Well, Europe was nice while it lasted.
Are we looking at Threads or a mere The Day After type scenario?
Are we looking at Threads or a mere The Day After type scenario?
Three Men, One Island - A Cuban Missile Crisis timeline
- Thread starter BurkeanLibCon
- Start date
I thought I'd taken that into account, have I missed it anywhere?
Ah, thanks. Corrected.
For much of central Europe, closer to Threads. The United States actually won't be hit as hard as in The Day After.
Geon
Donor
@BurkeanLibCon I like what you've done here. I would suggest one minor change. In chapter 10 you state:
At Antietam the casualties were overwhelmingly military. You might want to make a better comparison with cities such as Dresden, Hamburg, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, or Tokyo in World War II. These were cities that suffered major damage and horrendous civilian casualties due to allied bombing raids - including nuclear bombing.
At Antietam the casualties were overwhelmingly military. You might want to make a better comparison with cities such as Dresden, Hamburg, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, or Tokyo in World War II. These were cities that suffered major damage and horrendous civilian casualties due to allied bombing raids - including nuclear bombing.
@Beatriz For France, rather towards Algeria where there is half of the French army which has militarily - relatively - mastered the situation.
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I enjoyed your timeline very much. The Cuban Missile Crisis has always fascinated me. My father was 15 years old at the time, living in a small town about 30 miles from New Orleans. He remembers the crisis well. He remembers seeing trains pass through his town carrying tanks and artillery, heading towards Florida, in the days following Kennedy's national address. He remembers going to a town meeting with his parents, that reviewed civil defense measures, making plans for shelters, etc. and what could happen if and when New Orleans was hit. Lastly, at the height of the tensions, the schools closed so the kids could remain home with their families. He said it was a very scary time.
INTERMISSION: President Kennedy's Oval Office Address on the Nuclear Attack
President Kennedy's Oval Office Address on the Nuclear Attack
4 November 1962
Good evening, my fellow citizens:
I speak to you tonight, by both radio and television, from a classified location. For many years, contingency plans have been devised to allow the continuity of the federal government in the event of a nuclear attack. Those plans are now in effect.
Seventeen years ago the advent of nuclear weapons changed the course of the world as well as the war. Since that time until now, all mankind struggled to escape from the darkening prospect of mass destruction on earth. The world of communism and the world of free choice have been caught up in a vicious circle of conflicting ideology and interest, each increase of tension bringing an increase of arms; each increase of arms bringing an increase of tension.
Since the beginning of history, war has been mankind's constant companion. It has been the rule, not the exception. Even a nation as young and as peace-loving as our own has fought through nine wars. And six times within the last eight days, including tonight, I have been required to report to you as President that this nation and the Soviet Union were engaging in direct military confrontation in the Atlantic, in the Caribbean, and in Europe, culminating in the nuclear exchange of the last two days.
On Saturday night, a number of nuclear missiles were launched from Cuba against American landing sites and against targets on the American mainland. From that point on, further restraint became impossible. With the capital city of this country under nuclear attack, existing plans for retaliation against such an attack were put into effect. Our strategic forces began retaliatory operations against the Soviet Union and its cobelligerent allies and they are still operating as I speak to you tonight. In spite of our best efforts, Soviet intercontinental missiles and strategic bombers continued to launch nuclear attacks against the United States.
The results of these attacks have been devastating. This government does not at present have all the necessary information needed to provide an accurate picture of the number of casualties. I can, however, confirm that the following locations have been struck by Soviet nuclear weapons: Washington D.C.; New York City; Anchorage, Alaska; Bremerton, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Fairbanks, Alaska; Homestead and Jacksonville in Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Syracuse, New York. In addition, several cities, such as Topeka, Kansas; Rapid City, South Dakota; and others located near military facilities have been heavily damaged by the enemy's nuclear forces. To the north, our neighbors in Canada were also struck hard. We do not, however, hold sufficient quantities of information to relay to you the nature of the damage in that country.
At present, we have lost contact with our NATO allies in Europe, though they too were attacked as we were. In undertaking our retaliatory strike operations, we were aided by our close friend and ally, the United Kingdom, who contributed their own strategic forces to aid us as well as undertake their own operations. The destruction wrought in Europe is likely far worse than the destruction we have witnessed here. Though we have lost contact with our forces in Europe, as well as the governments of our European allies, from the testimony of the flight crews of our bomber force as well as aerial photographs, we are aware that most of the major old cities of that continent have been destroyed.
Though tonight we are a nation in great pain, the pain that we feel is only a fraction of what we have inflicted upon the enemy's force. The Soviet nuclear weapons arsenal, including the weapons in Cuba, is likely mostly destroyed, in addition to the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact in Europe and those of Red China engaged in attacking our ally India - the armies of communism are defeated, as the armies of fascism were defeated in 1945. The actions of the Soviet Union made the events of the past two days unavoidable. When presented with many opportunities to pursue a diplomatic resolution and withdraw their ballistic missiles from Cuba, they refused and recklessly continued to escalate the tension until the situation could no longer be contained. While we are not proud of the destruction that our retaliation has caused, we are grateful that the threat of further large-scale attacks against the American mainland has been mostly removed.
Given the devastation the Soviet Union has inflicted upon us, and the reckless conduct from them which has brought the present disaster about, we demand from the Soviet government and their allies full and unconditional surrender. We will accept nothing less.
As President and Commander-in-Chief, I have ordered that the following steps be taken, as initial steps towards recovering from this crisis.
First, I am declaring a state of martial law across the United States and its possessions until further notice. Regular forces and National Guard troops are authorized to aid civil, local, and state authorities wherever necessary to maintain law and order throughout the nation. In areas hit by nuclear weapons, the National Guard will be responsible for evacuation of the remaining inhabitants and maintaining security zones around the areas. They are authorized to use lethal force to prevent entry into said security zones if necessary.
Second, I am ordering a moratorium on all public debts and instituting emergency wage and price controls on essential items to ensure that such essentials remain affordable to the American people, and to safeguard against profiteering.
Third, I reluctantly ask that the Congress and the nation's Governors pass an emergency amendment to the Constitution to allow for a delay to the upcoming midterm elections scheduled for November 6th. Given the present circumstances, this unprecedented move in our nation's history is necessary. I can promise that the elections will take place as soon as circumstances warrant.
Tonight, we are a grieving nation. I ask for your prayers, for those who who have perished, and for all those worlds have been shattered. We pray that God will comfort them in in these dire times, as spoken in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."
We have been subjected to the greatest test this nation has ever faced. The cost will be devastating, the final casualty count will almost certainly be in the millions. Yet, despite this, we have survived as a nation. And although the next several weeks and months, likely years, will be among the hardest we have faced, we will pull through like we always have when put to the test if we do not lose hope or faith. America has faced great crises before; this will be no different.
Finally, I urge you all to continue following the orders of your local civil defense authorities, and to remain close to your radios.
Life may never be the same as it was before this black week in human history. We can, however, make sure such a tragedy never happens again and leave the world a better place for our children and our grandchildren. A world without the fear of nuclear holocaust.
God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America.
Thank you.
“I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:2-12
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Geon
Donor
@BurkeanLibCon consider the above "love" one for the whole timeline. Being a bit of a "fan" of that era of history I certainly enjoyed reading your take on a Cuban missile crisis gone wrong, and am looking forward to the aftermath.
Thanks. Once this timeline's finished I'll be continuing with my book project. Set in this universe.
It will be interesting to see what parts of Europe escaped being targetted. For example, Spain/Portugal outside a few military bases? Is there anything that would have been worth Nuking in the southern third of Italy? And I'm still surprised that places like Sweden got hit by Soviet missiles. I can't see the United States or United Kingdom hitting any nation outside the Warsaw Pact in Europe deliberately
The Jupiter bases were in southern Italy. Sweden (and Finland) got hit by the Soviets because they were in the way of Norway, as well as being generally western aligned the USSR wasn't going to just let them off the hook.
More on them to come.
IIRC, even though Sweden was neutral they were NATO aligned and most people figured they would cooperate with NATO if WWIII ever occurred.
No news even from ships at sea in European waters? there are American air bases in Morocco which can carry out relief missions.
Mexico will certainly be under pressure with the influx of Americans wanting to leave a bombed country.
Mexico will certainly be under pressure with the influx of Americans wanting to leave a bombed country.
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The exchange has only just ended. There could well be relief operations, but not yet.
Unlikely. America hasn’t been bombed badly enough for that. More likely you’ll have an internal migrant crisis in the affected areas.
It makes absolutely no sense for the Soviet Union to bomb Finland because for the northwestern Soviet Union, Finland was theoretically their first line of defence.
While Finland was officially neutral during the Cold War, the Soviet leadership didn't see it that way and officially Finland was not seen as a neutral, but merely as "striving to be neutral". From Kremlin's viewpoint, Finland was in their sphere, even if it wasn't a "people's republic". And this wasn't just an informal agreement. With the signing of an Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, from 1948 till the end of the Cold War, Finland was obligated to defend its territory against armed attacks by the United States or its allies, possibly with the aid of the Soviet Union.
If anyone was going to bomb Finland, had Cold War gone hot, it was going to be the United States.
Depending on how much nuclear ordnance you want to drop on Finland in this timeline, you can count a dozen bombs for northern Finland, vaporizing any municipal centre of importance and the associated transport links and anywhere from a low of five weapons to a high of another dozen weapons for the rest of Finland.
Well this is really a right mess… A nightmare come true really…
Did we last longer than the couple of hours we did during ww2?
Living in an a-bomb paradise
I still think that the southern Californians and Texans will go to Mexico until they are sure that the nuclear attacks are over.
There must still be marauding Soviet submarines...
There must still be marauding Soviet submarines...
I will cover Finland in the next update.
It’s all the more scary realising it could have happened like this.
Yes. Denmark was still fighting when the sky fell down.
Amen.
They won’t in any large number. America has a refugee crisis on its hand but it’s internal.
There are, and a lot of them still have Shaddock nuclear missiles.