Third World War (Knowledgio's World)

The Third World War was a war fought on every continent except Antarctica, between the United Front and the Eastern Alliance. It was the deadliest war in global history, costing some 150 million lives, plus nearly 20 million civilians, and dramatically altered the world map.

Pre-war Conflicts
Between 2017 and 2031, the world experienced several wars that contributed to the Third World War.
 * 2017-8 - North Korea invaded South Korea. The South, with Japanese support, turned back the North and a peace treaty ended the conflict, yet resentment between the two Koreas grew.
 * 2019-25 - The Democratic Republic of the Congo annexed the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and renamed itself the Congolese Empire.
 * 2021-4 - Serbia annexed Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia.
 * 2020-3 - Kazakhstan attacked by Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan fought back and occupied Kyrgyzstan, then part of Uzbekistan.
 * 2027 - Vietnam invaded Cambodia.
 * 2023-6 - Iran annexed Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
 * 2025 - Nigeria annexed Benin and Togo.

Eastern Alliance
The world's remaining communist nations - China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba - believed that if action wasn't taken soon, communism would come to an end. Thus they set up the Communist Alliance in 2019, and left money aside to loan foreign pro-communists. Soon enough, Indonesia, the Philippines and Mongolia unknowingly provided pro-communists, who were loaned to conduct coups in their respective countries. In 2022, the Russian people, hoping once again for their country to become a world superpower once again, rebelled against their government in more than 20 cities across the vast nation, reviving communism in its birthplace.

By the time the war would begin, the renamed Eastern Alliance had thirty-two members, many of which had already attacked against neighbours (see Pre-war conflicts), which only increased tensions.

United Front
In fear that the Eastern Alliance would cause World War III, the United Front (also commonly known as the Western Alliance) was formed in 2025 to counter it, led by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.

Fourteen years would pass, and neither side had made any effort to reduce tensions.

2031
Finally, leaders from both sides agreed to create the Unity Pact, in which no country from either side was to make any form of aggression against a neighbouring opposing country, otherwise its allies would automatically place heavy sanctions until aggression ceased.

That was, anyway, the general idea, as the leaders met in Seoul, South Korea, who hoped to make the pact official on 29 August, 2031. Yet a local man, known for protesting against communism, assassinated seven Eastern leaders. The meeting was quickly postponed, but when the surviving Eastern leaders returned home, they were quick to name it a 'Western Scheme'. This was the last straw. The Easterners thought there no other option, and declared war on all members of the United Front.

The first area that the Easterners struck was on the Korean peninsula, as well as Japan and Taiwan. The North Koreans landed on both sides of South Korea, while Russia invaded Japan's north and a Chinese fleet sailed towards Taiwan. By November all members of both sides were drawn into the fighting, and battles were occurring on every Eastern-United border. Initial war plans had failed, as the United Front successfully drove back most Eastern offensives.

Major Battles

 * First Battle of El Paso, United States, 9/10/31-18/10/31
 * Battle of Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru, 15/10/31-17/03/32
 * Timor Sea Naval Campaign, Timor, Australia, Indonesia, 9/09/31-7/06/38
 * Outbreak from Katanga, Congo and Zambia, 27/09/31-31/05/32

2032
2032 was a grim time on the South American Front for the Easterners. The Battle of Asuncion in early January made Paraguay the first country to surrender in the war. Furthermore, Chile was cut off from Peru as Bolivian and Uruguayan forces advanced along a thin spine of mountains.

Elsewhere, though, the Easterners made amazing progress. Mexico, with Guatemalan and Salvadorian troops, made quick advance across the Mojave desert, and the Cubans landed on the Florida peninsula while Russia landed in Alaska. Finland was brought almost to breaking point and Estonia was forced into surrender, as was Latvia. North Korean landings in South Korea saw much of a repeat of 1950-52, which left the South Koreans pinned to a small perimeter around Busan. Japan could not help, as it was busy in Sakhalin. Northern Australia, especially the city of Darwin, was under immense pressure from Indonesian attacks. Thailand was suffering heavy casualties and India could not attack Chinese Tibet. Zambia was split into two by Congolese advance.

Outside of South America, the only positives were a successful French invasion of northern Algeria, and the Israeli occupation of Sinai. Egypt's previous advantage in numbers declined, as Algerian and Libyan troops withdrew to defend themselves.

Major Battles

 * Battle of Asuncion, Paraguay, 2/01/32-5/01/32
 * Israeli invasion of Sinai, Egypt, 29/02/32-16/04/32
 * North Korean invasion of South Korea, 30/03/32-5/07/32

2033
Inspired by events in South America, the United Front pulled itself together and its leaders met in Ottawa, Canada, to discuss new offensives. These would include further landings in North Africa, and a push into Caucasus to cut off supply between Iran and Russia.

By April, all planned offensives had been carried out and the Easterners were in retreat. However, other difficulties had arisen. In March, Indonesian troops landed in Darwin, Australia's first experience of being invaded. Russian advances into Alaska continued and the Mexican-American stalemate continued.

Elsewhere, United progress was extensive, appearing in all theatres of the war.

Major Battles

 * Landing in Darwin, Australia, 6/3/2033
 * Battle of Belgrade, Serbia, 15/4/2033-10/6/2033
 * Outbreak from Busan, South Korea, 9/6/2033-26/11/2033

2034
From here, the Allies relentlessly advanced. Few Eastern counter-offensives were successful.

Most prominent of the United progress in this year was the Thai advance into Indo-China, cutting off a large portion of Vietnamese troops from China. They were still supplied by sea, however, and held off further advance until the year's end. Elsewhere, Japanese troops landed in the Chinese province of Shandong, and Serbia's surrender saw further reinforcements in Eastern Europe.

Major Battles

 * Battle of Qingdao, China, 28/6/2034-3/7/2034
 * Battle of Mosul, Iraq, 30/6/2034-6/8/2035
 * Battle of Tallinn, Estonia, 2/2/2034-27/2/2035

2035
Colombia and Ecuador surrendered, and Nicaragua called for an armistice. However, Brazilian troops still occupied it, and used it as a large base from which to attack Mexico.

Algeria also surrendered, meaning the United Front could now swing through into Libya. Mozambique surrendered yet the Congolese Empire refused to give in. Iran, Russia and China were pushed to their limits, and North Korea rejected all requests to surrender. Australia pushed back on the Indonesians, whose morale was low after the losses of Sumatra and Borneo to Malaysian troops.

The Tibetan Liberation Front, which had existing for over a year, disrupted Chinese communication lines and allowed great advance for the Indians and Kazakhs.

Major Battles

 * Battle of Lhasa, China, 8/5/2035-10/6/2035
 * Battle of Katherine, Australia, 20/4/2035-30/4/2035

2036
The signs were that the war was coming to an end. The Russian presence was removed from Alaska and brought to Moscow, at which the European Union was knocking on the door. Elsewhere, the Battle for Mexico City was now raging, and the landing at Yucatan further pressured the ruined Eastern Alliance. At this stage, China and Russia, the leaders of the Alliance, where the only countries with the capability of maintaining defence, yet they were unwilling to throw away too many before the main battles that threatened to come to their greatest cities.

In truth, deploying these reserves could have once again turned the war around, as the United Front was now stretching its supply lines, and morale had suddenly plummeted, despite constant advances. El Salvador and Chile were the next to surrender, and the last Vietnamese troops had given in. Eastern morale was so badly damaged that large battalions were now retreating at the sight of United troops. They saw the recent victories as a sign that the Alliance was coming to an end.

Yet, while most commanders saw this retreat and surrender as a disgrace, some were prepared to exploit the overstretched lines. They now ordered their troops to, at the sight of United forces, to maintain a thirty-minute strong defence of their post, before retreating to the next village, and using the scorched earth policy. This did not help the United lines.

Even so, the end was clear for the Eastern Alliance.