World War III (film)
Encyclopedia
World War III is a 1998
German
television ZDF
's mockumentary
, directed by Robert Stone. It depicts what might have transpired had Soviet troops opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin
in the fall of 1989 and precipitated World War III
. The film mixes real footage of world leaders with mock interviews of citizens, soldiers and political aides.
, reporting in front of the White House, is vaporized when a nuclear weapon detonates.
, a supporter of those reforms, visits East Berlin. During his return flight, the hard-line communist leadership stages a coup that deposes Gorbachev and installs General Vladimir Soshkin as the new Soviet leader.
Soshkin and the hard-liners fiercely resist the rise of glasnost
and perestroika
and are determined to end the uprisings in East Germany with a swift "Chinese-style" military crackdown
in late October. The crackdown inflames popular opposition to communism. In late November, a demonstration the Brandenburg Gate
ends with East German soldiers killing many East Berlin residents trying to scale the Berlin Wall
. Those soldiers also fire shots over the wall into West Berlin.
into Alaskan airspace.
On January 25, 1990, Soshkin implements Operation Thunderbolt. The plan calls for Eastern troops to cut off transportation and supply links between West Germany and West Berlin. Soshkin hopes the plan will prevent the West from entering into the Eastern sphere of influence. NATO forces start a full-scale deployment into West Germany. As the United States sends their first military convoy across the North Atlantic, the Soviets announce their intention to blockade the US Navy transports. On February 18, the United States violates the blockade and clears the sea lanes during the first battle of World War Three.
The United States dispatches Martin Jacobs to the Soviet Union for talks with Soshkin. Figuring that Soshkin knows that the Soviets were losing power in Eastern Europe, Jacobs offers Soshkin an extended timetable for the Soviet withdraw from Eastern Europe in exchange for a de-escalation of the military buildup. Soshkin refuses him utterly.
ground forces drive through the Fulda Gap
, with orders to push to the Rhine to divide the stretched out NATO force. Meanwhile, the Soviet air force bombards Ramstein Air Base
and other NATO bases in Germany. The goal is to cripple the NATO buildup with a swift strike and then press for a new round of diplomatic bargaining from a stronger strategic position. NATO forces, faced with superior numbers and surprise, are pushed back. By March 17, Eastern forces have advanced 50 miles into West Germany
As NATO prepares to launch a tactical nuclear counter-assault, a last ditch conventional air battle cripples Warsaw Pact command and control posts and takes control of East European airspace. Combined with assistance from the Polish underground that cuts off Soviet supply lines, the tide of the war turns. The East German and Soviet armies melt under NATO airfire, and Western forces enter East Germany on March 23.
As a show of force, on March 31 Soshkin orders a symbolic nuclear strike above the North Sea. The United States responds by going to full nuclear alert and preparing to execute the Single Integrated Operational Plan
. On April 1, a Soviet radar post suffers an equipment malfunction. Falsely believing that the USSR is under nuclear attack, Soshkin orders an all-out nuclear strike against the West. NATO responds in kind. Thousands of nuclear devices detonate across the Northern Hemisphere. “There is no further historical record of what happens next.”
.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
television ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
's mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
, directed by Robert Stone. It depicts what might have transpired had Soviet troops opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in the fall of 1989 and precipitated World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
. The film mixes real footage of world leaders with mock interviews of citizens, soldiers and political aides.
Prologue
The movie opens with clips of the US military scrambling to respond to a Soviet nuclear attack. Daniel SchorrDaniel Schorr
Daniel Louis Schorr was an American journalist who covered world news for more than 60 years. He was most recently a Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio...
, reporting in front of the White House, is vaporized when a nuclear weapon detonates.
Berlin in Crisis
In the summer of 1989, East Germany is in turmoil. Many citizens are dissatisfied with their nation’s communist leadership and demand pro-Western reforms. They also seek unification with West Germany. On October 7, Mikhail GorbachevMikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, a supporter of those reforms, visits East Berlin. During his return flight, the hard-line communist leadership stages a coup that deposes Gorbachev and installs General Vladimir Soshkin as the new Soviet leader.
Soshkin and the hard-liners fiercely resist the rise of glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
and perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
and are determined to end the uprisings in East Germany with a swift "Chinese-style" military crackdown
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
in late October. The crackdown inflames popular opposition to communism. In late November, a demonstration the Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...
ends with East German soldiers killing many East Berlin residents trying to scale the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
. Those soldiers also fire shots over the wall into West Berlin.
The Buildup to War
In mid-December, the Western Allies airlift military reinforcements to West Berlin. When an American colonel orders that tactical nuclear weapons in West Germany be placed on high alert, Soshkin responds with new threats, a massive deployment of the Soviet submarine fleet, and incursions of Soviet Bear bombersTupolev Tu-95
The Tupolev Tu-95 is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the former Soviet Union in 1956 and is expected to serve the Russian Air Force until at least 2040...
into Alaskan airspace.
On January 25, 1990, Soshkin implements Operation Thunderbolt. The plan calls for Eastern troops to cut off transportation and supply links between West Germany and West Berlin. Soshkin hopes the plan will prevent the West from entering into the Eastern sphere of influence. NATO forces start a full-scale deployment into West Germany. As the United States sends their first military convoy across the North Atlantic, the Soviets announce their intention to blockade the US Navy transports. On February 18, the United States violates the blockade and clears the sea lanes during the first battle of World War Three.
The United States dispatches Martin Jacobs to the Soviet Union for talks with Soshkin. Figuring that Soshkin knows that the Soviets were losing power in Eastern Europe, Jacobs offers Soshkin an extended timetable for the Soviet withdraw from Eastern Europe in exchange for a de-escalation of the military buildup. Soshkin refuses him utterly.
The Battle for Germany
On March 12, Soshkin orders a full-scale amphibious landing near Kiel, Germany on the Baltic coast. The landings catch NATO off-guard, and they scramble forces northward to push back the beachhead. The next day, Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
ground forces drive through the Fulda Gap
Fulda Gap
The Fulda Gap is a region of lower elevation between the former East German border and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap was strategically important during the Cold War...
, with orders to push to the Rhine to divide the stretched out NATO force. Meanwhile, the Soviet air force bombards Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation...
and other NATO bases in Germany. The goal is to cripple the NATO buildup with a swift strike and then press for a new round of diplomatic bargaining from a stronger strategic position. NATO forces, faced with superior numbers and surprise, are pushed back. By March 17, Eastern forces have advanced 50 miles into West Germany
As NATO prepares to launch a tactical nuclear counter-assault, a last ditch conventional air battle cripples Warsaw Pact command and control posts and takes control of East European airspace. Combined with assistance from the Polish underground that cuts off Soviet supply lines, the tide of the war turns. The East German and Soviet armies melt under NATO airfire, and Western forces enter East Germany on March 23.
Global Thermonuclear War
NATO liberates West Berlin on March 27. As the Soviets withdraw to Poland, Germans begin to hope that reunification is at hand. The US leadership tries to reassure Soshkin that NATO had no intention to press their advance beyond East Germany. However, unrest erupts across the Eastern Bloc as citizens of communist nations press for the overthrow of their leaders. Soshkin fears that NATO will exploit the situation to fight all the way to Moscow or to launch a nuclear first strike against him.As a show of force, on March 31 Soshkin orders a symbolic nuclear strike above the North Sea. The United States responds by going to full nuclear alert and preparing to execute the Single Integrated Operational Plan
Single Integrated Operational Plan
The Single Integrated Operational Plan was the United States' general plan for nuclear war from 1961 to 2003. The SIOP gave the President of the United States a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets against which nuclear weapons would be launched...
. On April 1, a Soviet radar post suffers an equipment malfunction. Falsely believing that the USSR is under nuclear attack, Soshkin orders an all-out nuclear strike against the West. NATO responds in kind. Thousands of nuclear devices detonate across the Northern Hemisphere. “There is no further historical record of what happens next.”
End of the world
End of the world may refer to:* End time, in religion* List of places described as the end of land or the world* Expected tidal destruction of Earth when Sun becomes red-giant star-Albums:* End of the World , 1968 work by Aphrodite's Child...
Epilogue
The movie rewinds to Gorbachev’s visit to East Germany. We then see the real celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the peaceful reunification of GermanyGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.
Actors playing fictional characters
| Actor | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Boris Sichkin | General Vladimir Soshkin | General Secretary of the Soviet Union |
| Boris Leskin | Yuri Rabanov | Soviet Foreign Minister |
| Christopher Wynkoop | Martin Jacobs | US National Security Advisor |
| Sigrid Braun-Umbach | Franziska Bruckner | West Berlin doctor |
| Gunter Walch | Gen. Karl Frohm | West German Army |
| Klaus Schleif | Col. Wolfgang Heckler | East German Army |
| Oliver Hohlfeld | Markus Lehmann | East German citizen |
| Daniel Schorr Daniel Schorr Daniel Louis Schorr was an American journalist who covered world news for more than 60 years. He was most recently a Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio... |
himself | Reporter in Washington, DC |
Clips of real life political leaders
| Person | Title |
|---|---|
| Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991... |
General Secretary of the Soviet Union |
| Erich Honecker Erich Honecker Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976.... |
General Secretary of the German Democratic Republic |
| George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to... |
President of the United States |
| James Baker James Baker James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush... |
United States Secretary of State |
| Bob Dole Bob Dole Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996... |
United States Senator from Kansas |
| Phil Gramm Phil Gramm William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas... |
United States Senator from Texas |
| Helmut Kohl Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998... |
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| Francois Mitterrand François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President... |
President of France |
| Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990... |
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
Parallels and references to real life events
- Stanislav PetrovStanislav PetrovOn September 26, 1983 the Nuclear Early Warning System of the Soviet Union twice reported the launch of American Minuteman ICBMs from bases in the United States. These missile attack warnings were correctly identified as a false alarm by Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, an officer of the Soviet Air...
prevented the start of a nuclear war during a time of increased US/Soviet tension when a Soviet radar computer malfunctioned in 1983. - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989Tiananmen Square protests of 1989The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
-- Chinese students hold a pro-democracy protest near the seat of Chinese government. After weeks of demonstrations, the military forcibly ended the protest. This is likely the "Chinese solution" alluded to by Soshkin. The events of the movie are set four months after the crackdown. - The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany
- The Soviet coup attempt of 1991Soviet coup attempt of 1991The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...
against Mikhail Gorbachev—Clips of US officials discussing this event were used in this movie. - The Persian Gulf War of 1990–91—Clips of US officials discussing this war were used in this movie.
External links
- World War III at Google Video (german)