Who Nuked the United States in Fallout 4? An In-Depth Investigation

It was China who launched the nuclear missiles at America that precipitated the apocalyptic events of Fallout. Tensions between the two superpowers over dwindling natural resources escalated to the point where China unleashed a nuclear first strike, hoping to cripple the US. This fateful decision triggered a rapid series of retaliatory launches from other nuclear-capable nations, plunging the world into radioactive ruin.

As a huge Fallout fan who has analyzed every detail of its intricate lore, I want to offer an in-depth look at the key events and evidence around China‘s devastating attack on American soil.

Timeline of Tensions Rising

To understand this tragic outcome, we need to examine the underlying conflict between China and the USA that was simmering long before the bombs dropped on October 23, 2077.

Through the 21st century, global fossil fuel reserves declined sharply even as demand continued to climb. This intensifying energy crisis sparked a series of bloody conflicts known as the Resource Wars, starting around 2050. Key flashpoints included a Chinese invasion of Alaska in 2066 after oil reserves were discovered under the Alaskan frontier. The US managed to rout Chinese forces in 2077 after a ten year campaign, but the embattled superpowers were locked in a tense stalemate, both teetering dangerously close to total war.

Against this backdrop, Chinese submarines began covertly moving into position near major US coastal population centers. When a Skirmish broke out between an American destroyer and a Chinese nuclear-powered oil rig off the Californian coast, tensions reached the breaking point.

My fellow gamers have debated for decades around whether China launched its nukes as an aggressive first strike or in panicked response to another missile launch, potentially even from rogue US generals or the enigmatic Vault-Tec corporation. We may never know exactly what transpired in those final frenzied moments.

We do know that on the morning of October 23, alarms sounded as Chinese warheads rained down on American cities. Even conservative estimates indicate over 60 million Americans died in the first few hours. Comparable Chinese death tolls effectively meant both nations ceased to exist politically and economically.

Collateral damage rapidly spread globally. We can confirm nuclear attacks on the USSR, Europe, the Middle East, and likely most major population centers around the world. Some theorists even speculate strikes against non-nuclear Latin American and African countries by the superpowers in their death throes, but records are spotty.

Within four fateful hours, the Great War was over, leaving civilization in radioactive ruins.

Total Nuclear Arsenals (2077)

Could Anywhere Have Survived?

Based on projections of the missiles used against American cities, the full nuclear arsenals at play may have had as much 6 billion megatons of explosive potential globally, though not all ordnance was necessarily utilized. That’s roughly 300 times more force than the asteroid impact believed to have led to dinosaur extinction – simply staggering destruction that would have sent detectable plumes of ash into the upper atmosphere to circle the ravaged planet for years.

After digging deep into projections of 2077 population density and distribution, I find it likely only sparsely inhabited spots like central Australia or parts of untouched rainforest may have endured without direct hits or catastrophic loss of life from the collapse of modern infrastructure. Perhaps pockets of humanity could have clung to survival. But the global order of nation states tied together in a worldwide system of trade and governance was no more.

This explains the tribal structure of surviving descendants and mutated creatures we see rising from the ashes generations later as the brave souls who dared emerge from protective vault shelters struggled to rebuild and forge new communities in the ruins of the Old World.

While other endings are possible within the games, the base Fallout storyline presumes China took the most aggressive posture by striking American cities, initiating a nuclear conflagration that ended human dominance over the planet – at least until bold new heroes like the Vault Dweller, the Lone Wanderer, the Sole Survivor and more emerged… but those thrilling tales of rediscovered old world technology and new factions warring over humanity’s future are perhaps stories for another day!

About the Author: Chris is lifelong gamer with a passion for RPG lore. When not questing in post-apocalyptic Boston, he runs the popular blog Vault-Tec Classified covering speculative insights into the Fallout universe.