I need some constructive criticism from anyone who is interested.

Storyline for 1946 WWIII

Chapter one

January 23, 1946

Stalin's former allies have demobilized entire armies and have sent many of their armed forces home. The US and England have a fraction of their former forces stationed on the European mainland and have shown no backbone in resisting Soviet incursions. The only thing holding Stalin back from his vision of a communist Europe dominated by the USSR is the fear of the American nuclear bomb.

He has seen the devastation it has brought to the Empire of Japan. Although he has no doubt that his armed forces can storm through the blasted hulk of the former Germany and France he is held in check by the fear of nuclear destruction from the skies.

In addition his former allies are gathering far too many of the German scientists and their wonder weapons and stealing them away to work on even more destructive weapons and delivery systems. Comrade Stalin needs to create a buffer so that the motherland is never subject to attack again. His vision is that all future wars will be fought in the no mans land that is the former Nazi homeland and he is convinced that there will be more wars despite the American atomic bomb. It's all a matter of where and when these wars will be fought because Capitalism and Communism cannot occupy the same space.

Some say the second atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki was a demonstration for Stalin's benefit and to reinforce the power of the atom bomb in his mind. In addition it was to demonstrate that America has not only one but many bombs and is ready to use them. The plan has worked until today.

Today Stalin receives word through his spy master and massive network of agents that American has a total of only 6 nuclear bombs. Previously he believed that they had many more and this fear is the only thing that kept his ambitions in check. With this news the plan for the domination of Western Europe begins. No longer will the West be allowed to dictate it's will on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Stalin. He will once and for all remove the threat to Mother Russia.

A massive and very well concealed mobilization begins.

D-day is May 1st...International Workers Day...May Day and the May Day Parade in Berlin, East Germany is complete with the usual massive flybys of Soviet aircraft. There has been a change from previous flybys in Moscow. The aircraft are flying from East to West and in numbers never before seen. An awe inspiring sight for all to behold. And this year there is a bonus feature to the flyby... the aircraft are armed and have been given orders to ATTACK!


May 1st, 1946

The Soviet forces fan out from the Mayday Parade in Berlin and attack their former allies in West Berlin and in occupied West Germany. Most of our forces are caught off guard and slaughtered where they stand.

Very interesting concept. I do hope this is being made to work with a 4.09m vanilla install...

Huh. I answered you earlier. Oh well. I do it again.

All of the campaigns and missions that I will produce from this storyline will be 4.09m vanilla install.

If it works out well then I will mess with some mods. Especially the new maps and flyable planes.

Chapter Two

May 6th, 1946
West Berlin falls

May 11th, 1946

Online Map 2 represents West Germany
Two missions
The Soviets onslaught continues with the newly formed NATO Alliance barley able to catch it's breath. 2 missions of trying to stop and protect fleeing NATO forces.

May 19th, 1946
Two missions
Online map 1 represents an area near the Belgium and German border.
Resistance starts to stiffen and the Soviets receive a bloody nose.

May 24th, 1946
Ardennes Map
Three missions
The French make an all out heroic stand and halt the Soviet forces for a few days. The Soviets halt and regroup before pushing on.

June 6th
NW Europe map
Four missions
The NATO strength starts to gather and newer equipment starts to show up on the battle field. The Soviet forces are actually held in check at a few crucial bridgeheads. Paris falls but the French fight on along with their NATO allies.

June 12
Normandy map
5 missions
The navy joins the fight and stops the Red Army at the shoreline using massive firepower from battleships and an air superiority battle breaks out over who will control the French coastline. A massive attempt by Soviet forces to destroy the NATO naval power preventing their ground forces from advancing are launched. The naval forces launch counter attacks on the Soviet airbases and ground forces.

July 9th
Online Map 4 represents the Spain/French border, The Pyrenees Line
8 missions
According to Plan Griddle envisioned by the Joint Chiefs of Staff ... this is the last line of resistance. The retreat is over and they shall not pass. The Soviet forces slam into the Pyrenees Line and try to hammer their way through.
Both sides pull out all the stops and use all their collective wonder weapons in an attempt to bring defeat to their opponent. Nothing is held back and anything that can fly, roll or crawl is put into the fight. The two heavy weights go toe to toe with no quarter given. Hay makers are thrown and damage is taken but there is no knock out blow.

August 7th, 1946

A breakthrough had occurred in atomic weapons technology by NATO scientists and the W-9 Artillery shell program is modified towards making a 1000 lb 15KT bomb. 4 of these bombs are produced at great expense. This bomb has the same destructive ability as "Fat Man" but 1/8th the size.

At the same time Naval aviation designers are modifying the GO 229 with the capability of being launched from an aircraft carrier and have the capability of delivering the new W-9 atomic bomb.

British MI-6 urges a desperate plan and NATO comes in through the back door of the Baltic and launches 2 GO 229s from the CV 10 USS Yorktown carrying modified W-9 atomic warheads.

Minsk and Warsaw no longer exist.

Both are key supply and rail hubs. As invisioned by MI-6, three Soviet armies are caught in transit. 2100 tanks and 250,000 men women and children are incinerated by two GO 229 stealth bombers sneaking in under the radar and two 15KT W-9 atomic warheads.

The first major Soviet offensive is halted and both sides dig in.

Im in!

I think if you want to add a little believability, perhaps the campaign could begin in 1948 - coniciding with the Berlin Airlift. I don't think many of these countries would have been ready for a May 1946 Soviet offensive suggested here (perhaps not even the USSR). For instance, I don't feel (no offense intended) that the French could have been mobilzed to the level you suggest to stop the Soviets cold in the Ardennes so soon after WW2.

You also refer to NATO which wasn't formed until 1949.

Why are my posts disappearing? I have posted an answer you your suggestions Boilerplate three times and they show up when I check a couple of hours later but days later they are gone.

Oh well lets try again.

My premise is that Stalin finds out that the US is a paper tiger in regards to the atomic bomb. In fact we only had 6 at the end of 1946 and 11 at the end of 1947. So Stalin decides to gamble and secretly re-mobilize for the war he called inevitable.

What spurred the project on was a paper I ran across by the Joint Chiefs of Staff called Plan Griddle. This plan was the plan that the allies agreed upon in the event of a Soviet attack in Europe. This storyline I am proposing was the actual agreed upon contingency plan for the Allies in 1946-48.

They knew that the Soviets posed an overwhelming threat in Europe yet public pressure still made them demobilize even in the face of what they considered inevitable invasion by Stalin. IN real life they took a gamble and it paid off. In my storyline it didn't.

"Five months after VJ Day 8.5 million Allied soldiers had been demobilized. By June 1946 there were only two divisions ready for emergency deployment. When Truman tried to slow up the demobilization there were riots in the Armed Forces"

"The Western democracies and the Soviet Union discussed the progress of World War II and the nature of the postwar settlement at conferences in Tehran (1943), Yalta (February 1945), and Potsdam (July-August 1945). After the war, disputes between the Soviet Union and the Western democracies, particularly over the Soviet takeover of East European states, led Winston Churchill to warn in 1946 that an "iron curtain" was descending through the middle of Europe. For his part, Joseph Stalin deepened the estrangement between the United States and the Soviet Union when he asserted in 1946 that World War II was an unavoidable and inevitable consequence of "capitalist imperialism" and implied that such a war might reoccur."

A series of studies by the JCS named Pincher presumed that the Soviets would swiftly overrun most of Europe and seize the channel ports within weeks. I agree.

Chapter 3 The Soft Underbelly

September 7th, 1946
Crimea Map
5 missions
As envisioned in Plan Griddle the NATO bomber force is relocated to Egypt. On this day the first high level bombing mission occurs. The target is the oil production facilities surrounding Sevastopol. The plan is to obliterate by day and night the Soviet Unions ability to produce oil. 70% of the USSR oil supply and refining capacity are located within range of the new B29 bases in Egypt and new long range fighter bases in Turkey, Rhodes and Cyprus. The strategic air war begins.

The first attack is a daylight raid by B29s escorted by YP80 and ME262s. That same night a raid by B17s escorted by P51s and 109Z twin 109 long range fighter. The Soviets are caught off guard but respond quickly with a motley collection of B-6 and ME 163 rocket propelled interceptors, Yak 9Us and La-7s. Enough HE Lerche are scrapped together and along with their wire guided missiles start to prove devastating to the attacking bombers.

The attacks continue day and night.

Oct. 15th, 1946
Sevastopol disappears under an atomic mushroom cloud delivered by a B29.

Oct. 16th, 1946
Kuban map
5 missions
The strategic bombing campaign switches to the Kuban area.

Nov. 20th, 1946
Besberobia map
5 missions
The strategic bombing campaign switches to the Odessa area.

Nov. 26th, 1946
Online map 11a (Turkey) online Italy (Island of Cyprus) Guadalcanal (Rhodes)
5 missions
Soviets counter attack the forward fighter bases in Turkey, Rhodes and Cyprus.

I have two more chapters waiting to be revealed.

"The first attack is a daylight raid by B29s escorted by YP80 and ME262s"

lookin forward to it ..love my262s

Figure out a way to shoot down the Lerches I gave to the Soviets. In my first raid only 2 of them shot down 6 B29s with those freeking wire guided missiles. This is not going to be pretty for the Allies unless they get the Lerches!

Chapter 4 The Mideast

March 5, 1947
NW Europe, Online map1, online map 2(simulates area within reach of NATO Tactical airpower)
3 missions
NATO's spy network notices a large transfer of Soviet forces away from the Pyrenees Line.
Interdiction missions against trains moving from France to Caucasas.

March 26th, 1947 (Turkey)
Online map 11a
1 mission
Soviets launch an overland assault on the bases in Turkey.

April 22nd, 1947
Italy online map (Palestine)
4 missions
Soviets launch and airborne assault on the Mideast. The NATO allies counter attack with naval forces.

May 5th, 1947
Desert online
5 missions
Soviets attempt to push their way across the Suez Canal. The NATO forces use naval and air forces in an all out defense. They draw a line in the sand.
The strategic bombing campaign is disrupted as the NATO forces hold on by their finger nails. The advanced fighter bases in Rhodes, Cyprus and Turkey are put out of commission by almost suicide bomber attacks using huge numbers of Pe-8 and Pe-3.

Hairog,

Sounds like a very interesting historical "what if" scenario. Looking forward to when it's available.

Thanks for your hard work.

Cheers,
Scott

Thank you for the encouragement Flieger701.

I just gained a partner and he is doing the Murmansk Invasion scenerio. I'm pumped.

Chapter 5 Separating the Head from the Body

May 15th, 1947
Norway map
2 missions
NATO Amphibious fleet appears off of the coast of Norway

May 26th, 1947
NATO Amphibious fleet appears off of Trieste, Italy and quickly establishes a beach head. Italy's neutrality is negated.

June 2nd, 1947
Balaton map
2 missions
NATO forces move quickly into Hungry

Jun 9th, 1947
Murmansk map
2 missions
NATO invasion fleet appears off of Murmansk

June 9th, 1947
NATO liberates Sweden

June 9th, 1947
Desert online map
2 missions
NATO crosses the Suez and drives on Palestine.

June 9th, 1947
Slovakia map
2 missions
NATO moves east through Slovakia and Hungry

June 12th, 1947
Online Italy map
2 missions
NATO invasion fleet appears off of Beruit, Lebanon.

June 17th, 1947
Online map 4 (Pyrenees Line)
1 mission mainly made up of German/French/British forces try and breakout into France.
Soviet forces on the Pyrenees Line are cut off from supply by popular uprisings through out Western Europe

June 19th, 1947
Lvov Map
2 missions
NATO forces smash through Soviet defenses and enter the territory of the USSR in the Ukraine.

June 18th
online Italy map
4 missions
NATO liberates Palestine

June 20th, 1947
Online map 4
1 mission
NATO forces breakout of the Iberian Peninsula and race towards Paris and Berlin. Soviet forces try to stem the tide but have to fall back or be destroyed.

June 27th, 1947
Online map 2 (Central France)
2 missions
Soviets make a stand at a major river crossing.

June 19th, 1947
Gulf of Finland map
1 mission
Finland and Estonia are liberated.

June 30th, 1947
Norway map (Baltic Sea) and Kurland map
4 missions
An invasion fleet enters the Baltic sea and heads towards Riga and Soviet Naval and land forces strike with everything they've got left in the area.

Looks like WWIII to me. You'll be lucky to get out of this one without the balloon going up.

The balloon has gone up and it's been popped.


Chapter 5
Start with the Body and Work Your Way Up to the Head

July 9th, 1947
Online 11a (Turkey)
2 missions
NATO regains it's bases in Turkey

August 8th, 1947
TBD map
NATO naval forces clear the way to enter the Black Sea. Istanbul is declared an open city. The door to the Black Sea is wide open.

August 10, 1947
Khalkhin Gol map
2 missions
NATO forces reach the Caucus Mountains and secure all areas in Turkey.

August 12th, 1947
Kuban map
4 missions
A NATO invasion fleet appears off of Krasnodar and goes toe to toe with a mix of Soviets forces that are thrown into the blender.

August 21, 1947

Defying Stalin's orders not to give an inch the Commanders of the Caucus Line see the danger they are in and pull back to save their forces from certain annihilation. They conduct a fighting retreat and slowly fall back to Stalingrad. They will make their stand at Stalingrad.

Stalin promises that the second battle of Stalingrad will be the turning point for this war just as it was during the last Patriotic War.

September 9th, 1947
Stalingrad map
6 missions
The NATO forces prepare to take Stalingrad from two directions. The Soviets dig in just like they did in 1942.

You advertised for input so I'll add this one last detail and then leave it alone.



As ruthless as Stalin was, he was not stupid. (Remember, Stalin's presumptive behavior you use is from the same man who ordered evacuation of the communist party offices in Moscow during operation Typhoon..) Nor would the US have hesitated on using the nuclear option at the time with what was at stake.. making the long and protracted engagement you propose in your campaign a non-going concern. That's always a problem where super powers grapple in the conventional sense.

Now I understand it's fun to play 'what if' and these scenarios look pretty grand.. but I think there are some creative differences from my standpoint. Namely realism.

There.. my bah humbug for the season...

PS. by all means continue on. I'd like to see this heady and ambitious project come to fruition.

Thank you for the excellent comments Boilerplate.

I believe I read somewhere that it took 90 days to assemble the type of atomic bombs we had in 1946 and then we only had 8 day window in which to use them once they were ready to go. I can't find where I read that though. Maybe someone can find out. These bombs weighed over 8,000 lbs. and could only be delivered by a B29. They were not a weapon that could be used quickly nor were they that devastating in todays terms.

By the time Stalin started his invasion he could easily have taken most of Europe before we could even deploy the six or less bombs we had. These bombs could take out a whole city.

I don't believe the French would have wanted us to destroy Paris to just give the Red Army a punch in the face? I don't think that what I'm calling the NATO Allies would have authorized any use of nuclear weapons anywhere in Europe and would have rather been ruled by Stalin than have that horror brought upon their houses. We killed over 40,000 French civilians using conventional weapons paving the way for D-day alone.

The only bases capable of deploying the B29 in 1946 were in the far east and England.

Yes they could have reached Moscow and many Russian cities but they would have had to fight their way through the largest and some say the best air force and air defense system in the world and they only had 6 bombs or less. The US planners themselves thought that it would take 70 or more "Fat Man" atomic bombs to bring Russia to it's knees. I think Stalin would have thought it would take even more.

My premise is that the only thing stopping Stalin from creating a larger buffer zone than he already had from out B29s was the fear of the American's having dozens of nukes.

In fact we only had 3 at the begining of 1946, 6 at the end of the year and a total of 11 in 1947. My storyline is that if Stalin knew this he would possibly have taken a chance and gone for all the marbles.

That and the fact that I've had some Curtis LeMay type putting B29s in West Germany and this causes Stalin to act. Much like Kennedy did when Khrushchev put nukes in Cuba or the way the Japanese did when the US put B17s in the Philippines. Strategic bombers are an offensive weapon not a defensive one.

Just curious, but I don't think the GO-229 would have the range at low level to deliver the weapons.

The Yorktown battle group would have to sneak into the Baltic, which could easily be controlled by the Russian navy, putting the carrier task force well within heavy bomber range and danger of Russian submarines and surface forces.

Nay, it is impossible for the GO-229 to perform that mission, however, were they to be a specially modified test bed, given a new designation, it would sound slightly more feasible.

I do like the sound of it, I was thinking of doing something like that myself. Is there anyway to mod in F-84/86 and MiG-15?

nvm, they wouldnt have been passed the experimentsal stages yet

Sorry Robdcamp I missed your posts.

"The Yorktown battle group would have to sneak into the Baltic, which could easily be controlled by the Russian navy, putting the carrier task force well within heavy bomber range and danger of Russian submarines and surface forces."

I have no idea how powerful the Russian Navy was in 1946-47. I do know that the US had the largest, best trained and most powerful navy ever built and by my time-line of August 1946 one hell of an taskforce could have been put together including the British Royal Navy. Combined with the element of surprise, paratroops, the most numerous and advanced invasion craft every built. All of this would have been available from the cancelled invasion of Japan and D-day.

I really think that the combination of expertise, equipment, and supplies would have made it possible for them to force their way into the Baltic for a couple of hours fly the mission and get out again all before Soviet forces knew what hit them.

At this point in my storyline the Soviets have not invaded the low countries and are still concentrating on the Iberian Peninsula. Everything else is a side show to them at this point.

According to my information the GO 229 had a combat range of 620 miles. Breakout your Google Earth and measure how far that is and just where they would have to launch from. Just at the very entrance to the Baltic would do just fine.

I think I'll stay with my storyline for now but thank you for the input.

I'm hoping after I'm all done someone will want to Mod the heck out of this project. Maybe make it later or figure out some way to include F-86, Panther and Mig 15.