Cold Warrior Question - Who Would Have Won?

[Rifleman62]

...my Centurion was good for about 18 minutes...

Is that broken down with limited maint resources or enemy action?

The Prague summer of 1968 was an interesting time.

On one FTX we were "attacked" by a Brit tank unit using white light. Blinded. Scary.

What about France? What would they do or produce?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Is that broken down with limited maint resources or enemy action?

Nope, that was rolling.

What about France? What would they do or produce?

A shortage of white linen and clean underwear?

 

[a_majoor]

France would do what was needed to protect the interests of France, not NATO. Their nuclear deterrent was to threaten the WP is their armies passed beyond the borders of Germany and threatened the French metropole...

 

[Danjanou]

As an aside, I remember being told that my Centurion was good for about 18 minutes once we reached, or became, the FEBA. That dropped to about 7-10 once we fired our first round. Which may explain the drinking we did over there ;D

That the one in the CWM that you tried to do the halt parade on and almost got us tossed by museum security? Didn't seem to be running then. 8)

Being "killed" 6 times in one day on REFORGER 80 kind of gave me an idea of my life expectancy as a speed bump in the Fulda Gap should the Cold War have ever turned hot.

 

[vonGarvin]

France would do what was needed to protect the interests of France, not NATO. Their nuclear deterrent was to threaten the WP is their armies passed beyond the borders of Germany and threatened the French metropole...

Interesting that you say this. 

One thing that Grognards like to do is to take old games, and "fancy them up", so to speak.  So, about a year ago, I took the rules for two contemporary games on the potential "Battle for Germany" (aka "NATO vs. Warsaw Pact, circa 1985") and blended them.  The rules for the use of nuclear weapons was pretty clear that either player had control of when to initiate the use of nuclear weapons, mostly tactical weapons.  One result was that units could no longer "stack" at the same as prior to their use, to represent units spreading out to avoid becoming targets.  Anyway, one rule was that once the Warsaw Pact forces reached the Rhine, and had a logistical tail back to the east, then there was a chance for France to employ nukes on those forces.  In the game, there was a restriction on the use of nuclear weapons on enemies that were in friendly cities (eg: NATO could not nuke a Soviet Division if it were in Bremen, for example, and the Warsaw Pact could not nuke a Brit division if it were in Leipzig).  This restriction did not apply in the "first strike" of the French Army.  Admittedly, this rule was more flavour than anything, but it was one way to "game" the effect of French independent nuclear deterrance.

 

[cupper]

Most of the gaming I did in the early 80's that involved NATO vs WP basically ran the same as most of the predictions posted here. Things would start quickly as WP gained major ground, but would grind to a halt then NATO would being a counter offensive that would ultimately end in a stalemate, or a release in nuclear forces.

There was the odd time when, due to a bad series of gambles combined with bad rolls of the dice, that one side or the other ended up wiping the opposing force off the map. Ultimately the world would end as a glowing mass of cinders.

 

[vonGarvin]

Ultimately the world would end as a glowing mass of cinders.

Yes, but it was fun

I still play those old games, mostly via Email.  NATO: The Next War in Europe and Third World War: Battle for Germany were two of my faves.  Recently, I was playing NATO, and I told the Russian guy that if he used chemicals, I would respond with nukes.  Two turns later, he starts with chemicals.  I went nuke on him, but it initiated a strategic exchange.  Game over

 

[tomahawk6]

The counter to a large scale Warsaw Pact tank invasion were ERW [enhanced radiation weapons].Interestingly enough the ERW may have been tested in Canada at Nicolet Proof and Experimental Test Establishment.Dont know if that is true,but the US did have a small inventory of these weapons which could have blunted an invasion.