World War III (MyNameIs12345's World)

World War III, also known as WW3, The Third Great War, and Hell's War, was a major global conflict lasting from August 2032 to September 2038. The war was notable for the atomic bombings of nearly 10 countries, the enlistment of over 500 million people, and the largest operations and battles since it's predecessor, WWII. 
The war began with the invasions of South Korea, Iran, Taiwan, and the Baltic States, as well as the bombings of many Eastern European, Middle East, and East Asian cities, most notably Beijing, Seoul, Vilnius, Damascus, Riyadh, and Tokyo. Throughout the war, up to 500 million people were drafted and enlisted to over 180 countries, making it the largest global conflict in human history. The war was also responsible for up to 300 million military casualties, and nearly 100 million civilian casualties, due to the spread of nuclear fallout, famine, genocide, and extreme natural disasters that occurred due to the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air, resulting in sped-up climate change.
The aftermath of WWIII resulted in the collapse of the world economy, the spread of nuclear fallout and pollution, the Second Great Depression, the temporary downfall of authoritarianism (there would be several coups installing dictators in the following decades), and the formation of new political parties, especially in the depression-torn United States in the 2040's. The war remains the costliest and most devastating war in all of human history. In Europe, the collapse of NATO and the disbanding of the European Union ultimately led to the return of conflict to the continent, with clashes and uprisings breaking out especially on the Balkan Peninsula.
== The Belligerents ==
(see commanders and leaders of World War III for more information)
The Allies were one of the two main factions of WWIII, primarily consisting of the United States and it's allies, not just in NATO, but also worldwide. The majority of Allied countries were mainly democracies, however many with different ideologies such as liberal and conservative democracies, which caused minor instability for the faction. Although the faction was pro-democratic, the faction consisted also of several authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia, and corrupt and unstable countries such as Nicaragua. The Iron Entente was the other of the main factions, consisting of pro-Russian and pro-Chinese nations and enemies of the United States, NATO, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. 
The majority of nations in the America's joined the Allied Powers mainly under pressure from the United States, but also as well as Cuba and Venezuela siding with the Iron Entente. Nicaragua, which although was very Pro-Russian and Pro-Chinese, was pressured to join the Allies due to the risk of an invasion. During the Central American Campaign, there was heavy fighting in Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Haiti, as well as internal battles between countries and drug cartels in countries such as Honduras and El Salvador. Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia, all because of their close ties with China, joined on the side of the Entente. The three Entente nations of the Americas put up extreme resistance to invasion, especially during the Cuban Campaign. Although Cuba had capitulated, the invasion came with the sinking of the USS Nimitz by Cuban missiles.
The Allied Powers saw heavy membership on the European continent. During the Battle Of The Pacific, Russian missiles attacked the cities of Nome, Anchorage, and Juneau, triggering Article 5 of NATO, immediately bringing in all of NATO to the war, and starting the European Campaign of the war. All NATO members participated in Operation Russian Winter, also known as the "Second Barbarossa". Catalonia, which had gained independence in 2030, joined NATO at the beginning of the war, much to Spain's disapproval. On the Entente side, Belarus, Serbia, the Donbas State, and temporarily Moldova joined Russia on the Eastern Front, and sent troops into Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and Bosnia. However, this ultimately led to all of their capitulations with the exception of Moldova, which had turned against Russia after a coup d'état by pro-Western soldiers.
The Allied countries of the Middle East included Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon, many of them US allies and anti-Iran. Many of these countries had originally joined as supporters of various factions in the Iraqi Civil War. However, that changed when the Iraqi and Iranian governments officially announced their support for Russia during the Battle Of The Pacific, sparking a harsh response from Saudi Arabia, who threatened to air strike Iraqi and Iranian cities. This followed with an invasion by Iraq and Iran, and a Syria-supported invasion of Israel by Palestine, thus beginning the Middle Eastern campaign. After this, Yemen's provisional government declared war on Saudi Arabia to get revenge for their intervention in their own civil war, prompting Oman to join the war against Yemen. Saudi Arabia later persuaded the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain to declare war on Iran. 
After China began it's invasion of Taiwan, NATO quickly intervened by sending in not only military supplies, but also as well as soldiers to defend the island nation. Thus, Taiwan was the first country to side with the Allies, followed by Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. At the beginning of the invasion, Japan and South Korea attempted to send military aid via ship, however both were involved directly in the war after China intercepted several Japanese and Korean convoys. North Korea announced it's support for China, and declared war on South Korea, thus starting the Second Korean War, later turning into the Korean Front. After the chaos began to spread, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia occupied their claims in the South China Sea, leading to a naval battle between the three countries and China, which was ultimately won by China. After China's victory in what would later be called the Battle Of The South China Sea, Cambodia and Laos began an invasion of Vietnam to overthrow their government. 
The continent of Africa, since the beginning of the war, had been divided between the Allies and the Entente. The African Campaign had began after border conflicts on the Ethiopian-Somalian border had turned into a full scale Somalian invasion of Ethiopia, which was supported by Eritrea and Sudan, and opposed by South Sudan, Djibouti, and Kenya. This eventually provoked a chain reaction, with pro and anti Ethiopian countries beginning to wage war against other. On the other hand, pro-USA southern African countries announced their neutrality in the war with the exception of South Africa and Botswana, but both the USA, Russia, and Ethiopia pressured many countries to join their sides. After the 2031 Zimbabwe coup d'état in which the Robert Mugabe-allied politician Saviour Kasukuwere came to power, Zambia and Mozambique joined the Allies, and alongside Botswana, began a hard yet successful invasion of the country. In West Africa, ethnic insurgents supported by Entente countries began to wage war against the countries of the region, with some even managing to overthrow countries. The West African front saw heavy fighting between ethnic groups and operations to take down violent insurgents. 
The Oceanian continent was known for being very pro-Entente. However, Australia, New Zealand, and Palau all joined on the side of the Allies to support their East Asian allies, and to defend themselves from any possible aggressors. In the beginning of the war, China asked Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands for naval support to assert dominance in the Pacific. All three countries, not wanting to be invaded, agreed. The Chinese Fleet stationed many of their newly-built aircraft carriers in these countries. However, this would backfire on the three countries, as the Chinese navy was severely weakened by Australian bomber planes. The deadliest battle of the Oceanian Campaign was the Battle of Port Moresby, leading to nearly 70,000 casualties and the successful Allied occupation of Port Moresby and the capitulation of Papua New Guinea.
== BACKGROUND ==
While the initial war began with the "Twin Invasions", Russia's invasion of the Baltic States and China's invasion of Taiwan, it is generally considered that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with conflicts in the Middle East and as the unrest that came with the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for what would become WWIII. The political polarization of the Republican and Democrat parties in the United States also raised tensions, distracting the country from important work and allowing China to rise to the superpower scale, thus creating more tension for WWIII. 
Tension In Europe - Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
In February of 2022, the Russian Federation, led by president Vladimir Putin, invaded the Republic Of Ukraine, led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, causing the largest war in Europe since the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990's. The war drastically increased tensions between Russia and the West, leading to massive sanctions against Russia. Although Russia had one of the largest militaries in the world, the country's military was unprepared and lacking updated and modern equipment for the first half of the war. Throughout 2023, however, Russia sent more and more troops to Donbas, as more and more equipment was sent to the Ukrainian military. The second half of the war was characterized by trench warfare with little gains. Eventually, Ukraine managed to take back control of Crimea and the southern oblasts. However, Ukraine did not manage to take back Donbas as easily as Crimea, and the two countries continued to fight each other until late 2023, when the Treaty Of Kherson was signed, ending the war in an uneasy ceasefire. Crimea returned to Ukrainian hands, although Donbas continued to be occupied by pro-Russian separatists. Meanwhile, many Ukrainian cities had been severely damaged by Russian missile strikes, and over 500 billion dollars of foreign aid were given to the country.
The New Superpowers
Following the end of the war, it was a solid fact that the world was going to change in the next few years, and the rises of China and India would prove just that. While the world was distracted by the war in Ukraine, China had been spending large amounts of money on upgrading it's military, it's air force, and most notably, it's navy. Meanwhile, the rest of the world was going through a tough recession due to rising inflation and an increase in prices. In 2024, in a live television address, paramount leader Xi Jinping announced the launch of the Golden Dragon Program, a plan for China to escalate to the status of a superpower by surpassing the GDP and technology of the United States. Xi also made plans to keep the economy alive during the decade, even if there were to be a recession, which there would eventually be. The plan would come to eventually succeed as China surpassed the GDP of the United States in 2026, causing panic in the US in an event known as the "Panic Of '26".
On the other hand, pro-western India had became a major regional power in south Asia. India's HDI had rapidly increased to a rating of 0.735 by 2028 as the country's industry boomed. India began to put more funding into it's military, eventually producing all of it's equipment by itself. Although this brought stability to the country, it also raised tensions with neighboring China, and an Asian cold war was looming. Tensions were only made worse during the 2027 Arunachal Crisis, when 5 Indian fighter jets were shot down by Chinese anti-aircraft guns in Arunachal Pradesh. 
Geopolitical Shifts and the 2024/2028 Elections
After the 2023-2024 recession, the surpassing of the American GDP by China, and the shift in power following the war in Ukraine, the geopolitics of several areas such as the Middle East and Europe began to slowly shift different ways. In the Middle East, the Syrian Civil War had been going for 14 years, with little territorial changes occurring in the previous years. On October 1, 2025, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and opponents attempted peace talks