What Makes a Conflict a World War?

A conflict is usually considered a clash among contrasting ideas, groups, and nations. It becomes a world war when all efforts and attention are sustained, violent, and organized. The world war is long-term, with prolonged postwar political consequences. World wars involve nations, power blocs, and non-state groups (like the Vatican). In the twentieth century, numerous conflicts never escalated into a world war. Given the countries involved, they easily could have. 

A regional conflict with two minor powers fighting is the 1912 Italo-Turkish War. For years, the Ottomans were viewed as weak. Italy and Turkey fought over Libya and several Mediterranean islands. Subsequently, Italy won, but neither opponent could fight without French or British input. Therefore Italy sought French and British approval before invading Libya. Both had protectorates that shared borders with Libya. Should Italy or Turkey attack these territories, the Empires must respond.

A second direct conflict occurred with the 1939 Battle of Khalkhin Gol. Soviet and Imperial Japan fought for six months over a disputed border region. The Soviet Union viewed Japan’s expansion as a threat to Siberia, particularly its central railroad and coastal ports. Japan’s strategic goal was to expand north, seizing natural resources.

This April to May conflict ended with a total Japanese defeat. Both nations backpedaled quickly, avoiding a bigger war. Japan realized northern expansion was unfeasible. The Soviet Western armies stood to invade Poland. A long war suited neither. Japan’s war plans changed as the Imperial Navy’s plan to expand south became a priority.

The Soviets grew more nervous about Germany than Japan. At some point, the Germans would attack Russia despite the newly signed Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression pact. And Japan, a future Axis ally, would be obligated to help. Negotiated truces worked better, at least for the present.

In World War II, nearly all parts of the world became involved. From North Africa to the waters off Australia, few countries remained untouched or removed. A prime example involves the Allied recapture of Burma from Southeast Asia in 1945. Japan invaded early, cutting a vital link, the Burma Road, that kept Nationalist China supplied with war goods. Several attempts failed until a massive Allied push into mid-1945. Mexico’s direct participation came late in the war – 1944. Until then, the country provided labor and raw materials to America’s factories.

Another explanation of how a world war differs from a conflict is the mass mobilization of resources. In World War I, 60 million military personnel fought. The number of materials and effort to feed that war machine required a national effort. Meanwhile, the United States became the “Arsenal of Democracy” for the Allies in World War II. American industrial might supply its allies with over 300,000 planes and 50,000 tanks like the Sherman, plus trucks, train engines, clothes, oil, and food. The Axis feared the U.S. more for its factories than its war-making reputation.

War Causes Widespread Destruction

Conflicts and world wars do share one common point: duration. Some conflicts, like the Afghans fighting the Soviets in the 1980s, last a number of years. Wars differ because of the intensity, which causes widespread destruction and death.

World War II lasted six years, from 1939-1945. It’s a significantly higher death toll than World War I, with more destruction and damage. The Soviet Union, by far, bore the brunt of death and destruction. The 1941 German invasion inflicted a staggering twenty million casualties – but some say the toll runs higher by 1945. Germany, too suffered under Nazi rule, with a combined total of about five million deaths.

For the duration of World War II, physical damage must be considered, too. The destruction inflicted upon Asia and Europe reached unseen levels. In Japan, the U.S. estimated that forty out of sixty-six urban areas were bombed out. Also, in Europe, the loss of rail transport helped bring economies to a halt.

Unlike a conflict, a world war changes the social, economic, and political climate. The most prominent change is the Cold War, the strained political period between Russia and the West that lasted until 1990. Other examples include the rise of Communist China from the Nationalist government after 1949.

A conflict could never inflict economic damage like a world war. In 1947, the U.S. offered the Marshal Plan, which allowed shattered economies to recover. So, a conflict becomes a world war when all the factors explode, plus more. The spiraling dominates the government, the economy, and perhaps even the ethnic makeup. In any world war, victory is achieved, but the cost never justifies it.