History news network, originally in the baltimore sun of 31 august 2003. Thus, a european war with the us and the ussr as the main forces on the battlefield would have left a war torn continent beyond measure. And since the war would have been on a later timetable, and since the soviets had some of the best spies, this. On 26 september 1983, the nuclear earlywarning system of the soviet union reported the launch of multiple usaf minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles from bases in the united states. I dont think it would have been the end of the world. However in this alternate history he is sick that day, and that being said another person take his place for the day. Nowhere else in the world were more troops, targets and nuclear weapons concentrated. I wont repeat his history but what if he failed to stop the nuclear exchange and a nuke war did occur. On september 1, 1983, korean airlines flight 007 disappeared over soviet air space. In 1983, nuclear war was narrowly avoided thanks to the actions of soviet officer stanislav petrov, who correctly judged that the nuclear alarms which were going off were. In this war, you fight with what you have now, what was prepositioned, and what you can get out of storage to the field immediately. About this wiki is an alternate history wiki, but its supposed to be a more enjoyable alternate history wiki. As the following brief history of those four incidents makes clear, spacebased earlywarning systems played a major role in avoiding nuclear war. In november 1983, soviet nuclear forces went on high alert.
Simulate a beautiful nuclear war right in your browser. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. To the surprise of none, europe was hit very hard in doomsday, and most of the countries in europe ceased. Two nuclear attacks on texan towns usher in world war iii, big brotherstyle us government surveillance, energy crises, an underground neomarxist movement. The public has heard of the cuban missile crisis in october 1962. Alternate decisions of the cold war edited by peter g. A steady stream of oil from either libya, romania, and the north sea have allowed for most of the continent to have some form of energy independence, otherwise renewables however ramshackle and inefficient and the last few nuclear power plants many remain nervous about nuclear power, but the pragmatic argument eventually won out neatly fill. The officer now on duty on september 26th considers the alert to be accurate and immediately contacts his superiors. Most people simply took it for granted, and anyone born after 1945 had become used to life in the shadow of the bomb. At this point in history, the ussr had the abomb in her arsenal and wasnt afraid to use it. As with able archer exercises from previous years, the purpose of the exercise was to simulate a period of conflict escalation, culminating in the us military attaining a simulated defcon 1 coordinated nuclear attack. This hypothetical war has been the subject of much analysis, debate and simulation. It was a single missile, and a nuclear attack would certainly be allout, so petrov noted the alarm but decided to declare it false.
A new alternate history novel speculates that the hydrogen bombs development might have. Welcome to ralthistory, the alternate history subreddit. The secret history recounts that cold war hysteria reached its peak in the autumn of 1983 with a nato nuclearrelease exercise named able archer 83, which according to a. Doomsday alternative history fandom alternate history wiki. Doomsday involves a world where a worldwide nuclear exchange between the soviet union and the united states happens on september 26th, 1983. The cold war heats up new documents reveal the able. What if stanislav petrov failed to stop the nuclear war on. Able archer 83 is the codename for a command post exercise carried out in november 1983 by the north atlantic treaty organization nato. Tsouras, a collection of alternate history scenarios in the cold war. Many people claim that if it didnt happen, it couldnt happen, or that if it had certain pros and cons they would always stay that way for a person, peoples, or nations entire history, even if certain.
Can he convince the computer he wanted to play a game and not the real thing. Thank you for taking the time to check out house of history, i hope you will. Doomsday birth of krakozhia mstislav pankavuranov history of margovya. Eight broadcasts from parallel dimensions kindle edition by holmes, jessica, pray, terri, harris, brent a. The nuclear close call of 1983 stanislav petrov youtube. These advances in nuclear command and control still do not directly address the second form of stress, one that emerges from the fear of a nuclear war and the accompanying moral tradeoffs. A young computer whiz kid accidentally connects into a top secret supercomputer which has complete control over the u. If truman gave macarthur the bomb, there is a strong possibility the soviet union would have entered the war.
Able archer almost started a nuclear war with russia in 1983. Thats the conclusion of researchers at the national security archive at george washington university, which last week released a collection of documents on the 1983 able archer war scare, the closest the cold war came to turning hot since the cuban missile crisis. The zenith of this escalation arguably came in 1983, when a nato training exercise almost prompted nuclear war. Defcon 1 and moved certain commands to alternate locationsall steps. The two superpowers and their allies enter a renewed period of mutually assured destruction.
The following is an approximate description of the effects of a global nuclear war. By 1983, the cold war had been a reality for four decades. Now newly declassified documents reveal just how close we reached a mutual destruction because of an. From there, it can only be speculated how the world might unravel.
Nuclear war is generally not very pretty, except for maybe in war games and that war gamesinspired game defcon. Understanding nuclear weapons the sources are also linked to in the comments section, for those interested subnormality nuclear birds angry birds but with nuclear weapons and shelters world war 3 and its consequences war war war. The effects of a global thermonuclear war 4th edition. These missile attack warnings were felt to be false alarms by stanislav petrov, an. The united states has ceased to exist, the soviet union is a rump state in siberia still called. This would have certainly ignited the third world war. These papers document a pivotal moment in modern history. The apocalypse margovya history of margovya krakozhia 1983. Allsource intelligence report finds ussoviet nuclear relations on hair trigger in 1983 alert air force general acted out of instinct, not informed guidance to stop escalation of the crisis.
Doomsday is a featured timeline, which means it has been identified as one of the best alternate histories produced by the alternate history community. Tensions between the united states and the soviet union begin to heat up as the cold war escalates when the soviets launch an invasion against afghanistan. For the purposes of illustration it is assumed that a war resulted in mid1988 from military conflict between the warsaw pact and nato. The ss20s were the perfect weapons to fight and win a limited nuclear war in europe, because they could destroy any nato target in central. One of the biggest what ifs of history was a war between the warsaw pact and nato. A war between the us and russia could have killed millions. While officials and mainstream scientists continue to find alternate explanations for anomalies like desert glass, radioactive skeletons, ancient nuclear dust and ash, etc.
Within minutes, the leaders decide to launch the whole soviet nuclear arsenal. And the closets nuclear detonation to me would be arkansas. Now you can add this wonderful, minimal, enthralling simulation from simon swain to. Russia would still glass this little city in any nuclear war too, just because. History reminds us that technological sophistication cannot be relied upon to. These missile attack warnings were felt to be false alarms by stanislav petrov, an officer of the soviet air defence forces. The development of nuclear weapons, their effects and how they have affected contemporary politics and military strategy. The alternate timeline is basically is where world war iii starts on false alarm due to a computer error, leading to the death of 1.
But what were the real capabilities and intentions of the soviet union. The two superpowers and their allies enter a renewed. True nuclear war, complete darkness, is only when really every nuke is detonated on earth. Just how close did the world come to fullblown nuclear war in the 1980s. Because of his sound judgment, nuclear war was averted and countless lives saved.
How two stubborn men averted nuclear war, twice, in 1983. If you see a way this alternate history can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please say so on this pages talkpage or come on chat. In 1983, a soviet commander was suppose to be employed a missile silo base near moscow. These missile attack warnings were felt to be false alarms by stanislav petrov. Doomsday timeline at the alternate history wikia, colonel petrov was sent to another installation before september 26th, 1983. Two nucleararmed f102s respond, and although the flight is shadowed by soviet aircraft, no shots are fired. Powerful evidence of nuclear wars in ancient times gaia. Here you can discuss alternate history matters, whether they be books, essays. New documents reveal how a 1980s nuclear war scare became. What if stanislav petrov failed to stop the nuclear war on sep 1983 and a nuke war occured. The official report on both sides of the iron curtain was that a soviet fighter had shot it down.
Doomsday is telling us why nuclear weapons are evil regardless what they can or could be used for. Strategies, battle fields, theatres of operation, weapons, war in the seas. An alternate history of the atomic age scientific american. Newly released british cabinet papers revisit the reality of the nuclear threat in 1983 and reveal the governments plans for. This is what a nuclear war would actually look like hbo duration. The alternate history wiki has quite a few, naturally. On 26 september 1983, the nuclear earlywarning system of the soviet union reported the launch of multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles from bases in the united states. After months nervously watching increasingly assertive nato military posturing, soviet intelligence agencies in western europe received flash telegrams reporting alarming activity on u. A different use for artificial intelligence in nuclear. This timeline explores world history after doomsday september 26th, 1983. According to robert lamb, if a war occurred with around 12,00018,000 nukes detonated, like in this alternate scenario, the southern hemisphere, though it faced harsh conditions, could end up fine. Nuclear weapons were never invented but otherwise history goes the same.
It challenges him to a game between america and russia, and he innocently starts the countdown to world war 3. This decision is seen as having prevented a retaliatory nuclear attack against the united states. This is a list of alternate history fiction, sorted by type. Yet as the top secret files remind us, nuclear war seemed more likely in 1983 than at almost any other moment in our postwar history.
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