History VideoGame / CommandAndConquerRedAlert

* AllohistoricalAllusion:
** After the Allies start pushing back the Soviets, Stalin realizes that he can't win a conventional conflict anymore and puts all his effort into completing the Soviet atomic weapons program in time to start bombing enemy cities with them. This mirrors Nazi Germany's putting its faith into vaunted ''Wunderwaffen'' (wonder weapons) towards the end of the war that would turn the tide in Germany's favor. The difference is that Stalin can actually back up his threat, with an entire mission revolving around infiltrating a missile silo to destroy it.

* BombardierMook: The Soviet [=MiG=] is a jet bomber that drops all its bombs on the same target, and is fast enough that it can avoid most fixed AntiAir defenses. The Yak deals less damage, but does so over a wider area, making it a better infantry killer.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Herr Hitler is so ''gone'' in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HPxsR4k9vQ German version]] that even his scene is cut from the game and is just mentioned when Einstein tells his assistant that he was wiped out from the timeline... If good ol'Albert only knew about [[NoSwastikas retroactive meta-censorship]]
* BugWar: There is a hidden campaign that pits you against Giant Ants.

* EarlyBirdCameo: General Carville is pretty much one of the few things that ties ''Red Alert'' with [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 its sequel]], although that's if you've seen the ''Retaliation'' expansion pack. For the first UsefulNotes/PlayStation.

** It is shown that saboteurs in dinghy rafts are available to Allies to demolish bridges, but this method is never seen in actual gameplay. In gameplay, it looks like Tanya is planting explosives all by herself.

** All superweapons are implied to be much more potent than their in-game usefulness ([[CutsceneIncompetence or uselessness]]) might suggest. The Allies are alarmed when they learn that the Soviets are about to launch four missiles that each have the power to wipe out cities, but in the Allied campaign, the Soviet nuke can do no worse than wipe out a section of your base.

* DeadlyGas: In the first Soviet mission briefing, Stalin's inner circle are discussing the use of a poison gas on a town full of unwilling test subjects. Doubles as RatedOpening.

** All superweapons are implied to be much more potent than their in-game usefulness ([[CutsceneIncompetence or uselessness]]) might suggest.

* DeadlyGas: In the first Soviet mission briefing, Stalin's inner circle are discussing the use of a poison gas on a town full of unwilling test subjects. Doubles as RRatedOpening.

** ''RedAlertFromTheAshes'', a mod for the Remastered Edition, is a campaign pack that bridges the gap between the Soviet campaign's ending and ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn''.

* GameMod: The infamous Rules.ini files allow the player to edit every single unit and building in the game. It also allows the addition of DummiedOut content back into the game, such as armed spies or the sniper rifle.

* ChekhovsGunman: Stalin's advisor. [[spoiler:By the end of the Soviet campaign, it's revealed that he is Kane, Nadia is a member of the Brotherhood of Nod, and they've been manipulating the Soviet Union for their own ends.]]
* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:Kane features as Stalin's advisor. Though if you watch the body language and finish the game, it's quite obvious he's the real power behind him.]]

'''Einstein:''' Hitler is... [[RetGone out of the way]].\\

** Rifle infantry can be useful for beating down a building just enough so your engineers can capture it. This can be handy for any missions that require you to capture a certain building since rifle infantry do mostly ScratchDamage (whereas some units are too powerful and might accidentally destroy the building). It's also worth noting that the Soviets can access paratroopers with an airfield that can give you rifle infantry [[JustForPun on the fly]] and delivered to any location you want.

* {{Nerf}}: The Atom Bomb is a nerfed version of the Nuclear Warhead from ''Tiberian Dawn''. While it can be used more than once, and every few minutes, it doesn't destroy enemy structures like nuclear warheads do. It is best used to vaporize any opposing infantry units and weaken enemy structures in hopes of running the foe's credits over time.

* RedHerringTwist: [[spoiler: The Allied ending is canon, so Kane doesn't exist in the second game.]]

** Units tend to move towards the location of the unit they're ordered to attack rather than attack it at maximum range. Particularly visible with artillery units, who routinely get shot by the very defenses they're supposed to outrange.

* AnachronismStew: Although the game is set in the early 1950s and features characters like Stalin and Einstein, it also features modern and even futuristic military technology alongside older technology (for example, the Soviet airforce is a mix of Yakovlev airplanes from the 1940s, Tupolev bombers from the 1950s, and [[=MiG=]] jets from the 1970s). A good example which personifies this is the trio of soldiers who find Stalin in the Allied ending, who are dressed in World War II era uniforms yet carry [=M-16s=] (one of which even has an underslung grenade launcher) despite the in-game purchase icon for the 'Rifle Infantry' unit being instead shown wielding a WWII-era M1 carbine.

** All of the countries in Europe are shown with post-World War II borders, but with the war having been averted due to Einstein's time travel, Europe should have the post-1918 borders (the timelines diverged in 1924). Most notably, the Baltic states are annexed to the Soviet Union, and the German-Polish border runs along the Oder-Neiße line, which was enstablished after [=WW2=] to give Poland territories from Eastern Germany. Oddly, in the opening cinematic and one of the early trailers there's a differently inaccurate map with borders from IRL 1939, when Nazi Germany and its allies expanded their territories: Austria and nowadays Czech Republic are annexed to Germany while Hungary owns part of Transylvania. Probably just a case of Westwood not paying enough attention to detail.

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: It is highly unlikely that the Dark Horseman atomic missiles would be able to be disarmed in mid-flight as after launching an [=ICBM=], the point of no return is already crossed. The Allies aren't implied to have the ability of even ''intercept'' an [=ICBM=], but if they did, then the resolution would be from successfully knocking the nukes out of the air.
* ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: In the 8th Soviet Mission "Core of the Matter", if the Allied infiltrators succeed in triggering a meltdown, the nuclear reactor explodes in a mushroom cloud. This goes without saying but ''a Meltdown does NOT cause a Nuclear Reactor to explode like a warhead because high-grade, weaponized Plutonium isn't being used as its fuel source''.

--> '''Einstein:''' Mr. Hitler!
--> '''Hitler:''' Yes? What is it? I don't have time to stand around here!
--> '''Einsten:''' [''offers a handshake''] Yes, I understand...

** There's no Allied MissionControl character named Eva, as a MythologyGag to EVA from the original Command and Conquer games. Both factions would have a male voiceover for UI functions.

** Attack helicopters must reload at a Helipad after delivering their payload, which essentially means that there must be one Helipad for each battle copter (akin to the Orca aircraft of the Tiberian series). While later games would have similar mechanics for jet-based aircraft and hold more than one plane per base (and they would never be able to park on the ground), helicopter aircraft would have infinite ordnance and no need to return to base at inopportune times. The Soviets would also gain the Twinblade in ''III'' which functions like the Allied Apache but can also airlift vehicles and has machine gun onboard.
** Air force is a Soviet specialty in this game but sequels shifted this attribute towards the Allies with the later even having the "Advanced Aeronautics" passive in ''III'' to boost the stats of their air units. Again, Airfields may also only hold ''one'' plane (not included) in this installment which makes amassing a squadron of Migs or Yaks somewhat AwesomeButImpractical in terms to cost and space.

** The Allies having flak cannons and the Soviets having surface-to-air missile launchers contrasts with later games where this is switched around.

** The Attack Dog has its own dedicated production structure in the Kennel. Later games would simply produce Attack Dogs from the Barracks. They are also exclusive to the Soviets in this game. The Allies would later get German Shepherds as their dog breed in ''II'' and ''III'' and the Soviets got Siberian Huskies (replaced by War Bears in ''III''); both dogs would gain an additional niche in ''II'' due to being immune to mind control.

** There are absolutely no amphibious units in this game. Not even the naval transports can traverse land; they are limited to parking at shores and dropping off their passengers that way. ''Red Alert 2'' and ''especially'' ''Red Alert 3'' would explore the idea of units that can traverse both land and water.

* PoisonedDrinkDrop: The Soviet ending in has UsefulNotes/JosefStalin celebrating his victory of conquering Europe while drinking tea which was prepared by his aide, Nadia. Then, he starts to feel unwell, drops his teacup, and collapses on top of his desk. When he realizes that Nadia poisoned him, he yells "Poison?! You bitch!" and dies.

* ExcitedShowTitle: The secret ant mission chain is called "It Came From!", and three of its four missions are titled "Rescue!", "Hunt!" and "[[{{Shoutout}} Exterminate!]]", respectively.