If Germany has survived longer on the western front (My POD is a more concentrated german attack on Bastogne during the Ardennes Offensive) which city would the U.S. have decided to nuke, or would they simply say screw it and not use the bomb.
What German city gets nuked?
- Thread starter candyman82
- Start date
A better Battle of the Bulge for Germany isn't gonna help at this stage of the war. Even if the western front gets held up, the Soviets would simply take what they want. For a Germany surviving till August, you need a failed D-Day or even something before that.
For the sake of argument, I would say Berlin. It was still relatively intact and would do a nice job of killing the German high command. It would also do a nice job of denying the Soviets the biggest city in their area of occupation.
For the sake of argument, I would say Berlin. It was still relatively intact and would do a nice job of killing the German high command. It would also do a nice job of denying the Soviets the biggest city in their area of occupation.
IIRC the bomb was originally planned to be used against Germany, but was switched to Japan when it became clear that Germany was collapsing.
I doubt that they would have chosen Berlin, simply because they didn't choose Tokyo. They would probably have chosen a smaller city, as yet with little damage, as they did in Japan.
Depends what they wanted to achieve. If the Allies wanted a demonstration, they'd have chosen a relatively undamaged city (Dresden would work). If they were going for a strategic strike, a major infrastructure and industrial hub. Hamburg, Cologne, Bremen or Munich come to mind. Not too far east - you want to be able to get there safely and there's no point helping the Soviets along.
My guess is still Berlin, though.
My guess is still Berlin, though.
Grey Wolf
Donor
Well, I was thinking that by the time they come to use it they would be deep within Germany itself and would want to take out a control centre beyond their immediate reach - IIRC there were rumours of nuclear stuff at Magdeburg, and it was going to be in the Soviet zone ?
The USAAF bombed the fuck out of ?Oranienburg when it learnt of nuclear stuff stockpiled there, so it seemed that with a nuke and including a city in the equation Magdeburg would be an inviting choice
Best Regards
Grey Wolf
I do not think that Berlin would have been targetted because there would then be nobody who could surrender. I also understand that it is a City with a relatively large area and low population,
I would beg to differ on the latter point. The full effects of nuclear weaponry were poorly understood at the time, to the point that US war plans for European conflict against the Soviets made in the 1950s made little to no accounting for fallout, radiation, etc, and seriously proposed using nuclear weapons in conjunction with conventional armor assault. It is possible that some scientifically-inclined generals might have given it a thought or two, but otherwise, effects of fallout are unlikely to be considered as one of the primary limitations on the attack.
Nah, Nurnberg was already destroyed by allied bombings. I think it was like 6000 killed and 100,000 displaced or something.
I say Munich... it has a special place in Nazi party history...
Or if Allies want to play really nasty its Berlin...
Or if Allies want to play really nasty its Berlin...
Or to liberate the country and help end the war in Europe quicker by making Hitler move more troops from the Eastern Front to France. Stalin himself was a major advocat for an invasion of France to relieve some pressure from his troops.
For a city not already smashed Dresden would be a likely choice.
The Western Allies invaded France to get at the Germans.
The Western Allies invaded France to get at the Germans.
Good point, but it still would have symbolic meaning.
Plus, if the city had already been largely destroyed, the Germans might have been less likely to anticipate further attacks. One thing to consider in all this is that, regardless of what happens in the Ardennes, the Soviets are still munching toward Berlin and would probably get there by mid-1945 anyway. Thus, if Germany is still resisting (which I suspect they would be given the alternative) the universe of potential targets for an August atomic bombing might be limited to cities west of Berlin....preferably a city fairly close to the Russian lines to awe both the current and future enemy, perhaps Leipzig, Dresden, or if the US wants to be really cheeky, Potsdam, just miles west of the hypothetical soviet front lines
Hamburg
USAAF will want the chances of being shot down for the first nuke strike to be as low as possible. That rules out Berlin. A nuke is an area weapon by its very nature. They will go in by night. A coastal city is relatively easy to spot by night. The famous firestorm raid did not completely destroy Hamburg.
USAAF will want the chances of being shot down for the first nuke strike to be as low as possible. That rules out Berlin. A nuke is an area weapon by its very nature. They will go in by night. A coastal city is relatively easy to spot by night. The famous firestorm raid did not completely destroy Hamburg.