The series of explosions and streaking orange lights that blazed across Germany in 2015
was initially believed to be a spectacular, but natural, meteor strike.
It was in actuality; first contact.
Five years after the first impact outside Hamburg, all of Europe lay in ruins and millions
of its citizens had perished.
The “Mimics” were undeniably extraterrestrial, and unlike anything humanity had ever faced.
Unrelentingly aggressive and showing signs of a cunning intelligence, the survival of
humanity rested alone with the United Defense Force.
Born from the improvised coalition that first confronted the Mimics, the UDF united the
world’s foremost military powers behind a single unprecedented effort.
At its center was the United Nations Security Council, the People's Republic of China, the
French Republic, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.
Over seventy other nations would join the United Defense Force, making it the largest
military alliance in mankind’s history.
As the mimics advanced however, and every defensive effort proved wholly inadequate,
the involvement of many nations became merely symbolic.
With their whole territories overwhelmed and populations reduced to masses of scattered
refugees, the contributions of dozens of countries across Europe were reduced to whatever forces
had managed to escape.
With growing desperation to turn the tide of the war and keep the Mimics contained in
Europe, the UDF spearheaded the development of new weapons specifically designed to overcome
their enemies' unique biology and capabilities.
The exosuit jacket was their most notable success, fundamentally transforming human
armies as soon as it was introduced.
Soldiers wearing these exoskeletons were able to run faster, jump higher, and perform astonishing
feats of strength and endurance.
Most critically, individual squads and platoons now possessed the organic firepower of what
had previously been reserved for entire battalions.
The first mass deployment of the exosuit jackets resulted in a stunning victory, the first
of its scope, at Verdun.
Sergeant Rita Vrataski became the public face of both this new technology and the UDF as
a whole, having killed hundreds of mimics on her first day of combat after only limited
training.
This was heavily supported by the United Defense Force, eager to use her accomplishments to
sustain its faltering propaganda efforts.
Vrataski’s image became ubiquitous across the world, further elevating her to become
a symbol of hope and ultimate victory.
The apparent effectiveness of the exosuits further convinced the UDF that a general counter-offensive
across Europe had a renewed chance of success.
Operation Downfall would be the largest mechanized campaign in history.
The United States and United Kingdom would conduct an amphibious assault on Northern
France, echoing the objectives of the D-Day landings nearly a century before.
Its primary aim was to create a new front on the European continent, relieving the pressure
on UDF nations whose armed forces had been in constant contact with the Mimics.
Once achieved, a coordinated offensive by Russia and China in Eastern Europe, Austria,
Hungary and India in the Balkans, Spain, Brazil and surviving French forces in the Iberian
Peninsula, as well as Danish, Swedish and remnant Polish forces in Jutland could sweep
through the continent.
The Mimics could then be annihilated in a mass drive towards the heart of Europe.
Within the first hour of the landings however, Operation Downfall had proven disastrous.
Far from being unprepared for the attack, as the UDF had anticipated, the Mimics had
concentrated at precisely the points the invading forces had planned to secure.
Almost the entirety of the initial wave was lost, and within hours the Mimics had themselves
crossed the English channel, and devastated the forward operating bases and mobilization
points across the British Isles.
This defeat represented the destruction of years worth of training, production and planning.
As the other fronts across Europe collapsed, the complete eradication of the human race
grew certain.
Just prior to the commencement of Operation Downfall however, a large surge of energy
was detected in Paris.
Though its cause was unknown, it appeared to have a decisive effect on the Mimics, completely
eradicating their ability to continue the war.
Russian and Chinese forces began advancing completely unopposed, while American and British
forces would experience the same strange lack of resistance once landed a day later.
The complete salvation of the human race grew certain, and the victory of the UDF was achieved.