alternatehistory.com

Well...the first one I feel comfortable posting, at any rate.

Folks, I'm looking for holes in this idea. It's not fully fleshed out by any means, but before I invest in great detail, I want to make sure I'm not missing anything obvious.

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In the middle of October, 1950, the Communist Chinese began to infiltrate North Korea from Manchuria, crossing the Yalu River by night. By the time six weeks had passed, four full CCF armies were in North Korea, and were engaged with the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir.

An intelligence source inside the Communist Chinese government passed information along concerning the desire of the leadership to involve themselves in the Korean conflict, and the sheer scale of the undertaking.
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of Chinese fighters, the 8th Army began to fall back. President Truman threatened publicly to use atomic bombs against the Chinese army, but the CCF continued to press their advantage, pushing the UN forces back down towards the 38th Parallel.

Unwilling to accept a defeat at the hands of the Communists, and seeing no way to correct the situation with conventional arms, President Truman reluctantly released six retrofitted B-45 Tornado bombers, part of the Backbreaker program that has been intended to be used as a nuclear deterrent against the Soviets, for use in the Korean conflict. These six bombers, retrofitted for use with nuclear weapons, were each equipped with a low-yield Mark 4 atomic bomb from the small stockpile that had been built in the years since the end of the Second World War.

Sent in high, and with no supporting aircraft, the pilots of the B-45s were protected by a series of feints and unexpected attacks against positions that were nominally militarily effective, but which drew the Communist air forces away from the anticipated bombing sites. Losses were high, but everyone understood that, if the main mission was successful, the risks were worth it to end the conflict before the Chinese could push the United Nations forces out of Korea entirely.

The small, tactical bombs were each set to detonate at an altitude of three hundred yards, and carried the impact of around a thousand tons of TNT. Four of the bombs were centered on CCF troop concentrations, while two additional bombs were targeted on supply depots north of the line of battle.

Each explosion caused enormous damage, obliterating everything in a half-mile radius of the blast, with heat waves and their attendant fires causing further damage away from the epicenter. Casualties among the North Korean and Communist Chinese forces were enormous, with some figures going as high as two hundred thousand soldiers killed either in the immediate explosion or from the wounds they suffered or the fire, heat and radiation damage.

With the six explosions, the pressure against the United Nations forces was immediately removed, and they were able to stop and lick their wounds. The Eighth Army regrouped north of Pyongyang and Wonsan intending to hold there, at the narrowest point in the northern portion of the Korean peninsula as they awaited the slow arrival of reinforcements.

Moments after the detonations had been verified, President Truman went on television to announce what had happened, and to publicly demand the immediate surrender of the North Korean government. The reactions around the world were mixed, but almost universally horrified. Countries that had been allied with the United States reacted with harsh words, but little in the way of actions. The U.S. government was seen by most as too unstable to provoke, as well as still remaining the only buffer against Soviet aggression in Europe. Countries that were not directly allied were more vocal, with calls for censure, and even sanctions from the United Nations. The Soviet Union quickly moved to have the United States forcibly removed from the Security Council, and perhaps from the United Nations entirely, and called for international pressure to try President Truman for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Kim Il-Sung publicly breaks with Communist China, and offers an immediate cease fire and to negotiate for peace. President Truman, intending to use the leverage that nuclear weapons have given him to the fullest extent, demands unconditional surrender, and gets it. Kim is noted for having publicly stood up to Chairman Mao, demanding that he explain just how he would protect Korea from more of these bombs if North Korea were to continue the fight.

The result is a reunified Korea with immensely strong ties to the United States, partly out of gratitude for their sacrifice in the war, and partly in fear of what might become of them were they to be less than fully grateful. The Korean peninsula, much like Japan some six years before, falls under the control of the United States.

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Okay, now, be gentle. :)
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