War scares become real

[Melvin Loh]

I'lluse this quote from a previous thread on the CIA: On August 11th, 1984, President Ronald Reagan makes his statement "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.". wi Reagan had been taken seriously, and the whole US nuclear triad had been unleashed against the USSR on that date ? Would civiulisation as we know it today cease to exist ?

Can any-1 think of any other war scares thurout hist, and WI they'd actually been realised on the ground ?

[Brandonazz]

wi Reagan had been taken seriously, and the whole US nuclear triad had been unleashed against the USSR on that date ?

Chances are, you wouldn't be posting this today

[talonbear01]

The Able archer military exercise in Oct. 1983, was a major war scare for the Soviets. They thought that the US and NATO exercise was mearly a front for a planned invasion of Eastern Europe. Their fingers were on the button during that exercise, while the US was unaware of the paranoia that was running rampent in the Kremiln

[Admiral Matt]

Hrm... Let's say we push Reagan's absolutely insane joke back a year so that it fall during that military exercise. Then reschedule the launch of a weather satellite from somewhere in Western Europe to follow his gaff by about an hour, and...

Boom.

The question in these scenarios stops being about what happens to the war's participants, and starts being about what happens to its bystanders. Did the Swiss make enough mountain bunkers? Does China manage to stay out of it? Does anything go off in the Southern Hemisphere, or does that half of the globe get through relatively intact?

[Fellatio Nelson]

Originally Posted by talonbear01

The Able archer military exercise in Oct. 1983, was a major war scare for the Soviets. They thought that the US and NATO exercise was mearly a front for a planned invasion of Eastern Europe. Their fingers were on the button during that exercise, while the US was unaware of the paranoia that was running rampent in the Kremiln

And there was that scare caused by a Norwegian weather balloon around the same time. Supposedly, we all lived - well, I did, considering I then lived only a mile or so from a key target - thanks to the initiative of a Russian officer who ignored the initial computer assessment and sough clarification.

[Homer]

Originally Posted by Admiral Matt

The question in these scenarios stops being about what happens to the war's participants, and starts being about what happens to its bystanders. Did the Swiss make enough mountain bunkers? Does China manage to stay out of it? Does anything go off in the Southern Hemisphere, or does that half of the globe get through relatively intact?

What bystander? If the two blocs start a conventional-only war, as soon as one side sees its chances blowing away, it will use its nuclear arsenal. and then the other side would use its arsenal as well. Probably the US would nuke China right away, even if it not entered the war so far, which I doubt. Australia and New Sealand would be on the NATO-side, thus nuked as well. then add several important bases in the southern hemisphere which would be nuked too, so noone would just stand by. whatever remains would then attract fugitives from all around the world as well as nuclear fallout.

[Larrikin]

Australia was targetted by quite a number of Soviet missiles. There were two major ultra-low frequency radio stations to communicate with subs underwater, a couple of key tracking stations, a major intelligence and communications hub, and then of course the neutron warheads aimed at the major population centres. New Zealand was ignored as an irrelevance.