You should tell your kids that our Revolutionary War fell between the First World War and the Second World War, and then explain that historians consider the Seven Years War (1756 to 1763 our "French and Indian War") to be the true "First World-Wide War."
The Second World-Wide War was the Napoleonic War of 1803 through 1815, including our War of 1812.
These First and Second World-wide wars saw Britain and Germany allied against France.
That makes the two great 20th century wars World Wars Three (1914 to 1918) and Four (1939 to 1945), with Britain, France, Russia and the USA allied against Germany.
Then we could call the Cold War World War Five (1946 to 1991),
and now the War on Terror, World War Six -- except that by now words have lost all meanings, there is no "war" it's just "overseas contingency operations" against "workplace violence"... sort of, I think.
Of course, hopefully your kids are home-schooled, otherwise government teachers may not smile so kindly at their precociousness. ;-)
Thanks for the information. I wonder if a “World War” status needs to include fighting on different fronts as well, rather than just being aligned with others?
“Of course, hopefully your kids are home-schooled, otherwise government teachers may not smile so kindly at their precociousness. ;-)”
No, but my wife and I are very involved in their academics. (Grade school saw mom at the school at least an hour a day helping all the kids with reading and math, and breaking the school district policy on math as she was using “flash cards” to teach them the basic math facts).
My one daughter had to read a book over the summer, and just finished her “compare and contrast” report of a book on the Holocaust with our government under Obama. She found Palin and Ayn Rand quotes all on her own!
“So dad - do you think the teacher will figure out that I’m a conservative?”
“World War I” could also have been the Thirty Years War, especially after it merged with the Eighty Years War between Holland and Spain after those countries resumed fighting when a 12-year truce expired. The Dutch and Spaniards clashed in Asia, Mexico and Cuba as well as in Europe, where just about every country from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean was involved.
“World War II” could have been the War of the League of Augsburg (1689-1697); WWIII the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714); WWIV the War of the Aurstian Succesion (1740-1748), followed by WWV, the Third Silesian War, Seven Years War, or French and Indian War. In each of these conflicts, fighting took place outside Europe.