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Something I've been wondering, would a war between the US/NATO and the Soviet Union have ended up in a whole 'The Day After' and 'Threads' level nuclear exchange, or could it have been possible for a 'less than thermonuclear' war to take place?

Other than a brief occupation of Siberia in 1919, US troops and Soviet troop have never (officially) faced each other in battle. I wonder how much this lack of historical bloodshed affected the Cold War and prevented WWIII.

Some points I'm thinking of are the Suez, Hungary, and Berlin Blockade. I think a limited war might be possible because Europe was still war weary, the Soviets had little nuclear deterrent against the US mainland, and a general lack of ICBMs. Could a war occur, even with a small exchange or one-sided use of atomics, that would leave the main principles fundamentally intact (no loss of territorial integrity for major powers)?
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