In 1950, the invasion of Germany by Soviet armored divisions commenced, marking the beginning of World War 3. Merely five years after the crushing of Hitler and the Nazi's, the climactic confrontation between Communism and Democracy would begin with an unbridled fury.

Operation Solstice #4
By Steven FisherSoviet tanks quickly encircle Berlin, despite fierce resistance from NATO troops, who are overwhelmed by the amount of Soviet forces. The soviets refrain from using their nuclear weapons, since Stalin is gambling that NATO would not use nuclear weapons first. Soviet spearheads also drive into Czechoslovakia, and crush the defenses there. Within hours of the invasion, every member of NATO declares war on the Warsaw Pact.

The basic NATO strategy is quickly agreed upon. Hold the line against the Soviets, keep them from taking all of Germany, and wait for the Americans to arrive. As the Soviets slammed forward, NATO made a stand on the Elbe River, which was bloodily crushed through large Soviet usage of artillery. Slovakia fell, and the Soviets rolled forward. However, NATO's strategy seemed to be working, as the Soviets were having to rely more on the concentration of force to break through as their supply lines stretched.

Three weeks after the Soviet invasion of Germany, the first American divisions arrived in France. With the arrival of the Americans, the face of the war changed drastically, as NATO now had to manpower to have a stand up fight with Russia. Things became increasingly more brutal as the Soviets began using chemical weapons as they neared the Rhine River. They knew that if they could cross it then NATO's back would be broken and they could sweep France.

NATO countered with their own usage of chemical weapons, and the main forces of the Soviets and the Americans clashed in the Rhine River Valley. On one side, the NATO forces under US General Patton. On the other side, the Soviet forces under Field Marshal Zhukov. The clash is one of the largest armored battles in world history, and by the end, over 5,000 tanks have engaged. It is the training of the respective commanders that decides it, and when the smoke clears, Zhukov stands master over the field. But it is a pyrrhic victory for him, as his armored spearheads have been stopped, and much of his armor destroyed. The Russians were forced to halt on the Rhine, giving NATO vital time to regroup their forces.

They would need it, because the war would soon expand in another, new direction.
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