Every so often, I end up with an idea rattling around in my head.
I like miniature war games, and I find the potential conflict of the Cold War fascinating, especially at its most dangerous points over 1961-2. Within that period, you have the Berlin Crisis (August 1961) where American and Soviet tanks literally had a standoff at Checkpoint Charlie, and the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962). I've considered a 'Cold War gone hot' scenario for a while focused on the Cuban Missile Crisis, but since that would have ended in outright nuclear annihilation almost immediately it makes gaming it sort of hard. So lately I've thought more about the Berlin Crisis - specifically the tank standoff - and wondered if that could work. There was a point during the standoff where an American lieutenant named Werner Pike (and a couple of other guys) snuck across the border, managed to get inside a Soviet T-55, took some stuff and got out without being caught.
So the idea is simple: what if they had been caught by the Soviets on the tensest day of 1961? It's possible they'd be shot, but more likely they'd simply be captured. That said, the likelihood of escalation from there is moderate to high, as rumours spread almost immediately and some idiot shoots first. The first tanks are knocked out on either side of the border as the shooting intensifies, and the command of both sides are informed of the other side crossing into their zone(s). Before the end of the day, both sides would have mobilised, with continuous skirmishing at Checkpoint Charlie spreading and one side - likely the Soviets - crossing the border in force. By the end of the week, the governments of both America and the USSR are informed, and war is declared, although neither side is particularly willing to use nuclear weapons due to the unclear nature of the ever-developing situation (US) and knowing they'd likely not win (USSR). By the end of August, a grinding battle has started at Fulda, Soviet tanks have begun to sweep through the North German Plain, and Austria has been partially occupied. Faced with the risk of losing in Germany, Kennedy's administration agree to the use of limited nuclear strikes against known military installations and 'Points of Retaliation' (i.e. missile silos) throughout the USSR, although cities are spared for the most part. The Soviets respond by beginning a campaign of total war in Europe, and conflicts break out in places like Korea and Vietnam as communist forces invade their capitalist counterparts backed by mainly Chinese support; nuclear strikes are also carried out against Britain by the USSR due to the lack of long-ranged and inter-continental missiles compared the Americans.
By the end of 1961, Germany and the Low Countries have fallen, and the surviving NATO forces are fighting in France; Soviet logistics are stretched to their absolute limit and their exhausted troops are first blunted and finally counterattacked in northern France as well as Sicily, reports being received mere minutes before Kennedy was to sign off on a total nuclear strike on all enemy combatant nations (they had already agreed, with the message being passed to the president during the meeting when he was about to agree to the plan; it was called off immediately after this, as it was deemed possible to win the war without further nuclear strikes). From there the war turns, with June 1962 seeing France fully liberated, and Belgium and Luxembourg being pushed into by reinvigourated NATO forces. By the end of the year, NATO reaches the Rhine and assaults Rome. A year later, Germany falls to NATO forces and Czechoslovakia negotiates peace
So the idea is simple: what if they had been caught by the Soviets on the tensest day of 1961? It's possible they'd be shot, but more likely they'd simply be captured. That said, the likelihood of escalation from there is moderate to high, as rumours spread almost immediately and some idiot shoots first. The first tanks are knocked out on either side of the border as the shooting intensifies, and the command of both sides are informed of the other side crossing into their zone(s). Before the end of the day, both sides would have mobilised, with continuous skirmishing at Checkpoint Charlie spreading and one side - likely the Soviets - crossing the border in force. By the end of the week, the governments of both America and the USSR are informed, and war is declared, although neither side is particularly willing to use nuclear weapons due to the unclear nature of the ever-developing situation (US) and knowing they'd likely not win (USSR). By the end of August, a grinding battle has started at Fulda, Soviet tanks have begun to sweep through the North German Plain, and Austria has been partially occupied. Faced with the risk of losing in Germany, Kennedy's administration agree to the use of limited nuclear strikes against known military installations and 'Points of Retaliation' (i.e. missile silos) throughout the USSR, although cities are spared for the most part. The Soviets respond by beginning a campaign of total war in Europe, and conflicts break out in places like Korea and Vietnam as communist forces invade their capitalist counterparts backed by mainly Chinese support; nuclear strikes are also carried out against Britain by the USSR due to the lack of long-ranged and inter-continental missiles compared the Americans.
By the end of 1961, Germany and the Low Countries have fallen, and the surviving NATO forces are fighting in France; Soviet logistics are stretched to their absolute limit and their exhausted troops are first blunted and finally counterattacked in northern France as well as Sicily, reports being received mere minutes before Kennedy was to sign off on a total nuclear strike on all enemy combatant nations (they had already agreed, with the message being passed to the president during the meeting when he was about to agree to the plan; it was called off immediately after this, as it was deemed possible to win the war without further nuclear strikes). From there the war turns, with June 1962 seeing France fully liberated, and Belgium and Luxembourg being pushed into by reinvigourated NATO forces. By the end of the year, NATO reaches the Rhine and assaults Rome. A year later, Germany falls to NATO forces and Czechoslovakia negotiates peace
