Was direct conflict possible between NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations without immediately resulting in a total nuclear war? If not, when did it become impossible to avoid? I postulate that past 1960, the two could never come into direct conflict without such a result.
NATO v Warsaw: Possible?
- Thread starter GoshDiggityDangit
- Start date
Title briefly made me think of all of NATO vs the Warsaw city government or something
The US and its rank-1 pals vs. the guys that use clams to keep the water drinkable
The US and its rank-1 pals vs. the guys that use clams to keep the water drinkable
Possible? Yes up to the USSR’s collapse. Plausible? That’s a different story depending on the era but I don’t see why not. More knowledgeable people like @ObssesedNuker can give a more detailed and nuanced answer.
Any NATO vs Warsaw Pact could be conventional in the first days of the war just like how it was portrayed in Protect & Survive. NATO technological superiority is balanced by Soviet/WP numbers. There would be urban fighting in the cities of Germany, especially in Berlin. The U.S., British, and French in Berlin would fight to the end, but since they are surrounded, WP victory in Berlin is guaranteed.
There will be mountain, forest, and alpine warfare depending on where the WP fights in the continent.
NATO navies would own the Atlantic and the GIUK gap. Any Soviet sub or ship trying to fight in the Atlantic would be caught within the SoSUS or prying eyes of MPAs.
There will be mountain, forest, and alpine warfare depending on where the WP fights in the continent.
NATO navies would own the Atlantic and the GIUK gap. Any Soviet sub or ship trying to fight in the Atlantic would be caught within the SoSUS or prying eyes of MPAs.
I'd wager possibly so, in both the late to early 50's and in the 80's, especially towards the end of the decade. The period inbetween was more absolute in using nukes off the bat, especially in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although technically it is possible to fight such a war with little to no nukes, at least for a period of time, depending on the POD and whatnot.
And yet on that note, I find the notion of calling a war between NATO and the WarPac if it is just between those two, "WWIII", to be misleading, especially when I was thinking about such a war in the likes of Red Storm Rising, but maybe it's just me.
The USSR did not have a policy of first use and the US were increasingly in favor of Flexible Response by the late 60s, so I'd argue that unless the Soviets trigger the Rhine red line the war has a good chance of remaining conventionnal until a treaty in the 70s too.