to end the blockade of West Berlin by the evening and places its military forces on high alert, which recalls McCoy from his wife and infant daughter at Whiteman Air Force Base near Sedalia, Missouri. The next day, NATO forces attempt to break the blockade through the Helmstedt-Marienborn checkpoint, suffering heavy casualties. Warsaw Pact MiGs strike civilian and military targets in West Germany. Oakes visits his son's football game, but daily life is starting to break down. Moscow is evacuated, and people start to flee Kansas City. At the university's registration hall, the word goes out that the Soviets have invaded West Germany. NATO is unable to stop the Soviet invasion and threatens the use of nuclear weapons should the Soviets continue advancing south towards the rest of Western Europe. Pre-med student Stephen Klein (Steve Guttenberg) decides to hitchhike home to Joplin, Missouri, while Bruce presses on as normal and gets a haircut, but at a supermarket he's faced with a crowd frantically pulling items off the shelves. Americans and Soviets attack naval targets in the Persian Gulf, and there are rumors of nuclear strikes on the outskirts of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. Oakes is stuck in traffic driving to the campus hospital in Lawrence when the Emergency Broadcast System warnings begin. Failing to contact his wife, he turns back toward Kansas City. NATO airbursts three tactical nuclear weapons over advancing Soviet forces hoping to halt the Soviet invasion. In response, a Soviet nuclear attack destroys the regional NATO headquarters. Minutes apart, the United States launches its Minuteman missiles, and personnel aboard the EC-135 Looking Glass over Kansas track inbound Soviet ICBMs. The film deliberately leaves unclear who fired first. McCoy makes it to the Sweetsage base and learns Beale Air Force Base and RAF Fylingdales have been destroyed. Saying the war's over and they've done their jobs, he flees to find his family. Air raid sirens go off and panic grips Kansas City. Shortly before the ICBMs arrive, a high-altitude nuclear explosion over the Central United States generates an EMP that disables vehicles and destroys the electrical grid across the region. The nuclear strikes then commence as the ICBMs strike their targets. Kansas City and the surrounding military bases and missile silos are destroyed by the nuclear missiles. Marilyn and Bruce are incinerated. The Hendrys, having initially ignored the crisis, never make it out of their yard. Looking at a