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:''For other uses, see [[World War Three (disambiguation)]].'' |
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[[Image:Nuclear fireball.jpg|right|thumb|Nuclear fireball from a U.S. nuclear test]] |
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'''World War III''' is the name given to a hypothetical [[world war]] that would be fought after [[World War II]]. Most usages of the term include the use of [[weapons of mass destruction]] such as [[nuclear weapon]]s. |
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In the latter half of the [[20th century]], military confrontation between the superpowers was considered to pose an extreme threat to establishing [[world peace]], when the [[Cold War]] saw the [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[United States]] face the [[communism|communist]] [[Soviet Union]]. If this confrontation had escalated into full-scale war, it was widely thought that the conflict would become "World War III", and that the end result would be the partial destruction of entire life on Earth, an [[human extinction|extermination of human life]] or, at the very least, the partial collapse of [[civilization]], with total casualties over 500,000,000. (See also [[Mutually Assured Destruction]]) |
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This outcome ranks with [[asteroid]] or [[comet]] [[impact event]]s, hostile [[technological singularity|technological singularities]], worldwide [[pandemics]], and catastrophic [[climate change]] as one of the major [[extinction event|mass extinction event]]s that could befall humanity. |
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The term World War III is used in certain spheres of influence in the [[USA]] to describe the [[Cold War]] of the 20th century; generally under this naming system the current [[War on Terror]] is referred to as the beginning of [[World War IV]]. Others have used the term World War III to describe the War on Terror itself. |
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== Historical scenarios == |
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[[Image:Nagasakibomb.jpg|thumbnail|250px|A [[mushroom cloud]], an [[archetype|archetypal]] image of World War III. This photo is from the [[atomic bombing of Nagasaki]] at the end of [[World War II]].]] |
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When asked what kind of weapons World War III would be fought with, [[Albert Einstein]] replied: |
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:''"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but [[World War IV]] will be fought with sticks and stones."'' |
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Not all scenarios for World War III have begun with the use of [[nuclear weapon]]s. Operation [[DROPSHOT]], a since-[[classified information|declassified]] U.S. plan, written in [[1947]], assumed a long period of [[conventional war]] between [[NATO]] and the [[Soviet Union]] before any nuclear weapons would be employed by both sides. The standard NATO war planning scenario assumed a Soviet attack on [[West Germany]], in which tactical nuclear weapons would be used only if NATO forces were losing. In most [[Wargaming|war game]]s, NATO forces faced extreme difficulty defending West Germany and used nuclear weapons [[first strike|first]]. |
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In a 1979 [[Warsaw Pact]] wargame scenario, "[[Seven Days to the River Rhine]]," declassified by the Polish government in November 2005, the Soviets postulated that the NATO would use nuclear weapons along the [[Vistula River]] in Poland to block reinforcements moving westward from the Soviet Union. The Soviet counterstrike was aimed at [[Hamburg]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Stuttgart]], [[Munich]], [[Baden Baden]] in Germany; [[Haarlem]] in the Netherlands, and [[Antwerp]] and [[Charleroi]] in Belgium. Polish Defense Minister [[Radek Sikorsky]] noted that in that case, Poland would suffer at least 2 million casualties. |
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===Historical close calls=== |
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Before the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, an [[apocalypse|apocalyptic]] war between the United States and USSR was considered likely. The [[Cuban missile crisis]] in [[1962]] is generally thought to be the historical point at which the risk of World War III was closest. Other potential starts have included the following (see ''[[#External links|External links]]'' below for further examples): |
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* [[July 26th]], [[1956]] – [[March]], [[1957]] — [[Suez Crisis]]: the conflict pitted [[Egypt]] against an alliance between the [[French Fourth Republic]], the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Israel]]. The [[U.S.S.R. | USSR]] threatened to intervene on behalf of Egypt, the US became afraid of a larger war, and persuaded the [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[France|French]] to withdraw. |
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* [[October 24]], [[1973]] — As the [[Yom Kippur War]] was winding down, a Soviet threat to intervene on Egypt's behalf caused the United States to go to [[DEFCON]] 3. |
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* [[November 9]], [[1979]], when the US made emergency retaliation preparations after [[North American Aerospace Defense Command|NORAD]] saw on-screen indications that a full-scale Soviet attack had been launched. No attempt was made to use the "[[red telephone]]" [[hotline]] to clarify the situation with the USSR and it was not until early-warning radar systems confirmed no such launch had taken place that NORAD realised that a [[computer]] system test had caused the display errors. A [[United States Senate|Senator]] at NORAD at the time described an atmosphere of absolute panic. A [[General Accounting Office|GAO]] investigation led to the construction of an off-site test facility, to prevent similar mistakes subsequently. A fictionalized version of this incident was filmed as the movie ''[[WarGames]]'', in which the test system is inadvertently triggered by a teenage hacker believing himself to be playing a video game. |
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* [[September 26]], [[1983]], when Soviet early warning system showed that a US [[intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBMs]] attack had been launched. Colonel [[Stanislav Petrov]], in command of the monitoring facility put the warning down to computer error and did not notify his superiors, who would have most probably launched a counter-attack. |
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* [[November]] [[1983]]: Exercise [[Able Archer]] — The [[USSR]] mistook a test of [[NATO]]'s nuclear-release procedures as a fake cover for a NATO attack and subsequently raised its nuclear alert level. It was not until afterwards that the US realized how close it had come to [[nuclear war]]. At the time of the exercise the Soviet Politburo was without a healthy functioning head due to the failing health of then leader [[Yuri Andropov]], which is thought to have been one of the contributing factors to the Soviet paranoia over the exercise. |
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* [[January 25]], [[1995]], when [[Russia]] almost launched a nuclear attack after a [[Norway|Norwegian]] missile launch for scientific research was detected from [[Spitzbergen]] and thought to be an attack on Russia, launched five minutes from [[Moscow]]. Norway had notified the world that it would be making the launch, but the Russian Defense Ministry had neglected to notify those monitoring Russia's nuclear defense systems. |
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In addition to the above there are two other points during the Cold War that may have resulted in world war. These, however, are not generally listed as they do not relate to the United States-Soviet Union rivalry, but rather the events following the [[Sino-Soviet Split]] of [[1960]]. The ideological split between Maoist communists (represented primarily by China) and Stalinist communists (represented primarily by the Soviet Union) divided the entire communist movement worldwide — which controlled governments or significant rebel factions on most continents. Thus a war between China and the Soviet Union may well have resulted in world war, whilst not necessarily involving the U.S. and the capitalist west (although the U.S. may have opportunistically intervened whilst its two communist rivals were distracted by war with each other). The two points the communist powers almost entered into all-out war were: |
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* [[March]], [[1969]], when border clashes broke out between Soviet and Chinese troops over [[Zhen Bao Island]] in the [[Ussuri River]]. In total the Soviets suffered about 90 casualties to the 800 for the Chinese. At the time there were almost one and a half million troops deployed along the border. |
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* [[1978]] and [[1979]], in which the pro-Soviet Vietnam invaded the pro-China Cambodia and removed [[Pol Pot]]. China in turn invaded Vietnam in retaliation and the Soviets denounced this action strongly, although it fell short of taking action. The next year the Soviets invaded [[Afghanistan]] and the Chinese claimed this was a continuation of a strategy of encircling China with Soviet allies that had begun the previous year with the invasion of Cambodia. |
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Some examples of close calls are more rhetorical than real. In 1999 [[NATO]]'s [[Supreme Allied Commander]], [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] General [[Wesley Clark]], ordered [[British Army]] [[Mike Jackson|Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson]] to hinder Russian troops from occupying the [[Pristina]] airport during the [[Kosovo War]], "if necessary with military force"; Jackson refused to carry out the order with the words: "I won't start World War III for you!" |
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===Preparations for war=== |
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[[OPLAN]] (Operations Plan) 1000 was the standard U.S. military plan for the first hours or days of a national emergency such as World War III. Unclassified annexes included grounding all civil [[aircraft]] in the United States and controlling all [[navigation]] beacons. In the [[1950s]] and [[1960s]], this included [[CONELRAD]] (Control of Electronic Radiation), in which all radio stations [[broadcasting]] in the U.S. would operate on low power on two [[frequency|frequencies]] — to prevent Russian bombers from using them for navigation. Certain features of OPLAN 1000 were instituted during the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|terrorist attacks on the United States]] on [[September 11]], [[2001]]. The actual U.S. nuclear response was detailed in numerous [[Single Integrated Operational Plan]]s from 1960 to the present day. |
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Certain sources also state that the [[Interstate highway|Eisenhower Interstate Highway System]] was specifically designed to contain several sections which were flat and straight, to be used as emergency runways for nuclear bombers. However, the [[United States Department of Transportation]] strongly denies that such a purpose exists in the Interstate highway system. Nonetheless, several other nations, such as [[Finland]] and [[Taiwan]] have done so. The original freeways ([[autobahn]]), as produced by Germany, were built this way for planned World War II aviation use. |
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== Use of the term == |
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===Cold War=== |
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The term World War III has been used by [[Project for the New American Century]] (PNAC) to describe the [[Cold War]] of the 20th century, while the [[War on Terror]], including the Iraq military conflict, is referred to as [[World War IV]]. PNAC has numerous members who are senior officials in the [[George W. Bush administration]] in the USA as well as in other high positions of influence in the United States. James Woolsey, a founding member of PNAC, stated during his opening statements while speaking on [[April 2]], [[2003]] on a panel discussion at [[UCLA]] entitled "America, Iraq and the War on Terrorism, UCLA": |
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:''"A few words about this war we're in, which I don’t really call a war against terrorism. I have adopted a formulation of my friend Elliot Cohen who teaches at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies calls it World War IV. World War III having been the Cold War. And I think that more accurately characterizes the degree of commitment that we are going to have to be engaged in, and the scope of what we are going to be engaged in now for some years. This Fourth World War I think will last considerably longer than either World Wars I or II did for us, hopefully not the full four-plus decades of the Cold War."'' |
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===Gulf War=== |
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During a [[press conference]] soon after the start of the 1991 [[Gulf War]] [[Hussein of Jordan|King Hussein]] of [[Jordan]] directly referred to the conflict between the United States and its coalition of allies against [[Iraq]] as "the Third World War" but there is no indication of any other world leaders accepting the definition. |
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===War on Terrorism=== |
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Some historians have suggested that the [[War on Terrorism]], in retaliation to the [[September 11]] [[2001]] attacks, may become known by future generations as the third of the world wars due to its global impact and the number of countries involved. However, others say this is hyperbole and argue that it is highly unlikely that the current military conflicts in the Middle East and central Asia will escalate to the point that the USA would be engaged militarily with at least one other major military alliance, such as Russia or China becoming allied with Iran. In either case it is noteworthy to point out that the war on terrorism marks the first time since its creation that [[NATO]] has unilaterally opted to enact its war action and participation articles. |
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== Technological causes of WW3 == |
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The term ''Gigadeath War'', first used by [[Hugo De Garis]], described a confrontation not between nations or religions but between [[Terran|Terrans]] and [[Hugo de Garis|Cosmist]]s, determined respectively to resist or advance [[Artificial intelligence|artilect]] ("artificial intelligence" on a godlike scale) evolution beyond humans — a "[[technological singularity]]" out of human control. This is not an isolated concept — apocalypse literature throughout the late 20th century emphasized lack of human control over war machines, e.g. the [[Terminator series|''Terminator'' series]], the film [[A.I. (film)|A.I.]] and [[The Matrix]]. |
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The [[United Nations University Millennium Project]] participants, in [[2001]], ranked technological runaways ([[genetics|gene]], [[prion]], [[virus]], [[robot]], [[software]] or new [[molecule]]s acting like any or all) as greater risks to human survival than intentional acts by humans. World War III has also been relegated in likelihood among [[Human extinction#Human extinction scenarios|Human extinction scenarios]] by [[futurologist]] authors (like Sir [[Martin Rees]]). |
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== Artistic treatments == |
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A vast [[Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_science_fiction|post-apocalyptic science fiction]] literature exists describing the likely aftermath of either, describing the impact of [[weapons of mass destruction]]. None of it describes a very happy world. Many science fiction works are also set in a far future in which a WWIII-type conflict is a historical event. |
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The genre of post-apocalyptic science fiction often uses [[post-World War III scenarios]]. Such stories were found mostly in Western science fiction publications; Soviet writers were discouraged from writing them. |
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=== Film and television === |
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Several notable movies have been made based on World War III, including the following: |
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* ''[[Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]'' ([[1964 in film|1964]]), a [[black comedy]] by [[Stanley Kubrick]] in which an American general Jack D. Ripper, concerned about [[fluoridation]] of drinking water, orders a nuclear attack on the [[Soviet Union]]. The title character, Dr. Strangelove, is a parody of a composite of Cold War figures, including [[Wernher von Braun]] and [[Herman Kahn]]. |
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* ''[[Fail-Safe]]'' ([[1964]] and [[2000 in film|2000]]), based on the novel by [[Eugene Burdick]] and [[Harvey Wheeler]], involves an American atomic [[bomber]] group which mistakenly receives orders to bomb [[Moscow]], and cannot be subsequently recalled due to fail-safe procedures designed to protect against fraudulent radio communications from Soviet imposters. |
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* ''[[The War Game]]'' ([[1965 in film|1965]]), produced by [[Peter Watkins]], deals with a fictional nuclear attack on Britain. This film won the [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for Best Documentary, but was withheld from broadcast by the [[BBC]] for several decades. |
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* ''[[The Bed Sitting Room]]'' ([[1969 in film|1969]]), a surrealist post-nuclear comedy, adapted from the stage play by [[Spike Milligan]] and [[John Antrobus]]. |
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*''[[Colossus: The Forbin Project]]'' ([[1970 in film|1970]]), where two (U.S. and USSR) military [[artificial intelligence]]s ally to [[blackmail]] humans into assembling more artificial intelligences like themselves. |
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* ''[[A Boy and His Dog]]'' ([[1975 in film|1975]]), based on a [[short story]] by [[Harlan Ellison]], takes place after World War III. |
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* ''[[La Jetée]]'' ([[1962 in film|1962]]), is about a group of survivors of destroyed Paris living underground at Chaillot. They research time travel, hoping to send someone back to before World War III to recover food, medicine, or energy for the present. The basic elements of the plot were used in the later movie ''[[Twelve Monkeys]]'', though with nuclear catastrophe replaced by a global disease epidemic. |
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* ''[[Damnation Alley]]'' ([[1977 in film|1977]]), based on a [[novella]] by [[Roger Zelazny]], about a group of World War III survivors in the United States trekking from California to New York in search of survivors after hearing a lone radio signal. |
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* ''[[Mad Max]]'' ([[1979 in film|1979]]), and sequels such as [[Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior|The Road Warrior]], present a post-war [[Australian outback]] where the survivors battle for oil. |
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*''[[World War III (miniseries)]]'', aired on U.S. [[network television]] in [[1982 in television|1982]]. A Soviet invasion of [[Alaska]] in order to seize U.S. [[oilfield]]s escalates to a nuclear exchange. |
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* ''[[The Day After]]'' ([[1983 in television|1983]]) was a controversial [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Movie of the Week]] about a full-scale nuclear war and its aftermath, told from the viewpoint of ordinary Americans in the [[Midwest]]. The shocking and disturbing content discouraged advertisers, but it was a tremendous ratings success. |
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* ''[[WarGames]]'' (1983), starring [[Matthew Broderick]], involves a teenage [[hacker]] who challenges an unknown computer system to a simulation game called "Global Thermonuclear War", only to discover that the computer controls [[North_American_Aerospace_Defense_Command|NORAD]], and the nation's leaders think the simulated Soviet attacks are the start of a real nuclear war. |
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* ''[[Red Dawn]]'' ([[1984 in film|1984]]) is about a successful surprise attack by the [[Soviet Union]] against America set in its heartland, and a small band of teenagers that fight the occupation using [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla tactics]]. |
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* ''[[Threads (television show)|Threads]]'' (1984), a movie shown on the [[BBC]], dealing with the short- and longer-term consequences of a nuclear attack on the city of [[Sheffield]], [[England]]. Notable for its graphically disturbing and realistic accurate depictions of post-nuclear survival. |
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* ''[[The Terminator]]'' series (1984, [[1991 in film|1991]] and [[2003 in film|2003]]), stars [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] as a [[cyborg]] from a post-apocalyptic future. An [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] computer called [[Skynet]] starts World War III in order to eradicate humanity, and then resorts to sending "[[T-800|Terminator]]" cyborgs [[time travel|back through time]] after the surviving humans successfully revolt, in order to stop the [[John Connor|leader of the human resistance]] ever existing to begin with. |
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* ''[[When the Wind Blows]]'' ([[1986 in film|1986]]), a bleak cel-animated feature based on a [[Raymond Briggs]] book, depicts an elderly couple's attempts to survive World War III through their nostalgic memories of how they survived World War II as children. Features original music by [[Roger Waters]]. |
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* ''[[Miracle Mile (movie)|Miracle Mile]]'' ([[1988 in film|1988]]); the movie's protagonist learns in the first act that America has just triggered World War III, it follows his attempts to escape the Northern Hemisphere's destruction. |
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* ''[[Akira (film)|Akira]]'' ([[1988 in film|1988]]), [[anime]] film adaptation of its namesake [[manga]], in which events take place in Japan after World War III. |
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* ''[[By Dawn's Early Light]]'' ([[1990 in film|1990]]), which depicts a post-[[Cold War]] explosion instigated by Soviet rebels, which causes a nuclear war to start between the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]] (in its dying days). The film follows the crew of a [[B-52 bomber]], the [[President of the United States of America|U.S. President]], and [[AWACS]] as events unfold. |
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*''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'' ([[1996 in film|1996]]), where the [[Starship Enterprise|USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-E]] chases the [[Borg]] back through time to a period on Earth just 10 years after [[World War III (Star Trek)|Star Trek's version of World War III]]. The Borg aim to attack Earth while it is still crippled from the war. The Star Trek Timeline places World War III beginning in the year 2043 and ending by the year 2053. |
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* ''[[Blast from the Past (movie)|Blast from the Past]]'' ([[1999 in film|1999]]) is a comedy about a 1960's family caught in the grip of Cold War paranoia. Falsely convinced that World War III has started, they hide in their fallout shelter, only to emerge 35 years later in the post-Cold War world. |
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* ''[[The Matrix]]'' series ([[1999 in film|1999]] and [[2003 in film|2003]]) is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are controlled and farmed by a hostile artificial intelligence. Heavy use of nuclear arms by the humans did little to damage the advancing AI armies (as seen in [[The Animatrix]]). |
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* ''[[Equilibrium (2002 film)|Equilibrium]]'' ([[2002 in film|2002]]) Following an apocalyptic Third World War, the strict government of the dystopian city-state Libria has eliminated war by suppressing all human emotion. |
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*''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' and ''[[Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG]]'' make frequent references to "the last world war", and the general age of the characters suggest that a Third World War had taken place. With the release of the second season, more information on this war has become available: It was nuclear, and fought throughout the [[Eurasia]]n continent, in [[South America]], and in [[Central America]]. The only nations to escape the war largly unscathed were the [[American Empire]] and [[Japan]]. |
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*''[[Testament (film)|Testament]]'' ([[1983]]) |
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*''[[Fist of the North Star|Hokuto No Ken]]'' ([[1985]], ''Fist of the North Star'' in English) is based on the manga series of the same name. The story takes place in a post apocalyptic Japan. Although the story is loosely based in a [[Mad Max]]-like setting, the plot revolves around a fighter named [[Kenshiro]] who goes and kills gang members and psychotic dictators of the new Japan who tend to opress the now-poor populace just trying to find food and water. |
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*"[[World War Three (Doctor Who)|World War Three]]", a [[2005]] episode of the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] show ''[[Doctor Who]]'', in which an alien race attempts to start a nuclear war on Earth in order to convert the planet into a cheap source of fuel. The story is a satire of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. |
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*"[[The Sum of All Fears]]" ([[2002 in film|2002]]) starts with a group of [[neo-Nazis]] trying to set off a nuclear bomb in [[Baltimore]] in order to convince the U.S. that Russia has attacked them and start a nuclear war. |
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=== Literature === |
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Notable literature dealing with World War III include: |
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* ''Fail-Safe'', a book which was adapted into two movies, described above; ISBN 0070089272. |
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* ''[[On the Beach]]'' ([[1957]]), by [[Nevil Shute]], was also made into movies of the same name ([[1959]] and [[2000]]); ISBN 1842322761. |
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* ''[[Alas, Babylon]]'', by [[Pat Frank]], dealt with the survival of the fictional town of [[Fort Repose]], [[Florida]] after a Soviet missile strike obliterates most of the United States; ISBN 0060931396. |
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* ''[[The Third World War, August 1985]]'', by [[John Hackett|General Sir John Hackett]], set in a [[1980s]] war based on the NATO scenario; ISBN 0025471600. Hackett also wrote a sequel, ''[[The Third World War: The Untold Story]]'' which expanded upon the original story; ISBN 0450055914. This same NATO/Warsaw Pact scenario was also used in [[Harold Coyle]]'s novel, ''[[Team Yankee]]''; ISBN 0425110427. |
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* ''[[Warday]]'', by Whitley Strieber & James Kunetka. Presented as an extended piece of journalism, two writers tour America five years after a limited nuclear exchange between the Soviet Union and the United States. The work assembles a fictional documentary of life in the aftermath, weaving together interviews, government documents, and the chronicle of their travels; ISBN 0030707315 |
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* ''[[Red Storm Rising]]'', by [[Tom Clancy]], presents a detailed, realistic scenario of World War III fought largely with conventional weapons; ISBN 0006173624. |
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* ''[[The World Aflame]]'', written by [[Leonard Engel]] and [[Emmanuel Piller]] in [[1947]] and set amidst a protracted nuclear war from [[1950]]–[[1955|5]]. |
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* [[Red Army (book)|''Red Army'']], by [[Ralph Peters]], told from the Soviet perspective; ISBN 0671676695. |
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* ''[[Yellow Peril#Fictional_Use|Yellow Peril]]'' by Wang Lixiong, written under the pseudonym Bao Mi, about a civil war in the [[People's Republic of China]] that becomes a nuclear exchange and soon engulfs the world. It's notable for Wang Lixiong's politics, a Chinese dissident and outspoken activist, its publication following [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]], and its popularity due to bootleg distribution across China even when the book was banned by the Chinese Communist Party. |
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*[[The City of Ember]], by Jeanne DuPrau, is set in a post-apocalyptic community, the City of Ember, built underground. The protagonists, Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet, are on a quest to find the way to get out of Ember, because the city is beginning to run out of lightbulbs, the only things keeping the Emberites from dying in darkness. In the sequel, [[The People of Sparks]], we learn that the world above has been reduced to small roving bands of humans, with the settlement the Emberites emerge upon having a population of 300, and that being considered prosperous. The remaining humans occasionally scavenge the cities for things from the past society. They only partially believe in the fables of telephones, televisions, and passing references to the [[Internet]]. Surviving books show that the death knell was a combination of plagues and atomic weapons. |
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*''[[JLA]]'' by [[Grant Morrison]]. Under influence by a space-faring entity, populations fight amongst themselves. |
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* "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]" by [[George Orwell]] depicts a world in which all three superpowers are involved in a perpetual World War III in order to control their peoples and induce war-hysteria. |
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*Robert C. O'Brian's "Z for Zachariah" in which a nuclear war leaves a small valley untouched and follows a young girl who is seemingly the only survivor. |
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*Robert McCammon's novel ''Swan Song'' opens with a massive nuclear exchange, involving a description of the destructive firestorm created by a nuclear missile. While much of the novel involves supernatural elements, the backdrop is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and a central plot development involves several opposing, marauding, guerilla armies trying to seize power in the aftermath. |
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*A series of novels under the title World War III by Ian Slater, follows the key players and a number of related characters in campaigns around the planet. |
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*"Arc Light", by Eric L. Harry, describes a nuclear exchange between Russia and the U.S. as well as the following U.S. invasion of Russia. |
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*"[[Neuromancer]]," and the rest of the "[[Sprawl Trilogy]]" by William Gibson is set in a post WWIII world. |
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*''[[China War and the Third Temple]]'' by Irvin Baxter, Jr. is a fictional scenario based upon Bible prophesy. |
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*''[[First Clash]]'' by Major (Retired) Kenneth Macksey, MC, is a fictional scenario based on the actions of a Canadian Brigade Group in a defensive action in the Federal Republic of Germany. |
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*''[[Counterstroke]]'' by Major (Retired) Kenneth Macksey, MC, is a follow-up to First Clash. In it, a Canadian Brigade Group fights in an offensive action in the Federal Republic of Germany. |
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*The trilogy ''Kinderen van Moeder Aarde'' (Children of Mother Earth), written by the Dutch [[Thea Beckman]] tells about a completely changed world after the two days during WW III |
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=== Computer games === |
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*[http://www.worldwar3.dk World War 3] — online multiplayer game in advanced Risk-style. Running since 2001. |
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*[http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/scenarios/plot-ww3in1985.html World War Three in 1985] — This scenario collection, created with the Harpoon3 naval / aerial warfare simulator, takes a look at what might have happened had the Cold War gone hot in September 1985. The scenarios focus on technical detail and a solid historical background, and is intended to give an accurate account of the war that never happened. |
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*[http://worldwar3.jowood.de/ World War III: Black Gold] — [[real-time strategy]] game: Released late 2001, WWIII:BG depicted a U.S. invasion of Iraq for oil, Iraqi terroism in the United States and Rebel Soviet Generals seizing the Russian Federation. Due to its time of release, the game never became as popular as any of the Earth 21** games made by the same games company, Reality Pump. |
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*''[[Command & Conquer]]'' — [[real-time strategy]] game: terrorists (the Brotherhood of Nod) fights against a [[UN]]-like organisation (the Global Defense Initiative). |
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*''[[Command_and_Conquer#Red_Alert_Series|Command & Conquer: the Red Alert Series]]'' — [[real-time strategy]] game where an alternate time-line leads to conflict between the Soviets and other nations. The first confrontation was technically not a World War III conflict; in this world, World War II never occurred; however the events of Red Alert 2 — a full scale invasion of the United States — would be the start of World War III. |
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*''[[Wasteland (computer game)|Wasteland]]'' — [[role-playing game (video games)|computer role-playing game]] set in a post-nuclear world after World War III in [[1997]]. |
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*''[[Fallout (computer game)|Fallout]]'' — computer role-playing game set in a post-nuclear world with retro-[[1950s|50s]] style, after World War III in [[2077]]. Said to be the unofficial sequel to Wasteland. |
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*''[[Superhero League of Hoboken]]'', a tongue-in-cheek [[lampoon]]ing of the post-apocalyptic genre |
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*''[[Battlefield: Apocalypse]]'', a BF2 Total Conversion, set in 2056 - 50 years after a nuclear apocalypse. Many of the maps are set within real-world locations, such as New York and Australia. |
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*''Computer War'' (Thorn EMI) and ''[[WarGames (game)|WarGames]]'' (Coleco) — similar titles with [[real-time strategy]] elements, based on the "War Games" movie, for ATARI 800/XL series computers. |
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*''Raid Over Moscow'', an arcade-style game for the [[C64]] and [[ZX Spectrum]] in which the player has to destroy Soviet nuclear missiles being launched at the U.S. |
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*''[[Battlefield 2]]'' which takes place as a futuristic war between the Peoples Liberation Army of China, the Middle Eastern Coalition, and the United States Marines. |
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*''[[The Strength of Nations]]'' in which three nations struggle for dominance in a world devastated by nuclear holocaust. |
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*''[[The Day After: Fight for Promised land]]'', Released in 2005, is a stand-alone of Nival Interactives [[Blitzkrieg (computer game)|Blitzkrieg]], where the Cuban Missile Crisis back in 1962 results in a nuclear apocalypse and trigger World War III, where USSR invades Europe and Middle East, defended by American, British, French and German NATO troops and a Chinese invasion of USSR and Asia. |
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=== Music === |
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*[[Anarcho-punk]] band [[Crass]] emulate the reaction of a nuclear attack, in the song "They've Got A Bomb", with a chorus countdown ending in a abrupt stop and a period of silence. The band later explained that the idea of the space in the song, when performed live, was to "suddenly stop the energy, dancing and noise and allow the audience to momentarily 'confront themselves' and consider the reality of nuclear war." |
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*The [[punk rock]] band [[the Clash]] wrote a few songs about nuclear war, notably ''London Calling'' and ''Ivan Meets G.I. Joe''. |
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* Several early-80s [[synth pop]] bands responded to [[Cold War]] tensions with nuclear war songs, including [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]]'s "Two Tribes", [[Ultravox_(band)|Ultravox]]'s "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" and [[Nena]]'s "[[99 Red Balloons]]". |
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*[[Ska]]-[[funk]] band [[Fishbone]] sing about WWIII with energy and humour in the song "Party at Ground Zero". |
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*Ex-[[The Smiths|Smiths]] frontman [[Morrissey]] compares a seaside resort town in winter to a post-nuclear holocaust world in the song "Every Day is Like Sunday". |
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*[[Depeche Mode]] expresses the desolation of a destroyed Europe after nuclear weapons detonate after receiving a nuclear-attack warning only a mere two minutes prior to the explosions in "Two Minute Warning" on the 1983 album [[Construction Time Again]]. Various tracks on the album generally addressed the various topics (nuclear, environmental, social welfare) of pathos and angst felt by European Generation X living in a world pulled perhaps senselessly in two opposing directions by the two sides of the Cold War. |
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*The satirist [[Tom Lehrer]] gained renown for several [[Apocalypse|apocalyptically]]-themed songs, including "So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III)" and "We Will All Go Together When We Go". In his introduction to the latter he said "if we want any good songs to come out of the next war, we had better start writing them now". |
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*The [[Heavy_metal_(music)|heavy metal]] band [[Megadeth]] has numerous songs dealing with nuclear war such as the songs "Set the World Afire", "Rust in Peace... Polaris" and "Black Curtains." Nuclear war is also the inspiration for the band's name. |
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*The [[post-rock]] band [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]]'s work largely deals with apocalyptic destruction and its consequences (see the lyrics to their song [http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/deadmetheney/monologues/deadflag.htm "The Dead Flag Blues"]). |
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*[["Weird Al" Yankovic]] penned a satirical song called "Christmas At Ground Zero", that appears on the album ''[[Polka Party! (album)|Polka Party!]]'', about the Christmas holiday after a nuclear war. He also mentions the prospects of World War III specifically in an early song called "Happy Birthday" that appears on his first, self titled album ''[["Weird Al" Yankovic (album)|"Weird Al" Yankovic]]''. |
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*[[KMFDM]] has a song called "World War III" on their 2003 release of the same title. It attacks the current Bush administration. |
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*The [[pop punk]] band [[Simple Plan]] in their song "Crazy" briefly compares World War III to how children may feel about marital problems their parents may have. |
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*California punk band [[Bad Religion]] has a number of songs about WWIII, including Part III and World War III. |
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*Pop singer [[Pink (musician)|Pink]] refers to the destruction of traditional family as World War Three in her song [[Family Portrait]] |
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*[[Pink Floyd]]'s 1983 concept album [[The Final Cut (album)|The Final Cut]] ends with the beginning of a nuclear war (''[[Two Suns in the Sunset]]''). |
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*[[UNKLE]] released a mix album titled "World War III" in 2003. |
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*[[Bob Dylan]] wrote a song called "Talkin' World War III Blues" in 1964. |
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* "We Will Become Silhouettes" by [[The Postal Service]] is an upbeat song about living through the aftermath of a nuclear war. |
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== See also == |
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* [[Doomsday clock]] |
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* [[Doomsday argument]] |
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* [[Doomsday device]] |
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* [[End times]] |
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* [[John Titor]] |
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* [[Nuclear war]] |
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* [[Nuclear disarmament]] |
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* [[Science fiction]] |
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* [[War to end all wars]] |
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* [[World War I]] |
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* [[World War II]] |
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* [[World War IV]] |
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== External links == |
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* [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/accidents/20-mishaps-maybe-caused-nuclear-war.htm 20 mishaps that might have started an accidental nuclear war] |
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* [http://www.sciamdigital.com/browse.cfm?sequencenameCHAR=item2&methodnameCHAR=resource_getitembrowse&interfacenameCHAR=browse.cfm&ISSUEID_CHAR=19A8BD2F-4169-443D-8E8F-99CF1ECBA57&ARTICLEID_CHAR=3549D74E-ED92-4ADA-9C26-15ADFB477CD&sc=I100322 ''Scientific American'' article about nuclear near-misses], dated November [[1997]] |
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* [http://www.avot.org/article/20030402154900.html Transcript of PNAC members James Woolsey, William Bennet, and Paul Bremer discussing fellow PNAC-member Elliot Cohen's WWII and WWIV terminology as used by PNAC and people in positions of influence and power in the USA] |
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* [http://www.newamericancentury.org The Project for the New American Century, many of whose members are in positions of power and influence in the USA] |
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[[Category:Fictional wars]] |
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[[de:Dritter Weltkrieg]] |
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[[hr:Treći svjetski rat]] |
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[[ja:第三次世界大戦]] |
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[[pt:Terceira Guerra Mundial]] |
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[[fi:Kolmas maailmansota]] |
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[[sv:Tredje världskriget]] |
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[[zh:第三次世界大戰]] |
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