The real reason the bombs dropped...

[LeahTheUnknown]

I think the Chinese had a spy in Nuka-World, and a very inept one. He discovered Project Cobalt, but failed to understand its implications (a more powerful fat man), but he also discovered the Quantum release date, and again, failed to grasp the true meaning. Confusing the two, he relayed to his superiors that the US had developed a Cobalt Bomb and planned to deploy it on the date of the Quantum release.

 

Hence the first strike by the Chinese, and the US's retaliatory attacks.

 

Just my goofy head-canon.

 

~GKX

[madmongo]

It's not a bad theory.

 

At this point, we don't even know how the war actually started, not really. We blame it on the Chinese. For all we know, the Chinese might blame it on us. It's certainly possible that it could have started over a misunderstanding.

 

We do know for certain that there were Chinese spies operating in the U.S. In Fallout 3, Mama Dolce's food factory was actually a front for Chinese operations in the D.C. area. There was also LOB Enterprises and Happy Liberty Imports, some Chinese activity around Point Lookout, and what looks to have been a Chinese spy living in one of the apartments in Pittsburgh (and probably a few more that I'm not remembering). With the Nuka Cola corporation having ties to the U.S. military through Project Colbalt, it's not unreasonable to suspect that the Chinese would try to infiltrate the company.

 

I wouldn't say your theory is all that goofy. Your theory does at least fit all of the known facts about the Great War. To be fair, there are other theories that also fit, so I'd say your theory is far from proven. But at least it fits.

Edited June 4, 2018 by madmongo

[Moksha8088]

The roots of the Great War can be traced back to the year 2018 when the President at that time became allies with Russia and North Korea. He also alienated Canada, Europe, China, and Mexico. With these alliances shifted, things slowly deteriorated to the point that on Saturday, October 23, 2077, the Great War started and ended.

 

President Dick Richardson, the Great Grandson of the President who started this mess, flew into a rage because he believed Chairman Cheng, the leader of China, had denigrated the size of his hands. President Richardson calmed down long enough to authorize the launch codes and then resumed yelling at his staff until the retaliatory bombs struck.

 

Hope that helps.

[ToroMontana]

Vault Tec false flag!

[Madcat221]

The momentum towards World War 3 was so inevitable that whoever fired the first shot is ultimately irrelevant: No one really won World War 3, and both sides were to blame.