World War III | |||||||
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The Reichstag following Allied entry into Berlin |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Washington Accords United States | Axis Germany |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1963-1965) Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1965-1969) | Adolf Hitler † Joseph Goebbels † |
World War III or the Third World War (7 June 1962 – 27 July 1973) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Washington Accords and the Axis powers. World War III was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 80 to 105 million fatalities, more than half of which were civilians. Following the Washington Accord's victory, Germany and Austria were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against Axis leaders. The war led to the Years of Chaos, a period of unrest which left Eurasia politically unstable.
The aftermath of the Second World War led to an intense standoff between the United States and Germany that is generally called the Cold War. The standoff would eventually embroil into a new world war following the Turkish Straits Crisis, resulting in the Axis invading the Republic of Turkey. By mid-August, 1962, German forces had once again taken over most of mainland Europe, taking most of the conflict to the sky and sea. In 1970, the Eastern Front was opened, as a joint Russo-American force advanced into the German occupied areas of the former Soviet Union. Following an intense amphibious invasion of Western Europe, Germany eventually collapsed and capitulated in 1973, ending 11 years of fighting.
The Treaties of the Rhine outlined a post-war Europe, attempting to establish nominal peace on the continent. However, what resulted was a decades long civil conflict in Afro Eurasia.