The Great Colonization War (unofficially and generally incorrectly referred to as World War III) was a military conflict lasting from 1985 to 1998, which involved some of the world's nations, including all of the great powers. The reason for the military conflict was mainly due to religion and power. The two sides of the war eventually formed two opposing military alliances, the Pro-Lunars ("Lunies") and the Pro-Selenics ("Selenics") (this was due to the fact most of the opposing nations were fighting to prevent colonies from taking over land on Luna, which goes against Selenism).