Ok I'm trying to figure this out and haven't been able to find shit as yet. Lets say in the mid 1980s a war starts between the Warsaw Pact and NATO for whatever reason. For the shake of this lets say the Soviets brought the SDI effort by the US and doesn't take this nuclear. What would the US/NATO doing in the Pacific against the Soviets?
What would the US/NATO to in the Pacific in a WWIII in the 1980s?
- Thread starter Jim Smitty
- Start date
RightHoJeeves
Banned
I imagine the US Navy would make short work of the Soviet Pacific fleet and then shift to securing sea lanes for NATO shipping.
If you can find data on the RIMPAC exercises for the mid-80s, you might get some useful data.
A lot of the Pacific would depend on what China and North Korea would be doing. If neither of them are involved, it's likely to be "neutralize Vladivostok, hunt subs, keep SLOCs open to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf regions".
Perhaps make the biggest of all mistakes and invade the Soviet mainland? The Lehman Doctrine was insane but someone might be foolish enough to try.
My biggest gig is how these things don't go nuclear. How do you defeat said nation with out invading.
Once things roll in Europe The Pacific will be glad its no Europe
No army is invading Russia via Siberia. You have to be very foolish or have ASB levels of tech to do it. However Sakhalin and the Kurils make tempting targets as does Kamchatka which has bottlenecks for defense.
The Soviet base at Cam Ranh Bay might require a visit or two, which may draw Vietnam into the war. On the other hand, if that happens, and we play our cards right, we could draw China into the war on our side if that hasn't happened already.
Run air raids and missile strikes I can see. The Lehman Doctrine has always struck me as political hot air rather then sound military policymaking. The best way to distract the Russians from Europe in the Pacific is honestly to get the Chinese on board. That'll tie down far more Russian forces then any conceivable US amphibious invasion force and as a bonus you wouldn't have to expend even a single American to do it. Too bad for the Chinese though.
One additional thing to consider is Korea. If China remains neutral or reapproaches with the USSR, then that might become a really big and nasty distraction for the US. If, on the other hand, China jumps on the Russians... well, then things get interesting given how North Korea spent the Cold War playing the two off each other.
One additional thing to consider is Korea. If China remains neutral or reapproaches with the USSR, then that might become a really big and nasty distraction for the US. If, on the other hand, China jumps on the Russians... well, then things get interesting given how North Korea spent the Cold War playing the two off each other.