7-hours War

The 7-hours War is a fictional conflict appearing in the backstory of the 2004 computer game Half-Life 2. Although never discussed directly in the game, some details of the war can be gathered through newspaper clippings and conversations.

An alien race known as the Combine were attracted to Earth by massive "portal storms" created in the wake of the resonance cascade in the original Half-Life. The Combine, through means unknown, defeated Earth's armed forces in only 7 hours. Dr. Wallace Breen supposedly negotiated a surrender, saving humanity at the cost of its complete enslavement. Breen was appointed ruler of the earth, but remains under control of the Combine. (There is some intimation that Breen, who was also the administrator of Black Mesa mentioned but never seen in Half-Life, intentionally arranged the disastrous resonance cascade; this may be why he was in a position to plead for mercy from the Combine on humanity's behalf.)

Half-Life 2 begins several years after this war, after the rule of the Combine has been firmly established.