Editing Twilight: 2000 (section)

=== Original setting and game history ===
Adventures in ''Twilight: 2000'' typically involve a military unit stranded in Central Europe several years into [[World War III]] and emphasize realistic depictions of military and social systems after a nuclear war. The war, as it continues on from 1997, has aspects of the [[broken-backed war theory]], wherein a catastrophic nuclear exchange occurs between two belligerents and is then followed by a continuation of conventional war.

The game was first published in 1984 during the [[Cold War]] and was intended to be an accurate depiction of a possible future,{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} but events in the world have rendered the premise of the game an [[alternate history]].

In ''Twilight: 2000''<nowiki/>'s version of 1995, a series of [[Sino-Soviet split|Sino-Soviet border conflicts]] expands into general war between the Soviet Union and China. The Sino-Soviet war rapidly escalates from [[conventional warfare]] into exchanges of [[Weapon of mass destruction|nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons]]. In 1996 a cabal of East German and [[West Germany|West German]] military officers seek to [[German reunification|reunify]] their country. Unified German forces stage a coup d'état against the [[Group of Soviet Forces in Germany]]. The US and NATO allies initially attempt to stay out of the war, but are quickly drawn into the European conflict. France withdraws its troops from Germany and then withdraws entirely from NATO, declaring its neutrality in the conflict.

Between 1996 and 1997, a largely [[Conventional warfare|conventional war]] is fought between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces throughout Europe. There are limited exchanges of [[Tactical nuclear weapon|battlefield nuclear weapons]], and chemical and biological weapons. During [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] of 1997, the Soviet Union launches a surprise [[Pre-emptive nuclear strike|first strike]] against targets in the United States and Europe. The US and Great Britain launch retaliatory nuclear strikes against the Soviet Union. France, because of its neutrality, largely escapes direct damage.

In the aftermath of the nuclear exchanges, both blocs struggle to recover from the damage. The war continues, despite increasing shortages of men, equipment, and fuel. In the United States, there is a breach between the civilian government and the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. An open rift develops between "Civgov" (the civilian government) and "Milgov" (the military government), which leads to a [[Low intensity conflict|low-intensity]] civil war.

By the summer of 2000, the European [[Theater (warfare)|theater of operations]] has been fought to a near stalemate. In one final effort to break the deadlock and end the war, NATO forces plan a summer offensive across Northern [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] and into the [[Baltic states|Baltics]], but the offensive grounds to a halt in the face of a Warsaw Pact counterattack. Several divisions and corps on each side are virtually eliminated, [[supply lines]] are lost, high level command breaks down, and armies in the European theater lose [[Unit cohesion|cohesion]] beyond the [[platoon]] unit. Some go "native" and integrate with the militias of independent [[City-state|free cities]], others turn into gangs of marauding bandits, and some small groups of surviving soldiers seek to find their way home.

==== Later history ====
To create 300 years of background history for their science-fiction RPG ''[[2300 AD]]'', GDW staff members participated in an in-house simulation called "The Great Game", with [[Frank Chadwick]] as referee. Starting with the world situation in 2000 following the Twilight War, players controlled one or more countries and guided them through 300 years of development, including the discovery of [[faster-than-light]] space travel, [[Space colonization|colonization]] of other Earthlike planets, and contact with a variety of sentient aliens. The staff member playing France, [[John Harshman]], did exceptionally well, leading to France being the supreme superpower in 2300.