WI: German Decapitation Strike Decimates Soviet Leadership in June 1941

This is the thread that will answer any questions any of you may have about the inspiration for my username.

Yes, I know this is almost inconceivable under any remotely realistic scenario. It's almost ASB material. But let's assume that somehow, Germany is able to produce a working fission weapon during the 1930s, and develops a means of delivering it - probably some variation of the HE-177. Let's further assume a yield similar to that of the American Fat Man or Little Boy weapons - somewhere in the range of 15kt to 20kt.

If Germany had been able to drop this bomb on Moscow at the beginning of Barbarossa, taking out Stalin, Beria, Zhukov, Timoshenko, and various other military and political leaders, is there any way the Soviet Union is able to successfully repel the invasion? What are some of the scenarios that might unfold?
 
Repel no, but without Stalin shooting anyone who even thinks the word retreat they can pull back their forces, regroup and save millions of troops from the POW camps and come back stronger later once central authority is re-established.
 
Repel no, but without Stalin shooting anyone who even thinks the word retreat they can pull back their forces, regroup and save millions of troops from the POW camps and come back stronger later once central authority is re-established.

where are they going to be retreating to if the Nazis have working nuclear device?
 
If Germany had been able to drop this bomb on Moscow at the beginning of Barbarossa, taking out Stalin, Beria, Zhukov, Timoshenko, and various other military and political leaders, is there any way the Soviet Union is able to successfully repel the invasion? What are some of the scenarios that might unfold?

Candidate CC members step up.

LL and British aid jig up a rail hub to the East 41-43.
 
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Ian_W

Banned
Yup, it's ASB.

If you re-edited it to 'Gets a lucky hit with a bomber attack on a dacha outside Moscow', you might have got somewhere.
 
As-is this is outright ASB; even if the Notzis don't drive off all the Jewish scientists like they did OTL, they lack the resources required for a nuclear program. However...it's not implausible that the Nazis could realize the potential of a dirty bomb, and just give the senior Soviet leadership a bad case of radiation poisoning through a terrorist attack (a truck bomb type deal, for example).
 

Ian_W

Banned
As-is this is outright ASB; even if the Notzis don't drive off all the Jewish scientists like they did OTL, they lack the resources required for a nuclear program. However...it's not implausible that the Nazis could realize the potential of a dirty bomb, and just give the senior Soviet leadership a bad case of radiation poisoning through a terrorist attack (a truck bomb type deal, for example).

It takes people a relatively long time to die from radiation poisoning, and easily gives enough time to sort out succession.
 

trurle

Banned
This is the thread that will answer any questions any of you may have about the inspiration for my username.

Yes, I know this is almost inconceivable under any remotely realistic scenario. It's almost ASB material. But let's assume that somehow, Germany is able to produce a working fission weapon during the 1930s, and develops a means of delivering it - probably some variation of the HE-177. Let's further assume a yield similar to that of the American Fat Man or Little Boy weapons - somewhere in the range of 15kt to 20kt.

If Germany had been able to drop this bomb on Moscow at the beginning of Barbarossa, taking out Stalin, Beria, Zhukov, Timoshenko, and various other military and political leaders, is there any way the Soviet Union is able to successfully repel the invasion? What are some of the scenarios that might unfold?
Decapitation strike do not require a fission device; The single conventional bomber homing on saboteur-planted radio beacon or assassination with local means may be more realistic in 1941, although mission success probability is still below 1%.

If successful, such "decapitation of leadership" strike is surely to induce a brief (few days) power struggle among leaders of SU, but is not likely to significantly alter the course of WWII. Control of Soviet Army was nearly lost in late June 1941 due communications disruption anyway, therefore the "decapitation of leadership" will influence only minority of detachments on tactical level.
It is difficult to say how exactly tradeoff between retreat speed, stiff defense and casualties will be affected by pause of orders from the top; most likely most of detachments who IOTL complied to suicidal counter-attack or "stay ground" orders had a poor quality local commanders and are doomed anyway in the prevalent environment of German tactical advantage.
 
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At work.

Perchance some kind person can referance in the development dates of the 'Drakken' and 'Kollibri' (Spelling?) helicopter programs?

Then, we work on the long range reconnaissance planes to forward spot useful landing/refueling hop sites.

This so as to get as large enough 'Paratroopen' or other highly skilled, motivated and down right crazy Communist hating volunteer troops to do the job.

"Inglorious B@stards" the Wehrmacht edition?

Cheers.
 
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