With the advent of the Cold War in 1945 and with the spread of nuclear weapons technology to the Soviet Union, the possibility of a third global conflict became more plausible. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disproved the hope that mankind might have already "outgrown" the need for such widespread global wars. During the interwar period, WWI was typically referred to simply as "The Great War".
Prior to the beginning of World War II (i.e., in 1939), World War I (1914–1918) was believed to have been " the war to end wars", as it was popularly believed that never again could there possibly be a global conflict of such magnitude. Large-scale apocalyptic events like these, caused by advanced technology used for destruction, could potentially make the Earth's surface uninhabitable. Another major concern is that biological warfare could cause a very large number of casualties, either intentionally or inadvertently by an accidental release of a biological agent, the unexpected mutation of an agent, or its adaptation to other species after use. ĭue to the development and use of nuclear weapons near the end of World War II and their subsequent acquisition and deployment by many countries, the potential risk of a nuclear apocalypse causing widespread destruction of Earth's civilization and life is a common theme in speculations about a Third World War. Some apply it loosely to refer to limited or smaller conflicts such as the Cold War or the War on Terror, while others assume that such a conflict would surpass prior world wars in both scope and destructive impact. The term has been in use since at least as early as 1941. World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical third worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. Such a conflict has been hypothesised to result in human extinction.
Nuclear warfare is a common theme of World War III scenarios.
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