Would the U.S./the world be better off if we never discovered nuclear fission?

[Lancer]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Without nuclear fission and the bomb, the Cold War wouldn't have existed as we know it. Russia could have taken some decisive moves like invading Germany, which relied solely on American (and NATO) defense. Probably not in '45, though.
Russia could also have lended a hand in defeating Japan, and maybe imposed some sort of division of Japan, like Hokkaido being commie and the southern islands capitalist.
But then, it's quite possible that chemical or biological weapons would have been used against Japan instead of nukes, causing similar damage to the population.

There would also have been no Chernobyl, and the pollution today would probably be higher due to more electricity being generated through oil/carbon, though we wouldn't have to fear the long-term pollution from radioactive isotopes.

While the US was involved in Vietnam the euros did nothing to augment their forces to offset the weakened US commitment to NATO. The US OOB was pretty much the same but there were no replacement parts, few new weapon systems, etc. In the same period the Sovs came out with their T76 and later T 80, and the first of their modern infantry carriers, while we were still operating the M60 and the M113. It was as if the europeans were too busy making money to defend themselves, and the easiest way to deal with the border was to ignore it. The Sovs could have cut through NATO like a hot knife through butter.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Lancer


While the US was involved in Vietnam the euros did nothing to augment their forces to offset the weakened US commitment to NATO. The US OOB was pretty much the same but there were no replacement parts, few new weapon systems, etc. In the same period the Sovs came out with their T76 and later T 80, and the first of their modern infantry carriers, while we were still operating the M60 and the M113. It was as if the europeans were too busy making money to defend themselves, and the easiest way to deal with the border was to ignore it. The Sovs could have cut through NATO like a hot knife through butter.

Your assumption is invalid because you think that politics would be the same in a nonnuclear world as it has been in a nuclear world.

In an nonnuclear world WE would have reacted differently - they had to.


Oh, M60 and M113 was american toys - US wasn't any better than EU at that point

[Lancer]

BlackCat, I actually considered that before posting. WE did nothing to save themselves from getting nuked, why would they do anything to save themselves from getting overrun?

If NATO was getting beaten conventionally, the result would have been nuke weapons release, making the tactical use of nuke weapons available to battlefield commanders. In every exercise in the 70s and early 80s, this was the result. Why? Because europe failed to field conventional forces strong enough to defend against attack. Since it was NATO territory on which the battle would be fought, mostly Germany, it was NATO that would be nuking itself, as in it's land, and population. The answer to this dilemma was simple. To spend as much on defense as the US did. I think it was around 5.5% of GNP. Instead, europe spent on average 2.5% to 3% on its military. So, they had resigned themselves to nuking themselves and didn't have the political will to buy the forces to prevent it. If they are too weak to prevent their own nuking, where do you see them getting the will to defend themselves conventionally in a non nuke world when their personal individual survival is not at stake?

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Lancer
. . . So, they had resigned themselves to nuking themselves and didn't have the political will to buy the forces to prevent it. If they are too weak to prevent their own nuking, where do you see them getting the will to defend themselves conventionally in a non nuke world when their personal individual survival is not at stake?

Which reminds me...did we ever get around to inventing & deploying the controversal "neutron bomb?"

IIRC, it was design to emit high initial radiation but not long-lasting radiation. The idea was to kill the guys in the invading tanks but not turn the cities and countryside of West Germany into radioactive wasteland. But there was a very negative PR-reaction to a nuke that would harm people but not property.

[GePap]

Nuclear fission was discovered by a German physicist in 1939.

So, given the US never did discover nuclear fission, I have to say it would not have made a lick of difference..

[Kuciwalker]

LOLOL GePap is funny LOL

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Lancer
BlackCat, I actually considered that before posting. WE did nothing to save themselves from getting nuked, why would they do anything to save themselves from getting overrun?

If NATO was getting beaten conventionally, the result would have been nuke weapons release, making the tactical use of nuke weapons available to battlefield commanders. In every exercise in the 70s and early 80s, this was the result. Why? Because europe failed to field conventional forces strong enough to defend against attack. Since it was NATO territory on which the battle would be fought, mostly Germany, it was NATO that would be nuking itself, as in it's land, and population. The answer to this dilemma was simple. To spend as much on defense as the US did. I think it was around 5.5% of GNP. Instead, europe spent on average 2.5% to 3% on its military. So, they had resigned themselves to nuking themselves and didn't have the political will to buy the forces to prevent it. If they are too weak to prevent their own nuking, where do you see them getting the will to defend themselves conventionally in a non nuke world when their personal individual survival is not at stake?

It isn't quite true that WE didn't have nukes - both UK and francedid and still have.

Another thing - conventional forces actually existed in WE and they might have been better, but still they existed and was quite capable to do thier jobs.

The defense of WE wasn't purely based upon US forces - they actually was a minority, but still welcomed

[Lancer]

I know all that, but it wasn't nearly enough. Any objective estimate has NATO crushed and the Sovs on the Rhine within...hmm, 72 hrs? I don't recall exactly, that seems too quick. The arnmored cavalry regiment I was in expected 80% casualties in the first 24 hours. Basicly we were going to be anialated trying to slow them down enough for the main divisions to get off their asses and get on line. Also to provide the reforger divisions a bit of time to get over and get ready.

The Germans were the biggest force in NATO, but it really wasn't enough. The Russians had close to 50 divisions ready for a cold jump off attack, I don't recall the exact term. It means there is no prep, just the word go from Moscow. Behind that they had huge reserves in second line divisions for a total of 120 divisions. The entire US army and marines had 12 divs iirc, the Germans eight I think, the Dutch two, the Belgians I don't recall. The French had a few but they were out of NATO. Likely they would help, but not sure. Then there were the Italians, Greeks, Turks and Norwegians...not much there. A couple of air mobile Canadian brigades. Anyway, it was hopeless.

[BlackCat]

Some years ago i read a book about such an USSR attack and how it was handled.

Unfortynatedly, it's 4 o'clock in the morning here so I can't find the book at my library. The essence was though that what you call a hot knife in warm butter, more likely was a tempered knife in cold butter.

[Lancer]

Red Star Rising? Clancey, thinking wishfully.

[Lancer]

That was also late 80s iirc. We had the Abrams by then, and the Sov forces had degenerated. I recall reading a news reprt back then of how a bunch of Russian tank crewmen had sold their tank to a Czech metal buyer for scrap and bought booze with the proceeds.

Their window was from the late 60s into the early 80s. Prime time was when I was there, in the late 70s. Iirc, Clancey even states early on how many of the defeciencies had been correected by then (the start of the book)

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Lancer
Red Star Rising? Clancey, thinking wishfully.

Red Storm Rising.

[Commy]

Originally posted by GePap
Nuclear fission was discovered by a German physicist in 1939.

So, given the US never did discover nuclear fission, I have to say it would not have made a lick of difference..

You must remember that the Germans didn't know what fission was...they discovered it alright, but they didn't know they did, in fact, their conclusions were at first wrong...

It was an Italian that actually had correct conclusions...

The Germans eventually figured out what they had discovered, but they couldn't create a chain reaction...

It was the good ol' Americans at Chicago University under a football field in a Squash court that maintained the first controlled chain reaction...the solution to the numerous problems the Germans had was graphite...

If you ask me, the Americans accomplished the hard part...

[Commy]

During the Manhattan project, a hyrdrogen bomb was almost built before a fission bomb...just imagine if that was dropped on Japan...

[GePap]

Originally posted by Commy


You must remember that the Germans didn't know what fission was...they discovered it alright, but they didn't know they did, in fact, their conclusions were at first wrong...

It was an Italian that actually had correct conclusions...

The Germans eventually figured out what they had discovered, but they couldn't create a chain reaction...

It was the good ol' Americans at Chicago University under a football field in a Squash court that maintained the first controlled chain reaction...the solution to the numerous problems the Germans had was graphite...

If you ask me, the Americans accomplished the hard part...

And yete everyone had a good clue what happened when Uranium got split. Once that little bit of knowledge came out, someone would eventually come up with nuclear power.

Also, what are you talking about "Squash Court"? It was under the old bleachers, I should know having worked on top of that old football field for 4 years.