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The Trans-Alaskan Pipeline was an important oil pipeline cutting through Alaska down into the continental United States.

Background[]

During the Resource Wars, the U.S. established the Anchorage front line to protect its pipeline and all of the oil from any outside attack.[Non-game 1] When the Chinese invaded Alaska in the winter of 2066, the Americans fought back with their new superweapon, power armor, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was reclaimed.[Non-game 2] A section of the pipeline traveled through Canada, and it was the pipelines near sabotage that prompted the official military annexation of Canada.[1][Non-game 3] After the annexation, the pipeline was further guarded by United States soldiers.[Non-game 4]

Appearances[]

A simulation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline appears in the Fallout 3 add-on Operation: Anchorage. It is mentioned in Fallout,[citation needed] Fallout 2,[citation needed] and Fallout 3. It was also to appear in the canceled Fallout Extreme.

Behind the scenes[]

  • In real life, there is no direct pipeline from Alaska to the continental United States. The actual "Alaskan Pipeline" goes from Prudhoe Bay Oil Field on the northern coast of Alaska to Valdez on the southern coast of Alaska. At Valdez, the oil is loaded into tankers to be transported to the mainland United States, bypassing Canada entirely.
  • The pipeline is also mentioned on the front page of Boston Bugle Volume 12,[Non-game 5] a promotional item that came with the Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI FM radio module.[Non-game 6]
  • The Alaskan Pipeline would have appeared as a location in Fallout Extreme. It would have been repurposed after the War by the Brotherhood of Steel to serve as a protected, underground supply route and prisoner network, so they wouldn't have to risk the dangers of the wasteland. During the course of the first two chapters, The Cause would have fought against the Brotherhood and captured the pipeline.

References[]

Non-game

  1. Fallout Bible 0: "2059 The Anchorage Front Line is established, as the United States increases its military presence in Alaska to protect its oil interests. The Anchorage Front Line causes tensions in the United States and Canada, as the United States attempts to pressure Canada into allowing American military units to guard the Alaskan pipeline."
  2. Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.43:
    "Operation: Anchorage Factions
    Chinese Army (Simulated)
    U.S. Army (Simulated)
    With conditions deteriorating between the United States and China, a military presence in Alaska was established to prevent a possible invasion across the Bering Strait. With increasingly scarce oil reserves, a last deep-sea deposit below the Pacific Ocean was claimed by China before allegedly being sabotaged by American special operatives. Strained relationships spiraled downward into conflict as China marched on Alaska, and the Sino-American War of 2066—2077 erupted. Under the command of General Jingwei, the Chinese Army usurped control of Alaska's oil pipeline and reserves. In response, the Americans began what came to be called "The Alaskan Reclamation Operation" (2067—2077).
    Under the leadership of General Constantine Chase, the U.S. Army battled fiercely to the front lines of the conflict before Chase began deploying specialized Power Armor units that began pushing the Chinese back. Future Power Armor suits were further refined as the conflict dragged on, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was reclaimed. With resources flowing through Canada, strained diplomatic tensions between Canada and the United States becoming problematic, and Canadian forces attacking the pipeline, the country was annexed.
    A combination of inclement weather, constant American bombardment and trench warfare, and U.S. Powered Armor unit attacks sweeping through mainline China, the Chinese supply lines weakened and finally broke down completely. By the beginning of 2077, the city of Anchorage was finally liberated, the Chinese eradicated, and the operation deemed a success. A commemorative memorial was erected in Washington, D.C., in honor of the soldiers who fought and perished for the greater American good. Violence between America and pockets of Canadian freedom fighters continued throughout 2077, until the Great War obliterated almost all infrastructure, commerce, and human life."
    (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide faction profiles)
  3. Fallout Bible 0: "2072 The United States' increasing demand for Canadian resources causes protests and riots in several Canadian cities. An attempted sabotage attempt of the Alaskan pipeline is all the military needs as an excuse to begin its annexation of Canada... which in fact, had already begun in 2067."
  4. Fallout Bible 0: "2076 January The United States annexation of Canada is complete. Canadian protesters and rioters are shot on sight, and the Alaskan Pipeline swarms with American military units. Pictures of atrocities make their way to the United States, causing further unrest and protests."
  5. Violence continues in Alaska & Canada article in Boston Bugle
  6. Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI FM radio module
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