World War III facts for kids

World War III is the name given to a possible third world war. It refers to a world war that may happen. It would be the successor to World War II (1939–1945).

A world war may be a war fought by multiple countries of the world against each other, sometimes across different continents. Or it may not. A all-out war fought between two or three major powers would be a world war.

Because technology and weapons have become so advanced, most people agree that if this war ever happens, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons may be used. Biological weapons are living things, usually bacteria or viruses. Chemical weapons might not kill quickly, but poison people or their land. Together, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are called weapons of mass destruction. Conventional weapons, on the other hand, are "normal" ones, like guns or non-nuclear bombs.

Mass destruction could damage much of the Earth and kill many humans and other living things. Albert Einstein is often quoted as having said: "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones". Einstein might not have actually said this, but other things he said show that he believed the weapons used in World War III might be so devastating that they would end civilization as we know it.

Actual events called World War III

Some events, for example the Cold War, have been called "World War III". Former President of the United States George W. Bush compared the War on Terrorism to World War III.

Neither of these was even remotely like what a world war would be. The cold war was not a war at all, and the Iraq war was largely conventional, with the war contained in one general area. Terrorism is indeed a form of conflict, but it is not a world war.

Related pages

• Eschatology
• Nuclear war

Images for kids

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  Nuclear warfare is a common theme of World War III scenarios. Such a conflict has been hypothesised to result in human extinction.

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  If activated, Operation Reforger would have largely consisted of convoys like this one from Operation Earnest Will in 1987, although much larger. While troops could easily fly across the Atlantic, the heavy equipment and armor reinforcements would have to come by sea.

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  President Ronald Reagan and Soviet double agent Oleg Gordievsky, who later told the west how close the Able Archer 83 exercise had brought the Soviets to ordering a First Strike.

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  Large nuclear weapons stockpile with global range (dark blue), smaller stockpile with global range (medium blue)

See also

In Spanish: Tercera Guerra Mundial para niños