What's the farthest you can get a world war

  • 1600s

  • 1500s

  • 1400s

  • 1300s

  • Even further.


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Japan... I can see the Dutch company getting favorable terms with the Japanese to oust the Portuguese out of Japan. That is the maximum I can see happening with the Japanese.

Russia needs their war with the PLC to start over again over Belarus and Eastern Ukraine and maybe the Baltics. Otherwise I can't really see why they would enter that war.

Maybe against the Ottomans? So the Mughals have to fight Persia alone, the Ottomans have to fight Russia, and even if it's just the smallest thing, the best part of this thread is you have a lot of freedom. The slightest change will connect as much of the world to a single conflict. If Russia invades the Ottomans, maybe you could get the Ottomans, Mughals, or someone to talk with the Japanese about some sort of invasion of some small parts of Russia.

And what about the Qing? Could we get them involved? Because if we do, I wouldn't call it the 7 years war. I'd call it the Eurasian War.
 
On the Thirty Year's War thing. Unlike later world wars, anything before the late 1800s is gonna be less a single conflict and more like several concurrent conflicts that are a chain reaction.there might even be more than two alliances because of how widespread it is.

True, but that's what's amazing about this thread. World wars that start in the 1800s, early 1900s, 1700s, 1600s, 1500s, and just going as far down as possible, is what makes this fun. The 30 years war could be the two alliances grabbing as many allies as humanly possible.
 
That is the idea. I don't think the Shah, Czar or Indian and Chinese emperors care about what religion German princes follow. It is more what to gain from it.

Exactly. I say we disect each war turned into a world war, and look at this hypothetical escalated war. I say we direct a discussion on the American war for independence turning into a world war.
 
Hmmm I don't know if this counts but...

West Roman Empire survives Germanic migration and joins the war of East Roman Empire against the Sassanids. The East Romans also asks help from Turkic tribes North East of the Black Sea. The Sassanids get the Chinese, Ethiopians and the Huns to fight the Romans and Turkic tribes.

Front: Middle East, Central and Western Europe, Caucasus, Egypt.

It has most of the civilised countries.
 
Hmmm I don't know if this counts but...

West Roman Empire survives Germanic migration and joins the war of East Roman Empire against the Sassanids. The East Romans also asks help from Turkic tribes North East of the Black Sea. The Sassanids get the Chinese, Ethiopians and the Huns to fight the Romans and Turkic tribes.

Front: Middle East, Central and Western Europe, Caucasus, Egypt.

It has most of the civilised countries.

Yeah, that's a pretty good world war, considering it takes place in 500. What about a world war started over the American war for independence?
 
Yeah, that's a pretty good world war, considering it takes place in 500. What about a world war started over the American war for independence?

American war for independence has fronts all over the globe. If only more countries participate... Russia can for instance back up the Dutch Republic. The Russians have a strong Army and Navy at the time and also experienced after years of war. It would most likely turn in to an anti-British War. If more nations can join the war like Prussia and Sweden seeking an opportunity against the Russians than it would turn the Baltics even more in a warzone. Portugal joining the British isn't farfetched considering then not liking a stronger Spain.

If the war takes between 1775-1784, that would be long enough.
 
What about an accidental World War? Its not unlike what Koprulu Mustafa Pasha proposed, but in the Middle Ages. Picture a TL in which the Mongols are even more successful, invading India, central Europe and managing to disimbark into Japan, into the same exact timeframe (let's say, during Ogedei's later years, before the Hordes are partitioned), well beyond their OTL conquests. The Pope, in a proto-Crusade of Nicopolis, calls a Crusade against the Mongols in Europe, and most of the European feudal polities (barring Spain, perhaps) - France, the HRE, some Italian duchies, Hungary, Poland and perhaps Byzantium, if they go through the Balkans, or the Russian principalities rising in rebellion - join the effort, in the exact same time the Japanese and Chinese from southern Han are facing their armies, and the northwestern Indian states are trying to oppose them (perhaps the war effort could join the predecessor state of Delhi, Gujarat, Sindh and even Bengal), and the Mamluks in the near East.

This is somewhat like the patterns of invasion that happened IOTL, but here I'm thinking about a brief and specific timeframe (some 3 or 5 years) in which these wars happen simultaneously instead of along various decades of invasions - the Mongols would be coordinating war theathers from Europe to the Near East and the Indian Subcontinent, going to the Far East, and, considering their quasi-ASB record of successes, one can imagine that they would win and counterattack in some of these scenarios, expanding even further - how about Mongol raids into France or a Mongol vassal in Japan or India? The very fact that we can conceive this scenario is a testament to how truly global the Mongol Empire was, and, from their perspective, any of these unrelated and distant theaters of war could be regarded as a "war against the whole world", and would exclude only Africa (if we ignore the Mamluks of Egypt) and the Americas.
 
American war for independence has fronts all over the globe. If only more countries participate... Russia can for instance back up the Dutch Republic. The Russians have a strong Army and Navy at the time and also experienced after years of war. It would most likely turn in to an anti-British War. If more nations can join the war like Prussia and Sweden seeking an opportunity against the Russians than it would turn the Baltics even more in a warzone. Portugal joining the British isn't farfetched considering then not liking a stronger Spain.

If the war takes between 1775-1784, that would be long enough.

Maybe we could get the Russians invading Canada through Alaska. The Russians had some troops there, and also had some people there. They could also swing Native American support with the Russians, and a Russo-Native American alliance could crush all of the Pacific Canadian holdings. Get as many powers as possible involved. Qing, Prussian, Mughal, Ottoman, Swedish, Russian, Native American, whatever. Turn it into a World war.
 
What about an accidental World War? Its not unlike what Koprulu Mustafa Pasha proposed, but in the Middle Ages. Picture a TL in which the Mongols are even more successful, invading India, central Europe and managing to disimbark into Japan, into the same exact timeframe (let's say, during Ogedei's later years, before the Hordes are partitioned), well beyond their OTL conquests. The Pope, in a proto-Crusade of Nicopolis, calls a Crusade against the Mongols in Europe, and most of the European feudal polities (barring Spain, perhaps) - France, the HRE, some Italian duchies, Hungary, Poland and perhaps Byzantium, if they go through the Balkans - join the effort, in the exact same time the Japanese and Chinese from southern Han are facing their armies, and the northwestern Indian states are trying to oppose them (perhaps the war effort could join the predecessor state of Delhi, Gujarat, Sindh and even Bengal), and the Mamluks in the near East.

This is somewhat like the patterns of invasion that happened IOTL, but here I'm thinking about a brief and specific timeframe (some 3 or 5 years) in which these wars happen simultaneously instead of along various decades of invasions - the Mongols would be coordinating war theathers from Europe to the Near East and the Indian Subcontinent, going to the Far East, and, considering their quasi-ASB record of successes, one can imagine that they would win and counterattack in some of these scenarios, expanding even further - how about Mongol raids into France or a Mongol vassal in Japan or India? The very fact that we can conceive this scenario is a testament to how truly global the Mongol Empire was, and, from their perspective, any of these unrelated and distant theaters of war could be regarded as a "war against the whole world".

I didn't think of the Mongol conquests. Yeah, this definitely works. I'm mainly focusing on how the American revolution could turn into a world war, but a world war in the 1200s is pretty nifty. There is some terrain the Mongols would have to combat, but maybe if you can also get the Muslim powers to maybe see some territorial expansion while the Mongols are going to a war against Europe.
 
To be fair, OTL Seven Years War was much more global than both World Wars. Active and important fronts in North America, South America, Europe and India - IMHO it's already the most global conflict that ever was (it doesn't mean it couldn't also involve the Ottomans, China, Japan, etc.)
 
To be fair, OTL Seven Years War was much more global than both World Wars. Active and important fronts in North America, South America, Europe and India - IMHO it's already the most global conflict that ever was (it doesn't mean it couldn't also involve the Ottomans, China, Japan, etc.)

yeah, exactly. My nickname for it is World war 0. I'm just saying, the goal is to involve even more powers. Russia, Ottomans, Japan, Qing (Mughals already joined the war) Persia, more Native American tribes, other Arab nations like Oman, Siam, Southeast Asian nations, Indonesian nations, and hell, even for fun, have the Dutch (who also could be in the war) Bring over Aboriginal fighters from Australia to fight in the war, to truly make it global. The point is, to take these conflicts, and involve as many powers as humanly possible.
 

Deleted member 97083

yeah, exactly. My nickname for it is World war 0. I'm just saying, the goal is to involve even more powers. Russia, Ottomans, Japan, Qing (Mughals already joined the war) Persia, more Native American tribes, other Arab nations like Oman, Siam, Southeast Asian nations, Indonesian nations, and hell, even for fun, have the Dutch (who also could be in the war) Bring over Aboriginal fighters from Australia to fight in the war, to truly make it global. The point is, to take these conflicts, and involve as many powers as humanly possible.
You could go even earlier and have an analogue of the Battle of Talas occur between a surviving Roman Empire who conquers Persia (a longer living Julius Caesar could be responsible) and a Han Empire that expands west into Central Asia like the Tang did. Meanwhile, Germanic tribes attack the Roman Empire, and Xiongnu attack the Han.
 
You could go even earlier and have an analogue of the Battle of Talas occur between a surviving Roman Empire who conquers Persia (a longer living Julius Caesar could be responsible) and a Han Empire that expands west into Central Asia like the Tang did. Meanwhile, Germanic tribes attack the Roman Empire, and Xiongnu attack the Han.

I was thinking of the battle of Talas, but I wanted to focus the shift on the American war for independence turning to world war.
 
Maybe we could get the Russians invading Canada through Alaska. The Russians had some troops there, and also had some people there. They could also swing Native American support with the Russians, and a Russo-Native American alliance could crush all of the Pacific Canadian holdings. Get as many powers as possible involved. Qing, Prussian, Mughal, Ottoman, Swedish, Russian, Native American, whatever. Turn it into a World war.

Now the trouble with Canada is, the British don't have their Western Canadian Colony. So Russians attacking Canada is hard if not implausible. Or they are insane enough to cross thousands of kilometres of wilderness until they reach Montreal...

I thought more of rising Naval Warfare in the North Sea and Baltic Sea between the British and Russian/Dutch fleets. Mostly to distract the British from going to the Caribbean. If the Russians are victorious they can become the strongest Naval Power until the Revolutionary Wars (if that still were to happen).

Speaking of that, the French Revolutionary War could also turn in to a war with more nations involved.

With regards to the Swedish and Ottomans, they are more likely to join British side. Not because they do not want a USA but more to prevent Russia to become the most dominant power. If the Russians do become the strongest Naval Power than the Ottomans and Swedes then they are in trouble. I wouldn't be sure where to put Prussia, depends on the situation I guess. But Qing would most likely end up against the British. Mughals against the British as well (if they still form a threat). There is Portugal as well. The Portuguese should not allow the British to become weak. This makes them vulnerable to the Spanish.
 
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Now the trouble with Canada is, the British don't have their Western Canadian Colony. So Russians attacking Canada is hard if not implausible. Or they are insane enough to cross thousands of kilometres of wilderness until they reach Montreal...

I thought more of rising Naval Warfare in the North Sea and Baltic Sea between the British and Russian/Dutch fleets. Mostly to distract the British from going to the Caribbean. If the Russians are victorious they can become the strongest Naval Power until the Revolutionary Wars (if that still were to happen).

Speaking of that, the French Revolutionary War could also turn in to a war with more nations involved.

With regards to the Swedish and Ottomans, they are more likely to join British side. Not because they do not want a USA but more to prevent Russia to become the most dominant power. If the Russians do become the strongest Naval Power than the Ottomans and Swedes then they are in trouble. I wouldn't be sure where to put Prussia, depends on the situation I guess. But Qing would most likely end up against the British. Mughals against the British as well (if they still form a threat). There is Portugal as well. The Portuguese should not allow the British to become weak. This makes them vulnerable to the Spanish.

Yeah, I guess that's true. Russian Alaska could then give support to Native American tribes to raid, and attack Canadian towns. I'd be effective because I'd be unexpected, while Russians in Alaska claim long swaths of land in Cascadia. The Ottomans and Swedish military might put up a fight, but this scenario requires the understanding of whose side the French, Spanish, Prussians, and Austrians are on. We need to know all these World war players before we discuss who would potentially win.
 
Yeah, I guess that's true. Russian Alaska could then give support to Native American tribes to raid, and attack Canadian towns. I'd be effective because I'd be unexpected, while Russians in Alaska claim long swaths of land in Cascadia. The Ottomans and Swedish military might put up a fight, but this scenario requires the understanding of whose side the French, Spanish, Prussians, and Austrians are on. We need to know all these World war players before we discuss who would potentially win.

Like I said, fast land of wilderness between the Western Most British settlement in Canada and the Native Tribes the Russians can negotiate. Odds are the Native Americans in Western Canada do not know about British presence in the East. What I can expect is heavy Russian Naval presence in the Pacific as a result. Which in turn can move towards a conflict with the EIC around South-East Asia. Russian Hawai... doesn't sound bad to me :p

In the American War of Independence, the French are supporting the Americans and so are the Spanish. The war can turn into a European war as well if the Austrians and Prussians join in. As far as the Ottomans and Swedes should be considered, whatever the Russians join they're against it.
 
Like I said, fast land of wilderness between the Western Most British settlement in Canada and the Native Tribes the Russians can negotiate. Odds are the Native Americans in Western Canada do not know about British presence in the East. What I can expect is heavy Russian Naval presence in the Pacific as a result. Which in turn can move towards a conflict with the EIC around South-East Asia. Russian Hawai... doesn't sound bad to me :p

In the American War of Independence, the French are supporting the Americans and so are the Spanish. The war can turn into a European war as well if the Austrians and Prussians join in. As far as the Ottomans and Swedes should be considered, whatever the Russians join they're against it.

The European war could then turn into a World war, with the Qing, Mughal, Japan, Native American tribes, Russia, Austria, Prussia, Denmark, Italian states, Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Persia, Ottomans, all of them, including minor powers like Oman getting involved in the war. I'd love to see a timeline on this.

Let's talk about the Napoleonic wars turning into a world war.
 
The European war could then turn into a World war, with the Qing, Mughal, Japan, Native American tribes, Russia, Austria, Prussia, Denmark, Italian states, Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Persia, Ottomans, all of them, including minor powers like Oman getting involved in the war. I'd love to see a timeline on this.

Let's talk about the Napoleonic wars turning into a world war.


Hmm interesting...

A war starting in 1789 until 1801.

The revolution succeeds with immediate intervention of Austria, Spain and Prussia in favor of Louis XVI. France succesfully beats the Prussian-Austrian alliance in the East in early 1790 and drives the Spanish back. The British fear the French threat Europe and enter the war. The French expand up to the Rhine as soon possible. And stay defensive against the Prussians and Austrians. The Austrians stop their war immediatly with the Ottomans to halt the French.

1789-1791: the French revolution is not stopped. The French mass mobilise troops to counter the invasion.

1791-1795: Time of the expansion starts. A coalition of Austria, Prussia, Spain and Great Britain fight the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries try to get the Mysorian and other Indian states to fight the British in India. The war is not succesful for the coalition leading Spain to change their side to the French but Russia enters the side of the coalition.

1795-1801: war turns in to a world war when the first fights in the colonies start. The Franco-Spanish start their offensive in the Caribbean while the Mysore forces attack the EIC. The French send military advisors to the Qajars and Ottomans for a possible war against Russia in the Caucasus and Black Sea area

Between 1799 and 1801 the fighting has gone down until a truce was made.

The second war (1803-1815): the second war starts after General Napoleon crowns himself emperor and war breaks out with Austria over the HRE.
 
Hmm interesting...

A war starting in 1789 until 1801.

The revolution succeeds with immediate intervention of Austria, Spain and Prussia in favor of Louis XVI. France succesfully beats the Prussian-Austrian alliance in the East in early 1790 and drives the Spanish back. The British fear the French threat Europe and enter the war. The French expand up to the Rhine as soon possible. And stay defensive against the Prussians and Austrians. The Austrians stop their war immediatly with the Ottomans to halt the French.

1789-1791: the French revolution is not stopped. The French mass mobilise troops to counter the invasion.

1791-1795: Time of the expansion starts. A coalition of Austria, Prussia, Spain and Great Britain fight the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries try to get the Mysorian and other Indian states to fight the British in India. The war is not succesful for the coalition leading Spain to change their side to the French but Russia enters the side of the coalition.

1795-1801: war turns in to a world war when the first fights in the colonies start. The Franco-Spanish start their offensive in the Caribbean while the Mysore forces attack the EIC. The French send military advisors to the Qajars and Ottomans for a possible war against Russia in the Caucasus and Black Sea area

Between 1799 and 1801 the fighting has gone down until a truce was made.

The second war (1803-1815): the second war starts after General Napoleon crowns himself emperor and war breaks out with Austria over the HRE.

How about America, Qing, Japan, Siam, and maybe even some Australian aborigines Tribes if your really ambitious.
 
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