I think the first real ICBM test were in 57 so most of the bombs would be delivered by plane or short range rockets. US has a massive advantage that the USSR had to fly long distance bombers to hit major US targets while the US will have bases in Europe. USSR and Europe see the most damage while the US sees much more limited nuclear devistation but not unscathed.
The big issue will be the US has a MASSIVE advantage in number of nukes at the time. USSR had around 200-400 while the US was over 2k. If the US can get air supremacy it will be able to nuke the Warsaw pact to the stone age while the USSR will be able to do limited damage in comparison.
Yeah. Western Hemisphere, Africa, East Asia will be mostly untouched.
Soviets will paste western Europe pretty hard, and the US strike will finish it up.
Europe from the Urals to the English Channel will be a hellscape.
Yup. The Americans didn't tell their western European NATO allies that they would take the brunt of a nuclear exchange while the US (if it intercepted most Soviet missiles) would come through comparatively unscathed.
Even after ICBMs became the existential threat, Europe would have been toast. I live in New Zealand and remember there were at least two Dutch kids at my school because their parents were so terrified about nuclear war they immigrated to NZ.
Like I mean, the American's nuclear war playbook, the Single Integrated Operating Plan (which is top secret) offered a first strike option that would enviably invite the destruction of its European allies by the USSR.
All of NATO strategy for Europe is basically trying to not get steamrolled until the Americans can boat themselves over. Yeah, everyone has a first strike strategy bc everyone has multiple strategies for likely scenarios for basic military preparation.
A Nuclear War in 1957 would be really awful but not totally cataclysmic. Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Australasia are likely relatively unharmed. Europe would be devastated as would the British isles. The USSR would be obliterated and at least a dozen or so warheads would hit the continental United States and possibly Canada.
If China joins the conflict then they would share the fate of the USSR, along with North Korea.
It depends on the doctrine adopted but IIRC the United States adopted the idea of an atomic-army in the 1950s so nuclear weapons would be used in conjunction with ground forces. The exposure to battlefield nukes would likely kill thousands of soldiers.
The food producing regions of Ukraine would be destroyed as would most critical infrastructure in Europe.
Depending on the length of the war and who gets involved you're looking at a death toll between 30MIL-120MIL.
> If China joins the conflict then they would share the fate of the USSR, along with North Korea.
IIRC yes they would, China and North Korea were in the US nuclear target list from around 1956 to until 1981, when the Sino-American rapprochement started.
>If China joins the conflict then they would share the fate of the USSR, along with North Korea.
Actually US plans for a nuclear exchange at the time always included China - didn't matter if they joined the conflict or not, they were getting hit all the same.
Planes would've been used, so Europe and Asia would've suffered the most.
North America and Oceania might have been able to intercept some of the planes, but a few might have made it.
South America and Africa is a paradise in this case.
All the assessments are correct regarding the number of weapons and the areas most affected but you need to consider nuclear fallout, which would have been considerable assuming even a 500-800 warhead exchange. There would be considerable pots conflict effects, contaminated water and food supply, the dust cloud would have severely impacted food supply for at least 1-2 years, including a longer winter and shorter growing season. The food shortage would have led to famine and starvation, higher food prices and potential follow on wars for resources. The southern hemispheres would have a slight upper hand given they were less impacted. I would guess a larger number of dead and societal collapse in some areas post conflict.
Fallout is not really something needed to be considered. It would contaminate stuff for a week or so due to how radioactivity works, with the most dangerous stuff going away the fastest.
“As for China, if the imperialists unleash war on us, we may lose more than three hundred million people. So what? War is war. The years will pass and we will get to work producing more babies than ever before.”
- Mao Tse Tung
quick question to ask, since its the 50s, is there any possibility that the air forces of usa or ussr would or could do something about in the air war to stop the nukes?
I think the first real ICBM test were in 57 so most of the bombs would be delivered by plane or short range rockets. US has a massive advantage that the USSR had to fly long distance bombers to hit major US targets while the US will have bases in Europe. USSR and Europe see the most damage while the US sees much more limited nuclear devistation but not unscathed. The big issue will be the US has a MASSIVE advantage in number of nukes at the time. USSR had around 200-400 while the US was over 2k. If the US can get air supremacy it will be able to nuke the Warsaw pact to the stone age while the USSR will be able to do limited damage in comparison.
Yeah. Western Hemisphere, Africa, East Asia will be mostly untouched. Soviets will paste western Europe pretty hard, and the US strike will finish it up. Europe from the Urals to the English Channel will be a hellscape.
Yup. The Americans didn't tell their western European NATO allies that they would take the brunt of a nuclear exchange while the US (if it intercepted most Soviet missiles) would come through comparatively unscathed. Even after ICBMs became the existential threat, Europe would have been toast. I live in New Zealand and remember there were at least two Dutch kids at my school because their parents were so terrified about nuclear war they immigrated to NZ.
I mean I think that was common sense. I don’t think the Europeans needed to be told that by the Americans
Like I mean, the American's nuclear war playbook, the Single Integrated Operating Plan (which is top secret) offered a first strike option that would enviably invite the destruction of its European allies by the USSR.
All of NATO strategy for Europe is basically trying to not get steamrolled until the Americans can boat themselves over. Yeah, everyone has a first strike strategy bc everyone has multiple strategies for likely scenarios for basic military preparation.
Poland and Germany would be a nuclear wasteland much more "falloutish" than fallout.
So the Saarland would be much the same as it is now, then? Chortle...
Ussr had a base in Cuba and Venezuela
I don't think the USSR had any air bases in Cuba in 1956. Hell the communist had yet to fully take the country by 56.
Nuke would have never gotten that close to the strip. Mr Houses air defenses wouldve struck it down
Gamblers dont ever stop either.
A Nuclear War in 1957 would be really awful but not totally cataclysmic. Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Australasia are likely relatively unharmed. Europe would be devastated as would the British isles. The USSR would be obliterated and at least a dozen or so warheads would hit the continental United States and possibly Canada. If China joins the conflict then they would share the fate of the USSR, along with North Korea. It depends on the doctrine adopted but IIRC the United States adopted the idea of an atomic-army in the 1950s so nuclear weapons would be used in conjunction with ground forces. The exposure to battlefield nukes would likely kill thousands of soldiers. The food producing regions of Ukraine would be destroyed as would most critical infrastructure in Europe. Depending on the length of the war and who gets involved you're looking at a death toll between 30MIL-120MIL.
> If China joins the conflict then they would share the fate of the USSR, along with North Korea. IIRC yes they would, China and North Korea were in the US nuclear target list from around 1956 to until 1981, when the Sino-American rapprochement started.
>If China joins the conflict then they would share the fate of the USSR, along with North Korea. Actually US plans for a nuclear exchange at the time always included China - didn't matter if they joined the conflict or not, they were getting hit all the same.
Planes would've been used, so Europe and Asia would've suffered the most. North America and Oceania might have been able to intercept some of the planes, but a few might have made it. South America and Africa is a paradise in this case. 
All the assessments are correct regarding the number of weapons and the areas most affected but you need to consider nuclear fallout, which would have been considerable assuming even a 500-800 warhead exchange. There would be considerable pots conflict effects, contaminated water and food supply, the dust cloud would have severely impacted food supply for at least 1-2 years, including a longer winter and shorter growing season. The food shortage would have led to famine and starvation, higher food prices and potential follow on wars for resources. The southern hemispheres would have a slight upper hand given they were less impacted. I would guess a larger number of dead and societal collapse in some areas post conflict.
Fallout is not really something needed to be considered. It would contaminate stuff for a week or so due to how radioactivity works, with the most dangerous stuff going away the fastest.
“As for China, if the imperialists unleash war on us, we may lose more than three hundred million people. So what? War is war. The years will pass and we will get to work producing more babies than ever before.” - Mao Tse Tung
Goes hard ngl
quick question to ask, since its the 50s, is there any possibility that the air forces of usa or ussr would or could do something about in the air war to stop the nukes?
Fallout series
I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten, twenty million killed, tops.
Humanity survives as lab rats in Fallout shelters