WI: Chinese and US go to war in Summer of '58?

In the summer of 1958 the Chinese shelled Taiwan. The United States backed the Taiwanese and threatened to nuke China if they continued. What if the Chinese and the Americans had gone to war over this issue? First of all, I don't think that the Soviets would continue to back the Chinese. I also don't think that the United States would be willing to go all out on China unless they were provoked. That being said, what do you think would happen?
 
I don't think either country would be willing to go to war. The US had just recovered from a very chaotic post-ww2 demobilization followed by remobilization (for the Korean war) and then demobilization again. China was in awful shape but still protected by the Soviets. A war between America and China in 1958 would obviously end in a crushing American victory (assuming the Soviets intervened), but why would the US be willing to go to war at all in this scenario? Taiwan isn't that important.
 
I don't think either country would be willing to go to war. The US had just recovered from a very chaotic post-ww2 demobilization followed by remobilization (for the Korean war) and then demobilization again. China was in awful shape but still protected by the Soviets. A war between America and China in 1958 would obviously end in a crushing American victory (assuming the Soviets intervened), but why would the US be willing to go to war at all in this scenario? Taiwan isn't that important.

I don't think the US would want to go to war, but the Chinese might force them into one. Mao Zedong wasn't afraid of the US and so he might not think the US would be serious about any threats.
 
I don't think the US would want to go to war, but the Chinese might force them into one. Mao Zedong wasn't afraid of the US and so he might not think the US would be serious about any threats.
I'm having a very hard time imagining a scenario where Mao doesn't fear the US, regardless of what his public statements are. In 1958, the US was more than capable of annihilating China with virtually no fear of any real retaliation. But then again, I only got a C in my US-China Relations class so I'm clearly no expert on this stuff.
 
What's the disposition of US naval forces at the time in and around Taiwan? Could Chinese shells/rockets in the bombardment severely damaging a major warship or killing enough Americans be enough of a reason for the US to take such a hard line stance that sets Beijing and Washington on a collision course over Taipei?
 

nbcman

Donor
Could result in my Father being injured or killed as he was stationed as a radar operator in the USAF on an island off Taiwan at this time.

The PRC couldn't invade Taiwan with the US Fleet in the way. Maybe they could attempt an invasion of Little and Big Quemoy Islands which are right off the Chinese coast but they would most likely be sunk before landing. The US intervened dramatically IOTL by providing new artillery pieces, aircraft and even the first production models of Sidewinder missiles to the ROC. I can't see the US not backing the ROC in case of an invasion to the utmost of their needs. But I don't see the US invading mainland China or performing nuclear attacks on the PRC.
 
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