I’m on the side of the poor, weak, disabled and oppressed.

That depends on when it will break out. If it’s tomorrow, China and Russia will be buddies or at the very least will be in a non-aggression pact situation. Most of Europe will side against Russia but might be more mealy mouthed towards China (even if they decide to start it by going after Taiwan and that escalates from there). The US will, as it is tradition in a world war, not enter until much later or unless attacked first. And on whose side? Depends on one person’s bowel movement on that day an no longer on treaties and commitments. One of the many crucial areas to watch will be if the US honors the security alliance with Japan.

I say it depends on when because if we give it another 25-50 years, attitudes may shift. The US could try going for a more sane leadership and affirm its NATO membership. Sentiments towards Russia may shift in Europe, especially if the US is progressing further towards Idiocracy.

I’m on the side of the Vietnamese

It is possible that WW3 has already broken out, but is not called that way yet. WW2 was not immediately called WW2 either. It took some time for it to grow to the dimensions that enabled it to be called a World War.

As in the previous two world wars, some countries will be switching sides. Just like USA has been doing now, hopping between the side of the Russia and the side of humanity about once per week, depending on how their president is feeling about things each morning.

If we are currently in WW3, then the sides are very confusing:
USA is against China but on the side of the Russia.
China is on the side of the Russia but not really against anyone. Except its own minorities?
EU and UK are against the Russia but not against USA or China.

Russia attacks EU, US stay neutral, US stay neutral, China leverage on Russia being busy to invade Eastern Russia, the conflict spread to former colonies where Russia, China, France, UK are already in cold war. Meanwhile, Turkey finally attack Greece, and Iran takes the opportunity gain influence most likely with their spy network.

As usual, America stays neutral, until US get dragged in the war (Taiwan or Israel) while Argentina wait for the last day to formally declare war. Not sure whether Japan would invade China or take back the Sakhaline island

TL/DR : Russia/Turkey/Israel versus EU/China/Iran.

As you see I am absolutely not an expert

I’m from New Zealand. We’ve traditionally been a US ally but the situation being what it is at the moment, I think there’s a good chance we’d try to stay neutral.

The “sides” that the countries take is of secondary importance. Capital will benefit from any conflict, no matter what the stated sides are, and suffer minimally. That’s the true enemy

To borrow the terminology from WWII, I imagine the Allies might include most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

I’m betting the Axis countries might include Russia, China, and Iran, possibly Belarus, Hungary, and North Korea, along with partial or total support from other BRICS countries.

The US is kind of a wildcard right now. My first instinct is that they’d align with their closest long-time allies such as those listed above, but with Trump’s affection for Putin and alienation of such allies over the last year, I’m uncertain. Trump could also simply choose to remain neutral, so as not to oppose Putin.

The US was neutral during WWI and WWII until they were attacked directly, so while it’s easy to assume the US would be involved in the next world war, it might not be until it’s forced to be, if at all. It’s probably safe to say the US would at least be sending its allies military aid during the war. As long as no one messes with their shipping or attacks its land, the US might choose to get no more involved than that.

Russia and China being allies is a given. Iran and the DPRK will be on their side too.

Israel, the USA, Japan, and parts of Europe will no doubt be on the opposite side, with the more sensible parts of Europe staying out of it.

India I have no idea, they’re nominally a USA ally, but I could also see them trying to stay neutral.

China world no doubt take the opportunity to reclaim the island of Taiwan.

I imagine a lot of Arab states would try to remain neutral at first, but Israel would probably take the opportunity to invade the rest of Syria, at which point some may be dragged into the conflict.

See, that’s the thing. We had WW3 in the 1970s. Hitler came back, and he was riding a dinosaur, and Ghengis Khan was disco dancing the night away!

But you never heard about it because we have time travel, and decided that was a stupid timeline.

Oh, also, none of this timeline exists either. We deleted from existence in 2012.

The real timeline? Bernie Sanders won the 2016 and 2020 elections. Covid was a much easier thing to stop, because people got vaccinated.

And Dorritos bought Taco Bell, and IMMEDIATELY went bankrupt.

See? Everything is actually better now. You just never got to experience it.

If the U.S. started the Great War Part III, it would probably be due to an invasion/takeover of a Russian-aligned country (e.g. Iran)

If Russia began the third big one, it would probably be due to either a) invasion of another European country (e.g. Finland, the Baltics) or b) some huge scandal that may or may not be truthful where American/European/NATO/whatever spies are found in Russian soil, prompting a justification to declare war.

If China were to start the war, it would almost certainly begin with either the hot topics of Taiwan or the South China Sea. I doubt the Chinese would risk a war for either though, and would only go in when the U.S. are distracted in some other war (e.g. if Trump goes in on Venezuela)

edit: or it could be over natural resources. Again.

I’m not sure about country alliances, but I do know that both the US and PRC will declare me as an enemy and “traitor”.

I’m gonna go through what Japanese Americans experienced during WW2

The empire-ambitious Axis of convenience: US, Israel, India, China, Russia, various Islamic kingdoms etc vs. whoever is willing to get in their way.

America vs. the rest of the world is what it’s shaping up to be.

If WWIII breaks out we’re all gonna fucking die. Will there be any countries left after 24 hours?

We’ll all be on the losing side, that’s for sure.

WWI started with the assassination of a national leader that most people had never heard of, but it dominoed throughout the world into a conflagration that killed millions.

A nuclear war is more likely to start like that. Some dumb country gets their hands on a nuke or two, and what fun is a shiny new toy of you can’t play with it? Once one goes off somewhere, it could spread fast, as nations either defend themselves, or seek revenge.

It will not be a war between the major super powers but a break up of the globe along those lines.

The US will continue its war on South American, mainly Venezuela right now. Russia will continue to chip away at the EU and push into their territory. China will take Taiwan, but mainly just focus on making money off both fronts. Africa will continue to be exploited by US/Russia/China.

The US will probably just dissolve into civil war

It’ll be a cold war against the US. Europe and Latin America vs China, Middle East, Africa.

Canada, Europe, Ukraine vs Russia and Belarus

America, Japan, Taiwan vs China and North Korea.

Israel will use the opportunity to fully genocide Palestine, expand into Lebanon and Syria sparking a regional conflict there.

India vs. Pakistan

In practice, some countries will lose rapidly once the nukes fly and a lot of people will die.