It’s often hard to pinpoint when a global war actually starts. From James Rickards at dailyreckoning.com:

History’s Starting to Rhyme…

Has World War III already begun?

That’s not a facetious question meant to grab attention. It’s a legitimate question.

It’s often the case that momentous events begin in small ways and expand out of control. In retrospect, it seems obvious that war was inevitable. But at the time, it’s not obvious at all. Events might seem disconnected and it’s far from obvious that war is inevitable.

Historical hindsight is 20/20.

World War I was not called that at the time. It was called the Great War. It was only when World War II arrived that the name World War I was applied.

And how should we think about the beginning of World War II? Most historians date it from the German invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. Still, many Americans date the war from Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declared war on Japan.

But the Chinese can be forgiven for saying both dates are wrong. The Chinese look to the invasion of Manchuria by Japan on Sept. 18, 1931 as the real start of World War II.

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