# WWIII - 1949-1951 - NATO and allies vs. Warsaw Pact, PRC and allies. Theaters: Germany, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Finland, China, Korea. Results: Stalemate in Europe, Chinese Communist victory in Asia, end of German occupation, reunification and permanent demilitarization of Germany, anti-communist victory in Finland, PRC takes mainland China and ROC flees to Taiwan, communist unification of Korea. WMD Use: Yes, tactical nuclear weapons used in Europe against troop concentrations, bases, and ships by both NATO and WP, with NATO believed to have used them first. Some use of chemical weapons esp. in Korea and China, again by both sides. Casualties: ~12 million.
An early, largely inconclusive skirmish between the superpowers, the Third World War did little to solve the real animosity between the rival blocs, merely redrawing in blood and atomic fire the lines between them. The small size of the stockpiles, especially the Soviet stockpile, limited the possibility of full global nuclear war... this time.
# WWIV - 1958-1962 - British Commonwealth, French Union, Netherlands, Portugal, and Israel vs. Arab Coalition and various anti-colonial movements. Theaters: Caribbean, Algeria, Levant, Kenya, Angola, Mozambique, Malaya, Indonesia. Results: British, French, and Dutch empires dissolve, Israel survives, United Arab Republic created by Iraq, Syria, Eqypt, Libya, and North Yemen. WMD Use: No. Casualties: ~5 million.
An anti-colonial conflict characterized by guerrilla fighting, urban terrorism, and massacres rather than pitched battles of armies, the Fourth World War had the lowest death toll of all the World Wars thus far. It saw the end of European colonial empires as a major player on the world stage, with the former imperial hegemons now becoming junior partners in NATO.
# WWV - 1967-1975 - "the Big One" - NATO and allies vs. Warsaw Pact, PRC and allies. Theaters: Europe, Middle East (Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia vs. UAR), Subcontinental (Pakistan vs. India and Bangladeshi independence movement), Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hainan. Result: stalemate in Europe, anti-communist victory in East Asia and liberation of Korea, Hainan and Hong Kong, defeat and dissolution of the UAR, independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan, superpowers vacate Europe and dissolve NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances, European Federation formed. WMD Use: no nuclear weapons, some use of chemical weapons in both Europe and East Asia. Casualties: ~60-70 million.
A large conventional war between the rival blocs, the Fifth World War was characterized by high nuclear discipline in the shadow of mutually assured destruction now that both sides had huge stockpiles of warheads. The conventional fighting was bad enough to make WWV comparable to, although not larger than, WWII.
# WWVI - October 7-13, 1983 - "the Hot One" - USA vs. USSR. Theaters: USA and USSR airspace, lower outer space. Result: nuclear exchange leading to the destruction of San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C., Moscow, Leningrad, and Vladivostok, collapse of the Soviet Union, political crisis and temporary martial law in USA, significant but not catastrophic fallout release, three years of abnormally cold weather and famine, lower global temperatures and food output for decades after. WMD Use: exchange of about 215 Soviet and 57 American warheads, mostly on ICBMs exchanged across the North Pole, and some submarine launched smaller missiles. Casualties: ~100-150 million
The Sixth World War saw the world's nuclear nightmares come true. A false positive at Soviet missile defense led the USSR to strike first in the belief it was retaliating. American interception capability proved better than expected with a 91% success rate, however large numbers of warheads overwhelmed certain cities. American response was relatively light in terms of the number and size of the warheads, mostly in order to preserve the global biosphere as much as possible. Still, factoring in the casualties of radiation, famine, disease, and lawlessness ensuing from even this limited exchange, the casualties are horrific.
# WWVII - 1986-1989 - European Federation and allies vs. People's Republic of China and allies vs. Popular Salvation Front. Theaters: former USSR, Latin America, North and East Africa, East Asia. Results: establishment of numerous new post-Soviet states under either European or Chinese influence, collapse of hyper-communist PSF regimes in Nepal, Cambodia, and Peru, partition of Algeria between Morocco, Azawad and Libya, fall of the Ethiopian Empire. WMD use: no nuclear weapons, use of banned chemical WMD both by and against the hyper-communists, claimed use of bioweapons against Ethiopia (disputed). Casualties: ~30-40 million.
The Seventh World War saw new ascendant powers, Europe and China, moving to fill the power vacuum after the fall of one superpower and the wounding of another. It reset the world map, but once again into two competing blocs, one liberal-democratic and one nominally communist and authoritarian. However, China had also undergone reforms and was now at odds with three of its ultra-Maoist rogue satellites. Their Popular Salvation Front is put down in the course of the war.
# WWVIII - 1992 - Grove Street Families and Aztecas vs. Ballas and Vagos. Theaters: primarily in Los Santos, San Andreas, with related fighting in San Fierro and Las Venturas, and with links to conflicts in Russia, Mexico and elsewhere. Results: Grove Street victory, dismantling of the Loco Syndicate, reduction in the crack epidemic in Los Santos, personal reunion between Carl Johnson and his brother Sweet. WMD use: none. Casualties: 600-700 estimated homicides directly related to the gang wars, bringing Los Santos to a record-breaking total of 947 homicides for 1992.
The Eighth World War, with its triple-digit casualties and its relatively tenuous connections to global conflicts of the time, is sometimes disputed as a real world war. But come on man, shit was crazy, there was a drive-by in the drive-thru, CJ burned a field of weed with a flamethrower then shot down a police helicopter with a rocket launcher while he was high, he later jumped off the summit of Mt. Chiliad on a BMX and survived, it was sick.
