World War 3 ( Terun)

World War 3 in Terun was the planet's deadliest and most catastrophic war, with 2 billion fatalities over the course of 5 years from 1805 to 1810 UD. The resulting damage was believed to have stated the Great Climate Catastrophe later and the resulting environmental collapse and nuclear winter killed millions more. World War 3 is regarded as one of the major turning points in Terun history. The war was the second time nuclear weapons were used in war with limited nuclear exchanges between armed countries.

Belligerents
Unified Nations: ( 140 nations)

5 billion civilians 20 million military personnel

1 billion casualties

Confederacy of Rixx: ( 20 nations)

2 billion civilians

15 million military personnel

1 billion casualties

Outcome: Unified Nations victory, massive ecological damage, massive economical damage, 2/7 of world population killed

Background
In the wake of the Second World War, the Unified Nations was formed in 1945 UD. It's main objective was world peace and equality for all. However, as the years went by, it's mission became more broad with humanitarian efforts and scientific research. In the late 1780s, there were some dissent against the UN by nations which lost in the Second World War. They stated that the UN was useless and has failed in its missions. In 1777, the People's Republic of Rixx became independent from the Kingdom of Ran. In the years that followed, they became an isolationist, totalitarian regime, with sanctions and embargoes against them by members of the UN. Despite that, they managed to create enough relations with the losers of the Second World War that in 1895, the 17 nations formed the Confederacy of Rixx. The Confederacy became increasingly hostile and against the UN, creating strife and diplomatic hostility. Proxy wars were fought and the continent of Hal soon became a war zone.

Prelude
In 1805 UD, in a bid to ease tensions, leaders of the Confederacy and UN were brought to Rixx for a peace summit. However, this proved to be a ruse as Heads of States and diplomats were all killed in a posion gas attack, with the Confederacy leaders leaving before it happened. The attack greatly affected the UN, with nations condemning the attack and others on the verge of declaring war. The UN demanded an explanation.

Year 1
Hours after the attack, Rixx launched their nuclear arsenal on their former nation, the Kingdom of Ran. The attack killed millions as the major cities were destroyed. In response, countries around the world declared war and World War 3 began. Several nations launched their arsenal at Rixx, turning the small nation into a nuclear wasteland within hours. The government however escaped and re established their nation elsewhere. Unexpectedly, both sides did not launch all their nukes at once and the world did not end hours after the war began. Instead, the war was fought with mainly conventional weapons. In the months that followed, the UN pushed into Confederacy territory, with battles occurring everywhere.

Year 2
The second year of the war began with another nuclear exchange, this time at capitals of the UN. Despite the defences, millions perished. The UN had occupied 20% of Confederacy territory and was pushing for their capitals. However, a second front was opened, on the Continent of Stump as troops began to push forward into Confederacy territory. The use of Tactical nuclear weapons were used during this stretch as a last resort to destroy advancing enemy troops and fleets. The nuclear bombardment of the previous year had left swaths of the planet radioactive, with the nuclear winter slowing down global warming for those few years.

Year 3
The year was marked by the first use of Drone Warfare. Remotely piloted drones were sent into the frontlines and were used for reconnaissance and Bombing. Soon afterwards both sides were using drones. The drones would bomb targets while the pilot was in a control room in safe territory. The drone attacks began to mount up as swarms of drones decimated cities. In the end of 1808 UD, the Unified Nations dissolved Article 1 of their Space Treaty, finally allowing space weapons and nuclear detonations in space. A famine struck the continent of Hal that year, as the effects of the nuclear winter began to take hold, with crop failures and cancers.

Year 4
The year began with the first ever instance of Space Combat, with anti satellite missiles destroying satellites that were relaying the drones. This led to the largest nuclear exchange of the war, with nuclear detonating all across the planet and in space. The resulting exchange caused multiple emps over the Global Ocean, Strump and Lal. The capitals of the Confederacy and UN were both destroyed in the exchange. In space, the resulting detonations killed 2/3rds of the satellites in Low Terun Orbit, resulting in a severe loss in communications. The Global Space Station, neutral for the entire conflict want dark most likely due to the emp and debris orbiting the planet. The devastating nuclear exchange resulted in 600 million casualties, with the war slowing to a stalemate as both factions tried to recover. For the rest of the year, there was no significant victories or advances.

Year 5
The final year of the war came with the effects of the war on the environment. Drought and famine was spreading across the planet and radiation was blowing in populated areas. The nuclear winter had made life difficult for both factions, who were too busy recovering from the attack. Slowly, with the Confederacy the most affected by the emp, they began to crumble with entire territories out of contact with other parts of the Confederacy. There were some notable battles and skirmishes but the Confederacy could not provide heavy resistance. The war came to an end when the Unified Nations came within striking range of most of the Confederacy. Ironically, the war ended peacefully with no shots fired as Confederate leadership announced their surrender.

Aftermath
The war had killed two seventh of the world’s population, with 1.6 billion people killed directly through nuclear detonations or conventional weapons. A further billion people, mostly from agricultural or less developed countries died from the resulting nuclear winter, famine and radiation poisoning. The war had inadvertently killed off several species and their habitats due to the nuclear detonations and poorer nation's exploitation. The resulting nuclear winter managed to curb climate change for a few years, however, after it ended, global temperatures increased dramatically thereby starting the Global Climate Catastrophe. The huge loss in civilian life had resulted in depopulated regions of the globe, with many cities abandoned due to radiation and destruction. Radiation had subsided to tolerable levels after a few years but detonation sites remain radioactive up to the mid 1900s UD when the Mindel helped clear them. Due to the large spread of radiation, rates of birth defects and cancers increased in the surrounding regions, creating a generation of mutated people.

Legacy
Following the war, the Unified Nations re incorporated Confederate territory and had direct control over them. This increase in direct power was a precursor to the almost total control that the UN had during the Global Climate Catastrophe. The huge population loss helped to ironically unify the world as the survivors helped rebuild society together, pulling Terun out of the rubble. The next world war would be in 19th century UD, although the deathtoll was far less.