Early Fire In the Cold War?

Faraday Cage

What are some OTL events in the cultural fifties (post-war 40's to the death of JFK) that could of plausibly triggered WWIII with the Soviets?

I've read a pretty compelling analysis linked to on this website before that makes me think a war with only limited nuclear use and a more conventional focus is plausible and the discussion about how this might of prevented the WWII command economy from ever going out of style in America intrigued me.
 
A couple other ideas for WIs, besides the obvious of MacArthur getting his way with the PRC & nukes, one being things getting hot over the 1948 Berlin Blockade- say, the Soviets start attacking the airlift transports, or something like that. Another could be if the US agreed to the French request to use the bomb on the Vietminh forces besieging Dien Bien Phu.
 
Maybe WWII just evolves into WWIII - the U.S. and the Russians meet in the middle of Germany and instead of uneasy truce, we get sporadic fighting. Germany, already beaten down, becomes the no-man's land in the fight. Allies on both sides pressure the major combatants to avoid the use of NBC weapons, and that keeps the lid on the whole thing spinning out of control.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
Suez won't turn hot: Khrushchev was bluffing about Soviet intervention on the part of Egypt (assuming Khrushchev's in power; if a hard-liner like Molotov or Kaganovich is in charge, it could blow sky-high.)

I always thought there was potential for the first two Taiwan Strait Crises to boil over, though thinks would be more convincing if the Sino-Soviet Split were avoided. If the first Crisis goes hot in 1955, you'd probably see a war between the US and a China recieving tacit support from the USSR. So more fighting in Korea and along the Chinese seaboard, probably US occupation of cities if not outright nuking Beijing.
 
Another could be if the US agreed to the French request to use the bomb on the Vietminh forces besieging Dien Bien Phu.
Wernt the French on the defensive in that battle? So wouldent that nuke go a little bit too close to the French positions to be safe?
 
I've never read anything about nukes at Dien Bien Phu but I have read of a plan to send USAF B-26 bombers loaded with napalm to plaster the Viet Minh artillery.
 
how bout if the USSR tried to take Yugoslavia immediately post-WWII, with the US, UK & allies militarily supporting Tito ?
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
I've never read anything about nukes at Dien Bien Phu but I have read of a plan to send USAF B-26 bombers loaded with napalm to plaster the Viet Minh artillery.

There was a request from the French for what would have effectively tactical use of one or more weapons to destroy the supply and C&C of the Viet Minh. There is a book written in the '70s that detailed the request and the planning.

As far as the OP question, in addition to the usual suspects that have been mentioned, there is also the Hungarian Uprising in 1956. There was a rather good chance of that turning ugly if the U.S. or NATO was seen actively backing the revolt. Losing Hungary would have been a disaster to the Soviet policy of maintaining a wide set of buffer states, something that Moscow would have found to be a direct threat.
 
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