Would Mitterrand Have Pulled the Trigger?

If we do an early 1980s Seven Days to the Rhine USSR wank where NATO was caught off guard and the Soviets successfully crossed the Rhine, or appeared able to do so, would Mitterrand have used France's Force de dissuasion? I know that France's nuclear deterrent relied on the idea that France would use nuclear weapons to protect its borders, but that's easier said in theory than done in practice, especially knowing that return strategic MRBMs could wipe away most of your civilian population with a few minutes warning. So, what do you think Mitterand would have decided?
 
Last edited:
Didn't France also have Boomers? Meaning that even if if Soviets nuke France including it's command structure , they can still retaliate against Soviet cities. More importantly the Soviets would know as much.
So yes IMHO France would have used tactical nukes. Probably just one as the mother of all warning shots. And then the Soviets would have backed off. They just grabbed West Germany and the Lower countries. Better to quit while they are ahead than to trade Moscow for Paris.
 
Agree. Mitterrand was a socialist but not a communist or sovietophile...France would certainly press for a quick resolution of the war, maybe accepting the Soviet domination of West Germany but if France’ territorial integrity was in danger, Mitterrand would use the tactical nuclear force
 

Wimble Toot

Banned
He would have fired France's tactical nukes at the Red Army, after they crossed the Rhine.

Strategic nuclear weapons would have been launched by NATO or Warpac before then, however.
 
Top