitched but victorious battle, the Willow unit commandos take place of a bunker hidden beneath the plant, full of chemical weapons and the cargo that had allegedly been stolen from Batumi – finally a proof that Clayburn was involved in some very illegal operations.

Holter realizes that even this evidence is not enough to bring the combined might of the world down on Clayburn forces. He hatches a daring plan – to force Douglas O’Reilly, the leader of the Evocati, to testify against Grimm, he must first be captured. Fortunately for Holter, one of the captured Evocati officers knows where O’Reilly’s hiding – the port city of Basra.

Chapter 2 – Hunt in Basra
You arrive at Basra only to find the city in a state of lockdown – getting in won’t be easy with the streets being guarded by the Evocati elite along with all the auxiliary forces they could muster. Holter was, on the other hand, able to gather only limited support in time – the Hawks have arrived to support your advance, gleefully bombing one Evocati unit after another. The other support units, call-sign “Maple”, were, however, overwhelmed by the Evocati and are fighting for their survival somewhere in the city.
 * Date: March 5, 2043
 * Location: Basra, Iraq

You fight your way through the outskirts, your commandos searching one building after another, until they capture an Evocati officer who knows where O’Reilly is holed up – in a warehouse across the Shatt al-Arab river. Rescuing what remains of the Maple forces, you traverse the bridge to the hiding spot and find that the information provided by your prisoner is true – the place is crawling with Evocati elite. Your commandos storm the place while you hold off the merc reinforcements. Taking heavy losses, they finally manage to capture Douglas O’Reilly for interrogation. He will be delivered to Fedor Volkov, the commander of the remaining ISD forces. There would be no escape for O’Reilly or Grimm this time...

Chapter 3 – Latakia Breakthrough
After his capture in Basra, Douglas O’Reilly was transported to Latakia to an ISD base for interrogations. This turned out to be a mistake as the base immediately came under attack by a Clayburn Industries expeditionary force – Sebastian Grimm clearly doesn’t want O’Reilly to talk. Fortunately for Fedor Volkov and his ISD troops, you and Magnus Holter’s remaining soldiers also made the trip and weren’t caught completely off-guard.
 * Date: March 20, 2043
 * Location: Latakia, Syria

After defeating the initial wave of attackers, Volkov has O’Reilly loaded into the best protected ISD tank they can get their hands on and, under your protection, they drive to downtown Latakia while you fend off constant attacks from the Clayburn forces. Fearing for his life, Douglas O’Reilly realizes he has nothing to lose and promises to tell Fedor Volkov about a secret Clayburn Industries base where Sebastian Grimm awaits – but to do that, you have to get him out of the encirclement alive.

What follows is a fierce battle, in which Magnus and you manage to break through the enemy blockade and board one of the commandeered landing craft left on the beach in order to get to safety. Being true to his words, Douglas O’Reilly finally confesses and starts talking about Grimm’s plans.

Chapter 4 – Olavsvern Takeover
Douglas O’Reilly finally disclosed the location of Sebastian Grimm’s secret base where he’s hiding from justice – it’s located in Olavsvern, Norway. Your forces uneasily watch the wrecks of derelict ships littering the misty shores as you make your landing at the head of a large naval armada. Once again, Magnus Holter and Fedor Volkov are working together – if only for a short while.
 * Date: March 27, 2043
 * Location: Olavsvern, Norway

As you disembark Holter’s landing ships and take first orders from Volkov, Magnus Holter reveals his true colors and – more importantly – his intention. Volkov’s goal is to capture Sebastian Grimm in order to put him on trial for Clayburn Industries’ crimes, but Holter has another fate in store for him – a cold, icy resting place six feet under the frozen soil of his own base.

Shortly after the beginning of your missions, you will have a choice to make – either you can join Fedor Volkov and bring Grimm to international justice, or side with Magnus Holter, allowing him to finally enact his revenge and kill Sebastian Grimm, decapitating his world-spanning corporation in one fell swoop. Regardless of your choices, you are in for the toughest fight of your career as you punch through an entire battalion of enemy troops desperately defending every inch of their precious facility. Eventually, you manage to overcome their resistance and reach the base’s port, only to find out that Grimm is on board of his own private destroyer and is bent on slipping under your nose again, taunting you along the way.

The outcome of the battle reflects the choice you made – if you sided with Fedor Volkov, he will try to convince Grimm to surrender and face an international court, revealing that the ISD is no longer a Clayburn puppet, but a reformed organization fighting to bring peace to the post-corporate-wars world. Grimm mocks the proposal but his ship is eventually sunk by air strikes and the concentrated fire of your forces. Grimm is then taken into ISD custody to await his trial.

Siding of with Magnus Holter, will, however, reveal the story of how Grimm ended up controlling Clayburn Industries – him and Magnus Holter murdered Clayburn’s former CEO and founder at the height of his power, taking over one of the most powerful corporations in the world and growing it even further. But Sebastian Grimm, a former mercenary commander himself, became drunk on power and corrupted – instead of bringing the corporate wars to an end, he started obsessing over territory, control and money, betraying even his closes friend Magnus Holter in the process. Magnus, however, is not the forgiving type and instead of listening to Fedor Volkov, he has Grimm’s vessel bombed and sunk, leaving Grimm to die on his doomed ship.

So ends Magnus Holter’s story – but which ending is the correct one?

We leave that up to you to decide, commanders. We will take a look at the statistics of Chapter 4 and the majority choice will become the canon ending. Now’s a good opportunity to influence the future of Armored Warfare storyline – are you up to the task?

Chapter 1 – Summit
Clayburn Industries has been defeated, its fate sealed with the arrest of its CEO, Sebastian Grimm, during the pacification of the Olavsvern base in Norway. All around the world, its assets are being seized by the victorious International Security Department that finally found its way out of the clutches of CI’s corrupting influence. No longer a corporate puppet, the ISD calls for a major summit that takes place in the city of Moscow. The largest corporations on the planet, wary of the example made of Clayburn Industries, quickly accept the invitation as numerous world leaders also prepare to attend this historical meeting.
 * Date: April 13, 2043
 * Location: Moscow, Russia

You, the Hero of Olavsvern and the man who brought down an empire, are tasked with one last mission – in the service of the ISD, you are to guard the summit. You are to be joined by Magnus Holter – with his crusade over, the man was, once again, saved by Fedor Volkov despite his Olavsvern actions, and vowed to join the ISD as a low-ranking officer to make up for the crimes he had committed. After all, men of his talents are rare and the ISD, now a global peacekeeper, could not afford to not employ someone as skilled and experienced as him.

The summit starts peacefully. The streets of Moscow are silent, emptied by the omnipresent troops with only the sound of rain providing a background to what is to be one of the most important political events in history. The melancholic stillness of downtown Moscow, lit by the distant lights emanating from the city’s skyline, is suddenly interrupted by a massive bomb explosion annihilating one of the incoming world leader convoys. Chaos ensues, as hundreds of troops and dozens of armored vehicles suddenly swarm the protectors.

These wear the livery of Liberty Militia, and old world-wide anti-corporate insurgency group pre-dating even the rise corporations. The insurgency was thought annihilated during the Corporate Wars by the ISD, but now is back in force, armed with the very best the black market can deliver. Someone incredibly rich must be backing them, you think, as you fight your way through their units to keep the summit attendees alive. You and Magnus, now commanding his own tank, fight like lions and eventually overcome the assailants, but the summit is in ruins as, over the radio, you hear the sounds of battle – this is no mere terrorist attack but a full-fledged military assault.

You almost make it out of the hot zone... almost. As you drive out of an underpass, you are ambushed by unknown enemies with colors you haven’t seen before. Magnus seems to know who they are and promises to tell you after the battle – but doesn’t get the chance. A massive missile falls on the city, annihilating the entire summit area along with Fedor Volkov. You and Magnus, reeling from the shock, are reduced to watching as several high-tech prototype tanks, masked by some kind of cloaking technology, materialize out of thin air before your eyes.

A man named Victor Blaze greets you – an old acquaintance of Magnus’, it seems, as both men are familiar with another and you recall hearing his voice during the El Arish operation on the radio. Magnus is taken hostage, but you are not so lucky – Blaze has no interest in keeping you alive since you’ve proven to be so troublesome and orders the others to fire at your vehicle even as you surrender. The last thing you see is a muzzle flash from an enemy cannon. The story of the mercenary group who survived all the way from the events of the Caribbean Crisis ends here. From now on, other heroes will have to step up to fight this menace.

Chapter 2 – Castle
An unknown enemy emerges. All across Europe, the ISD infrastructure is being dismantled and its units taken out one by one by an unknown enemy who has seemingly unlimited resources at his disposal. Even though the enemies use the colors of the Liberty Militia, it’s obvious that one group could never muster such power. This cannot be just an insurgency. Their numbers clearly dwarf those of many countries.
 * Date: April 13, 2043
 * Location: Salzburg, Austria

One by one, ISD outposts fall until only Salzburg is left stand. Hana Buric, an ISD officer, is desperately trying to mount resistance against nearly insurmountable odds but her units are getting overwhelmed.

In this battle, you assume the role of Hana as you fight off waves of enemies, buying your men some time to evacuate the residents of the city and your remaining forces. You still don’t know who are you fighting and why and all you can do is holding your ground. Halfway through the battle, you get attacked by enemy aircraft and helicopters.

Despite heavy losses, you fight your way through Salzburg and block off most access routes but your adversaries are relentless. Your last stand takes place inside the Salzburg castle where the last of the surviving helicopters await the evacuation. You manage to board them and run. As you flee, a giant shadow blots out the sun. A craft so giant it almost defies the laws of physics is the last thing you see before the doomed city disappears from your sight. Your comm units managed to contact some American insurgents.

Chapter 3 – Midnight Ambush
It’s been a rough couple of months for the ISD but you now know the identity of the enemy – or, at least, how they identify to the world. They call themselves Enigma, but little is certain beyond that as their motives and sources of power remain a mystery.
 * Date: August 23, 2043
 * Location: Pleternica, Croatia

No mystery is, however, absolute. There are those who have dealt with this mysterious organization in the past. The conspiracy that allowed Enigma to take over most of Europe in a single night runs deep, but could not have happened without at least someone high up the food chain being aware of their existence. Many such people were captured or killed during the Moscow Summit – perhaps that is why it happened in the first place, to cover up any tracks.

There’s also the matter of the cloaking technology Enigma uses. While deployed rarely, it gives them an enormous advantage as they are able to sneak even heavy vehicles behind enemy lines without being noticed. This technology would be extremely useful in Hana’s hands and without it, any rescue attempts are likely set to fail.

But, by a stroke of luck, Hana Buric – now a rebel leader with the ISD effectively annihilated – managed to learn of a transport that could carry some unspecified components for the stealth technology – as well as some answers.

Making their way to Croatia, you and the rest of the former ISD troops set up an ambush near the village of Pleternica. Hana’s intel turns out to be correct as numerous trucks start to arrive. However, they have a major escort along with artillery support. Additionally, the massive flying Enigma warship you saw in Salzburg turns up as well along with the forces of another insurgency group, the NPAA – it’s clearly an ambush. Nevertheless, you fight your way through the ordeal and escape with valuable technology in your hands...

Chapter 4 – Freedom
The stealth camouflage, captured during your Pleternica operation, worked like a charm but the mission was still a major gamble. Using all her men and resources, Hana Buric mounted an all-out assault on the hotbed of Enigma activity, Moscow, with only one goal in mind – to rescue Magnus Holter, one of the most experienced warriors on the planet.
 * Date: September 2, 2043
 * Location: Moscow, Russia

The assault commences well enough but, soon, you and your forces are neck-deep in Enigma troops as you and all the former ISD troops left advance to the prisoner compound. Your commandos storm the building and indeed find Magnus Holter alive inside. Equally shocked by and grateful for his unexpected rescue, Magnus leaves for a nearby airport where the final part of Hana’s plan is unveiled – to hijack one of the giant Enigma warships with stealth technology.

Enigma, however, is not planning to sit idly by – another warship appears and is heading towards your forces while your crew is preparing the captured one for a long flight west. You escape destruction by the skin of your teeth as the enemy warship crashes into the ground, shot down by captured turrets. As its remnants burn around you, you embark on the journey without many of your friends who paid the ultimate price, but with one thing you didn’t have before – hope.

Chapter 1 – Unrest
Europe was not the only territory affected by Enigma’s onslaught. The mysterious organization started actively supporting various insurgency groups and terrorists all across the world, including in what used to be the United States of America.
 * Date: June 6, 2043
 * Location: Monument Valley, Utah

The most prominent of them were the Lions of Nequiel, a brutal sect of frenzied warriors controlled by fanatical priests. Until recently, they were only a minor nuisance but, in the absence of corporate law, they started taking over Clayburn Industries facilities (a company, which controlled many southern states following the Seahawk affair) and to impose their cruel beliefs upon all who lived in the area.

But the Americans would not be easily subdued. A resistance movement (calling itself simply “the Resistance”) quickly arose in the Arizona badlands under the leadership of Ryan Miller, arming itself with both the leftover National Guard arms and assault rifles held by practically every household, proving once again the old rule that a dictatorship can only flourish amongst the disarmed.

Ryan Miller was a former sheriff turned vigilante after he saw the evils of sectarian extremism in practice. Being a respected member of his community, he quickly convinced others to join the fight.

One hot, dry day in June, Ryan’s unit was patrolling the area when they intercepted a distress call from his men nearby. They quickly proceeded to investigate, only to find the Resistance base as well as all local fighters under a massive attack by Lions’ armored forces with helicopter support. Miller was no stranger to these fanatics but the ferocity of the assault surprised even him. Additionally, the Lions of Nequiel had the support of a large drone of unknown origin.

In the end, the drone was taken out by Miller’s unit and the Lion attempt to destroy the Resistance was thwarted, but not without taking some losses, which left Miller wondering as to what would make the Lions so bold after a couple of months of relatively light skirmishes. What was even more worrying was the fact that the Lions of Nequiel had taken many Resistance fighters prisoner and had hauled them away.

Chapter 2 – Rescue Mission
Miller’s team learned that the prisoners had been taken to Denver, Colorado, where the sect’s HQ was located. Miller immediately started planning a rescue operation, scraping together as many resources as he could find on short notice. In the end, him, a unit of armored vehicles and a heliborne team of commandos headed out to fight the enemy on his own ground.
 * Date: June 27, 2043
 * Location: Denver, Colorado

They took the Lions of Nequiel by surprise, overwhelming the HQ’s defenses in a matter of minutes. In there, they found out that the prisoners were being sent to a facility of an organization called Enigma – by train, no less. Miller used this opportunity well. His commandos captured the train with the prisoners and, in a daring break-out, managed to clear the city under the cover of the Resistance armor, learning about a secret Enigma facility near Green River in the process.

Chapter 3 – New Enemy
The coordinates from Denver pointed towards the town of Green River and to a nearby dam. Arriving there, Ryan Miller and his team found a massive military base with high-tech turrets and Lions of Nequiel forces protecting it, clearly acting as security for the Enigma organization. Pushing into the facility, the Resistance started capturing its buildings one by one using commandos and hacking the Enigma network.
 * Date: July 3, 2043
 * Location: Green River, Wyoming

The files obtained from the hack unveiled little about the mysterious nature of the enemy but several important facts came to light. Enigma’s been around for at least two decades, developing technology since the late 2020s and was preparing for the takeover for a very long time, securing the support of every major insurgency in the process while fanning the flames of anti-corporate unrest. Furthermore, the name Magnus Holter popped up in the data several times.

The assault was interrupted by the arrival of enemy reinforcements. These – much to the surprise of Ryan Miller –did not, however, belong to the Lions of Nequiel, but to the NPAA – a former anti-government patriotic American militia that would normally have no common ground with a sect. Seeing these two actually working together made Miller realize the scope of the threat.

But this concern would soon be overshadowed by yet another find. Enigma had a military satellite with an unknown weapon aimed at the main Resistance base in Monument Valley (unbeknownst to Ryan, this was the same weapon that had destroyed the center of Moscow three months prior). This threat could not be ignored. Miller quickly ordered the base evacuated but as it turned out, the satellite could not have been shut down from the spot. Instead, Miller and his team had to race towards the satellite control station located in a place Ryan Miller would have never guessed...

Chapter 4 – Satellite
Enigma took over the famous U.S. Air Force Area 51 base and transformed it to its image. As Miller and his team fought their way through the outer defenses, strange, almost alien-looking buildings gave them an oppressive and foreboding feeling. Awaiting them was an entire armada of Enigma forces, ready to protect their masters’ secrets.
 * Date: July 6, 2043
 * Location: Area 51, Nevada

After a prolonged and difficult battle, Miller’s troops started capturing one command tower after another in their desperate search for the satellite’s kill switch. Enigma wasn’t idle either, throwing everything they had at Miller, including a fleet of massive aerial carriers. Upon their arrival, Miller realized there would be no escape for him – not this time.

In a last ditch effort, Miller managed to obtain the data needed for the Resistance Officer Austin Harper – his friend and guide – to shut down the satellite, asking him to tell the leader of the European Resistance branch, Hana Buric, everything he had learned before being overwhelmed by Enigma reinforcements and killed. Harper vowed to continue the fight in his name and the data, paid for with Miller’s sacrifice, would eventually allow Hana Buric’s forces to assault the heart of Enigma’s Moscow operation two months later.

=See Also=
 * Factions
 * Storyline Campaign

=External links=
 * The World of Armored Warfare
 * Special Operations: Story So Far