Third Robotech War

The (fictional) Third Robotech War (2038-45) is the final known event in the Robotech science fiction universe. Unlike the previous Robotech Wars, which were fought by Earth-based human forces against invading alien enemies, the Third Robotech War was fought by the returning Robotech Expeditionary Force to liberate the occupied Earth from the alien Invid.

Roots
The crash-landing of the SDF-1 on Macross Island in 1999 was the root cause of all of the Robotech Wars; see First Robotech War for further details.

The Second Robotech War left the industrial and political infrastructure of the Earth in tattered shape. With the Japanese centers of Robotech research disrupted and the North American center of the United Earth Government nearly destroyed, the defensive capabilities of the Army of the Southern Cross swiftly degraded from advanced mecha and starships to late 20th century (pre-SDF-1) technology. Because of this damage, the defense forces put up only a token fight against the Invid when they invaded in 2031, barely a year after the Second Robotech War's end.

The Invid Invasion in the early 2030s left Earth completely devastated. The back of civilization was completely broken, reducing mankind to squabbling factional states and shattering what little remained of the old United Earth Government. The Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF), fortunately, had been designed to operate completely independent of planet Earth, and was only minimally hampered by the loss of Earth. Unfortunately, events in deep space kept the REF away from Earth for another decade, until the Venus, Mars and Jupiter missions of the early 40s.

In 2044, a full-scale assault on Reflex Point drove the Invid from Earth and reclaimed the planet for humanity. A large portion, although certainly not all, of the main fleet was lost in the assault and during the Regis's departure. This is the point from which Robotech: Shadow Chronicles is set to start from.