Welcome to Warfaresim’s Chains of War Campaign DLC.
This DLC is an exploration of a war between the United States and its Pacific allies against China and North Korea in the near future. Players will use the CMANO simulation to think about military capabilities, implement evolving strategies and experiment with possible technologies of various nations in the context of the biggest war in the Pacific since the Second World War. It includes a 12 scenario story driven campaign, 3 historical but hypothetical scenarios and one completely hypothetical scenario involving technology from a Cold War with the Soviets that continued. The goal is that players will learn and explore a difficult but relevant topic while having a very good time doing so.
To understand why the Pacific powers could go to war it is important to understand their geopolitical concerns and strategies.
Chinese strategists look at a map and see several potential challenges. The first is that the lines of communication that China depends on for its economic and energy security are lined with chokepoints that could be blocked by adversaries to adversely influence Chinese internal politics, economics and foreign policy. Second, America and its allies maintain considerable garrisons that effectively contain the Chinese military and put considerable firepower in position to threaten the mainland to attack. Finally, America and its allies have been able to ignore lawful historical Chinese territorial claims by virtue of being the most powerful military in the region. These include most of the first island chain that include the islands and atolls in the South China Sea, the Ryuku Island chain in the East China Sea and Taiwan.
American strategists look at a map and see a rising aggressive superpower that is actively looking to challenge the American political influence and military power that has maintained relative peace, economic prosperity and right of self -determination in Asia since the end of the Second World War. The spread of Soviet and Chinese Communism during the Cold War was contained and the freedom of South Korea and Taiwan ensured. American and its allies kept the lines of communication in the region open which drove the economic success and prosperity of Asia and North America. China conversely had supported the North Korean communist attack on South Korea; repeatedly threatened and attacked Taiwan; attacked weaker adversaries in the Paracel and Spratly islands and continuously supported unscrupulous regimes in North Korea for the sole purpose of undermining the security of regional adversaries and the United States. China cannot be trusted to maintain the peace and prosperity in the region and world at whole.
Strategists from Pacific nations look at a map and see two superpowers that can be leveraged to help achieve their own national objectives. China and the United States have great economic, political and military capabilities that many nations do not and for the sake of growing their influence and reach are willing to share these with lesser powers when needed who in turn are able to achieve their objectives. Pacific nations get what they need to achieve their goals and reap the additional benefits of joining well established alliances.
The geopolitical objectives of Pacific nations and the superpowers mostly align well with the political norms that keep the region stable and prosperous as a whole. This is what limited and stopped conflict during the Cold War and helped grow post World War battlefield nations into the modern successful nations of today. However, there are a small number of cases where objectives or intent of the superpowers do or did not align well. This led to: brutal large conflicts in Taiwan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia; brutal regimes in Korea and Cambodia and corruption within a number of regimes over the course of history.
This is where our story begins.
Michael Mykytyn