World War III was a war during the 21st century that caused more deaths than any other war in the history of Earth. It was the Allies vs. the Pact of Hegemony. The war was characterized by genocides committed by the Pact of Hegemony that were so big even the Holocaust does not come close.
Causes
Third Gulf War
See main article: Third Gulf War
2020: The Third Gulf War took place in Iraq as Islamic radicals in 2020 overthrew the government and invaded Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. They began mass exterminations of Kurds, Christians, Jews, and any other non-Arab or non-Muslim. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Japan, Norway, Finland, Poland, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, India, Israel, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, and Spain took part in the war. The Islamic State of Iraq was destroyed in little over seven months as the allies were able to push the Iraqis from the gates of Mecca to the streets of Baghdad, and the nation's leaders were captured and held on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Treaty of Baghdad was signed establishing Status qou Ante Bellum borders but that Iraq was under Coalition occupation until further notice.
Creation of the Holy Islamic Caliphate
2022: In the Middle East, the Chinese sponsored the creation of a muslim super-state. The Holy Islamic Caliphate was established consisting of every major Muslim nation in the Middle East and Africa besides Iraq which was still occupied the Coalition. The HIC invaded Iraq and the Coalition forces mostly abandoned the Iraqis to their fate. The only ones who stayed and fought were the Americans and Israelis. Brutal fighting took place in nearly every place in Iraq 'that a man can drag a gun'. The Holy Islamic Caliphate crowned Abdul al-Muhammed as the "Grand Caliph of all Islam". He claimed to be descended from Muhammed himself, though many Shiites had their doubts.
Second Great Depression
Late 2023: The DOW dropped 3000 points after the Chinese stopped accepting to trade the USD. The stock market crashed soon afterwards forcing large cuts to every sector US government. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and all experemental projects for the military were cut from the US government, this helped the economy tremendously but the damage was still done and food lines became a common site along with the homeless and destitute. Unemployment reached 20%. Obesity dropped by nearly 80%. The Americans were forced to withdraw from Iraq and abandoned them to the HIC. The Israelis were also soon forced to leave the nation but swore that they would return. The HIC annexed Iraq thirteen days later. The Arab-Israeli conflict was reignited for the first time since Palestine was created.
The United States began to withdraw troops from various stations world wide back to America. Over 80,000 troops were brought home and denied re-enlistment, essentially, laid off. The American military was soon reduced by nearly half of its former numbers. Over 30 US warships, including three carriers, were sold for scrap. The US military also began to issue out older weapons such as the M16 and the LAW to troops in an effort to save money. The US Air Force was forced to rid itself of over half of its B-52 force, seventeen F-22s, and twenty B-2s. The US Marine Corps got rid of most of its helicopters and other aircraft. The US military was severely weakened and was now no longer a world power. This place had been filled by China. The People's Republic of China and the Holy Islamic Caliphate signed the Pact of Hegemony in Beijing.
The Chinese Army, along with the Caliphate Army began to take the place of the United States in many unstable regions of the globe. Chinese and Muslim bases were established in the Congo, Liberia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Serbia, Bosnia, and so forth.
In many places around the world, especially in the capitalist countries, the effects of the Great Depression were quickly felt as prices world wide sky-rocketed. Places such as France, Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, etc. experienced riots as the demand for food, gasoline, work, and fewer taxes crippled their governments.
Mongolia began production of heavy tactical nuclear weapons.
2024: The United States passed the Balanced Budget Amendment and began to pay off their debt to China of nearly 19 trillion dollars. The Chinese began to be worried by their loss of an ace card in the American theater and began to amass their military for a military invasion of America. President Hartford was elected President of America and immediately began to put forth economic reform bills to the Congress. These seemed to be helping by allowing the free market to do its job. Unemployment fell to 18%
The People's Republic of China invaded the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, they quickly took control of the nation but they did not account for the Vietnamese resistance. But the People's Republic of China controlled the majority of the urban areas with the resistance being relugated to the rural areas. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Republic of France, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland protested the annexation, but they did little else. Many educated began to be worried about war as they looked back at Hitler's annexation of Czechslovakia, and Austria.