Cold War

The Cold War refers to the period of political tensions between the Grand Alliance and the New Horde that began four years after the battle for Mount Hyjal, lasting until the official declaration of war that sparked the Alliance-Horde War. The term "cold" is used because there was no official large-scale fighting directly between the two factions, but they each supported important regional conflicts and fought in unofficial skirmishes and conflicts.

End of the Third War
With the defeat of the Burning Legion at the battle for Mount Hyjal, the forces of the Alliance and the Horde split off, forming the nations of Theramore and Durotar. An uneasy truce was made between the two nations as they settled the new hostile continent, the lands of Lordaeron now ravaged by the Legion and the Scourge.

The peace was shattered with the arrival of Lord Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, Jaina's father. Leading an armada of Kul Tiran ships, he had sailed west to find any Alliance survivors from Lordaeron. A veteran of the Second War, Lord Admiral Proudmoore was in staunch opposition to the Horde and threatened the stable peace by usurping control over Theramore and using it to wage war against the young orcish nation. Ultimately, Jaina sided against her father, securing the fragile peace between the Alliance and the Horde at the cost of her father's life.

Beginning of the Cold War
Four years after the mortal races had banded together to defeat the Legion, tensions had began to rise again, and the peace had all but evaporated. Warchief Thrall had been convinced to grant the Forsaken of Lordaeron under Lady Sylvanas Windrunner membership in the Horde, while the Night Elves of Ashenvale, from the newly grown tree of Darnassus had joined the Alliance. Though no war was officially declared, battlefields erupted in regions as the armies of the Alliance and the Horde stretched thin to protect their territory.

Forces under the command of Lieutenant Benedict of the Kul Tiras Navy landed on the shores of Durotar and began restoring the fortress of Tiragarde Keep, which they hoped to use as a base of operations against the nation of Durotar.

The overzealous and paranoid cannoneers of Northwatch Hold in the Barrens sank a number of ships of the Thalo'dan Privateers, taking survivors prisoner as enemies to the Alliance. In response, Captain Thalo'thas Brightsun hired Horde mercenaries and adventurers to silence the guns of Northwatch and lay siege to its forces.

The Battle of Hillsbrad
The Battle for Hillsbrad was a long-standing conflict and one of the most famous battles of the period. Beginning with clashes between Alliance and Horde adventurers following the re-establishment of Tarren Mill by the Forsaken, the conflict engulfed the region. In addition to the bloody Southshore-Tarren Mill conflict, the Forsaken had also turned their attention to the township of Hillsbrad Fields, the Azurelode Mine and the Dwarven stronghold of Dun Garok, which they intended to bring under their control before their planned attack to raze Southshore to the ground.

Ultimately, the conflict came to an end with the beginning of the Alliance-Horde War. In the days following the fall of the Lich King, the Forsaken war machine marched into Hillsbrad Foothills and overwhelmed the human inhabitants, crushing the remaining resistance in Southshore and conquering Hillsbrad Fields for the Forsaken. Southshore was drenched in Blight and left in ruins, and Hillsbrad Fields was dismantled and the Blight Fields were built in its place. Tarren Mill was later fortified, and the powerful presence of High Warlord Cromush served as a deterrent for any remaining skirmishers wishing to attack the town, though the Bloodfang pack continued to fight a guerrilla war in the Foothills following the fall of Southshore and Hillsbrad Fields.

Warsong Gulch
In need of wood for their nation, the Warsong Clan had continued delving into the woods of Ashenvale for their lumbering operations. The Night Elven Silverwing Sentinels answered the call to arms to defend their ancestral home from the encroaching outriders, sparking a conflict in a critical gulch on the border of the Barrens and Ashenvale.

Alterac Valley
After being exiled by Gul'dan and the Horde, the Frostwolf Clan carved themselves a home in one of the valleys of the Alterac Mountains. Even after the reformation of the Horde by the new Warchief, Thrall, the Frostwolves remained in their home in Alterac, undisturbed until the arrival of the Stormpike Expedition. Issued with a sovereign imperialistic imperative by King Magni Bronzebeard, the Stormpike Clan under Vanndar Stormpike set up residence in the valley to search for natural resources and ancient titan relics, which sparked a conflict with the Frostwolves who vowed to remove the invaders from their new home. Feeling as though they were attacked without provocation by the orcs, the Stormpike retaliated to secure the valley for Ironforge and claim the excavated artifacts.

Arathi Basin
A mountain-rimmed valley with some of the most arable acres in the Eastern Kingdoms, the Arathi Basin has long been a prime point of societal development, offering lumber, gold and prime grazing land for livestock. It was one of the main staging points of war between the humans and the Forsaken, pitting the League of Arathor that sought to claim the basin to profit their benefactors in Stormwind against the Forsaken Defilers seeking to eliminate the humans in Lordaeron and secure their hold in the Undercity, each fighting to secure the valuable resources of the region for their cause.

Confrontations in Silithus and the Plaguelands
In the wake of the Scourge invasions of Naxxramas, the Eastern Plaguelands gained a new strategic importance in the fight against Kel'thuzad. In order to hold an advantage against the undead, the Alliance and the Horde fought over four strategic points across the Plaguelands to hold and fortify and from which they would take the fight to the heart of the undead war machine.

The Crown Guard Tower, the Eastwall Tower, the Northpass Tower and the Plaguewood Tower became battlegrounds as both sides vied for control over the Eastern Plaguelands. Even after the first defeat of Kel'thuzad, fighting continued for control over the Eastern Plaguelands until the conflict came to an end when the Argent Crusade claimed and restored parts of the Plaguelands following the fall of the Lich King.

To the west, on the distant continent of Kalimdor, a strange dust that was dubbed "Silithyst" began to attract the attention of the Alliance and the Horde following the re-opening of the gates of Ahn'Qiraj. This new substance was discovered to have unique and valuable properties, and researchers of both factions sent adventurers and mercenaries into the dunes of Silithus to secure as much of the dust as possible, resulting in conflict as both sides raced to accumulate a larger supply than the other.

The conflict came to an end when Silithus was destroyed by Sargeras' blade, ravaging the entire area and wounding Azeroth.

Beyond the Dark Portal
The war in Outland saw the need for both factions to establish outposts against the Legion, the Illidari and whatever threats laid on the shattered continent. With both sides eager to lay claim to these outposts, they often clashed for control.

In Hellfire Peninsula, the three forts of the Overlook, the Stadium and Broken Hill were seen as instrumental in the battle against the Fel Orcs of Hellfire Citadel. Forces of Honor Hold and Thrallmar skirmished regularly for supremacy over these forts.

In Zangarmarsh, the Alliance and the Horde fought for control over the Twin Spire Ruins, which empowered their forces in the fight against the naga.

In Terokkar Forest, the two factions curried the favor of the spirits of Auchindoun, fighting over the spirit towers surrounding the mausoleum whenever the time of the day corresponded with the ancient customs of the Draenei spirits.

In Nagrand, the town of Halaa was fought over by the Alliance and the Horde for the research on the Oshu'gun crystal powder found within, and as a defensive outpost to protect their respective homes in Telaar and Garadar.

Northrend Escalations
With the need for resources and an alternate route into Icecrown, Alliance and Horde forces clashed over the plethora of lumber in the Grizzly Hills. Furthermore, with the Alliance seeking allies in the natives of the woods, the Horde began a conquest of the settler territories which had, unbeknownst to both factions, been converted into worgen under the new Wolfcult of Arugal.

Venture Bay, formerly an outpost of the Venture Company, became a battleground as the company forces retreated to their ships. The logging grounds and lumber mills of Blackriver and Blue Sky soon followed as the Westfall Brigade clashed with the Horde forces of Conquest Hold.

Final Year of the Cold War
Despite the high tensions, the Alliance and the Horde had managed to establish a joint front at Angrathar, the Wrathgate. Alliance forces under Highlord Bolvar Fordragon and Horde forces under Dranosh Saurfang besieged the gate that would allow them to break the Scourge defensive lines into Icecrown when traitors from the Royal Apothecary Society led by Grand Apothecary Putress bombarded the battlefield with plague, killing Alliance, Horde and Scourge alike. The intervention of the Red Dragonflight saw the effects of the plague diminished, but both Fordragon and Saurfang were killed in action and taken to Icecrown.

In the aftermath of the battle on Angrathar, King Varian Wrynn made preparations for war, intending to avenge Lord Fordragon. Despite attempted negotiations by Lady Jaina Proudmoore, King Varian elected to attack and take the Undercity for the Alliance while it was being held by the traitorous faction of Forsaken. Bringing the full might of the Alliance to bear upon Putress' forces through the sewers, they made their way through the sewers and defeated him. With Putress dead, King Varian rallied his troops to bear against the Horde once more, delving deeper into the city after Warchief Thrall and his forces had defeated the traitorous Varimathras, though the conflict was prevented by Lady Proudmoore who froze all those present and teleported the Alliance army away from Lordaeron.

With the end of the battle for the Undercity, King Varian declared that the Horde had been left unchecked for too long, and was quoted saying that the Alliance "allowed their territories to prosper and in return for [their] generosity they plotted and planned [their] demise". Finding peace useless, King Varian declared war against the Horde, sparking the early conflicts of the Alliance-Horde War.

Notable Conflicts

 * The Battle for Hillsbrad
 * Conflict in Warsong Gulch
 * Conflict in Alterac Valley
 * Conflict in Arathi Basin
 * The Towers of Eastern Plaguelands
 * The Silithyst Race
 * Conflict in the Eye of the Storm
 * Halaa and the Oshu'gun Powder Race
 * Conflict on the Strand of the Ancients
 * Grizzly Hills resource skirmishes