World War III: What if?
Discussion
Sparta VAG said:
Maggie reckoned that the USA would not have sacrificed its own cities to save Europe from nukes when it came down to it.
Thank God Maggie would have used them (I have no doubt she would have) and thanks for the calming impact of nukes in the likes of the India/Pakistan conflict.Full steam ahead and support for Israel's inevitable strike against Iran later this year however - nukes rely on 'selfish nations' who work on a rational basis for peace to dominate.
The "what if" in the OP's question will only happen if the international community is over soft with certain countries (Iran).
There is a rather chilling paragraph from the wiki link above.
[i]False alarm from the Soviet early missile warning system
On the night of September 26, 1983, the Soviet orbital missile early warning system (SPRN), code-named Oko, reported a single intercontinental ballistic missile launch from the territory of the United States.[21] Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, who was on duty during the incident, correctly dismissed the warning as a computer error when ground early warning radars did not detect any launches. Part of his reasoning was that the system was new and known to malfunction before; also, a full scale nuclear attack from the United States would involve thousands of simultaneous launches, not a single missile. Later, the system reported four more ICBM launches headed to the Soviet Union, but Petrov again dismissed the reports as false. The investigation that followed revealed that the system indeed malfunctioned and false alarms were caused by a rare alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds and the satellites' orbits.[/i]
[i]False alarm from the Soviet early missile warning system
On the night of September 26, 1983, the Soviet orbital missile early warning system (SPRN), code-named Oko, reported a single intercontinental ballistic missile launch from the territory of the United States.[21] Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, who was on duty during the incident, correctly dismissed the warning as a computer error when ground early warning radars did not detect any launches. Part of his reasoning was that the system was new and known to malfunction before; also, a full scale nuclear attack from the United States would involve thousands of simultaneous launches, not a single missile. Later, the system reported four more ICBM launches headed to the Soviet Union, but Petrov again dismissed the reports as false. The investigation that followed revealed that the system indeed malfunctioned and false alarms were caused by a rare alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds and the satellites' orbits.[/i]
Dixie68 said:
Jimbeaux said:
I was once coworkers with one of the last artillery commanders in Europe (US Army). His mission was to deny at all costs, Soviet tanks from crossing the Fulder Gap by means of tactical nuke artillery shells. This was devised knowing that conventional forces may not be able to stop a Soviet push. It is not a public doctrine, but having US troops in West Gemany was not to stop the Soviets (as there was nowhere near enough), they were a tripwire to ensure that the US got right into the war and did not debate the issue as FDR had to do before WWII. That way, if they decided to take all of Gemany and France but promised to stop there, some appeasers would be arguing for peace and letting them keep their gains. This is of course IMO and of many others who served there.
I remember the brief you got on arrival in Germany as part of BAOR. It went something along the lines of, "If the Russians invade you will be declared missing in action almost immediately. We will act as a speed-bump to slow their progress, nothing more".Almost put you off your brattys I can tell you
croyde said:
There is a rather chilling paragraph from the wiki link above.
[i]False alarm from the Soviet early missile warning system
On the night of September 26, 1983, the Soviet orbital missile early warning system (SPRN), code-named Oko, reported a single intercontinental ballistic missile launch from the territory of the United States.[21] Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, who was on duty during the incident, correctly dismissed the warning as a computer error when ground early warning radars did not detect any launches. Part of his reasoning was that the system was new and known to malfunction before; also, a full scale nuclear attack from the United States would involve thousands of simultaneous launches, not a single missile. Later, the system reported four more ICBM launches headed to the Soviet Union, but Petrov again dismissed the reports as false. The investigation that followed revealed that the system indeed malfunctioned and false alarms were caused by a rare alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds and the satellites' orbits.[/i]
That sort of thing happened plenty of times, on both sides. We are lucky we are all still standing. [i]False alarm from the Soviet early missile warning system
On the night of September 26, 1983, the Soviet orbital missile early warning system (SPRN), code-named Oko, reported a single intercontinental ballistic missile launch from the territory of the United States.[21] Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, who was on duty during the incident, correctly dismissed the warning as a computer error when ground early warning radars did not detect any launches. Part of his reasoning was that the system was new and known to malfunction before; also, a full scale nuclear attack from the United States would involve thousands of simultaneous launches, not a single missile. Later, the system reported four more ICBM launches headed to the Soviet Union, but Petrov again dismissed the reports as false. The investigation that followed revealed that the system indeed malfunctioned and false alarms were caused by a rare alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds and the satellites' orbits.[/i]
Jimbeaux said:
Dixie68 said:
Jimbeaux said:
I was once coworkers with one of the last artillery commanders in Europe (US Army). His mission was to deny at all costs, Soviet tanks from crossing the Fulder Gap by means of tactical nuke artillery shells. This was devised knowing that conventional forces may not be able to stop a Soviet push. It is not a public doctrine, but having US troops in West Gemany was not to stop the Soviets (as there was nowhere near enough), they were a tripwire to ensure that the US got right into the war and did not debate the issue as FDR had to do before WWII. That way, if they decided to take all of Gemany and France but promised to stop there, some appeasers would be arguing for peace and letting them keep their gains. This is of course IMO and of many others who served there.
I remember the brief you got on arrival in Germany as part of BAOR. It went something along the lines of, "If the Russians invade you will be declared missing in action almost immediately. We will act as a speed-bump to slow their progress, nothing more".Almost put you off your brattys I can tell you
Dixie68 said:
I remember the brief you got on arrival in Germany as part of BAOR. It went something along the lines of, "If the Russians invade you will be declared missing in action almost immediately. We will act as a speed-bump to slow their progress, nothing more".
Almost put you off your brattys I can tell you
Bielefeld 1972, very similar spiel.Almost put you off your brattys I can tell you
edit to add:
RSM speak.
memory isn't wot it woz
I can laugh now, but what if...
Edited by smegmore on Saturday 21st April 22:01
I have a similar memory but as a young boy.
My father was based at Bruggen and we were living in quarters with him during the early 70's and I asked "Dad what will happen if there's a war?" and he replied "Don't worry son, you'll know nothing about it"
I was happy at the time - it was only later I realised what he was saying.
My father was based at Bruggen and we were living in quarters with him during the early 70's and I asked "Dad what will happen if there's a war?" and he replied "Don't worry son, you'll know nothing about it"
I was happy at the time - it was only later I realised what he was saying.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff