World War 3 in 1980s would any nations outside of NATO or Warsaw pact join

Say World War 3 breaks out in 1980s

Would any Countries outside of NATO or Warsaw pact join the conflict either willing or forcibly
 

nbcman

Donor
In Europe probably Austria if the Soviets invade. If war spreads outside of Europe, then other countries such as the Koreas, PRC, ROC, Japan, Syria, Israel, Libya, Iraq, and more.
 
I suppose plenty of nations in South America would join especially Brazil. Obviously Australia and New Zealand would end up joining since they have ties to the US.
 
Sweden also expected to have to throw in with NATO and made plenty of preparations to fight the Soviets. Yugoslavia and Albania could sit it out or go either way depending on how things break. China might also throw in with NATO, although it's more likely to try and sit out. South Korea and Japan will also likely wind up US allies, which could have the effect of having North Korea declare for the Soviets. The Middle East is a mix of neutrals, "obviously's", and potential wild cards.
 

BigBlueBox

Banned
I suppose plenty of nations in South America would join especially Brazil. Obviously Australia and New Zealand would end up joining since they have ties to the US.
Why would they want to join? So they can be rewarded with a Soviet nuke on every one of their major cities?
 
I suppose plenty of nations in South America would join especially Brazil. Obviously Australia and New Zealand would end up joining since they have ties to the US.

I doubt South America would join in any meaningful way, barring anything along the lines of a communist takeover in Argentina or a leftist government remaining in control of Peru. Certain. nations in Central America and the Carribean might get involved/dragged into it alongside the WARPACT, namely Cuba and Nicaragua.

The kiwis would have been absolutely no help in a NATO-WARPACT conflict. Their liberal government kicked us out in the ‘80s. The Aussies might have joined in but I don’t know.
 
Why would they want to join? So they can be rewarded with a Soviet nuke on every one of their major cities?

They latter was a possible/likely consequence had the war escalated to that level anyway. There was a notion in NZ in particular that suspension of military ties/participation with the US would magically remove that country from being targeted, but I think that was naïve (assuming such targeting was actually a thing, which is still uncertain). The western leaning posture and non-communist nature of the country didn't change.
 
The kiwis would have been absolutely no help in a NATO-WARPACT conflict. Their liberal government kicked us out in the ‘80s. The Aussies might have joined in but I don’t know.

We didn't kick anyone out. Conditions of no nuclear propulsion or nuclear weapons in NZ territory were specified that the US felt unable to meet (that somehow weren't a problem for other countries who continued visits and ties), so they took their ball and went home. There is a continuing perception even in NZ that the USN and other branches of the US military were specifically banned from NZ, which isn't true. Some elements never left.
 
Why would they want to join? So they can be rewarded with a Soviet nuke on every one of their major cities?

The Soviets would do that anyway. If true Leninist communism was going to be destroyed by nuclear war then they definitely weren’t going to leave ANY capitalist or pro-western nations untouched to inherit the earth and/or to help their primary enemies rebuild.

The kiwis would have been absolutely no help in a NATO-WARPACT conflict. Their liberal government kicked us out in the ‘80s. The Aussies might have joined in but I don’t know.

There is actually a work of WW3 fiction that features the South China Sea becoming a combat zone and the Anzacs deploying forces there. There are some real glaring problems with the series and the author in general, but take it for what you will.

The most likely place for the Anzacs to go is the Korean Peninsula, followed by the Middle East. They could be useful there.

We didn't kick anyone out. Conditions of no nuclear propulsion or nuclear weapons in NZ territory were specified that the US felt unable to meet (that somehow weren't a problem for other countries who continued visits and ties), so they took their ball and went home. There is a continuing perception even in NZ that the USN and other branches of the US military were specifically banned from NZ, which isn't true. Some elements never left.

Yep. The U.S. military still operates communications and logistics hubs there today. I don’t agree with the political bias of this site but it gives a good overview of what’s down there.
 
To the point of the OP, Castro is probably going to come in. He was a true believer and pretty nuts to boot (we’re talking about the guy who was actively pushing for a USSR nuclear first strike during the missile crisis he knew would destroy his own country and who intervened in Angola without asking the Soviets firsts and with three planes and a couple merchant ships for logistics). If the fate and victory of world revolutionary socialism is hanging in the balance, he’ll throw in.

When you get right down to it, any country with bases from an involved power will end up fighting with that power as a matter of simple fact. That provides another reason why Cuba will get involved; there was a full Soviet armored brigade there along with God knows how many other units. Angola, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Yemen, the Derg in Ethiopia, Vietnam, North Korea...all will throw in or be thrown in.

Add to that all the sundry nations the West has bases in. Would have been a hell of a war even with no nukes.
 
I gotta agree with at least Japan and South Korea joining in. In a NATO/WARPACT war, the US Pacific Fleet wouldn't just twiddle their thumbs. They'd hit the Soviet Pacific and east Siberian bases ASAP. The closest bases to the USSR are in Japan and S. Korea. Even the Philippines (Subic Bay Naval base and Clark Field) are much closer to Vladivostok than Hawaii is. That would bring in the Soviets at Can Ram Bay in Vietnam. All that would inevitably bring in China sooner or later - probably in the NATO side because by the 80s, China-USSR relations were extremely strained. As much as I would like China (for its sake) to manage to sit this one out, I don't see it. US bases in Japan and S. Korea striking the USSR would be too much temptation for N. Korea to resist attacking S. Korea. With NK being China's buffer, they cannot ignore that perceived threat of "Korean War, Act II". However, if the US/ROK forces simply settled for a defensive war, and let NK wear itself out without us crossing into NK, then China might be content just to keep troops on it's NK border as a "just in case" kind of thing. Regardless, China'd be in a real dilemma: fight the US to protect itself just as in the early 50s, thereby implicitly allying itself with the enemy USSR...OR attack the USSR and implicity allow the US to (from their p.o.v.) threaten Manchuria.

How the wider WW3 would have turned out would depend a lot on what the US and ROK did along the 38th parallel - which would in turn decisively decide the course of that war.
 

IMHO China would probably stay out and play both sides. There aren’t any bases from either side there, the people in charge are smart, and they know they’re a fairly weak player with a lot of rebuilding seasons ahead. I don’t think there’s a clear reason they’d have to pick a team.
 
I doubt South America would join in any meaningful way, barring anything along the lines of a communist takeover in Argentina or a leftist government remaining in control of Peru. Certain. nations in Central America and the Carribean might get involved/dragged into it alongside the WARPACT, namely Cuba and Nicaragua.

The kiwis would have been absolutely no help in a NATO-WARPACT conflict. Their liberal government kicked us out in the ‘80s. The Aussies might have joined in but I don’t know.

It was a Labour government. Adding to that, Muldoon is still in power.

With that aside, New Zealand and Australia would have presumably joined because of our obligations within ANZUS. But I doubt they could do anything meaningful, except if the Soviet Pacific Fleet attempted to fan out into the Pacific. At the time of 1983, the RAN had no serviceable aircraft carriers (decommissioned HMAS Melbourne in May 1982), while New Zealand had a small, outdated navy, designed to patrol our own territorial waters. I seriously doubt the Soviets would have bothered to unload nuclear weaponry on New Zealand, but certainly Australia. This conceivably puts New Zealand in a better position post-war.

This is not to say Australia and New Zealand don't have a pretty good defence. The RNZN had several frigates, and the RAN was by no means weak in its own confined world.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
I would imagine that the Soviets would give the green light to North Korea to invade the South, in order to tie down American resources. This would obviously bring Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in.

And South Africa might feel unleashed to go after its enemies in Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia in a much more forceful way with international attention distracted elsewhere.
 
Finland Everybody would not want to join the war but would become a part of it by default.
I think is more appropriate, I just cant see why others would not get pulled in just like WWI or WWII only faster and worse due to ICBMs and long range bombers.
 
I think is more appropriate, I just cant see why others would not get pulled in just like WWI or WWII only faster and worse due to ICBMs and long range bombers.

The thing is, there are only so many ICBMs and long-range bombers. Every delivery platform you use dropping a nuke on a godforsaken island somewhere in the South Pacific or South Atlantic is NOT striking your main opponent. Unless you can get a sub close enough for long enough to get its missiles away - not a guaranteed success by any means - a lot of places won't get hit simply because there are more important targets to be struck with the scarce long-range delivery systems.
 
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