World War III (also WWIII, or Third World War) denotes a successor to World War II (1939–1945) that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would likely be nuclear and devastating in nature.
In the wake of World War I, World War II, the commencement of the Cold War and the development, testing and use of nuclear weapons, there was early widespread speculation as to the next global war.
This war was anticipated and planned for by military and civil authorities, and explored in fiction in many countries. Concepts ranged from limited use of atomic weapons, to destruction of the planet.
