During the Cold War, both the U.S. and USSR were deterred from starting a direct war against each other for mutual fear that it would quickly escalate to nukes and destroy their nations under the principles of MAD. Even if nukes weren't used from the get-go, it was perceived that the use em' or lose em' mentality would gradually take hold.
My question is, is it plausible for WWIII to occur without any nukes used if one leader or the other makes it clear from the start they won't fire first? As an example, tensions could rise between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe for whatever reason (e.g. trouble in Berlin) and hostilities commence. Perhaps the General Secretary or President could immediately utilize the "hotline" between Moscow and DC to signal their clear intent not to use nukes under any circumstances except as a direct retaliation.
If this isn't plausible, then could the war at least be kept as a limited nuclear war in the sense of only tactical nukes on the battlefield or no direct attacks against cities and towns? Let's assume both leaders would know the consequences of all-out attacks and nuclear winter and wouldn't want the risk. Maybe they use the hotline to assure each other they want to minimize civilian casualties. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
My question is, is it plausible for WWIII to occur without any nukes used if one leader or the other makes it clear from the start they won't fire first? As an example, tensions could rise between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe for whatever reason (e.g. trouble in Berlin) and hostilities commence. Perhaps the General Secretary or President could immediately utilize the "hotline" between Moscow and DC to signal their clear intent not to use nukes under any circumstances except as a direct retaliation.
If this isn't plausible, then could the war at least be kept as a limited nuclear war in the sense of only tactical nukes on the battlefield or no direct attacks against cities and towns? Let's assume both leaders would know the consequences of all-out attacks and nuclear winter and wouldn't want the risk. Maybe they use the hotline to assure each other they want to minimize civilian casualties. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.