WW3 without the USSR

So at any point in the cold war, nuclear or conventional, was it possible at any point to have world war III without the involvement of the USSR? If so between what countries?

Just curious

Unless its ASB's making Europe promtly go FNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH! and declare war on the USA as one for no apparent reason..not really.

China in the cold war was a regional power, not a super power and not a threat to the US or Europe, I suppose you could have India and Pakistan go at each other and then that somehow spreads but without the USSR being there to wade in, I can't think of any reason for it going into a world war.

War with Maoist China in the 1960's. Maybe the Norks invade the South again backed up by a now nuclear armed China. US, Japan, and the Commonwealth support the South and it escalates into a full-scale nuclear war. China collapses back into warlordism and the North is done. A heavily damaged South backed by the above mentioned nations takes over the peninsula. All while the USSR sits back and watches.

But then it mY not be world wR. By definition I saw world war is waged at least on two continents by two world powers. Here china is not really a world power and war is confined to one continent.

Disregarding nuclear strikes against the west, a war with China would be restricted to East Asia mostly, so it wouldn't count as a 'World' War.

China's only communist friends were the military juggernaughts that were Somalia, Albania and Cambodia.

Lapsed Pacifist said:

China's only communist friends were the military juggernaughts that were Somalia, Albania and Cambodia.

Click to expand...

You forgot North Korea (kind-of).