War of 2020

◄	War of 2014
War of 2020
Clockwise from top left: Captain Roland Garrison briefing Tombstone Squad on their mission in Shanghai onboard the USS Valkyrie; a large skyscraper collapsing during the Siege of Shanghai; Agent Kovic firing at PLA troops on the besieged USS Titan; a PLA RHIB engaging a USMC RCB-90 in the Paracel Islands; a dam bursting in Tashgar, China; Admiral Chang Wei interrogating Staff Sergeant Kimble Graves and Sergeant Daniel Recker; Recker firing an M320 HE round at a pursuing Russian Mi-28 after obtaining crucial intel in Baku; the remains of the USS Titan.
Date	2020
Location	Azerbaijan China Egypt France Russia Singapore North Korea Thailand Indonesia Middle East
Outcome	American victory (player-determined) Chang's coup d'état prevented Admiral Chang killed Chang's victory (player-determined) Destruction of the USS Valkyrie Continuation of the war
Combatants
United States of America
People's Republic of China
Russian Federation
Commanders
President of the United States Captain Garrison Major Greenland
Admiral Chang Wei
President of the Russian Federation
Forces
United States Armed Forces United States Marine Corps Tombstone Squad
People's Liberation Army PLA Ground Force
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Russian Ground Forces
Casualties
Captain Garrison (player-determined) Staff Sergeant William Dunn Agent Laszlo Kovic Staff Sergeant Kimble Graves (player-determined) Hannah (player-determined) Sergeant Clayton Pakowski (player-determined) Jin Jié (player-determined) Runner 1 Runner 2 Pacific Central Command Dimitri Mayakovsky Marion Duncan (player-determined) USS Titan Heavy ground casualties
Admiral Chang (player-determined) Bohai Heavy ground casualties
Heavy ground casualties

The War of 2020 is a fictional conflict depicted in Battlefield 4 and its expansion packs between the United States of America, the People's Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.

Background

"You'll back me up, right?"
This section contains spoilers for Battlefield 4.

Admiral Chang Wei was a high ranking official in the People's Republic of China and an extreme conservative. He resented the American influence over China, and was outraged by Jin Jié's progressivism and idealistic ways. To prevent the progressive idealist from allowing even more Western influence over China, Chang set out to orchestrate a coup d'etat to assassinate Jié, which would then be blamed on the United States, in order to assume power. Knowing that the Chinese people would not believe his accusation should he make it, Chang planned to increase tensions between the people and the United States by causing an international incident at the Sino-Korean border.

Chang had Edward Cutler, who was an agent working as an official of the CIA, order US troops be sent to the border in order to extract a supposed defector from North Korea, code named Highbeam. During the extraction however, it was discovered that Highbeam had a bomb strapped to his chest. Before the Americans could react, the bomb detonated and they were then attacked by KPA forces. Chang then had Tsu Yuntao and his men plant the corpse of Chinese citizens at the site and had the bodies photographed along with those of the Americans to vindicate them in the incident and to spark outcry within China.

The lone survivor of the incident, CIA agent Laszlo Kovic, however, made it a point to investigate who and what was behind what had occurred at the border and discovered Chang's coup d'etat against Jin Jié as well as Cutler's betrayal in the process.

After he was declared the future leader of China, Jié's bodyguard, Chinese Secret Service agent Huang "Hannah" Shuyi took him to her village to meet her family and help spread his word of hope. Later that night, Chang sent Chinese Spec Ops to the village to assassinate Jin Jie and kill any witnesses. Only Hannah and Jin Jie survived the massacre, with the latter suffering critical injuries.

Course of Events

Increasing Tensions

In Baku, Azerbaijan an intelligence exchange between Tombstone Squad and a defecting Russian military general was ambushed by Russian special forces. Tombstone fled and eventually attempted to be air extracted at a nearby construction site. The pursuing Russians destroyed Tombstone's extraction aircraft and causing the still standing members to flee by car. Tombstone managed to destroy the helicopter but ended up crashing into the Caspian Sea, costing William Dunn his life.

With Jié believed to have been killed, Chang announced that Jié's death was at the hands of the United States, using planted evidence at the Sino-Korean border incident and the Americans' botched operation in Baku to back his claims. He then declared martial law and sought the support of the Russian Federation, which was more than willing to comply, due to the events of the War of 2014. This caused heavy internal strife within China.

Mission to Shanghai

Briefly after Jié's assassination attempt, Kovic escorted him and Hannah to the Zhi Yu Tower in Shanghai, as foreign refugees were being gathered there on the order of Admiral Chang. Tombstone was ordered on a covert mission to safely extract the three to safety aboard the USS Valkyrie. While successful, Tombstone were left unaware of the true identities of Jié and Hannah. Before returning to the Valkyrie themselves, Tombstone herded a large group of refugees that had been unable to get out of Shanghai, to the river and eventually to the Valkyrie. At the same time, Chang was aware of the American presence off the Chinese eastern coast and detonated an EMP that severely affected Shanghai and the Seventh Fleet.

South China Sea

Captain Garrison then set course for the nearby USS Titan which would have been able to accommodate the refugees. Chang promptly ordered the assault on all nearby US warships within the South China Sea. The USS Titan was among the first ships to be attacked, and was critically damaged and boarded by PLAN forces. All of this was under the cover of the EMP blast. Upon arriving at the Titan, the result of Chang's attacks is soon apparent. Tombstone recovers Titan's voyage recorder before the Chinese boarders do, and fight their way off the doomed carrier, hijacking a Chinese patrol boat to return to the Valkyrie, fighting off Chinese forces en route. Tombstone finds the Valkyrie under attack by Chinese forces, and helps the defenders fight off the attack.

Assault on Singapore

The intel Tombstone brought back from the Titan reveals that a Chinese missile attack had wiped out Pacific Central Command. Valkyrie sets a course for Singapore, where Tombstone infiltrated Changi Airport that was used to be used by the PLAAF to wipe out the Valkyrie and the remains of the Seventh Fleet. They managed to fire a flare to commence the airport bombing. However, one of the missiles hit the jeep, and prevented them from escaping. Taking advantage of the fact that she was not American, Hannah aided the Chinese forces who captured Irish and Recker, much to Irish's anger.

Kunlun Mountains

Recker and Irish are taken to a high-security Chinese prison in the Kunlun Mountains, where they are tortured and questioned by Bohai and Admiral Chang personally. Chang finds out that Jin Jié is still alive. Recker, after waking up in his cell, meets Dimitri Mayakovsky, who convinces him to join him in breaking out of the prison. Together they stealthily kill prison guards and reach a tower, where they release all of the prisoners including Irish. The pair uses the prison riot as cover for their escape, and find Irish, who joins them. The three are attacked by Bohai, Hannah, and another guard, but Hannah shoots Bohai and the guard and reveals her true loyalty. They fight their way to a cable-car, but it is shot down by a Chinese helicopter, leading to Dima's death.

Battle of Tashgar

Hannah, Irish and Recker eventually reach Tashgar (on the way, Hannah earned Irish's trust after telling them the story of Jin Jié's attempted assassination), where they meet a USMC reconnaissance unit. After a brief conversation, Tombstone squad leaves and pave their way to a US FOB, where they strike a deal with Major Greenland. The deal was that if Tombstone was able to eliminate the Russian anti-aircraft batteries by collapsing the town's dam, they would be transported to the Suez Canal in order to reach the USS Valkyrie.

Siege of Suez

They succeed in their mission and are air-lifted to the Suez Canal where they parachute onto the Valkyrie. They engage PLA forces that had previously boarded the ship and rescue Garrison, Pac Jin Jié, and a few other survivors. When PLA forces breach the medical bay Jin Jié and the others are in, Jin Jié convinces them to lay down their arms after revealing himself to them. Chang, having found out that Jin Jié was still alive during his interrogation of Irish in the Kunlun Prison, started to fire upon the Valkyrie with his warship. Hannah, Irish and Recker head to Chang's ship via RHIB and plant C4 charges on the boat, but the detonator fails due to a faulty charge. Left a single C4 charge, both Hannah and Irish volunteer to return to RHIB and detonate it manually. Recker chooses Hannah and gives her the last charge, who sacrifices herself to save the Valkyrie.

Multiplayer

In Battlefield 4's multiplayer, the United States, China, and Russia continue the fight in several regions across the world, including many parts of China and other Southeast Asian nations like North Korea and Thailand, along with France, Russia, and the Middle East.

(NOTE: The following order of events is based on speculation and military strategies, given the location where most of these engagements occur, as well as details provided through trailers and other official sources. As a result, it should be considered an unofficial summary using officially provided details.)

Sino-Russian Conflict

Although seemingly allied in the campaign, Chinese and Russian forces engaged in multiple battles on the Chinese mainland, and included the PLA defense of important infrastructure such as Lancang Dam, a satellite dish and Golmud Railway. It is unknown as to the outcome of these battles.

Naval Operations in the South China Sea

Invasion of the Paracel Islands

With the outbreak of war against both the Russian Federation and the PRC, the United States began preparations for an invasion of the Chinese mainland. However, the PLAN fleet and various naval installations were still active in the South China Sea and were preventing the US from approaching the mainland. To break through, USMC and USN forces conducted an aggressive push through the surrounding islands, engaging all PLAN forces encountered.

US forces attacked and took control of key military installations in the South China Sea, including a staging area on the Nansha Islands, a hidden naval facility in a rocky hill, and a firebase located in the Paracel Islands. Engagements also took place around a small fishing village and a cliffside resort. Both sides began employing missile launchers on controlled islands to destroy opposing carriers, these installations would be become highly contested assets during the naval operations in the area.

Russian forces appear to have intervened in at least one circumstance during the engagements in the South China Sea. Despite the best efforts of its defenders, the US carrier attacked in the operation was destroyed by Russian forces and its commander was executed.

Mainland Invasion

The PLAN fleet was significantly weakened in the aftermath of the battles on the sea, and the US moved forward with attacks on the mainland. Although the US believed that China had been dealt a crushing blow with the incapacitation of its navy, PLA forces remained resolute and undeterred in defense of the country. Fortifications of several urban centers near the waterfront were underway as USMC forces approached, and the PLA prepared to throw everything they had at the invading Americans.

The Siege of Shanghai

Skyscraper collapse during the Siege of Shanghai

At some point, the USMC eventually made their way to the city of Shanghai. A small force was sent in the night before, fighting some defending Chinese soldiers. Eventually, the battle escalated and more and more reinforcements on both sides arrived. By the next day, at least three destroyers had entered the Shanghai river and the city was in a complete siege.

Russia's Final Stand

After finding information about several Russian facilities on the Chinese mainland, the USMC focused their attention on Siberia. This is where the final battles of the conflict were fought. The USMC discovered top-secret Russian weapon and testing sites, where advanced military technologies are held. In addition, signs of a new military coalition were observed. What happens next is entirely unknown.