Question by : World War 3 Scenario?
I think that soon enough, the world will once again see a global economy and relations dominated not by one but multiple superpowers. In addition to the US, there will be new superpowers like Russia, India, and China.
If a world war were to break out, it would be when China had become powerful enough to contest and possibly defeat the United States. My idea of what would happen would be that China may try to retake Taiwan and make it once again become a part of the PRC. The US would immediately try to impose force on the Chinese and fight along side of the Taiwanese. Eventually, China may decide that it was time to also expand downward towards India. However, from the start of the Taiwan conflict, India probably would have begun to build up their military (in addition to many countries military buildup preceding the Taiwan conflict in response to military tensions) and mass their troops at the border they share with China. There, China would probably bombard Indian troops stationed in the Himalayas (the only passage between India and China directly) all winter until Spring when their superior air power would force the Indians back to the plains behind the mountains. As China advanced through the mountains, there would be a standoff… India would have much better training for plain warfare and would quickly defeat China in the open. And China, although they have a better military, would be wary of advancing further because supply lines would be stretched very thin across the Himalayas.
Back with the US, neither America or China could invade one another immediately due to each others area denial weapons and green water navies. However, I think that eventually, the US and NATO would develop an invasion plan to insert troops through the western boarder of China where there is much less infrastructure and ability for the Chinese to defend. However, this would also make the movement East very slow for NATO given that they too would have limited mobility due to the lack of highways and roads. They would have to gain air superiority enough to use cargo planes and helicopters to advance deeper into China.
Continuing, I think that Russia would stay neutral for as long as possible, but they too would eventually join. I can’t be sure who they would fight with but most likely they would attack the Chinese because of improving relations with America, alliance to India, and the possible knowledge that they would lose against EU, NATO, and the US. They also are paranoid as of now that some time in the future, the Chinese will begin to build and set up economies in Eastern Russia until it essentially became a part of China, so the Russians would only have strengthened their paranoia when the Chinese became expansionist.
Eventually, China would hold most of or all of South East Asia, most of India, and possibly contesting over Japan, the Pacific, and South Eastern Russia.
Once the Chinese people learned of China losing they would revolt, shutting down factories and economic resources, halting China’s military. They would also eventually rise up against the government and easily overthrow it. In a desperate attempt to turn around the war the Chinese government would consider using nuclear deterrents.
China is as of now growing in their numbers of nuclear deterrents and thermonuclear weapons, with US and Russian disarmament, they would very possibly have the most and strongest nukes in the world. Their “City-Busters” are about 3-5 megatons of yield and are capable of being deployed to any city or target in the world. Especially with their new developments in stealth cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, the Chinese would undoubtedly be able to hit many targets even when confronted with the US AEGIS anti-missile system. Worst of all, unlike every allied nuclear armed country, China is not legally bound to use nuclear weapons defensively.
Eventually, they would be defeated, their capital destroyed and captured, and their military dissolved.
In the aftermath, China would pay unimaginable tolls to rebuild themselves and the countries they fought. Their military would be incredibly diminished and legally restricted from expansion and probably (like the Japanese in WWII) legally bound to NEVER use their military offensively again.
Even without nuclear weapons, ever country around the world would suffer incredible losses, astronomically higher that WWI and WWII combined. My guess would be in the hundred millions, approaching a billion casualties. Every country around the world would spend decades rebuilding their infrastructure, economy, population, cities, militaries, and lives.
i didnt write this i copy and pasted it, durr
Best answer:
Answer by Frosc
Completely implausible.
Add your own answer in the comments!